I shifted into second gear, let out the clutch, and it kicked out into neutral. Oh no, not again. It seems the old Ford lost the ability to stay in second. That was a problem. It was a 3-speed on the column, and with second gone, it made driving difficult. And it was green.
Dad didn’t do me any favors when I got my driver’s license in 1967. He decided to give me Mom’s old car and buy her a newer one. What did Mom get? A 1964 Mercury Comet. And me? A green 1960 Ford Station Wagon. And it was green.
To top it off, we had an old mattress without a bed, so it was put in the back of the station wagon.
Try Explaining the Mattress
Now just think about it. I show up at a date’s house. She comes to answer the door with her father peering over her shoulder. He sees the car and comments about it being a station wagon. Then to make a
Yeah, that went over well. NOT! You can not imagine the difficulty in heading out on a date after that conversation. It put a big crimp in my social life. And it was green.
When the wagon was handed down to me, it was in fair shape and all the gears worked. Eventually, second gear became unusable and driving it was interesting. Rev it up high in first gear and shift straight to third, which was a highway gear. The car would chug and rattle and complain as if it was not happy with my driving. And it was green.
As some point, Dad decided to trade off the 1960 wagon and get me something else. Something else green.
Then the wagon wasn’t so bad, after all.
Talk about another story. Dad showed up with a rusted out 1952 Plymouth Cranbrook with four doors and a flat-head six cylinder engine. It also had a three-speed on the column. It was not an attractive car, and it did wonders for my reputation at school. I had gone from a station wagon to a big, bulky, unattractive … well, you get the idea. And it was green, too.
I have never enjoyed the color green on a car. I’m not sure why. Just one of those oddities, I guess. Later, when I found another car to trade in the 1952 Plymouth … yes, it was green, also. But it was the last green car. I promise.