I got to thinking about cars...

Ethan, the previous post got me to thinking about cars that I have owned. In the spring of my First Class (senior) year at the Naval Academy, I bought a brand new 1968 Ford Torino ($3,400). It was beautiful... white with a red stripe down the side, red bucket seats and an automatic transmission. It was loaded... everything except air conditioning. Here is a picture of one just like it:Unfortunately, I was smoking at the time (I quit FOREVER on December 28, 1985... my 39th birthday)... and when I reached for a cigarette in the console, I lost control, hit a concrete culvert and flipped the car over which totaled it. PTL I was buckled in and as the car rolled over I just watched everything happen around me. When the car finally came to a rest, I released the buckle and stepped out unhurt. ALWAYS wear your seat belt!
I replaced the Torino with a 1967 VW "bug." It was light blue... just a normal bare-bones "beetle" like this one (mine didn't have the sun roof or the fancy wheels): I drove it from Annapolis, Maryland to San Diego, California the summer of 1968 following graduation and being commissioned an officer (Ensign) in the Navy. This is what my Ensign shoulder boards looked like:Following Communication Officer school in San Diego, I flew to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii and met my first ship, the USS Nicholas (DD-449). The Navy shipped the car out to Hawaii for me. I left it there when I went to my next ship which was stationed in Charleston, South Carolina. My friend Bob Wisberg sold it for me and sent me the money.
Following the light blue VW, I had two more "bugs"... one was a 1964 (beige) model and the other was a light green one (1966). I could fill either with gas for $2.00 and drive for a week but that was when gas was less than 30 cents/gallon.
When Mamee (my Mama's Mama... your great-great grandmother... circa 1894 - 1982) quit driving about 1972, she sold me her 1964 Ford Falcon for $400... it only had 25,000 miles on it so I got a REALLY good deal. I drove it for years... probably until your Mommy was born in 1979. Here's a picture of a 1964 Ford Falcon:I love you, Ethan... I hope you like your blog... it's fun for me to do it for you.
Granddaddy
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