As i look at my new car..I'm reminded of where I came from...the many, many crazy cars of our past, and when I say "our past"...I mean my family's. Oh brother...we've had some doozies. From a 1975(?) light blue Duster to a 1986(?) dirty dauber brown Suburban....but I'll get to those later. My focus...my sweet, sweet Madrid. This car was a red, 1985 Toyota Tercel Stationwagon (or hatchback, because that sounds way cooler). It belonged to my Grandaddy, and after he died my senior year in High School, I bought it from my Grammy for a whopping $85!!! Best 85 smackeroos I ever spent that year...it was a piece...but it was mine! :)
It shortly was pinned the "Madrid Mobile" by friends...mainly due to an old bumper sticker my Granddaddy had on it that said "Madrid, Spain" (hence, he was a Spaniard and originally from Madrid...). Although the interior was in pretty good shape...the engine had some major probs. The fan had to be connected directly to the battery or the car would run hot....and the thing sounded like it had crickets chirping under the hood. The faster I went, the louder and faster those crickets would go! However, I couldn't go very fast because the fan couldn't keep up. The poor temperature gauge would vibrate as it climbed to red. I think 65 was the max...yet I figured out quick that if I floored it going down hills, I could coast up the next hill without a problem. I considered 70mph a good day.
Of course, it made it to college with me...sure didn't fit in T-town (that would be Tuscaloosa, AL for those scratching their heads) with all those Beemers and other fancy, shiny cars...but that was okay. I survived...For I had a personalized license tag that said "Madrid"...I was cool like that. Had someone come up and ask me, though, why I would call a car like that a Mad Ride? Um....I had no words.
I do believe that my little Madrid had a temper...or a streak of jealously...because there was a really good friend of mine that every time she would ride with me...we got stranded somewhere. The thing REFUSED to crank! Seriously! It only would do this when she was in the car. We're still baffled at the consistency of this fact.
Wasn't long that I added another blemish to my Madrid. i was late for work and upon pulling out of my parking spot...Madrid reached out and grabbed the car next to me. It belonged to one of the cooks at my sorority house...she ran out and told me not to worry about her cracked reflector light, to deal with my own car...so, I jumped in my car and proceeded on my fast journey. As I'm driving down McFarland...I kept hearing something flapping in the wind. Oh dear. Turns out, I had knocked my front bumper (almost) off and ripped the headlight right out of it's socket. Poor thing was hanging by a single wire (that was the flapping...)...looked like Madrid had been in a bad fight with a frown on it's face. **sigh** and let me just tell you...duct tape goes well with red faded exterior paint.
1999 - Graduation and on to Houston, Texas. Madrid made the trip out west...but couldn't take the heat or the traffic. We were rear-ended ...or bumped in transit by a truck because we weren't going 90mph. Let me remind you, 65 was the max...the poor car was already vibrating to pieces going around the main Beltway. I remember the day it died too....we coasted off the freeway, down an exit ramp, right into a gas station. Good thing it was all downhill... and then I called my mother as if she could fix it 12 hours away. :( I was bawling my eyes out as this strange drunk man stuck his head in my window (oh yeah...I didn't have an A/C...) and just stared at me. I don't remember how it got back to my house there in TX...but I do remember how it sat there, resting in peace on the side of the street in front of our house. I later sold it to our Mexican neighbor, Carlos. Sold it for $400 to pay my rent. :/ He ended up reviving it, drove it down to Mexico and gave it to his mother. Ironic?
I often wonder if my sweet, sweet Madrid is still chirping around the dusty roads of Mexico somewhere or if it finally laid it's tires to rest. Wherever it is...I hope Madrid is happy. I sure do miss it sometimes...but I have a feeling that Madrid has returned to me in new form and is sitting in my driveway...happy as can be. What do you think?
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2 comments:
aw, i love the old madrid... but i must say, the newer version is pretty nice too. enjoy that car!
Great story, Jodi! I had an '87 Dodge Omni that we called "Blackie." Love, love, loved that car. It made it through a couple of years in T-town before it had to be retired. Nothing's better than that bond between a gal and her first car!
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