Mr. Marduk kept an old Plymouth Belvedere with a Slant 6 in his garage. He never drove it, but once in a while he’d get out there, open the hood, start the engine, and admire it. “These motors are miracles,” is what he would always say.
What I do is this. As soon as I wake up, I prepare myself with a normal morning routine, and then I sit down and write a story about whatever comes to mind. More often than not, it is a surprise.
He didn’t like the idea of driving it very much anymore, because it was a classic. He had it since he was a teenager. It had fallen out of his hands several times over the years, but it would always track him down and find it’s way back to him.
Marduk loved the thing. He cared for it. He had saved for a car during the years leading up to his teens. He did all kinds of work, from paper routes, to yard work, and whatever else he could do. When it came time to get a car, he was scoring the used car ads for one he could afford, and would work well for him. His dad and grampa were so impressed that he had met his goal, they put in another 50% over his budget so he could pick out a really good one.
It’s not clear whether they realized what they were doing, because he was able to get this beauty, and there weren’t many teens driving around in something so sweet. This is the car that drove his first date. It drove him to college, and to his first job interviews. Because he kept it so well, when his first child was coming along, he was able to sell it for a pretty penny. It had morphed into a very intelligent investment.
One day, just a few years later, and after a promotion and some decent investment success, he was perusing the papers for used cars. When he saw the ad, he was dubious. There was a car that looked very much like his, by the picture he saw, it was a little more run down, but the body was still in good shape.
When he called the number, the seller said he had acquired it in an estate auction, and really was only trying to get it off his hands. Marduk felt like, whether it was his car or not, he might just have it anyway. He made an agreement to go and see the car.
To his delight, it was his car. All it needed was new tires, a real tune-up, and a good buffing. He was happy to be able to take care of all of those duties right in his own driveway.
He and the wife enjoyed the car for a few years, taking it out on the weekend restaurant and coffee dates, visiting with friends, and just cruising the county roads. Never too far from the house, though. It was an old car, after all. It’s not the kind of thing you drive to work, or take on vacation, but it was a beaut for driving around and enjoying.
Then their daughter reached the years when she needed to be driven to and from places by Mrs. Marduk. They couldn’t use the classic for that, and they required room in the garage for a car. It was time to let it go again. Marduk put an ad in the paper, and in a few days, he had a buyer. Then, due to the circumstances of his second acquisition of the car, he was able to make a tidy profit from the sale once again. This thing just kept on giving.
The daughter leaned to drive herself, and then, graduated from high school and went to college. It Mr. and Mrs. Marduk, and their two cars. There was a lot of talk about selling the second car and getting a compact for the two of them to tool around in. Then, Mr. Marduk received a phone call.
The FBI called him to confirm that he had previously owned the car and sold it to the current owner. He did that, and then he asked them why. They were able to tell him that the car had been involved in Federal violations, and they wanted to be sure that the car was actually purchased and not also stolen. When he asked them what was happening with the car, they told him it would be sold at auction.
Needless to explain, Marduk took advantage of that situation and once again, for a reasonable sum, found himself in possession of his old car. The Marduk’s donated their second car to a local charity, and replaced it with their old, 6-banger beauty.
“I think this old girl likes us.” Mrs. Marduk said.
“These motors are miracles.” Mr. Marduk replied.
The End 779 Words
Liking is very nice, it is like having cake. Sharing, that is the icing. C’mon, it’s ICING!
