Monday Memories - What He Drives.

Tonight for family home evening we started spring clean-up in the yard.  Calvin sawed while I hauled, and I raked while he mowed.

I was cursing and blessing that new, orange lawnmower under my breath as I raked.  Cursing it because it cost so much and blessing it because it eats rocks for lunch.  And then . . . and then . . . and then I remembered this picture from our photo album.  Calvin with another red-orange machine . . .

Calvin's first car circa 1972

. . . I can't decide what I think is the funniest:  Calvin's skinny belt, plaid bell-bottom pants (are those cuffs, too?), frilly shirt, bow tie, or part down the middle of his hair.  All I know is that I keep giggling while I'm typing this post and seeing this picture.  Calvin is reading a book while sitting on the couch next to my chair.  Every time I laugh he says, "What?" and I laugh more.  Then he re-explains, "It was a nice car, Jane -- and that's a Butch-Cassidy-and-the-Sundance-Kid shirt, those were nice shirts -- that car had air conditioning, a cassette player, and white leather interior.  It was a sports car, Jane."

Well 42 years later, Calvin's not quite so sporty (he says I didn't meet him until after he'd been humbled in life) and he drives a lawnmower instead of a 240 Z.  And here's the crazy thing, that lawnmower cost $200 more than the car.

Of course 240 Z's don't eat rocks for lunch either.


(Jorden Jolley mentioned on Facebook that she's glad to see Calvin still likes to wear red plaid.  Ha.  I never even noticed that.  Those pants make so much more sense now!)