Station Wagons

Ok Kids,

I want to tell you the story of two blue stations wagons. You may not remember what station wagons are, There are not too many of them around. Station wagons are what moms and families drove before SUVs were invented, They were kind of a competitor to minivans. Ultimately, families transitioned to minivans and suvs in the 90s.

But in the 80s, station wagons were where it was at. They would be like a car with 4 doors, but then instead of a trunk it would be more seating. Kinda like a hatch back except big enough to fit a boat in. If you were lucky there was a rear facing seat for kids to sit in. From back there they could wave at cars, make faces out the window, and smash groceries with their feet. Those were the days.

Anyway. We had two station wagons that I remember, one was an Oldsmobile. It should have been newsmobile, i would be more liking a new car. not some crappy old one. Well this car ended up getting parked. My dad bought a Diesel Buick that could fit 5 people in seat belts! that was amazing, only three of us had to sit in places. If i recall, the Girls Sat up front with mom, and golden either sat in the floor where our feet were supposed to go, or he would sit up in the back window. But the reasons this Diesel Buick was amazing are the following: air conditioning, vinyl roof, power windows, air conditioning, and an FM radio (that we were not allowed to listen to) With a Tape deck.

I don't recall the circumstances that allowed us to get such a luxurious vehicle. But man was It sweet. I remember that we took that car to the Portland Temple Open House. I had a birthday in the hotel, and I got an Ice Cooler (Igloo) for scout camp, and that was the first time I saw Anti Mormon Protesters. On the way to Portland, the Vinyl started to peel back as we were driving down the road. I remember using duct tape and some kind of glue to hold it in place. Man that was a sweet car.

Anyway. Back to the station wagon. The little blue one did not have a rear facing back seat. It was smaller than the Buick, did not have ac. So it got parked. Never driven. I don't know if it had problems (Most our cars did re:maleficent car faeries).

It was Christmas Eve. We had all the cousins to our house, There was snow on the ground. It was cold outside so the cousins were playing inside. Someone knocked on our back door. There was a bald man, a woman, and two small children. I recognized them from farm work in the summer. I think the man was a hired hand for one of the neighbors, in the winter there was no work. He explained to dad that his car had broken down and was wondering if he could help.

My dad invited the family in to the house. They got food, we continued activities while dad got in his truck with the man and a tow rope. I think they towed the car to the house. It was in bad shape. It was broken beyond compare. this man was crying. My dad said, "you can have that blue car" He went over, found the keys (we always kept them on the floor) Started the car up. He went into the house and found the title and gave it to him. He then went upstairs and took two presents for the girls from the pile to be given to my sisters.

He then Said merry Christmas. He did all of this without anyone in the house knowing. Or at least, i don't think anyone noticed.

I am telling this story because it was a memory of my dad. We always had crap cars, crap trucks, nothing ever ran. except the Buick and wierdly the blue station wagon. I don't know why he parked a "cool car" (quotations for sarcasm) for the Buick. But, he was able to help someone out.

The second station wagon was also blue, a little newer. I don't know why we had it, but I was about 14 or 15. My dad was out harvesting wheat. The field was dry, driving on dry straw is like driving on wet asphalt. It is easy to spin donuts. My dad told me to move the station wagon to the other side of the field. When he had turned his Combine around, I took it as a chance to spin some Donuts in the straw. I revved that bad boy up to like 35 and started spinning. I wasn't paying attention to the massive wheel rut/ditch. The car spun out and the back end hit the ditch and bounced it so the car was straddling the ditch. I am lucky i didnt flip. But now i was stuck, I couldn't go forward, I couldn't go back wards,  Best I could do was go get dad. He said, "how did you do that" Now kids don't ever lie to your parents.
"I have no idea,"

Anyway, I love you kids. This COVID thing has me from Really scared to Anxious about the future, to Anxious about our health, to sometimes just wishing it would come and get over with.

Yall are my second greatest gifts. my first is your mom.