Flashback Friday - Cars of 1964

Welcome to Flashback Friday!  Thanks for stopping by...I hope you're enjoying these Flashbacks as much as I am!  Today, I thought I'd share a little story of my Dad and me...when I was young and into my teens.  My Dad was big on cars.  Dad was always pushing, towing or dragging "dead" cars into Dealers' lots and buying a different car.  It was hard to keep up with what car my dad
was driving!  This beauty is a 1964 Ford Galaxie 500...a car I remember my dad driving.  When we would travel as a family, we'd usually be going on a 1,000 mile trip to New York to visit family.  Dad always believed in being frugal (I think my mom called it cheap).  Dad wanted to take sandwiches in the car, and drive and drive and drive...and only stop when we absolutely had to.  I got car sick quite frequently, so there were extra stops in there that he wasn't too keen on.  So, he - at least I think he thought of ways to distract me, by playing games as we drove.  Car games were popular - like name the car, guess how old the car is...what state is the license plate from...things like that.  So I got really good at naming cars and even the year of the car.

Dad built a 2-legged bed to fit in the backseat of whatever car we were driving.  It had 2 legs and a flat piece of plywood that fit tightly over the seat.  Then there was some sort of mattress he'd put over it...and we would sleep at night, while he drove.  I did even worse at night in the car - as far as getting car sick went, so I most times tried to stay awake.

Here are some more 1964 cars...can you name any of them before you see the names of them?  Did you play interesting games to make the time go by faster when you were in the car as a kid?

1964 Ford Thunderbird

Another 1964 Ford Galaxie 500

So, at night when we drove, my dad asked me to be his co-pilot (I did it during the day, too).  I had to help direct where he needed to drive.  At night, I had a flashlight and a big fold-up map (yes, I'm a woman who can fold a map!)...and I would study it and keep track of signs so I knew where we were and where we had to turn or go in a different direction.  I got very good at directions...reading maps and somehow acquired a built-in compass.  I never get lost...never get turned around.  I flew to Tucson, Arizona some 20 years ago, for work...and was met by a couple of managers who'd gotten into town a few hours before my flight did.  As we were leaving the airport, I asked immediately where they were going.  The 2 managers, both men, chuckled and asked me "Why?" and I said that if we were going to our Hotel to get ready for our meeting, we were going in the wrong direction.  They laughed some more and said "no we aren't" and I said "yes you are".  After driving about 15 to 20 minutes and seeming to be going away from Tucson, they said, "OK, if you know we're going the wrong way, what way should we be going?"  I told them how to get to our Hotel and we JUST made it to the meeting on time.  I had never been to Tucson and outside of checking the location of Tucson in Arizona...I really hadn't even given any more thought to the actual city, the layout or proximity of the Hotel to the Airport...but I knew we weren't going the right way!

My hubby really hates that I ALWAYS know when we're going the wrong way...and he doesn't.

My dad always had some fun way of keeping my mind off the fact that I was in a moving vehicle and that my tummy did like that.  And I loved him for that.  It was fun, too!  And...while I was awake with him driving and the others asleep, I usually had a POP with my dad.  That was special too! 

1964 Mercury Comet

1964 Studebaker Lark Daytona

1964 Volkswagen Bus

Volkswagen Bus...another vehicle we drove on a long trip - don't remember if it was to New York or where though.  Strange little bus.  I remember my mom really disliked it.  I thought it was cute.

1964 Ford Fairlane

Lots of times, I would go to work with my dad, too.  He serviced time clocks, so we went to lots of different places together...sometimes driving our own car, sometimes driving a company vehicle.  And getting car sick was something that would always happen.  YUCK!!  But, one time, my dad had to work on some time clocks at a hospital.  Some how, he came into contact with a doctor and told him how sick I was feeling after our drive and the doctor actually came out to talk to me.  I remember him saying that my color was a bit off...and I was perspiring.  He also told me to chew gum, something my mom wouldn't allow me to do ever!  He also suggested that I take big breaths through my nose and exhale through my mouth, slowly and gently.  He said that should help alot in keeping the car sickness under control.  He also said to only look out through the windshield, not the side windows, because things through the side windows seem to move so much faster that we actually were.  He told me to keep my chin up, literally, and not look down at my lap if I start to feel sickly.  Sometimes, it would work...others not so much!  

As I got older and learned to drive, I still got car sickness...DRIVING!  The problem just one day stopped being a problem.  That was probably about 30 years ago.  Strange...but good.  

1964 Chevrolet Impala SS

1964 Pontiac Tempest LeMans GTO

And the last car...

1964 Corvair

You never know what I'll be sharing with you...or what year from the past we'll be in...but we'll have fun, because we're together!