But Buyer Be
My family didn’t own one—so,
I knew nothing of
automobiles back then
except about how to drive
(not well) and add gas—
My first (legal) car
was twenty bucks—
I got it for fifteen;
Mom said,
(Dad didn’t know, yet—
he called cars “motors”
and expensive things “dear”)
but she said, “Oh, dear,
I wonder
what’s wrong with it.”
I was about to learn so much
about oil,
rings, pistons, and
timing points, and why not
grab hold of a bare spark plug wire
on a running straight six,
and about positive and negative.
Guys at school, the ones taking
auto mechanics shop classes,
(learning something useful)
were not the ones to ask
even though I took
English III (again) with them.
(I’m still grateful for how
smart they made me look
and feel—but
another story there.)
Because
while those know-it-alls
claimed auto knowledge,
helpful they were not,
and I’d already bought
my old green Chevrolet
capable of burning
a quart of oil
per city block or
country mile—either way,
lesson learned late.
Learn first, then buy
(now I tell me).
And used car salesmen—
that lesson took a lot longer.
Buyer
beware. Be aware.
Look both ways as time keeps on slippin’ into the future.
Mind the gaps, feed the babies, shoe the children, house the people livin’ in the street.
Our Literary Journey 
Our first cars may have been rubbish but oh, what fun, and what freedom!
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Power nothing, no radio (I used a transistor), no a/c, but a road trip must be done. 🙂
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….and you could fix them yourself without needing specialist tools!
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Well, I could have used a rag for insulation when I grabbed that spark plug wire and ended up on my arse. 🙂
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Not the sort of thing to do again in a hurry!
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I can see you driving that one. I bet you were a speed demon.
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LOL. Oh, Kathrine, you have no idea. 🙂
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Oh, the lessons we learn… Usually the harder ones are the ones we learn best 😉
The first car I bought was a spanking brand-new Hyundai Excel – no radio – when I was 25. Used Mom’s for almost ten years prior to that. Not as exciting as your story, that is for sure!
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Why am sitting here thinking, “When I grabbed that wire and got thrown on my arse, she was not born”?
If a huge mistake and long-term pain in the ass is exciting, I suppose it was.
Painful lessons and painful moments. We learn and we remember. 🙂
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Ummm… I was born in ’64 – you can do the math 😉
Some mistakes are bigger than others, that is for sure. I’ve made a few.
We do! And if we don’t? We deserve to get thrown on our asses again, just sayin’!
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I know.
I did the math. 🙂
Anyway, it was a long time ago on a planet far away.
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He he he…
Hey, consider yourself lucky you can remember that far back 😉
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You know, it was probably 1963.
There is line in the song, “Night Moves” (Bob Seger), “started humming a song from 1962.” — I can relate, especially since the song he is talking about did not come out until 1963. In the outro of that song, he repeatedly claims to remember. I can definitely relate. 🙂
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Pretty darn close 😉
I do love that song… We all have our eras of remembrance.
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🙂
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Haven’t heard that song in such a long while 🙂
That’s a good write 🙂
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