Laurie Snider
Notes from the Nest
Exactly 30 years ago this past Saturday, Randy and I went on our first date. He a handsome, capable, dashing, young paramedic and I a pretty, pleasant, proficient nurse, with a sunny disposition (Randy’s words), had been making eyes at each other, in the emergency department, for several weeks. We finally had a chance to really gab, at a social engagement arranged, for us to meet at.
I thought our encounter went well and was disappointed, when it didn’t result in a call or a get-together… at least not right away. Unbeknownst to me, Randy was hesitant to pursue me, due to the dilapidated, perhaps even a wee bit embarrassing clunker, he was driving at the time.
It was a silver 1981 Datsun king-cab with a Nissan engine. The tailgate and driver’s door were corroded shut, so entry had to be gained through the window or getting in on the passenger side. There was also a hole in the floor boards, causing Randy to lament that his pant leg would get wet, if he was driving when it rained. What wasn’t to like?
A month or so later, on a dark and dreary night shift, after delivering me a patient, Randy smoothly dropped the line, “When are you going to go for a ride, in my new truck?” Totally smitten, batting my eyelashes and trying not to appear over-eager, I replied, “Well, I guess when you ask me.”
It seems that in the weeks following our first liaison, Randy had purchased a brand new, gleaming, black sports utility vehicle. After picking up his new ride, he’d steeled up his courage to ask for a date. Apparently, he’d been intimidated by my own roadster at the time, a shiny candy apple red, five-speed Camaro.
Ah, those were the heady days of vehicle ownership for us! We were both working professionals, with good incomes, now married and with no children. We’d zoom about here and there, pulling up in style, carefree and exuberant with the wind at our backs.
My goodness, what a difference a few years make. Priorities and circumstances changed and soon our slick and sexy chariots were traded for a more practical, sensible, boring mode of transportation, a.k.a. as a mini-van. We’d happily swapped sleek and polished, for babies, diapers, dogs and car-seats.
Humanity’s love affair with cars, began in the early 20th Century. Karl Benz, a German inventor, is credited with building the first motor car in 1886. His zippy, little auto could travel, at the top break-neck speed of 16 km an hour. Oh man! Lookout! We’ve certainly come a long way baby, since then, with now over 1.2 billion cars on the road. Almost 25 million of those are in Canada.
Interestingly, Canadians didn’t always drive, on the right-hand side of the road. Prior to the Second World War, Canadian territories controlled by the French, drove on the right side, while areas controlled by the English, drove on the left. It certainly must have been challenging, crossing provincial lines!
From 1911-1913, if you happened to find yourself too busy to schlep around car dealerships, then you could always order one out of the Eaton’s catalogue. Once delivered, if drivers needed to “gas up,” they would get their gasoline out of large, wooden barrels. The first gas station, Imperial Oil, was set up in Vancouver, with early pumps being made of large, hot water tanks, with rubber, garden hoses attached.
In the last century, the changes in automobiles have been astonishing. We’ve gone from a time, where windshields and wipers were seen as huge advancements, to seatbelts, airbags, back-up cameras, navigation systems and now electric cars being the norm.
Our own relationship with cars, over the past couple of decades, has been less than glamourous. We’ve owned a succession of vehicles, nothing fast or fancy but rather sane, reasonable, appropriate and mostly downright, dull choices. Toting around carloads of boisterous boys and gaggles of girls, as well as enormous, thumping canines, over the years, has taken a toll on our vehicles. Perhaps not to the point of Randy’s initial date- prohibitive jalopy, but well worn nonetheless.
Last Saturday morning, Randy pulled up in his newest ride, a snazzy, blue 2014 Nissan truck. There are all kinds of exciting knobs and buttons on it, responsible for an astounding range of excellent features. So far, the heated seats are my favourite! I recently read that 70 per cent of all cars in the world are white, black, grey or silver, white being the most popular. The blue was my idea!
Randy, being the smooth operator, he always was, rolled down his window and said, “When are you going to go for a ride, in my new truck?” Just as smitten as ever, I batted my eyelashes and replied, “Well, I guess when you ask me!”