My Grandpa, although he may have never realized it, was a GM man. He was a
Pontiac guy, driving cross country twice in the early fifties to see his son and
family in Texas and Colorado. His diary has comments of the mileage and
condition of his car, one comment from a gas jockey of how “he had never seen
such a clean ‘48 Pontiac.” The first car I remember was his 1956 Buick Special,
a two door hardtop, yellow with a white roof. A way cool car, that he sold to
my Dad when he bought his new 1959 Buick Electra 225, gray with red leather
interior. Huge fins, and four doors of success to the world. To my sister and
I it was just a source of arguing who would sit on the rear center armrest while
riding with him. Ahh, the good old days. But a few years later he became a
Cadillac man, buying a used 1962 Coupe DeVille, in black, the proper color. How
rich and important I felt riding with him in that car. Until he traded it for
another Cadillac, a 1964 Sedan DeVille, silver with red vinyl roof and red
leather interior. And how impressed my girlfriend was when he let me pick her
up in it, having just gotten my license. Cadillac back then was still the sign
of success, and the world knew if you were driving one you had made it. I
wonder what they thought of a 17 year old kid behind the wheel, “was his father
some big shot that his kid could drive a Cadillac?” But Grandpa’s last car was
to be a 1972 Pontiac LeMans Sport, two door silver with black bucket seat
interior. He used to like to shift the auto manually, as if he was racing, and
then it seemed he was too old to drive any longer, and he sold it.
So maybe my Grandpa was a GM man, his driving tastes and choices would
support it. But what a difference between him and my Grandma, who drove
Ramblers. Renewing her license in the sixties, she had a pink Rambler wagon of
late fifties heritage, then a blue 1962 two door Rambler American, and finally a
1969 Rambler American Rouge, a sporty two door. Which she let me drive on
occasion,and made me a believer in AMC. She dealt with Pat Ronco who owned
Ronco Rambler, and when she needed a car, called Pat, he would tell her what he
had and what she wanted, he gave her a price, and she wrote the check. Such was
the way she did business. I could never see my Grandpa doing that, as he was
thrifty, and would negotiate for a nickel, he remembered being poor and jobless
in the depression. I can only imagine how successful he felt when he bought his
first Cadillac. I always wondered if it was just for the huge trunk to bring us
Christmas gifts.....
But under the same roof a couple had much different views on cars. To my
Grandma it was transportation, she rarely if ever left Bangor. To my Grandpa it
meant leaving town, at age 21 he had hitch hiked cross country with a friend.
The stories he would tell. But cars bring out different emotions in us, to
some just getting from point a to point b, to some an image to present to
others, like a girlfriend you are trying to impress. Speed and performance
attract others, while some brag on horsepower, some brag on miles per gallon.
But each purchase reflected a choice to be made to fulfill the need they thought
existed. Sadly we have a new generation, the i-gen who cold care less about
personal driving, my good friend refers to them as i-diots. You can quote him
on that. But with the loss of individual driving choices, we give up freedom to
go where and when we want, depending on the bus, taxi, Uber, or a friend. Maybe
they are idiots after all, for who would give up freedom?
Watching the Scientology series by Leah Remini has opened many an eye to
the cult. The last show showed how they are only after your money, and how many
will sell or forsake all, including family and kids to obtain a billion year
sentence to heaven. Include reincarnation, and it gets too weird, and my first
question is, who would pay, or even go into debt, for something that can be had
for free? Scientology offers no guarantee, and has severe penalties for
crossing them. Why would you want to join anything like that? Pay to play, you
have a better chance at blackjack, whose odds are only 7 to 1. If something so
important to my grandparents was the car they drove, how can we fail to seek a
true God, where eternal life is the reward, or eternal death the sentence? What
gives here?
You cannot negotiate with God, his offer is Jesus, the one and only, the
best one you will ever get. Your choice, yet we try to weigh all the options,
to see what is best for us now, instead of the future. Some girls I once knew
used to sing a song, that even if there was no heaven, knowing Jesus on earth
would be worth it. I always liked that, because it is true, and then we get
heaven included. I think of all the joy of knowing Jesus, the blessings and fun
I have knowing him, so much that sometimes I don’t want it to end. Which
bothers me, because I want to go to heaven ASAP, and asking God why I can enjoy
one and then the other, he tells me he loves me and wants to bless me. So I let
him, and will forever. Enjoying the freedom he has given me in Christ Jesus,
not to be an idiot, but to choose life over death. Freedom over bondage, light
over darkness, it is our choice and only God lets you choose. Cults, religion,
some churches and denominations tell you “our way or the highway,” neglecting to
note that Jesus spent most of his life on the road. Are you enjoying all the
freedoms of the Lord? Are you taking advantage of his counsel to make
decisions? Are stuck taking the bus of religion, which tells you when to come
and go? Miss that bus, another will come along, if only you had the freedom to
drive yourself?
Freedom of choice doesn’t always mean we will choose freedom. It just
allows us to make the decision. True love does not demand its own way, only
Jesus lets you choose. There are two things in life you have no choice in, the
day you were born and the day you will die. In between you will cover a lot of
miles, how and who you do them with is up to you. No matter your choice, your
last ride on earth will be in a hearse, a car. Never saw a bus hearse...maybe
there is a lesson in there. Who you ride with now makes all the difference
tomorrow. I wonder how impressed my girlfriend would have been if I picked her
up in a bus? Probably never would know, if she ever got on, it would be my last
date. Make the right choice, and leave the rest to God. Cadillac was the
standard of the world, Jesus is the standard of the universe.
Don’t be left on the side of the road thumb out not knowing who will pick
you up, or when. Make the right choice now. Top down, wind in your face. If a
car can be that exciting, just imagine riding a motorcycle! Do you have enough
imagination for God?
love with compassion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com