The Old Gold Wagon

In the summer of 1966, My step-dad said goodbye to his old blue station wagon, and bought a new family car. It was a spanking-new Chevy station wagon. He was very proud of that car. The color was very unusual at the time; it was painted in old gold. That car was a boat on wheels, yet my step-dad had no problem at all maneuvering it in the tightest parking spots. Many family outings were taken in that car. Once a month; mom got a break from cooking and we would head to MacDonald's or to our nearest pizza parlor. We would sometimes load coolers of soda and beer, and go fishing at the river's edge. But as a little kid, my favorite outing was going to the drive-in movies. Mom would pop two huge brown paper bags full of popcorn, and they would buy soda; pack up pillows and blankets, and my step-dad would roll down the backseat so we could sleep if we got tired. Then there was the labor day picnic. We packed our own food and the family dog, and off we'd go. We would not get home until way after dark. When it was near Christmastime, he would take us around the countryside; looking at the lights. In 1980, age and alcoholism took its toll on my step-dad. He realized that he no longer had the eyesight or the reflexes for driving a vehicle. The old gold wagon had broken down many times; so he sold it for parts and gave up his drivers license altogether. If he missed driving, he would never say. Last January, a month before he died, our adventures in the old gold wagon came up in reminiscent conversations. I have known this man since I was barely a tot, and he rarely smiled. When I mentioned that old car; I saw that old man grin from ear to ear.