Yesterday I was out and about when a dude approached me and asked, “Is that a ’66 Volvo you’re driving?” I told him yes and that he really knew his stuff. He said he suspected the year of the car because he once owned the same model, year and all. It had been his first car.
That brief and lovely conversation got me thinking about my first car – a 1968 Chrysler Newport. It was a boat, I tell ya. (I mean – look at the photo above and see how much longer is was than a VW bus, for cry-eye!) And I loved it. Mister named it The Anti-Chrysler and the name stuck.
I remember driving that thing around with 8 friends piled in. And everyone had room! We didn’t all have seat belts, but we weren’t as safety-minded back then. But I digress… The car had only 76,000 miles on it when I got her and she was a beaut! That car taught me how to maneuver, because it was so danged big. It also taught me to check the oil on old cars. They tend to be a bit leaky.
Once Mister and I married and moved to Dallas, The Anti-Chrysler somehow became his car. Not sure how that happened, but I think he really loved the old gal. I seem to recall he even replaced the alternator once. I don’t think either of us knew he could do that. But he did, so there you go.
When we were preparing to move to Boston, we knew there would be no parking and that a car wasn’t to be part of living in the city. The Anti-Chrysler was sold to an elderly gentleman and we said our goodbyes. My memory is a bit shaky, but I think we may have gotten exactly what I paid for that car: $800.
Every now and then I spot an old Chrysler and I look twice. I know I won’t likely come across my old car, but I still like to look. And I’m glad that yesterday allowed me to remind someone else of his first car. He even came out to the parking lot to hear me start her up when I left. Based on his smiles, I’d say the memories were good.