I remember back in the early 80s, when my family didn’t make enough money to be dirt poor, my parents being without a car. My dad was a Plumbers Helper (the base level plumber that’s basically a gopher) and my mother was a stay-at-home mom (because there was no work for her). Anywhere they went, they either had to walk, hitch a ride with someone, or borrow a car. Because we didn’t have a TV, in the evenings, my parents would walk places just to get out of the apartment. One evening, my dad was walking along with my mom and suddenly stops and goes “I’m tired of walking. It’s crap that we work this hard and I can’t even drive us somewhere. I’m not doing it anymore. We’re taking this car over here.” He walked over to a ‘71 Blue Malibu Coupe that had obviously seen some use. The Driver’s Side window was missing (but it had a trashbag sealing it), so he reached in and unlocked the door. He opened the door, leaned in and goes “some idiot left his keys in the car. Get in.” My mother freaked out. “You can’t steal a car.”

“It’s not stealing. He left the keys in it. Get in.”

My poor mother didn’t know what to do. There she is, with a husband who’s gone crazy and a young kid to take care of. So we get in. My dad starts the car and drives off.

In reality, he’d bought the car that day as a surprise. He paid a whopping $300 for it. The engine smoked, not horribly, but enough to know it didn’t have a lot of life left in it. It had power nothing. The vinyl bench seats (front and rear) were ripped. Trim pieces were missing. However, the AM Radio worked. The brakes were in good shape, and it drove straight. For a family that was just starting out in life (my parents are only 15 and 16 years older than I am), it was freedom. It gave them an opportunity to go out, away from the apartment or the workplace.

My dad didn’t have the car for very long. He traded it about a year or so later as a down payment on a pickup. But to a little kid that car was amazing. Especially since I realized how much it meant to my parents to have it. They were probably appreciated that $300 car more than most people would appreciate a $60,000 car today, because they know how hard life can be without anything.

