"I can remember my Dad's first car"

I can remember my Dad’s first car, maybe it was his second, I’m not sure.

It had a windshield that went straight up and folded in the center, The car never had a top and a kid had to be lifted up and put in the car. It had three pedals on the floor along with the gas pedal and emergency brake. When it was pulled back it went click- click.  It was said to be mechanical.

There was three small leavers on the steering post by the steering wheel. As I remember, one was for the magneto, one for change the timing and one that would make the car backfire. There were no turn signals, you had to extend your arm out to the side to let the other drivers know that you were going to turn.   

My Dad was the Crankier, They started the car by sticking a thing called a crank in to the engine and turning the crank really fast. Mother would set under the steering wheel and adjust the three small levers, as Dad would tell her to do. After Dad had worn himself out, he would sweat and get angry, than he would start to cuss. 

This is where I first learned them bad words that I was punished for using. Then he would yell at mother and she would start to cry. He would tell her to take the kids back in the house, that we weren’t going any place today. Us kids didn’t want to go to church anyway.

Dinner was burnt black, so we ate bread and butter with jelly. The cake that mother made the day before was still good and we got seconds. We only got to ride in that car a few times and then someone came and took it away. I only heard my Dad cuss one more time after that, he was using a hammer with some nails, His thumb took a long time to heal.

By: Ben R. ☺

Jan. 8,, 2013