Friday Shuffle - Get Your Motor Running Edition

Darling Mollie and I have been chatting online for a couple hours now and our topic du jour today is cars. Darling Mollie is a big time car freak. And I've got a line for you single guys. If you want to turn Darline Mollie's head, drive a muscle car. She's a sucker for a hot muscle car.

Darling Mollie then wanted to quiz me on my automobile history and did it meme style so I thought I'd answer it here. She's all excited about me posting it here. Her brush with celebrity.

Steal if you wish. Except you, Hilda. I adore you but you're not eligible to play this time around.

1. What was your first car- not the one your parents made you drive, but one you bought yourself?

The first car that wasn't a parental loaner was a used truck my then-fiance, now ex-husband gave me when he bought a new truck. A 1980 Dodge 3/4 ton pick-up truck. It had two gas tanks - which was helpful since it sucked down fuel like a 10-year-old sucks down a Slurpee on a 90 degree day - automatic, power steering but strangely enough, no power brakes. Who in the hell has a truck with power steering but no power brakes? I hated driving it but I didn't have to pay for it and at least I could stop borrowing vehicles from my parents. My father had an even crappier truck that I got stuck with all the time. The first car I ever bought for myself was a 1990 ragtop Jeep Wrangler. I didn't exactly hate that Jeep but I hated having a ragtop. Too cold, too windy, too noisy, murky windows and I detested dealing with those stupid zippered windows. And for years that Jeep would stall on me just as I was downshifting to make a turn. I held a grudge against my ex-husband for years for talking me into buying that Jeep.

2. What was your favorite car memory?
My cousin had a gorgeous blue 1968 Chevy Malibu. His sister and I would borrow it to cruise the strip around town and since everyone knew this car, we got noticed a lot. A good car with which to cruise the strip is essential. One evening my cousin showed up to reclaim his car and after a lot of protests he said we could come along with him on his errand as long as we sat still and kept our mouths shut.

You know running moonshine with your cousin at 11pm on a Friday night is scary. And a little fun. And I had no idea that going over railroad tracks at 100mph would make you fly up and hit the dome light in the car with your head.

3. What was your worst car memory?
I don't know if this is the worst memory but it's certainly the most embarrassing.

4. Road Trip?
One of the very best road trips I've ever had was when my dear friend, Susan, and I drove from Virginia to Mississippi to visit my family. We rented a car, a red Pontiac Grand Prix, waved goodbye to our husbands for a week and headed down the interstate. Me, Susan, a lot of cigarettes, a lot of Dr. Pepper and a heinous amount of Snoop Dogg because Susan brought the wrong box of cassettes. Susan had never been that far south before so she was enlightened to find out that it's not uncommon to be able to buy bait and fabric at the same store. She loved driving past Bucksnort, Tennessee (and who doesn't?) and the classic moment was when we were laughing hysterically at the hand painted sign in someone's front yard advertising shad guts for sale and Susan creamed a bird with the car. I know, I know...hitting a bird with a car isn't funny but it came after the shad guts and we just couldn't stop laughing.

5. What vehicle did you own that you despised?
That complete piece of crap 1985 GMC Jimmy that my ex-husband bought when I inherited his old Dodge pick-up. The one I warned him not to buy. That piece of shit lemon would never start. We went through batteries, alternators and solenoids at a frightening rate. Not to mention the time we drove to Mississippi and the U-joint broke. Or the time when coming back to Virginia from Mississippi the transmission crapped out and we had to drive the last 400 miles home in a truck that wouldn't get out of low. Or how paint began to bubble up and peel off the hood and roof 15 months after buying it. I have never been so happy to see a vehicle towed away for good in my life.

6. If you could have any car back- which one would it be?
I have only had one car in my life that didn't disappoint me and that was the Toyota Camry that had belonged to my mother and she gave to me when she bought a new car. I used it to commute to work because frankly I couldn't bear to drive that Jeep any more than necessary. It had about 125,000 miles on it but by golly that bitch started every time I turned the key and after the nightmares of my other vehicles, that meant a lot.

7. If you could have any car- regardless of price- what would it be?
Thirty years ago when I first got my driver's license I wanted a black Trans-Am, just like what Burt Reynolds drove in Smokey and the Bandit. If I could have one just like that in mint condition I'd take it.

Bixente the iPod is revved up to shuffle.

1. Bad Case of Loving You - Robert Palmer
2. Phantom Limb - The Shins
   
3. Be My Lover - La Bouche
4. Oye Como Va - Santana
5. Henrietta - The Fratellis
6. All Over You - Live
7. My Generation - The Who
8. Metal Guru - T. Rex
9. One Thing Leads To Another - The Fixx
10. Lone Star State Of Mind - Nanci Griffith

Groove on your weekend the mostest!