The Summer of '79
Fresh out of High School, me and Lynda headed to my old hometown - Cleveland, Ohio for the summer. For the first time in my life I was out on my own, and I still recall our first drive from Erie to Cleveland with great fondness. One hundred and ten miles of open interstate - I just opened her up and let her go. She almost seemed to drive herself that day, like she'd been waiting for the opportunity to get out and run!
I stayed with my grandparents for the summer and of course they insisted that I pay my own way while I was there. It didn't take long to land a decent factory job, one that payed well and left my weekends free. It was hot, dirty work but it left me feeling satisfied at the end of the day.
Grandma usually reserved Saturday mornings for yard work but I still had my afternoons free which meant getting up early, getting my work done then heading out to the flea market at the Brookpark Drive-In. It was a great place to hang out as anyone who was into cars could often be found there, selling and trading parts. At times that place looked more like a car show and swap meet than a flea market and that's where I found my first Sun tach, a nice 4 barrel carb and a set of 4 ET mag wheels for Lynda.
My grandparents were pretty strict and insisted that I be home before 9pm - even on Saturday nights. But I eventually learned that doing some extra chores could soften their attitudes and I was often allowed to stay out past midnight on Saturdays. And so Lynda and I could usually be found back at the Brookpark Drive-In, listening to WMMS until the movie began.
That's a rather compressed version of what I experienced but I think you get the idea.
It was simply a fantastic summer with tons of fond memories.
Labels: 63, backstory, first car, Fury, history, Lynda, Plymouth
posted by Dave @ 1:52 AM
0 Comments
