the rambler

the 62 rambler classic wagon was mostly gray, but orange and red primer and rust showed through in a few places. i learned to drive a stick in that car...with my dad ...on hills. three in the tree. kinda scary, but i did it. i made it through all the cussing and fear and i did not hit anybody. course, i went through a few clutches i think. i rode them kinda hard in order to have a smoother ride.

i think we got that car when we lived in sacramento...just before the move to concord in the san fransisco area. i was in the 6th grade in concord. i remember getting up really early and driving daddy to work in the city. mom would drive and we sisters would sleep in the back in a pallet of blankets and pillows.

the city was awesome. by the time we got there it was daylight and i remember looking at all the sky scrapers and the bridges and stuff. really big time important feelings. my dad worked in this magnificent city. and then we would drive home and go to school.

momma worked for a dentist. she was a dental assistant and so we had a babysitter. mrs. lindsay was a large white haired lady who took care of us girls when mom and dad were away. she was no nonsense and my sisters hated her. i don't remember why. i seemed to be able to ignore so many things that bother other people.

back to the rambler. the seats in the rambler would lie back and ultimately you could have a flat inside of the car. that was pretty neat. the seat cushions were red and white with lots of little pinched pleats ...not so comfortable - and made funny lines on your legs in the summer time.

daddy used to work under the hood of that car quite a bit. lots of garage language came out from under that hood.

eventually momma got a new car. i think the experience of the rambler stalling in the center lane in downtown los angeles traffic pushed them both over the edge and they bought a toyota celica. a pretty little green car for my mom. daddy got a little brown corolla. i was in, ummmm...high school, maybe 11th grade i think.

so i got to drive the rambler. yeah! i drove it to work. i worked at grants department store in santa fe springs. i was in the credit department. i approved or disapproved lines of credit for people. i also drove it to rio hondo where i was beginning to look at other career options, among other things.

the rambler had a few quirks. my favorite was that you had to be sure to park on a bit of a hill...just in case she wouldn't start. i popped her clutch many times. and sometimes i would have to open the hood and smack the starter with a broom handle before she would start. i had to get the crud loose from the starter brushes. oh! and you had to keep track of the miles to know how much gasoline you had...or you could put the broom handle in the hole and look at the gas line. and when you were driving in cold weather - you had to wipe the windshield alot with a rag. she had quite a personality. a good old girl.

after i graduated and moved away my folks gave her to gigi. gigi wrecked her and sold her for $90. i was very sad.

i think everyone thought of her as a nuisance, a problem. I loved her quirkiness, her spunk, her integrity, and lack of. i loved her age. she was a good old car. rest in peace.