Driving America

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Black and Blue

by:

Sandra Moore

Photo Credit: toolnorth

I was going into my senior year in college in 1980. I attended a small school in Alabama. Tuskegee Institute is located about 30 miles from Auburn University to the east and about 30 miles from Montgomery to the west. So, anytime you had to go anywhere you needed a car.

When I returned home for the summer my whole family was standing outside waiting for me. I found this quite weird because I have 3 sisters, 2 brothers, a mom and a dad, and a dog. They got me to go into the backyard. There she was all wrapped in a giant red ribbon with a bow on top my 1971, black and blue, hand- painted, Ford Maverick. Yes, I said hand-painted with a paintbrush mind you.

I cried and was as happy as a person that won a car on The Price Is Right. I loved that car. The previous owner had painted it a strange blue with black racing stripes on the hood. But that didn't matter, I had a car. There was even a moon roof cut in it. The plexiglass in the moon roof would leak when it rained but that was okay I always kept a rain hat in the car.

When I graduated from college and brought her back to Michigan. I would drive while it was snowing and instead of getting heat through my vents I would get a face full of snow. But, I had a car. The radio had a short in it so I would keep a transistor on my lap and turn it up as loud as those little batteries would let it go.

Several years later while visiting friends out of town my younger sister took my car and got in an accident. My sister was fine but my car was in bad shape. It should have been totaled. But, I scraped together $260.00 and took it to the neighborhood bump shop. I think they used plaster to fill in the massive dent. I also found out why the previous owner hand-painted it, my car was a heap of rust and the paint was holding it together. That was okay, I loved my car. MAACO was running a $99 special so, I had them paint it a nice bluish-green. My baby was never the same after that. I had to put her down in 1984. I wished I had taken a picture of her. But, she'll be forever etched in my mind. I loved my car!

Sandra

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