Wednesday, March 5, 2014

No man’s land

(Pictures:  Politics and happenings in 1955/56)
star48
(In 1955 our flag had 48 stars)
That is where I felt I was, no man’s land.  First thing, dad says son, report back to school, you are too young to join the military. The next morning found me in Mr. Gerald Cortner’s office. “So the adventure didn’t work out? Let’s see, you have  few hundred hours in detention, I think that is a record.”
0120-us-politics-preslib-ike_full_600
(Ike was President)

I asked Sheepishly, “Isn’t that wiped out because I quit school and turned my books?”
“No son, as a matter of fact I have to add about 48 hours more.”  OUCH!  but in my mind I said I am not planning to spend those hours after school. I have a date with the USMC in Raleigh.
T1663950_460
(1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus)
Life went back to normal. Everybody got a good laugh, as they should have, at my expense. I bought a split manifold for the 6 cylinder and installed twin Smitties (Loud good sounding mufflers).
Within two days, Officer Burris, stopped me for loud mufflers, after a little conversation, he figured I was a smart-ass and he got in the car and revved it up and let off, to hear it ‘back off’ (or pop ratatat tat real loud). He kept saying that sounds like, $20 then $30, then  $40 each time he would rev it. I thought he was going to throw the bearing out. So I begged him to stop. (To top it all he had pulled me over in front of Jinks McCumbee’s house, dad’s church clerk)

(Miss Lube Rack 1955, Nancy Pelosi)
He was nice and took me to jail for a couple hours until the Judge could see me. I barely had enough for the $35 fine.  “Those mufflers had better come off today!” was the judges last words.  I don’t remember taking them off, but I sure drove around town more carefully.
cosdenwstation
(That gas price is 23.9¢, around home it was around 25¢ a gallon in 1955)
We were still double dating.  One fateful night It was my turn to drive. After the date we dropped the girls off at their homes and Von Dale needed to go to his sisters house in Paw Creek to pick up something.
  On the way back I made an amateur mistake.  My right front tire dropped off the pavement on a curve and I immediately yanked the steering wheel to the left. and I felt her slide and then start to roll. I remember it well. The convertible top was up, Bill Haley and his comets were singing LOUD, “We are gonna Rock Around the Clock Tonight, Rock…….” And I rolled my beautiful ‘48 Chevy. I felt over where Von Dale had been sitting and he was gone, but my hands slid across something sticky. “Oh NO!” was in my mind, when Von Dale came running up to the car. He was okay, he had went out with the convertible top. The sticky stuff was not blood but touch up paint that I had in the dash.
Gas_20_cents
(When there was a gas war we paid 20¢ a gallon of gas)

I climbed out of the car, we both looked at the car. It was in the ditch but on all four, and the radio was still blasting ‘Rock Around the Clock’, and we had to laugh in relief that we were okay.
Thanks for coming by the log.
Nite Shipslog
PS:
Tomorrow, I lost my license, finally joined the USMC.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
WOW, just across from our coach here in the RV park is this:
It isn’t towed of course, he hauls it in that trailer.
sHERWOOD FOREST 007
(This is a very unusual car, a Studebaker Avanti)
sHERWOOD FOREST 008

9 comments:

~mel said...

So did the good neighbor across the park let you drive it?? Maybe if you polish and buff it off for him would be a nice jester:) Wow... nice wheels there ~ both the car and the motor home.

shirl72 said...

Brother I am on my way to Church so
I will pray for you and mention
Von Dale. I'm sure they know
you up there. I was thinking they
let you go because they knew Dad.

If you keep talking you will be like
Sonny Turner and kill influence.
That was another wild boy.

Dar said...

I like the way your sister Shirl refers to you and Sonny Turner as wild boys...and apparently you are.
Mercy, child, you coulda' been kilt!
I'm sure glad I got to meet you. You're having a hell of a ride with your life. I can see you now, like that saying goes, sliding into heaven someday sideways yelling, yeeha, what a ride!
Be careful how you Rock Around the Clock, dear friend.
:) luvya both from where we had a sweet heat wave of 22 above zero today...tee-shirt weather.

Paula said...

Oh my gosh I'm glad that wasn't blood. You have some tales to tell. John's usually involve road hunting. My brother and my cousin belonged to the Naval Reserve. While they were at a meeting my brother's fender skirts were stolen. (Remember them?) Next meeting they went late, found the skirts mounted on a car and stole them back.

betty said...

Glad you guys were okay when the car got rolled, but I'm sure it wasn't a pretty picture to see it like that! LOL with the hours of detention you continually had given to you on top of what you already had to "serve."

betty

TARYTERRE said...

I know someone who rolled a car that was just as lucky as you. Thank goodness for small miracles.

I'm mostly known as 'MA' said...

So glad to hear neither of you got hurt in that wreck. It's amazing too that they let you back in school with all those hours hanging over you. You do have some tales to tell for sure.

Louis la Vache said...

hee hee...
«Louis» had forgotten about Cosden gasoline - and he would very much like to have an R2 (or better yet, one of the super=rare R3!) Avantis! ZOOM!

Chatty Crone said...

No wonder Sherry liked you - you were a bad boy - girls always liked the bad boys and then you turned out great. TEEHEE

I thought my hubs was a bad boy too - and he wasn't either!

lol
sandie