It's Been 12 Years . . .

            Today marks 12 years since Dad died. 

           Just the other night, several of us were sharing some funny stories about Dad, and we laughed ‘til we had tears running down our faces.

            We talked about the old green Studebaker Dad used to drive.  Well, actually, it wasn’t just green.  Dad had used a spray gun not far from the car to paint something white.  While he worked on whatever that creation was, white paint splattered onto the Studebaker, changing it from solid green to green with white dots all over.  He left it that way.

            And the outside of the Studebaker was the better part of the car. 

            Once the door to the car opened, one could see an emptiness – of sorts.  Dad had removed the back seat from the car.  What this meant was that we children had to either stand in the back or sit on the floor when we rode in that car.  Yes, this was before seatbelts and other modern conveniences. 

            We also had an old Pontiac convertible.  Or perhaps it was an Oldsmobile.  I just remember it was from the late 50s or very early 60s; it was tan; and it was l-0-n-g, like most cars of that era.  There was an expanse of tan between the back seat and the trunk. 

            And it was in the trunk that Dad had placed the old back seat that came out of the green-and-white Studebaker.  Dad had removed the cover or top of the trunk from the long convertible and put the Studebaker’s old bench seat in that empty cavity.  When we rode in that green seat way back in the trunk area, it was like traveling in a separate vehicle; we were that far away from the driver!

            Yep, as Mom said the other night, Dad is still keeping us laughing 12 years after his death.