tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396840695026739991.post6708509814323305447..comments2024-03-13T07:52:13.478-04:00Comments on THE SWASH ZONE: I sing the body mechanical(O)CT(O)PUShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07589336822561030860noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396840695026739991.post-28994320257611450912014-03-04T09:45:30.192-05:002014-03-04T09:45:30.192-05:00Thanks. The thing is that kind of excitement is g...Thanks. The thing is that kind of excitement is gone forever because not only has the world's population doubled, the rest of the world is now buying cars and there's no room for anything but little boxes where we sit and purchase more entertainment while the computer takes us places to work or to purchase more entertainment while life goes by unnoticed. Capt. Fogghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03093968390001879062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396840695026739991.post-79083793311013371092014-03-03T23:02:25.188-05:002014-03-03T23:02:25.188-05:00Sometimes I feel fortunate I'm older, you'...Sometimes I feel fortunate I'm older, you're fine prose reminded me of one of the reasons.<br /><br />1957 Chevy's, 1960 Corvettes, and the 1970 Plymouth Baracuda all rocked.<br /><br />Thank you for writing this CaptLes Carpenterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01120280762698472496noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396840695026739991.post-77799610083597153362014-03-03T10:07:53.043-05:002014-03-03T10:07:53.043-05:00More like 74 - 1200 cc. Supposedly it gets 57 mp...More like 74 - 1200 cc. Supposedly it gets 57 mpg highway. Yes cheap gas had a lot to do with it. I remember pumping Texaco in the summer of 1962 at 26.9 cents.<br /><br />change is inevitable, but not always good and I mourn what we have lost in the interests of consumerism and the obsession with safety and the fracturing of American culture which benefits o one but those who exploit our fears.<br /><br />Do we really need cars that park themselves, drive themselves, take over the brakes if it doesn't like how you use them? Isn't it bad enough that even in this climate paradise I live in we're all sealed in black safety boxes breathing chilled and filtered air following instructions from an electronic voice while the machine reads our constant flow of text messages? Open road? Where? Dump me anywhere in the US and it all looks the same and our kids slump in the back seat of some huge safety box watching videos, listening to iPods and texting their friends while the glory of life passes them by on the other side of tinted glass.<br /><br />An engine and wheels and the joy of life and what more is there?Capt. Fogghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03093968390001879062noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396840695026739991.post-87069978756676864272014-03-02T21:51:15.596-05:002014-03-02T21:51:15.596-05:00I enjoyed your prose as well Fogg. And Shaw is ri...I enjoyed your prose as well Fogg. And Shaw is right. A cool car and a fancy style of driving was a pretty good way to make an impression.<br /><br />I will never forget the neighborhood cars of my boyhood. Buck had a big huge early 1960s Buick Electra 225. Then he bought his wife a 1965 Mustang and himself a 1967 Riviera. Dad still had his 1956 Chevy Standard, but Christmas of 1966, we got a black 1965 Skylark with a Wildcat 365 c.i.d. motor. That car was light and fast. Bucket seats. Sports console. Wire wheels and a vinyl top. A wealthy family from Texas moved in across the street. The son had a Pontiac GTO. Driving around in Pacific Beach, we used to see a bright red Mercedes Gull-wing. In 1970 my friend's dad had 1967 and 1969 coup DeVilles. He actually garaged them both side by side. All the boys had fast go-carts or mini-bikes. And a lot of guys built dune buggies with their dads. It was a golden era. Even my Fairlane 500 was as fast as any cop car and could do 111mph going north and 109 going south. But I do believe that the best part was the cheap gas. Even in 1976 dollars, 59 cents a gallon was dirt cheap. Just being a kid with a part time job, I could afford to drive pretty much any where I wanted to go. I think I explored just about every country road between Julian and Banning. Nowadays, every hundred mile trip costs thirty or forty dollars just in gas.<br /><br />You should have that problem licked with a cycle. 96 c.i.d.? Flying Juniorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02098313953658606206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396840695026739991.post-89337426351175538072014-03-02T10:28:04.298-05:002014-03-02T10:28:04.298-05:00Two of my late teens, early 20s boyfriends won my ...Two of my late teens, early 20s boyfriends won my heart not just because they were handsome rogues and could recite bad poetry, but because one drove a white (with red interior) convertible Chevy (but not to the levee), and the other one drove a red convertible (with black interior) Chevy with fins that reached to the moon and back and was the best looking car at the submarine races. <br /><br />Mighty fine writing here, Capt. It brought me back to a lost time. Bravo!Shaw Kenawehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08637273000409613497noreply@blogger.com