I'm A Movie Star! and etc.....

     The Coen Brothers (Fargo, No Country For Old Men)  are filming their new movie,  in just- about-my-back-yard.    I drove to work on Monday and went "What the heck?"  When did the county sell that park land and turn it into a country club?  There were brick columns with an Oak Knoll Country Club placard.   I went to work and asked Dr. K if he knew that the park was sold.  He said he never heard a thing about it.  He was actually kind of upset about it.

     When I drove home there was a lot of traffic - an unusual amount.  A bunch of guys standing on the side of the road waved me through.   All of a sudden,  I'm surrounded by a bunch of 1960's cars. Ford Galaxy 500's, Mustangs,  Chevy Corvairs, Impalas,  Camaros , Cadillacs - it was cool.    Then sirens blared and arms were flailing about waving to keep me moving.  Me in my little Ford Escape.   When I turned the corner - by the new Oak Knoll Country Club - a guy threw up his arms in disgust and told me to keep moving.  They had to remove a row of safety cones to let me by.  So when the movie comes out, look for me, I'm the futuristic Ford Escape in the center of all the cool muscle cars and sedans.  

     My Dad had a  1964 Ford Galaxy 500 just exactly as the one pictured.  We called it the "Galloping Ghost".   When my brother got his drivers license in 1973 my Dad gave him the car to drive.  Of course, it wasn't "cool" white,  so he and my Dad painted it black.  The style was to jack up the back end, put wide tires with fancy rims on it, change out the muffler to a louder one,  and place a bar under the trunk so that no one could slide underneath it at a stop sign.  He welded a big chrome chain for his safety bar.  It was really "cool".  The back seat contained big home stereo speakers,  connected to an 8 track tape player!   I still have some of those 8 tracks around here.  Jacob got a kick out those.  He tried to play them, but they disintigrated as they played.  It was so funny how you would listen to a song and then it would click and change the track right in the middle of the song.  Whenever I hear the song "A Horse With No Name" by the band America I always anticipate the "click"  right in the middle of it.  

                    

     I wish I had a picture of my brothers old car - it would have been a hoot to scan it.

Now my first car is a whole other story.   I had a Mustang II.   How lame was that?  Not the cool mustang. 

   It was this color blue, without the white stripe.   I was so short that I had to sit on a driving pillow to see over the dashboard.  I did install a cool cassette player and surround sound speakers.   I had it for only a few short months.  My boyfriend Dan "totalled" it racing a friend on a country road. Luckily, he wasn't hurt, but the car I got to replace it was even lamer.

   Yeah, a Ford Maverick.  See, I told you.  I got stuck driving this car around my senior year.  I saved money on gas, because NOBODY wanted to ride with me.  The car hesitated around corners, the gas pedal would stick.   And I still had to sit on a pillow.   My Dad thought it was great.  It didn't have any rust.  It had low mileage.  The interior was like new.  He stuck a big spring on the gas pedal so it wouldn't stick.  He tried many different carburators, etc.  But it did get me where I needed to go.  

     Jacob wants a Jeep Wrangler.  I told him my Ford Escape would be good enough.  It doesn't have any rust, it has low miles, the interior is like new....

     What was your first car?