Let me channel my inner Sophia from Golden Girls.
Picture this:
- June 1968
- LaGrange, suburb near Chicago, Illinois
- 1957 Dodge with no AC
- 2 parents 4 kids 1 dog 1 cat
- Destination: Moving to Fairfax, VA
This will forever be my version of walking to school in the snow uphill both ways.
Seriously when I think back to it I wonder how we survived.
No phones or ipads. AM radio.
Honestly I can’t even remember bringing anything to drink in the car and it was JUNE!!
Also I was relegated to the worst seat in the car. The dreaded middle seat in the back because I had the shortest legs out of the kids. Well my sister Lisa actually had the shortest but she was three and sat in between my parents in the front seat.
My older siblings tried to convince me I had the best seat in the car beause I could get air from both windows. That might have been true if they hadn’t been blocking it by hanging their heads out like a dog trying to catch any kind of breeze.
At least I wasn’t sitting on the hump. I see some heads nodding. Where are my fellow hump kids?
Before seatbelts, airbags and car seats families would cram as many kids in the car as they could and still shut the doors. There were cars that were really only meant for 4 passengers. Two bucket seats in the front and two psuedo bucket seats in the back with a raised portion between the two seats fondly referred by those of us relegated to sit there as the “Hump”
It had to have been the most uncomfortable place to sit ever. I was constantly sliding off into one or the other sibling who promptly punched me in the arm and told me to quit crowding them and get back on the hump. I was so thankful when my parents had my sister and we had to get a bigger car.
While the 1957 Dodge was bigger I am not sure it was an upgrade. And I was still stuck in the back middle seat.
The only photo I could find of that wonderful 1957 Dodge…we must be heading to church 🙂
We made it as far as Youngstown, Ohio with the dog trembling in the back seat (she hated the car) and the cat sitting on the back of my Dad’s head rest meowing in his ear.
Fun times.
The Holiday Inn was fancy. Not 🙂 We managed to get a quarter or two out of my Dad and our excitement for the night was experiencing the vibrating bed. Yes you put the quarter in and the whole bed vibrated.
I know you are jealous.
Oh and I forgot the part where my mother complained that the wind from the open windows was mussing her hair so we frequently closed them. Did I mention it was June?
We made it to Fairfax but the moving van did not. Our driver got arrested and was in jail. If I recall it was something about not having the right permits for the truck. Also he was drunk. I don’t think I was suppose to know that but it is amazing what adults will say when they think you are asleep hehehe.
We went from a crowded car to a crowded motel room with the cat and the dog. A one night stay turned into a week. Of course we were eating out alot and I noticed my mother started choosing restaurants that served cocktails. Well played Mom. Honestly I’m surprised you waited for cocktail hour. Given the circumstances a little vodka in your orange juice or kahlua in your coffee seemed in order. As they say desperate times call for desperate measures.
The driver eventually dried out, got out of jail and our stuff arrived mostly in one piece.
Also my father bought the house without my mother seeing it. Actually it was the second house they bought. My parents went house hunting and bought a house, came home, decided it was a mistake and backed out of the sale. My Dad went back and bought a brand new house without my mother.
She hated it
For a very long time she hated it and then she didn’t. Like I said Fun times.
We eventually bought a station wagon complete with wood paneling and air conditioning and I was no longer in the middle of the back seat. Nope now I was in the very back riding backwards in what was affectionally called “the throw up seat”.
I couldn’t win.
Here’s to all the hump, middle seat and throw up seat kids. Maybe we should start a support group.
We can all meet in the back seat, in the middle on the hump! Hahahahaha!
As alway keep Triing,
Jennifer
P.S. I know you missed me last week wink wink but I am back. If you are new here, welcome. I try to post every Tuesday except when life gets away from me and then who knows? Somehow I have managed to conquer the technical stuff so you can get this right into your inbox if you subscribe on the very annoying pop up in this post.
All grammatical and spelling errors are my gift to you and may you have a magical day or several 🙂
I was recently published in the book ” So God Made a Mother” and I am working on a yet to be named novel. My six grandchildren keep me young and my very organized hubby Paul tolerates my very unorganized self. Opposites do attract 🙂 And I am happy to report that I haven’t ridden in the middle of the back seat for a very long time. Go me!