"...to seek and to find the past, a lineage, a history, a family built on a flesh and bone foundation."

Friday, October 8, 2010

Fizzy Friday: The Blue Bomber, Part 2: Sometimes Father does know best

On Monday I wrote about my first car, the Blue Bomber, so today I thought I would share my most fond memory of that little blue car.

The best memory (which also always makes me cry) has to do with the first time I waxed the car after washing it. I was very determined to have the car look its absolute best and so had bought the whole Turtle Wax kit. Even though I was "only a girl" (my brother's words), I intended to wax the whole car all by myself.

It was a very hot day for the end of the summer, but I was determined to do it. My dad showed me how to effectively apply the wax and instructed me to apply it in small portions, polishing to remove it as I went; however, once I had the basic technique in hand, I had my own ideas about how to do it. At sixteen I thought I knew it all, (I really should have taken over the world right then), so I asked Dad to leave me alone.

Beginning with the front hood, I proceeded to apply wax to the body of THE ENTIRE CAR. Needless to say, by the time I returned to the area in which I had first applied it, the wax had dried in the hot sun. It took many many weeks of car washes to finally get most, but not all, of that wax off. The car always had a sort of swirly patina look to it. The part of this memory that makes me cry is that even though my dad could have made me eat crow for not listening, he just patted me on the back, smiled and said, "Don't worry Jenn, with the waxy swirls all over it, your car just looks very unique." I'll always be very grateful to my dad for not "rubbing it in".

4 comments:

  1. Oh, now, that is a great story, your dad was very wise and kind in his remarks! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Carol, Thanks for your comment. I really appreciate it. Cheers! Jennifer

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a great dad he was, no wonder you miss him so much.

    Sangita

    ReplyDelete
  4. How good of Dad not to make you feel bad about the Blue Bomber's paintwork - I learned the hard way about car wax drying in the sun too, though it takes a lot longer in Scotland :-)

    ReplyDelete

Comments on this blog are always deeply appreciated; however, in the spirit of true collegiality, I ask that you do not write something you would not say to me in person. Because of spammers, CAPTCHA and comments moderation are in operation.

Any comments that include URLs not connected to the post topic, contain misinformation, or in any way resemble advertising, will be removed. Comments submitted by ‘Unknown’ or ‘Anonymous’ persons will not be published.

Cheers, Jennifer

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...