Yesterday’s Cars

17 Replies


Yesterday’s Cars

Yesterday’s cars slanted down where they should
have had fins at the tail, and were square at the hood.
Some required a stepstool to enter the door,
then had a big bump centered there in the floor

The grandfathers of cars weren’t for the faint-hearted.
They required you crank them before they got  started,
and inevitably, when the tires went flat,
a service station wasn’t where you were at.

With no Triple A, the onus was on you
to figure out what you had to do.
The jacks were all manual. Tubes needed air,
so many the driver gave up in despair.

With Mom in the front seat and kids in the rumble,
dad  would pump and unscrew and blather and bumble,
then put out his thumb to beg for a ride
in a car that was passing that had room inside.

He was not feinting his look of distress,
and neither was mom, although I confess
it was an adventure for sister and me
who watched the procedure giggling with glee

as inevitably, he would hoof it to town
and we’d open the car doors, jump happily down
and cavort in a field, searching out hidden treasure
and picking up cockleburs in equal measure.

Then when dad caught a ride back with a fixed wheel,
we’d drive on to a diner for a well-deserved meal,
then be on our way, trouble-free and much faster
for the rest of our trip that was free from disaster.

 

And HERE are another two special photos of Model A’s you won’t want to miss.

Prompt words today are yesterday’s cars, slope, require, feint and inevitable. Image by Philip Schroeder on Unsplash. 

I must admit that this particular situation is fiction, although the predicament certainly must have been reenacted many times in an era earlier than mine.

17 thoughts on “Yesterday’s Cars”

    1. lifelessons Post author

      Mine was a 1969 or Firebird Pontiac that I sold when I emigrated to Australia two years later. Wish I still had that car. It was beautiful and could accelerate to 160 mph in one minute. I tested it out at night on an Interstate straightaway between Cheyenne and Denver. There was not another car in sight so it was as safe as possible. Just had to try it out.

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  3. Marilyn Armstrong

    Wasn’t it FUN? Driving was an ADVENTURE. And those old cars weren’t slowpokes, either. The more expensive models could go 80 mph or more, although how many gallons to the mile they needed is anyone’s guess. I love the really old ones, though I’m deeply grateful that the winged monsters of the 50s and 60s are gone!

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  4. SAM VOELKER

    Thanks~! for a well worded poem that brought back old memories in more ways than one.. First I did once own a model A exactly like your picture, including the color~!! The rumble seat used was not much used as I and my friends were past enjoying wind and bugs in our face. Like a fool I traded it off for an MG-TD, which went faster, more fun to drive, and also a better pick up, and here I am talking about the ladies, not the speed~!

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    1. lifelessons Post author

      Ah yes…I do remember chokes…and the sunscreens over the front windshield on the black Cadillac we had when I was a little girl. Must say I’m not really of the Model A era, though, except for my brother-in-law’s beloved antique car.

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