You Always Remember Your First
They say you never forget your first. I waited 18 years to meet her. And I finally did, 50 years ago on April 8, 1972. After we met we became fast friends, even if it was just platonic.
Who was she? My first car, a green Toyota Celica. I needed a car since I was planning to commute to college. Instead of paying for room and board my parents gave me some cash to buy a car. I added the money I made cutting grass and from my paper route and she was mine!
She was sweet, but the legendary Toyota reliability we know today was just a dream in 1972. Sometimes the headlights wouldn’t work and the air conditioning would cut out on the hottest day. And the hub caps! Hit a pothole and they’d launch into space like a UFO over Area 51, never to be seen again.
But she was my freedom and I put many miles on her. Her mileage wasn’t the best, but then again gas was $0.299 a gallon!
Eventually I got a better job, made a lot more money and was introduced to a sexy Italian girl who made my heart pound and my pulse race.
Like the fool I was I cast aside my first love and dove headfirst into a torrid love affair with my new girl, a blue Fiat X1/9.
And I then discovered why they always said FIAT stood for Fix It Again Tony.
Like some hussies who ply you with their charms all the while getting you to lavish them with gifts and nice dinners out, my new Italian girl bled me dry with repairs while promising me an exciting time. In fact I don’t think I had her two weeks in a row where something wasn’t broken.
Finally in a fit of frustration, I sold her for an amount just enough to pay off her loan. And just like that all savings I had worked so hard for vanished in a flash like a fly in a bug zapper. It made the same noise too.
My first two loves were followed by many new loves, some new, some old and a few suffering from a terminal illness. Some were boring, some were burn-the-seat-of-your-pants scary fast. Some were plain and some were the epitome of luxury.
But I’ll never forget my first.
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“Without fools there would be no wisdom.”
- Werewolf of London, 1935, Universal Studios
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Duck!
Well, there it sat, minding its own business, just sitting there in my driveway. And then it happened. My Jeep got ducked.
WHY does this happen? And what do you do when this happens?
One thing is that I didn’t feel violated. Just the opposite! I felt honored, exhilarated that someone would duck me!
Wait, you don’t know ducking? Guess you don’t drive a Jeep Wrangler. It’s one of those “Jeep Things” like the “Jeep Waive”. The waive has been around for years and is the flash of a “V” (think Churchill) when another Wrangler passes you. It’s a recognition of being a part of the Jeep brotherhood. Harley-Davidson riders have a similar brotherhood.
And all these Jeep Things only apply to Wranglers. Jeep Cherokees, Patriots, Renegades, etc. need not apply. Not that they’re the black sheep of the family, they’re just not Wranglers.
“Ducking” started only a few years ago by 20-something Wrangler owner Allison Parliament. During Covid she decided to leave her home in Alabama and return to stay with her family in Canada. Along the way she bought a bag of the little yellow ducks, figuring she’d hide them around the house to torture her cousins.
But coming out of the store she saw a good-looking Wrangler and wrote “nice Jeep” on a duck and left it. The owner saw her and they had a nice chat.
But that started things. Today the official Jeep Ducking Facebook page has 50,000+ followers and raises money for charity.
All because of an act of kindness that gets repeated hundreds of times every day.
Yippie, I got ducked!!!
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I got my new hip and I’m this happy!