Wednesday, December 30, 2009
12:43 AM
Mama, Matadors, and Muskogee
(Starsky & Hutch - notice the VERY cool Adidas that Starsky is wearing)
The famous "Starsky" car
AMC Gremlin
AMC Pacer
AMC Matador
During the last year of my parent's marriage, my dad worked for K*** Motor Company, which was an AMC car dealership. It was a time when the large, highly-coveted luxury cars were being phased out in favor of smaller, more gas-efficient vehicles. AMC produced some of the goofiest, yet memorable cars of the decade, including the Pacer, Gremlin, and Matador.
My dad drove the Matador most often. Whenever he or my mom would drive me to a friend's house or to a school event, my friends would make a bit of a big deal about his Matador because it was painted and built in such a way that it greatly resembled the famous "Starsky and Hutch" (popular cop show of the 70's) car. Almost everyone loved the Starsky car, which was really just a regular Ford Torino with a cool red/white paint job. The Starsky and Hutch characters were considered very cool so naturally, the "cool" guys made driving that uniquely painted car look supremely cool. lol
The car my mom owned was a used car and it was starting to show some wear and tear which made her afraid to drive it out of town. We rarely went out of town anyway because my dad was rarely around and my mom had a crippling fear of potential road hazards. But my mom, in a renewed desire to establish and exert some independence in retaliation for the painful rejection she felt as a result of my dad's infidelities, suddenly decided to face her longtime fear by taking some short road trips. Not wanting to see my mom and me on the highway in an unreliable car, my dad would always make arrangements for us to use one of the brand new AMC cars off of the lot. We took 3 or 4 trips up to Mussckowgee (spelled incorrectly on purpose) between the spring of my 8th grade year and fall of my first high school year. My mom and I would sometimes meet my Aunt who lived in a nearby town and we would have lunch together and spend the afternoon shopping. I loved going to T, G, & Y and McDonald's (we didn't have one yet) and my mom loved going to Anthony's, T, G. & Y, and any other store that happened to be open for business on that day. (We usually went on Sundays and not all stores were open on that day back in the 70's) I got my beloved skateboard on one of those trips. My mom and I had a lot of much-needed fun during those few hours of "girl time". We were both going through a lot of frightening and painful circumstances and changes that were inescapable and daunting to say the least. Those few carefree hours meant the world to both of us.
I can't remember if we ever drove a Gremiln on one of those trips. Obviously I remember them being on the lot, etc. but I just can't remember whether or not we actually took a trip in one of them. I do, however, vividly remember taking a couple of the trips in a pacer that was painted just like the Starsky car and, I remember taking a trip in the Matador, which looked even more like the Starsky car. I was at an age where that sort of thing was a big deal and I remember my mom and I having fun cruising up the highway in the new, fun little cars just because they were shiny and different.
Oh, how I miss the days when my mom was young and healthy enough to enjoy such spontaneously wonderful adventures.
My Sweety Petey Mama