she rides again

I picked up the superbeetle from Boyd today. He warned me that it might ride a little rough at first - seeing how it had sat up for a while. I only had time to drive it from Rainbow City to my house. It didn't balk a bit - rather it gave me a nice ride all the way home. She needs a bath real bad. I need to fix the garage door and clear out a space for her. It's a great little car and reminds me of the Bug I used to have.

Brook sold me his 1973 Bug back in the early eighties. I remember loading a sound system and guitar into the back of it to play gigs. Brook would let me borrow his Bose speakers, Yamaha Amp, and Tapco Mixer any time I needed it. It seemed to carry everything that I needed it to back then. It made many cramped drives down to Bethlehem Family Camp down in Bonifay. Only a VW drives like a VW. Nothing sounds like it or feels like it. It's a great drive.

By the way, Mickey Boyd has a beautiful little red '66 Bug that he recently bought. It is in perfect condition. It reminds me of Brook's old bug that he had back in the early seventies. I've got a picture of it somewhere. It too was red (with three white fenders) that he called Digger's Chigger. Digger used to be Brook's nickname back in Explorers. Chigger because it was a red bug of course. Brook used to drive me to and from boy scout meetings in it. It too was a great little car. I remember mother once commenting on Brooky's driving in that thing. She said that he used to aim for every puddle on the road. I believe she was referring to a trip she made with him down Hines Road (lots and lots of puddles). It was that chigger that Brook spun multiple doughnuts in the gravel parking lot of Noccalula Nic-Nack. He was caught by the red light while pulling out and was approached by Sheriff Felton Yates who had been enjoying an ice cream with his wife - with the windows rolled down.

Emory Bogg's used to have a little navy blue automatic Volkswagen that he bought new. Irene had it for a while after his death. Driving an automatic in that thing just didn't seem right. All VWs should be straight. It just didn't seem right otherwise. Dad had a few Volkswagens down through the years. He owned a beige Fastback for a while. It was a nice little car and wish that he'd kept it. He later owned a VW 412. It was the car that I was allowed to drive the most of from the Finlayson fleet (mid to late seventies). It was an ugly little car, mustard yellow but with plenty of trunk space. The four doors allowed me to shuttle little sisters to and fro. It was a pretty tough little car - I drove it hard as a young driving idiot. Mickey Boyd said that he's got an old abandoned 412 behind his shop. He said that a fellow left it to get fixed and never came back for it. Mickey said that the 411s and 412s are hard cars to work on. One of these days I'll ask him if I can go back and have a look at it.

There was a time that you'd see Volkswagens every where you went. They were all over the place. It seems like everyone has owned a VW at one time or another. Everyone has a story to tell. I have plenty of my own.

The Superbeetle that I own was my mother in-law's prized possession. She bought it new from DePaul Motors that was located on East Meighan Blvd. She earned the money for herself and represented freedom to venture out of the house when ever she had the mind to. It was her only mode of transportation until only a few years ago. Gina was about Katie's age when the car was first purchased. Gina tells of spend the night parties - when Mrs. Hale would pack the car with her little friends and drive them around in it. Gina drove the car a great deal when she came of age - and probably drove it some even before that. I think of it as a little time machine - tagged with many Hale memories. I know that she had a hard time letting go of it. I am very grateful that she chose her strange son in law to care for it. I will.