AFTER ONLY 34 YEARS

          It was a rather great weekend don’t you think. The rain came Friday night and left the air smelling wonderful. I didn’t do anything outside on Saturday, but Sunday, I got myself together and finished weeding the south side of the house. I still need to do the flowerbed on that side, transplant a rhubarb plant and dig up and divide the dahlias already sprouting on that side. So, I definitely have a to do list.

          Today (Monday), I also accomplished something that’s been in the works for 34 years. John bought a 1957 Chevy pickup not too long after we married. He drove it for years, and then it had the place of honor in the driveway. For AJ’s 16^th birthday, John gave him that Chevy pickup. For AJ’s birthday, he received a bunch of parts, i.e., spark plugs, hoses, etc., so the pickup would run again. 

          

          AJ’s birthday is mid-September and the truck and its new parts all sat around. The end of October, I told John AJ was very disappointed in him. He wanted to know why. I told him it was because AJ had been 16 with a driver’s license for going on two months and the truck wasn’t running.

          John worked for himself and hadn’t taken any days off since AJ’s birthday. So, the upcoming weekend, John took off and together they worked on the pickup.

All the new parts got installed and things looked great until they put gas in the gas tank. John had put water in the gas tank and it hadn’t leaked, so he figured it was okay. Well, gas has different properties and the tank leaked. It wasn’t drivable until that was fixed.

          So, John had me sell my little orange bug to AJ so he’d have something to drive. AJ ordered a license plate for it that said, SWTORNG which stood for Sweet Orange…his dad always referred to it as Sweaty Orange. That meant I had to go find myself another car. I went looking. At the time, Volvos were the in car and everyone who had one thought they were the absolute best. I found a great Toyota downtown. I also found a Volvo in Edmonds. Well, John was far too busy to go hither, thither and yon, so he bought the Volvo. That car was the absolute worst car I’ve ever had in my life. I should have insisted on returning it the morning after it came home. One of the neighbors called and said lights were on. I don’t remember now what the problem was, but it was only the beginning.

          That lauded by friends Volvo ended up costing me a ton of money having this fixed and that fixed. I don’t know about now, but then, the only parts that fit a Volvo were Volvo parts, so you had to purchase and pay whatever they wanted. I know I ended up putting in a new transmission, a new drive cable (that’s probably not the right terminology) and my mind refuses to recall any of the other problems.

          John’s dad had a drinking problem and had purchased a 1989 Ford Mustang Hatchback. I think it had been one of the demonstration vehicles at the Ford dealership. In any case, being an ex-policeman, he was cut some slack when he was stopped for driving erratically. Eventually, it came to the point where he could no longer drive. He gave that mustang to John, who gave it to me to drive.

          That meant I could finally eliminate the Volvo. It was in the process of developing a new problem…the starter was dying. I found a buyer who was willing to give me the $5,000 I was asking for it. He wanted me to drop the price, but I was honest and told him I’d ask even more if I had the starter problem fixed before I sold it. I’m selling it as is. He bought it anyway.

          The afternoon the purchaser brought me a cashier’s check, I stood in the dining room with my fingers crossed, chanting, “Please start, please start, please start.” It did and drove away, never to be seen by me again. As it disappeared over the hill, I danced around the house and waving that check. I drove the mustang until the end of 2003 when I bought my first Toyota Rav4. That purchase really annoyed John because when they brought the paperwork to us, it was in my name only. About damn time…I was only 58 then.

          Anyway, to return to the 1957 Chevy pickup. John drove it to AJ's house around 2004, so it ran, but barely. The '57 lived in his garage until he was ready to spend some time and a bit of money. Initially, it looked as though AJ might give it to Haley for her 16^th birthday.  Instead he found a great Toyota pickup with BIG tires which was just what she wanted. Actually, she wants some fancy Dodge pickup that is even bigger. With the Toyota, Nana almost needs a stepstool to get inside.

AJ and Haley worked on the ‘57 together doing all kinds of stuff, i.e., a tune up, new brake system including wheel cylinders and master cylinder, new gas tank, and exhaust system. It took them three tries to get the right carburetor installed. My granddaughter climbed under that truck with her dad and knows the difference in various wrenches and tools…something I never knew or will know. Amazingly, they got it running and actually drove it around the block. John got to see a video of it being driven, but never again got the chance to ride in it.

          It’s been a few years now since John gave AJ the title to the truck. John did not, however, sign the title. Oh yeah, at some point, they’d go transfer the title. It never happened and AJ asked me last fall if I’d be willing to transfer the title to him. My response was affirmative. And, that’s what we did this morning. We met at the licensing place in Mountlake Terrace and got all the paperwork completed. For a mere $197.00, AJ got the title transferred and ordered collector plates for that 1957 Chevy pickup. He’s finally the proud and legal owner. Congratulations son!!! 

1957 TODAY