Back in Time

Have you ever wished you could hop in the Way Back Machine and revisit the past? I don’t think there is a person living today that wouldn’t jump at the chance to do just that. If you were able to do that…where would you go and what would you do?

Perhaps you would like to change something about the past. A word said in anger that hurt someone’s feelings? A missed opportunity that you regret?  Maybe just the chance to see someone you have lost…to hear their voice, see their smile and hold their hand, even for a second.

These are all lofty goals and would be well worth attaining. If it were possible. Although I might like to do all of the things I just mentioned, my goal would be much less lofty. A post on Facebook this morning made me hunger to see, hear and touch something that made my heart sing as teenager and beyond. What is it you ask?

Muscle Cars. Yep you read that right. Return with me now to the days of old, not that old. We are not talking King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable old…how about the 1960s? If you weren’t there you missed an era of hot rods and muscle cars that I feel safe in saying, we will never see again.

Those were the days when you could change your own spark plugs, tune up the engine, rebuild the carburetor…all before lunch. Seeing a guy with a rag stuck in his back pocket and his head under the hood of a Mustang, Charger or even a 57 Chevy was the norm. Keeping his ride performing to the top of its game was his number one priority.

Engines were throaty and all had their own voice. I could recognize the difference between a Mustang and a Charger blocks away.  And if you knew who drove the machine you had time to either run for the hills or smooth your hair and get ready to present your best smile.

In those days you were wrapped in American made steel when you drove around all night. And you could afford to drive with gas under fifty cents a gallon. You could go to the drive inn and pile half a dozen people on the hood with nary a dent. Yes indeed, those were the days when cars were as individual as people and were easy to maintain.

Thanks so much for joining me on this little foray back in time. We’ll have to do this again soon. You tell me where you want to go and I’ll fire up the Way Back Machine.