IT'S NOT EASY BEING A SOUTHERN BELLE-EVEN AFTER YEARS OF PRACTICE!













Sunday, March 9, 2008

BOBBY'S LOVE AFFAIR!

1992 Ford Mustang Convertible-Bobby's was White with Red Interior
1988 Mercedes Benz Convertible

1966 Ford Falcon-School Bus Yellow With Black Interior
My sweet niece, Ann, was outraged that I did not write about Bobby's favorite cars. The man loves cars and his only reading of the newspaper is the Thursday automobile listing. He is far too conservative to spend a lot of money on a car, but has had a couple of brief splurges in his life. He had a brief affair with a 1988 Mercedes convertible. We had a youth minister that was also a great car fixer upper. Bobby supplied the $'s and Ellis did the fixing and then Bobby sold the car for him and gave him the profit. He LOVED driving the convertible until he sold it. Cherry Red with a camel interior and a black rag top. It was quite the car!
He found a white ford mustang convertible that had been in someone's garage and driven only on sunny Spring days and for parades. HE LOVED THAT CAR! Unfortunately it is WAY TOO HOT in LA to ride without air conditioning and with the top down most days of the year. He would put the top down and ride with the air conditioning on full blast. He rented a self storage warehouse to keep the car in until he was ready for a drive. It was all perfect until I finally told him how much the insurance was. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. He finally had to end his love affair and sale his beloved mistress.
Bobby's first new car was purchased when he graduated from college, before I knew him. He bought a school bus yellow Ford falcon with black interior. Everyone knew Bobby and everyone knew Bobby's car. He drove that car for six years before buying a new car, but he kept the beloved Falcon. He let his sisters drive the Falcon and then after we were married, he drove it again. We sold the Pinto and I drove his LTD and he went back to the paid for Falcon in an effort to save money and pay off our debts. He hung on to the Falcon and eventually oldest son, Scott used it for his first car. By the time Scott drove the Falcon, he made a fascinating discovery. The steering wheel would come off the shaft if you pulled up. The first time it happened, I think he was scared half to death. He then discovered that you could pull it off and on at will. He would be riding down the road and find someone glancing over at him-he would pull the steering wheel off and give a startled look and scream. I think he must have alarmed quite a few unexpecting motorist. In the last days of the Falcon, the gears would hang up on the standard shift. This meant jumping out of the car, usually at a red light, and opening the hood to unstick them. Bobby & Scott kept a towel in the car for clean up after the greasy repair and both learned to fix the gears before the light could change again. The falcon stayed around for quite a few years, and Bobby eventually sold it to another. The guy never paid for it and drove it until the engine blew up. The unpaying buyer then sold it for scrap-MUCH TO BOBBY'S SORROW! The last time Bobby saw it-it was out in the field with a tree growing through the motor. SAD DAY!
He still scowers the ads and covets a BMW and a couple of other cars that I can't remember. The game of the search is more fun than the catch, so I just listen to the never ending quest for the next conquest!
We walked 5 miles this afternoon in the glorious Spring sunshine!


3 comments:

Ann Miller said...

If Steve did not love Bobby before this, he does now. Steve loves his paid for 1988 Land Cruiser. He celebrated last week w/the friend that was with him when he bought it--it rolled over 250,000. Even when we talk about getting a new car, he does not give a fleeting thought to getting rid of his Land Cruiser, except to get a storage so that he can save it for Emma and Jack!!

Deb said...

Ellis let me drive the Mercedes... w/top down one day. It was a most memorable day driving "the Heart to Heart car" around Ruston. Oh, what a feeling!! Wish I had a pic.

Jim still talks about his 1966 Lincoln Continental. It was a dark emerald green with white leather interior. He bought it used in 1973 and it must have been his favorite car ever. He is into comfort.... I am not into these huge cars .... a BMW Convertible or one of those new aqua t birds would be good for me.

Obsessive Foodie or Food Addict....You Decide said...

I hear State Farm doesn't care too much for it when you pull the steering wheel off while driving either........hmmmm go figure.