Rambler and Bug
J. Price
Shopping for a
good used car is like a yoyo, up and down. We get excited about one car then
deflated when we find out the price. Finally, we see a Rambler Station Wagon.
“I’ve always wanted one of these. They can be handy camping as the seats go
down and make a bed. Perfect.”
“I think so too.” Johnny liked it, but isn’t familiar with the workings of
cars.
We drove it
around the block. “It seems nice. I can’t hear anything wrong and it handles
just fine. Let’s get it.”
“That works for
me.”
So we drive out
of the dealership leaving our trusty Volvo behind and in the vehicle we’re
delighted we now own.
Johnny’s mom
offers to give us a date night so we take our two little girls to her so we can
go to the drive-in theatre.
“Are you
comfortable?”
“Yes. I’ll go get
us popcorn. Do you want a coke?”
“Sure, thanks.”
I sit in the new station
wagon. It’s half time and the theatre is full. Johnny comes back with our
treats.
“Hey, let’s check
out the seats? It’s supposed to be easy to put them back.”
So we very
seriously click the button and the seat easily goes back a bit. We both
continue to click the button until we are laying flat. I look over at Johnny
“This is fantastic.”
Then we hear
giggling from the car next to us. I’m mortified. I pop my head up and see the
kids in the car starring at us and grinning, giggling.
I panic. “We’re
married and just bought this car. We are trying out the seats.” I instantly
realize I made this situation far worse.
The laughter
escalates and now we hear them roaring. I put my seat up immediately. Johnny is
a bit slower as he is getting a kick out of the kid’s reactions.
A few months
pass. We haven’t gone camping yet. We’re on the base at Naval Ordinance Test
Station (the name changes several times through the years.)
Suddenly we hear
a horrible sound from the transmission. We just sit there in shock.
“What do we do
now?”
Johnny just looks
at me and shrugs.
“Let’s see if we
can drive to Lancaster and trade it in for a Volvo station wagon. I know you
love them.”
“Yes. Let’s go in
the morning. We’ll pray it’ll make it.”
Early in the
morning we leave the girls with mom because we can’t be sure the station wagon will
make it without breaking down. We can’t have that happen in the desert where we
are miles from help. So just the two of us take the chance and drive to
Lancaster where it’s the only Volvo dealership near us. We think it’s worth
going because we truly want a Volvo station wagon and it’s the closest
dealership to where we live. The car sounds good this morning. We’re nervous as
we can’t afford to fix a transmission right now. They had to have known it was
bad when we bought the wagon.
Without any
problems we get to Lancaster and pull into the Volvo lot. Looking around we see
just what we want. Sitting with the salesman, it’s time to talk price and the
guys from the service department check out the Rambler. “We need to drive it in
order to give you a trade in price.”
“Sure.” We hand
the salesman the keys and look at each other with sweat on our brow.
“Well, you seem
to have a transmission problem. We can’t allow very much toward the Volvo.
Sorry.”
We can’t make the
high monthly payments with the low down offered.
We drive home,
our hearts are on the floor. Sad. “Well,
we have time to go to the VW dealership as soon as we get home. After all, they
sold this piece of junk to us. What do you say?”
“Let’s give it a
try.” So back in Ridgecrest we go to the dealership. I hop out as Johnny parks.
The car sounds good. So far. We walk into the office. We make a tentative deal
with the salesman. I’m glad the salesman that sold us the Rambler is not here.
I don’t mention
we recently bought this piece of junk here. Maybe he won’t remember the car. “What
are the numbers so we can get this done?” I am praying and my fingers are
crossed.
We made the deal
and the Rambler sounds perfect as they drive it to the back of the lot. We leave
in a brand-new blue VW Bug with a sunroof. This little vehicle has a back seat
that folds down so our babies have plenty of room, kind of like a play pen. I
love it. (Today with the safety car seats invented, this would scare the very
heart out of the body of a parent now.)
In two weeks
while shopping at the grocery store I run into the salesman from the car
dealership. In our visit he says, “You won’t believe this but a couple of days
after you traded in the Rambler, the transmission died.”
I look at him and
say, “Oh, my gosh. That’s terrible.” It isn’t
a lie. And I omit the rest.
During the spring
while in town I buy a tree for our yard, open the sunroof, put the tree inside the
car and the top of the tree goes out the sun roof. There it stands tall and
proud high above the bug’s roof. It is funny looking. I am driving around with
my own shade tree in the hot sun. People come out of the woodwork to take
pictures and just stare as I drive down our main street. So, who needs a
station wagon?
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We decide to take
a vacation. I count out every cent and realize we need to spend a maximum of
$18.00 a day. (It would be considerably more in today’s market.)
We pack up our
two little daughters and leave for the great unknown. We begin by going to all
National Monuments and Parks we can possibly see in two weeks.
One time we pull
into a motel that is different from the other Motel stops. “We need a room for
two adults and two babies.”
“Well, I have two
double beds for $18.00.”
“I’m sorry but that is far and away above our
budget.”
She glances out
the window and sees our VW Bug, turns to me and says, “A double bed and a
single bed for $16.00?”
“I’m sorry, no.”
“A double bed and
a folding bed for $14.00?”
“I’m sorry, but I
have a budget of $18.00 a day for everything.”
“What can you
afford then?”
“$8.00.”
“OK, come with
me, I have one for you. $8.00 it is, and you just have time to go to the store
to get food to make your own dinner, because this unit has a kitchen.”
She takes me to a
three-room suite. A bedroom, a hide-a-bed, a kitchen, TV. I am truly stunned. I
pay her. “I can’t thank you enough. We feel honored and appreciate this gift.”
“You are welcome.
You are only young once and must have good memories.”
We quickly go to
the store, buy dinner plus breakfast foods. We get back to the motel and enjoy
a fantastic night of luxury.
Two days later we
drive through wet red clay in order to get to Mount Rushmore. Our little bug
slides every which way in getting through that mess. It is scary. We finally
arrive at Mount Rushmore. It’s raining and all the faces are crying. It’s an
emotional experience and leaves me sad.
Next we drive
south aiming for Colorado and end up in a high-altitude Mountainous highway. We
are not familiar with where we are at all. We get into a lonely town late after
the awful drive. It’s pouring rain. We see the name of the town is Estes Park. Everything
seems to be closed. We pull into a motel, the only lights we see. I go to the
office.
“Good evening,
how can I help you?” A sweet man asks.
“I apologize for
coming in late, but we need a room. We have two little babies and need to stop
for the night. I’m on a tight budget, so would you possibly have a room for
$8.00?”
He studies me,
then says, “Yes. Let me help you unpack because it’s pouring out. You’re in the
mountains here and it gets mighty cold at night, especially with this downpour.”
“Is there a store
I can buy milk, and is there a laundromat?”
“Nothing is open
this time of night, but give me your diapers and clothes. You bring the baby
bottles and follow me up as we have milk for the babies. Let my wife and I take
care of your laundry and make you some sandwiches. You and your husband must be
hungry.”
They’re miracle
makers in this awful weather. We settle in, with the milk in hand and in about
an hour and a half we have clean diapers and baby clothes for tomorrow. Our stomachs
are satisfied and our babies are sound asleep in no time. In all my life I will
remember their generosity. It was life changing to have such kindness paid to
us.
We come home after
two full exciting weeks going through thirteen states, with .08 cents in my
hand left over. I look at Johnny, “Well, I kept on budget.” Quite a feat I
think to myself.
“You sure did,
that’s great.”
-----------------------
Memories come
from driving all around LA looking for a rental after Johnny takes a job in LA.
We move and the stories continue. After I drop Johnny off at work each morning,
I drive the two little ones in the car looking for rentals all day until it’s
time to pick Johnny up. Jenny, who is not yet 4 months old, is in a seat on the
floor in front of Lisa, at nearing 16 months old, is in a car seat and bobs up
and down, getting close to getting out of it literally every moment. She really
tries. I need to keep an eye on both of them. I finally put a harness around
the back of the seat and she can stand or sit but be secure. I have the sunroof
open and my window open, so the babies have a bit cooler. VW is a back engine
so doesn’t have fumes or build heat inside. It’s pretty warm out. I don’t want
to repeat this trip ever. Watts riots are in full swing and every day we drive
from El Monte where we are temporarily staying at Johnny’s cousins guest house,
to the beach area. The freeway goes right through the riot area where they are
taking pot shots at cars driving on that very freeway. I am nervous and
vigilant.
We settle in
Manhattan Beach. I find a two-bedroom house that suits us fine, and it’s in a
good location, but we soon find out the landlord, who lives next door, is a
drunk and one day falls off his front porch holding a rifle and lands with it
aimed at our neighbor across the street where her 6-year-old grandson usually
plays.
We quickly get
out of there and move to Redondo Beach in a safer neighborhood. We gain a
bedroom and our yard is better for the girls. One day our oldest flushes the
car keys in the toilet and I have to go to the store. Johnny babysits while I give
up the frantic search for the back-up car key. I go out and hot-wire the bug.
Drive to the store and after shopping, put the food in the car, hot-wire it to
start it. Sit in the driver’s seat and realize nothing familiar is in there. No
baby things at all. This is not my car. I panic, but undo the hot wire, take my
groceries out, shut the door of the car, and hunt down my car. This is my lucky
day I don’t go to jail. Whew.
When I get home
Johnny, all smiles, holds up the spare key he found.
Memories of
vehicles can be fun, and I love that little bug.
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In a year we move
back to the hateful hot miserable desert. We had rented our house to nudists. News
to us. We sold our above ground pool for a buck to the renters with the option
to buy it back when they move out for one dollar.
My neighbors tells
us in all his life he never spent so much time working on his roof. These
people had friends that swam with them and partied. Guess they were
entertaining.
And then there is Lancaster. But that can wait.
END