This afternoon, I received this text message from my sister:
"Dad sold the station wagon for twenty five bucks today. Evidently it only drives forward with no reverse. It still is in the driveway though. End of an era."
End of an era. So true. I remember the first day we owned the car when my Dad drove it off the Bill Pierre Ford dealership lot in 1975. In its 31 year life span, the station wagon and the Chen family saw the arrival and departure of around ten cars. For those of you who aren't familiar with the car that became the symbol of the Chen's of Seattle, here is a picture that I stole off the website LTD World. Yeah, it really does exist. Further proof that the internet is an amazing thing.
A near perfect match for the Chen Family Station Wagon
YES, it was a woody. The family station wagon, which I fondly named "Lucinda" after the take no shit matriarch on the soap opera As the World Turns, was brown with wood paneling. The interior was also brown.
This was the car that was always taken on family vacations. It was in this was the car both my sister and I learned how to drive with our Dad in the passenger seat. This car was what I drove throughout high school and the car my sister did as well. It was a trusted friend because it always started and could always be counted on to haul all of my sister's and my friends without having to drive multiple cars.
The car simply was unable to go above 75 miles per hour and unable to get more than 20 miles to the gallon. Truly a legacy of the excesses of the United States of the middle of the 20th century.
As the years passed, Lucinda was retired from many of her duties. With my sister and I gone off to college, she didn't get driven more than once a month when my Dad loaded her up to take stuff to the dump. After our family moved to a new house in Seattle, we found that for some reason Lucinda was the only vehicle of four that was able to get us up the hill that separates our home from the rest of Seattle. Lucinda also pinch hit when my grandmother was to be transported because it didn't ride so high like the SUV's we see so much of today.
Unfortunately, she was eventually relieved of these pinch hitting duties and sadly sat in the driveway unloved. Still sitting in the driveway, she contributed to the family. One time a friend of mine from college was to come and visit me. He had a vague idea of where we lived but when he saw Lucinda, he knew he had found the right place. Truly, the car was integrally linked in the history of the Chen family.
My father has gone through all the family photo albums and scanned every picture that had Lucinda in it. I present to you a short history of Lucinda. An added bonus is the chance to see Ernie, Marlene and our cousin Henry in younger years.
Canadian Rockies 1978 (by the way, ironically, I'm wearing a Pittsburgh Steelers shirt in this photo)
Lucinda covered in a dusting of ash from Mt. St. Helens eruption 1980
Lucinda with Marlene, Mom and me at Bryce Canyon in 1981
Lucinda parked in downtown Seattle. Pictured are a 9 year old Marlene and 8 year old cousin Henry.
Lucinda parked in line waiting for the return ferry from Orcas Island in 1982
Lucinda serving as bike carrier in background while Ernie is accosted by the Mariner Moose at Gasworks Park in 1996
Lucinda parked in her traditional spot in the corner of the driveway. In the foreground is the Subaru Legacy Wagon I now drive. The Legacy was one of ten cars that came and left the Chen family all within Lucinda's 31 year life
Lucinda shown recently in the middle of the driveway because it was discovered she is unable to go in reverse
Lucinda at the lot of PullApart to whom she was sold for $25
This truly feels like a posting about the loss of a family member. In many ways, Lucinda was a true constant in our family's life.
"Dad sold the station wagon for twenty five bucks today. Evidently it only drives forward with no reverse. It still is in the driveway though. End of an era."
End of an era. So true. I remember the first day we owned the car when my Dad drove it off the Bill Pierre Ford dealership lot in 1975. In its 31 year life span, the station wagon and the Chen family saw the arrival and departure of around ten cars. For those of you who aren't familiar with the car that became the symbol of the Chen's of Seattle, here is a picture that I stole off the website LTD World. Yeah, it really does exist. Further proof that the internet is an amazing thing.
YES, it was a woody. The family station wagon, which I fondly named "Lucinda" after the take no shit matriarch on the soap opera As the World Turns, was brown with wood paneling. The interior was also brown.
This was the car that was always taken on family vacations. It was in this was the car both my sister and I learned how to drive with our Dad in the passenger seat. This car was what I drove throughout high school and the car my sister did as well. It was a trusted friend because it always started and could always be counted on to haul all of my sister's and my friends without having to drive multiple cars.
The car simply was unable to go above 75 miles per hour and unable to get more than 20 miles to the gallon. Truly a legacy of the excesses of the United States of the middle of the 20th century.
As the years passed, Lucinda was retired from many of her duties. With my sister and I gone off to college, she didn't get driven more than once a month when my Dad loaded her up to take stuff to the dump. After our family moved to a new house in Seattle, we found that for some reason Lucinda was the only vehicle of four that was able to get us up the hill that separates our home from the rest of Seattle. Lucinda also pinch hit when my grandmother was to be transported because it didn't ride so high like the SUV's we see so much of today.
Unfortunately, she was eventually relieved of these pinch hitting duties and sadly sat in the driveway unloved. Still sitting in the driveway, she contributed to the family. One time a friend of mine from college was to come and visit me. He had a vague idea of where we lived but when he saw Lucinda, he knew he had found the right place. Truly, the car was integrally linked in the history of the Chen family.
My father has gone through all the family photo albums and scanned every picture that had Lucinda in it. I present to you a short history of Lucinda. An added bonus is the chance to see Ernie, Marlene and our cousin Henry in younger years.
This truly feels like a posting about the loss of a family member. In many ways, Lucinda was a true constant in our family's life.
1 comment:
ernie, these pics (and the story) brought back so much for me. thanks for posting.
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