Just plain goofy

I’ve mentioned it before … I am local to my home, as in “have lived in this 8-mile radius since I’ve been able to walk”. (I can’t account for the first 6 months of my existence, but I’ve been informed by those who would know that we lived in “the city” just to the South of “The City”.)

So it’s common practice that I’ll be driving and will wave to my best friend Karin, who is driving in the opposite direction. It’s VERY common for my Mom to say “and then, during errands, I caught up with Karin at the store". I see my Junior High School teachers all over town, wait in line for my mocha behind folks I’ve known for decades, etc. The small town that suffocated me so while I was growing up now provides much comfort as an adult.

I’ve also found myself behind either of my parents while darting around town. As they’ve updated their vehicles to more popular makes and colors, it gets harder for me to recognize their cars from a distance. I’m NOT being pretentious, I’m being honest.

For years, my mother’s every day car was “Glo”, a 1967 Karmann Ghia that was beeeeeright yellow in color. It is fully restored and it’s VERY easy to spot from oh, about 2 miles off. Not so with “Natasha”, her beige German tank, which is a lovely but undistinguishable ride around these parts.

When my father was driving “Fred”, the faded green 1966 Chevy Pickup, I was able hear him coming around the corner on his way home to have enough time to clean up whatever mess I was in and act nonchalant as he walked through the door. His current every day vehicle is a white pickup truck and I think it speaks for how VERY basic it is in apperance that I have no clue as to who the manufacturer is of the goofy thing.

My dad’s best friend also has a basic white pickup truck but it’s got a VERY unique feature. Because of his line of work, he’s laughingly referred to as “Big Bad” and, in a nod to the nick-name, he had a cartoon of “The Big Bad Wolf” customized onto both doors, the hood, and the tailgate. It’s quite a site, seeing this grown man, in his late 60’s, driving around with a cartoon on his car. It’s not nearly as grabbing a site as what his wife did to her new yellow VW Beetle, named “Tweety” because … yes, she had “Tweety Bird” painted on the hood and both doors.

You may be wondering why I referred to my father’s current truck as I did two paragraphs up. My father is intelligent, inquisitive, has a great mind for science and was one of the first individuals in all of the SFFD to get his HAZMAT responder license. He has a light and quirky sense of humor – AND a lightening flash temper. But he drives a goofy truck.

I submit to you proof.