This article is one I have been able to put a lot of thought into over the past 2 weeks of my seemingly eventless and meaningless summer. It was a nice Saturday morning (August 1st), and my buddy Anthony and I were up around 6:45 to make a trek to our mecca of golf, Apple Mountain. After some brief dialogue we decided that the vehicle of choice would be Lamar. For those of you do not know, Lamar was my 1990 Volvo 760 turbo series ex-car. Waking up that Saturday morning, I had no clue that this day would be my last with my friend and car, Lamar.
It was a nice day of golf and a free pitcher of Yuengling at Apple Mountain. Lamar was smooth as always for the trip, the absolute epitome of a "big trip-car". This is similar to Curt Schilling being labeled as a "big-game pitcher." The trip home was very smooth and I soon retreated to the couch in my living room to relax for a little while before going out to party for the night. And when I say party, I mean play Fifa 09' in my living room with my laptop next to me for the night. In any event, I digress. My father came home with some shocking news; we were going to get a new car in the Cash for Clunkers program, and I should immediately start to clean out Lamar, and bring him to the dealership within the hour. Panic set off in my head; I knew this day would come, but everything happened so fast. After a lengthy clean-out and brief photoshoot, it was me just me and Lamar on the 15 minute drive to the Maxon Hyundai-Mazda dealership on route 22. There was no sound to distract either of us, no Air Conditioning (it never worked once over the 3 years we spent together), no radio (same as A/C). It was a very awkward situation, but I think he understood. I could sense it in the way his engine purred along without one last stall on the way there. It was his mature understanding of the situation, and how I really had no choice but to cash in on this program.
Throughout our eventful 3 years together, there were inevitably many ups and downs along with several near-death experiences as well. There was the non-functional air conditioning and radio, the stalling of the engine at the most inopportune intersections. Along with the stalling came the embarrassment of having to hurriedly start up my car while countless impatient gibronis leaned on their horns behind me. Lamar didn't give me much luxury or flash, but what he gave day in and day out was true grit and heart. He got me to and from Fairfield all year long, with trips to Providence, Boston and Pennsylvania mixed in as well. Everytime a big trip was on tap, he showed up on game day and performed flawlessly. We had the best of times, and the worst of times. One man's pain is now some random junkyard's pleasure. Rest in Peace.
I was there when Tom bought Lamar. The environment was less than perfect for looking at a used car. It was late, dark, and the seller needed an answer that night. This was not a car that would be around long. I drove. Lets just say Tom's driving has improved tremendously since then. Unlike his sister Jeanne, Tom drove too slow and braked too hard. We took it for a ride around town, kicked the tires, opened the hood and poked, prodded, touched and smelt the engine. It was in great shape. There wasn't a great deal to think about as far as buying it. It was his friends car. A very cool guy who's father is a Priest, and more important he was a "car guy". Being a car guy is a lost art. I'm one as well. When I was growing up we did most of the same stuff Tom and his crew do ... except instead of playing video games we worked on each others cars. We did body work, worked on engines, pulled out 8 tracks and put in cassette stereos. All we needed were some simple tools, a work light, and we played Led Zeppelin, Yes, Robin Trower, Jeff Beck, Rush, and ELP really LOUD. Another difference is unlike Tom and Co., who drinks custom crafted beers, we drank Schmidts, Schaefer, PBR, Schlitz ... and if someone had extra cash we would splurge for Molson. All in cans except for the Molson. Canada?!? We only bought beer that was $6 or less a case and usually got it from Mr O'reilly at O'reilly's pub in Maplewood. O'reillys is still open although it changed locations and is nothing like the original. The late Mr. O'reilly only carded about one out of 300 people. Legend has it that he once sold a fetus a 6 of Bud to help him through the birthing process. His mom was right there. If one of us got carded we would change the part in our hair, wait 10 minutes and go back in. We never left empty handed. But back to the car. The Volvo had a new set of tires on it worth about $500. They wanted $500 for the car. Tom and I went off to the side and discussed the transaction. Eighteen seconds later we all shook hands and Tom had his first car. I was honored to be with him as I know it's one of those moments you will never forget. Its one of those times you take a firm step into manhood. A
ReplyDeleteCar mitzvah. A very proud moment for me. We never named cars in the 70's, but I thought Lamar was a fine name. After all, who would take a date out in a Charlie, a Randy, or a Dick. Lamar was the vessel that got him to the places that became his stories. Lamar was black and solid. A linebacker of rides. The only person that could put a chink in its armour was the almighty Anthony. Ant made sure that the passenger seat was at a permanent reclined state. Fortunately for Tom he had a very respectful girlfriend at the time. A single guy with that seat may have been nick-named "Quagmire". Ruffies in the glove box babe! To this day that purchase is the best used car deal I've ever seen. I hope Lamar sees more road and perhaps will be someone else's first. The brand new Hyundai I'm sure will host many a good tale and carry you to wonderful places. But you only have one first. By the way, what do you name a Korean car anyway? Here are a few suggestions ... Long-poo, Mi-Ho, or Young-Yong ... you can easily say that one after 33 beers. As always keep the oil changed, treat it well and it will be there for you. And drive safe. Oh yeah, one more thing, back seat only for Anthony.
I only had the privilege of driving Lamar once, across campus but could immediately tell that Lamar was an extraordinary vehicle that would be hard to replace. RIP Lamar
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