The Death of an 86 Year Long Era

When I was a upcoming graduate of Del Campo High School, I'd saved a little money. I worked at the A-1 Grocery Store. It was a little mom and pop store in downtown Fair Oaks. Mr. Lee was a Chinese man who hired me because he thought I was "good boy".

Riding the bus home from school was never much fun. I didn't get along well with most of my class mates, and the confined space of a bus didn't help that situation much. So often I would walk the few miles home instead. When I walked, I often passed this home that had a car parked on the side of the house.

With the grass grown high in front of it, the headlights appeared like the eyes of a cat stalking me as I walked past. I always wondered why it just sat there. It seemed like a nice car with the exception of all the dust that had settled on it. From what I could see, it had a teal blue interior. A Pontiac. 1964. The year Pontiac's started getting really good.

The 60's certainly were the grand years for the brand. I don't know, looking back, if it ever got any better than that. Certainly years later, 1985, driving around in my friends Korean made, front wheel drive LeMans, it was clear that someone at Pontiac completely had no emotional connection to the 60's.

But I digress.

With just a few hundred dollars in my account from my work at the cash register and helping Mr. Lee with sides of beef I walked up to the door one day and knocked. I didn't know what I was going to say but the mystery of what seemed like a perfectly good car sitting there with GTO dual-hood-scoops had to be solved. The woman who came to the door was very nice.

She said her son Billy had parked it there when he left for college back east. He'd since decided he was not returning to California, having accepted a job out of school - also back east. He'd ok'd her to sell the car, but she just never got around to it.

I was not very good at the game I would later learn of being a disinterested buyer. It didn't occur to me to not tip my hand, that I really "had" to have this car. I think I might have even hopped up and down there on her front porch at the prospect of buying my first car. I think Mrs. Billy's Mom was fighting a smile as she anticipated my next question.

Might she sell the car to me?

"Well", she wondered, "The car has been sitting there for a while. It runs fine, but the battery may be dead". "I don't care" I said - losing any pretense of a poker face.

And, so it was, 1 battery for $29.99 and a hundred dollar bill to Mrs. Billy's mom, I was driving home in my 1964 Pontiac. I don't know if I've ever been as excited to drive a car home since. (Although my husband Rob might declare that he can't imagine me being more excited than the day I bought my first BMW convertible, or when I finally landed the rare 1989 Dodge Dakota Convertible that I'd wanted a long time).

Having that memory and also the one of the other Pontiac I drove (a 1975 Firebird Esprit with a 400 Cu Inch engine and a 4-barrel Quadra-Jet Carburetor) made it especially sad today to hear that the many years of GM mis-management have resulted in the demise of this brand.

Remember? Pontiac was supposed to be the 'excitement division'. Sure, many of the cars were knock off of Chevrolets but they were nicer, sportier for sure, and often times, I thought - far better cars. One of the things about growing older that I'm finding is the melancholy that comes from remembering good times when we didn't worry about things like the downward spiral of American manufacturing preeminence. Or that these products, which we emotionally connect with - like cars would be perceived as one of the pariahs of our social ills and economic collapse.

It's going to be harder as time marches on, I supposed, to fight the resistance to be one of those "old" people we used to make fun of. You know, the ones who'd claimed about how things were better in the 'good ole days'. I don't know if they were, or they weren't. But they sure seemed simpler.

I just know that as I watched that 1964 Pontiac hooked up to a tow truck to be taken off to Rancho Cordova Dismantlers that I had a feeling of sadness. And, I'm experiencing again watching a whole division full of history being dismantled. I was holding two one hundred dollar bills in my as the tow truck turned the corner. And, somehow that didn't provide any comfort - knowing that I'd made a hundred dollar profit from the price I paid for the car.

My hope is that all those executives at GM who have plundered this company for personal gain and have, for years, disregarded the brand value and historical trust they were charged with steering have just as little comfort counting their money knowing that the whole division has been hooked up to a truck to be taken to the wreckers.

But time marches on. Things change. Products come, products go.

Then again, right now - some high school student somewhere might be walking home looking wistfully at an old Hyundai. I just can't imagine - in my mind - that once he or she turns the key and pulls out on the road that the experience will be the same. No Hyundai of any year will be a 1964 Pontiac.

At the Turtle Pond

At the Turtle Pond
Originally uploaded by ChristopherSolis.

Rob and I had lunch on campus today. It's beautiful outside but
supposed to be a record high. It's not so bad in the shade though!

C!

Dark

It's Friday morning and it's dark and spooky outside. I had to turn the lights off to get the picture outside my office window, because it's so dark - all you could see was the reflection of the glass!

Over 3,000 lightening strikes over Texas in the last hour. It's wet outside.

Tomorrow I'm walking/running in a 5k. I know. Shut up - right?

Me - exercise? Two words that don't traditionally go together. But, it's a fundraiser for the Students in Recovery on campus, and I agreed some time ago that I would go. And, after all - a commitment is just that right?

I'm also at 187 on the scale which brings me to just 7 pounds to my next milestone goal of a 100 lb. weight loss. So, that's a good development. I just had an adjustment last week to the band, and I'm back to an 8cc fill. I had scaled back to 7.5 when I went to California and Michigan so that I could fly (and land) comfortably and not be as queasy when I arrived. It was nice stepping down to 7.5cc but in a period of 6-weeks, I didn't lose a single pound! Of course, I didn't gain any either - but after consistent loss, it was a little discouraging to see the scale remain the same, day after day. But, the loss has started again, and my goal is to lose the next 7 pounds in 4 weeks. Should be easy right? We'll see.

I've been struggling a little bit with having to step back to liquids for a while. The solid food just isn't settling very well - but it's a temporary thing.

We have a big weekend ahead (when don't we). We're doing dinner with friends on Saturday night and my new friend Daniel is having his friends from Houston. They are looking forward to meeting Rob and I as he has told them so much about us, and we're glad to meet new folks.

I'm sure it'll rain during the run tomorrow, but I guess I'll bring an umbrella. I'm not so worried about my time, so I guess if it turns into a stroll in the rain, that should be fine right? I've been Twittering and Facebooking more than blogging these days, but I'm not ready to give up on the blog (like you Mr. Rob) - so I'll just have dedicate myself more to taking a moment to sit down and write a thought or two. How can I expect you to tell me what's going on with you, if I haven't been willing to share?

I hope this latest note finds you well and I get to hear from you or see you soon. The hail has just started falling but it doesn't appear to be golf ball size, so I think we'll be ok. Take care!