Cars, Trucks, and Vans (Ten Things of Thankful)

Saturday means it's time to count blessings again, and this week we got the remainder of what we were owed from the car accident back in March.  We still miss Humphrey the Honda, it was such a reliable car, just the right size, and good on gas mileage. 

Thinking of Humphrey got me to thinking about other cars, and i thought i would list the cars from my past and the good memories i have of them, and the cars we have now, as i am thankful for all of them.

The first car i remember was my parents' old station wagon.  Those were so much fun!  Riding in the back, no thought of buckling in, playing and have a great time bouncing around the seats.  Not at all safe, but we had no idea of that, we just enjoyed the ride.

The first car i spent a lot of time driving was the big, yellowish Lincoln Town Car.  (Grandpa insisted all of us learn to drive a big car, so we would be able to handle any size of vehicle.)  It was quite a learning experience, and i used to be terrified of big bridges over rivers.  That's not a good thing when you live near the Mississippi River and end up having to cross it at least once in a while.  One day, i decided i was going to get over my fear, so i took that huge Lincoln on the Huey P. Long Bridge in New Orleans.  That's the old bridge, built for Model T cars, not today's vehicles.  It also has a railroad trestle down the middle of it.

Not only did i make it across the river and back in that behemoth of a vehicle, i passed a lorry on the way.  Never again have i been afraid of crossing a river.

Once i was good enough at driving, i was given a modest sized Mercury Cougar to use to go back and forth to high school and to work, and just to do teen stuff.  Good times in that vehicle, i got to drive my friends around, playing red-light fire drill, going to the mall, just hanging out.  Several of my friends didn't have a vehicle available, and when it was time for us to get our graduation dresses (it was a Catholic school, all girls, and we had to have white formals for graduation), we stuck together and shopped and shopped and shopped until we all had what we needed.

My college years it was the yellow Volvo.  They are supposed to be so safe and reliable, but as grateful as i am for the transportation it provided, i guarantee that thing was in the shop at least once every three to six months.  It was safe, though -- when someone hit me from the back, his car was totaled, and my only damage was the muffler fell off.

The green van was a family vehicle that we used for vacations and going to university football games and events and i drove it a good bit when i was learning along with the Lincoln.  We all liked it, and were very sad the day my brother was driving it and the engine began to smoke.  He pulled over, got everyone out, and opened the hood.  The fire department came and put out the fire.

While we were sorry to see the green van go, we were very excited about the larger, high top van that replaced it.  We called it the Fan Van, as it was in school colors, and we got to continue to go to university events and family vacations in it.  Eventually Sweetie ended up driving it to work for several years before it just wore out

Sweetie and i had a red Toyota Tercel that i really liked and a small Toyota truck when we first started having children.  (The truck we eventually gave to his brother, who drove it until it gave up on him.)   The Toyotas were among the best cars we've had, and we even managed to eventually cram three car seats into the back of that Tercel.  All good things must come to an end, though, and when the fourth child came along, it was time for our first minivan.

That minivan was a used Ford Aerostar, and i eventually called it the Angel Van.  Not the best minivan in the world, but it ran and ran and got me and the kids where we needed to go for a long time.  When we decided to buy a larger van very cheap from a relative, i knew a friend up the street needed a van.  Because i had no clue if the Ford would keep running or not, i just gave it to them, no charge.  That's when i started calling it Angel Van, it ran for them for over a year, then they gave it away to another neighbor and it went for almost two more years.  It astounded me that it went that long.

The larger van that replaced Angel Van was a huge, gas-guzzling gray Ford.  It was the one i drove through a hurricane.  #1 Son had gotten his license by then, and was driving an old vehicle of Grandma's.  He was staying at a friend's house, and in the middle of a hurricane decided he wanted to drive home.  He flooded the car out, and was stranded under the overhang of a closed gas station.  Sweetie had been called in to work because the hotel was leaking.  That left me in the high-top gray van to drive through hurricane force winds, dodging hanging street lights and downed power poles and trees to get to him.  We made it, and i am grateful i've never had to drive during a hurricane again.

The Jalopy is my current ride.  We've had her for about 9 years now, and she has been used and abused, taught the three younger kids to drive, and hauled all of my cleaning supplies until she has more miles than i care to keep up with.  She has had to have the engine and the transmission replaced, but the rest of her seems indestructible.  She's the one that Little Girl ran into the front of the house and collapsed one wall and pushed another wall out.  The only thing Jalopy got from the incident was a few more scratches.

Sweetie loved his Humphrey the Honda.  It was, as noted, a great car until someone on a phone ran a stop sign.

We now have Lunceford the Land Yacht in Humphrey's place, and as much as i like Lunceford, it's just not the same.  Sweetie does enjoy the smooth ride, and i will admit it's like driving a twin of the Lincoln i learned driving in.

Lots of years, lots of cars, and i'm grateful we have had and continue to have vehicles in which to travel.  Also i have not mentioned the children's vehicles, this list would get too long.

If you have a list of thankful things, why not write them up and link up with the wonderful Ms. Josie's Ten Things of Thankful.  It's always a good day to be thankful.

Today is:

A Community Affair -- Menomonee Falls, WI, US (country lunch, arts, crafts, and collectibles, quilt raffle, juried art show, and more)

Apple Day -- U.K. (to inspire local orchard revival and celebrate local varieties) 

Antillean Day -- Bonaire; Curacao; Saba; St. Eustatius 

Armed Forces Day -- Honduras (Dia de las Fuerzas Armadas)

Autumn Historic Folklife Festival -- Hannibal, MO, US (Tom Sawyer's hometown celebrates the heritage and traditions of the 1800s; through tomorrow)

Babbling Day -- an internet generated day for Blatherskites

Bridge Day -- New River Gorge Bridge, Fayetteville, WV, US (world's biggest extreme sports event)

Caramel Apple Day -- US (leave it to the US to add sugar to a delicious, nutritious snack!)

Count Your Buttons Day -- whoever came up with this one needs to count his marbles maybe?

Deutsch Country Days -- Marthasville, MO, US (authentic recreation of early German life in Missouri; through tomorrow)

Egyptian Naval Day -- Egypt

Garbanzo Bean Day

Global Iodine Deficiency Disorder Prevention Day

Humble Yourself By Having Your Picture Made Wearing A Bicycle Helmet Day -- no comment

Hurricane Bebe Day -- Funafuti, Tuvalu (commemoration of the destruction by this hurricane in 1972)

Independence Day -- Marshall Islands(1986)

International Day of the Nacho -- Mexico; U.S.

Jailhouse Rock Day -- Elvis' song hit #1 today in 1957

Monster Mash Day -- Bogue Falaya Park, Covington, LA, US (annual fundraiser for the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Parenting Center, with a day of fun for everyone)

Nagoya Festival -- Nagoya, Japan (biggest festival in the city; through tomorrow)

National Nurses Day -- Thailand

National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day

Old Farmers Day -- Loranger, LA, US (through tomorrow; learn how farmers used to live)

Overseas Chinese Day -- Taiwan (Republic of China)

President Ndadaye Day -- Burundi

Quincy Preserves Fall Architectural Tour -- Quincy, IL, US

Reptile Awareness Day -- hooray for snakes and turtles!  and lizards, don't forget lizards, and gators, and...

Romp in the Swamp Fun Walk -- Appleton, WI, US (plus hayrides, face painting, an outdoor movie, animal shows, a campfire with s'mores, and more)

Seeking of King Look Under Your Mattress -- Fairy Calendar

Saint Mary's County Oyster Festival -- Leonardtown, MD, US (oysters served every style; through tomorrow)

St. John of Bridlington's Day (Patron against complications in childbirth)

St. Ursula's Day (Patron of educators/teachers, holy death, schoolchildren, students; British Virgin Islands; Catholic education, especially of girls; Cologne, Germany; University of Paris)

Sweetest Day -- begun by Herbert Birch Kingston, a candy company employee who decided it would be wonderful to distribute candy to the sick, shut-ins and orphans in Cleveland, OH; today is the day to do something for someone that makes him/her say, "Oh, that is so sweet!"

The NILE (Northern International Livestock Exposition) -- MetraPark, Billings, MT, US (rodeo, trade show, horse clinics, and livestock sales; through next Saturday)

Trafalgar Day -- British Empire (noted, but no longer an officially holiday)

World Toy Camera Day -- now with a Flickr page 

Anniversaries Today:

Juan Peron marries actress Evita (María Eva Duarte), 1945

Birthdays Today:

Jeremy Miller, 1976

Ken Watanabe, 1959

Carrie Fisher, 1956

Benjamin Netanyahu, 1949

Elvin Bishop, 1942

Judge Judy Sheindlin, 1942

Frances Fitzgerald, 1940

Ursula K. LeGuin, 1929

Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford, 1928 

Celia Cruz, 1925

Joyce Randolph, 1925

Dizzy Gillespie, 1917

Georg Solti, 1912

Edwin Myers "Ted" Shawn, 1891

Will Carleton, 1845

Alfred Nobel, 1833

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, 1772

Debuting/Premiering Today:

"Butterflies are Free"(Play), 1969

"Orphee aux enfer/Orpheus in the Underworld"(Offenbach operetta), 1858

Today in History:

Sultan Kilidj Arslan of Nicea defeats 1st Crusaders, 1096

Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg., 1512

Ferdinand Magellen arrives at Tierra Del Fuego (Pacific Ocean), 1520

Sea battle at Dunes, Lt Admiral Maarten Tromp defeats Spanish Armada under De Oquendo, 1639

First display of the word "Liberty" on a flag, raised by colonists in Taunton, Massachusetts and which was in defiance of British rule in Colonial America, 1774

US Navy frigate Constitution, Old Ironsides, launched in Boston, 1797

Battle of Trafalgar, Adm Nelson defeats French & Spanish fleet & dies, 1805

The Penang Free School is founded in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, by the Rev Hutchings. It is the oldest English-language school in Southeast Asia, 1816

Joseph Aspdin patents Portland cement (Yorkshire England), 1824

Thomas Edison perfects carbonized cotton filament light bulb, 1879

First transatlantic radiotelephone message, Arlington, Va to Paris, 1915

Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time, 1945

Comet Ikeya-Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers from the sun, 1965

The European Patent Institute is founded, 1977

The metre is defined at the seventeenth General Conference on Weights and Measures as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second, 1983

Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in its discovery by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz, 2003

The European Parliament awards Cuban Dissident Guillermo Farinas the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, 2010