A Drive Down Memory Lane
Throughout our lifetime we fall in and out of love, and if
we're lucky some of those loves of our lives stay with us. There
are always regrets, and losses in life, with all the decisions
that we have to make it's inescapable; hopefully, the love I'm
going to tell you about won't become one of my lost loves.
I remember when I first saw Rita, it was September '85 in
the parking lot of my new school in Clearbrook, BC. I had just
moved to BC from a farming community in Eastern Ontario so I'd
never seen one quite like Rita. Especially not at this time of
the year wearing what she was wearing as it was already getting
quite cold in Ontario.
Rita, I'll tell you about her name later, is a 1967 Triumph
Spitfire4 MkII finished in bright signal red with a black hood
and interior. She was owned by Brian, my soon to be best
friend's father, who let his son Darren use the car as his daily
driver to school.
As I watched the seasons change in my new town I also
watched the changes to Rita. The summer lasting into mid October
she wore a tonneau cover. When the rains came she wore a
frameless convertible top, and in the early weeks of november she
changed again into a sexy looking round hood. By this time I
tell you that I had never seen anything that I wanted more than
Rita.
That winter my heart was almost broken as Darren had a quite
unfortunate accident and Rita was badly hurt. As Rita was going
around a corner her tyres hydroplaned in a rut of water and her
tail went sliding towards a ditch. Darren tried to steer out of
the skid but not soon enough - when the tyres hit the 3 inch curb
Rita went sailing into the air, flipped completely over and
landed squarely on her hood.
It was a good thing for Darren, being a heavy weight
wrestler, that he was able to partially support the weight of
Rita long enough to open the door and get partially out before
the hood and windscreen collapsed completely. A sad day for Rita
lying in that ditch, covered in mud and grass, being upside down
and getting rained on - I am just glad that I was not there to
see her humiliation.
Unfortunately for Rita when help came to the rescue it would
only lead to more pain. The greatest damage was done as the
result of a careless tow truck driver. As he righted her he
crushed in her right side and when he unhooked her in Darren's
carport he dropped the hook in the middle of Rita's bonnet
causing a rather large dent.
The winter seemed a little cooler that year. The kind of
cold that keeps you inside, gathering with family and friends,
playing games and listening to stories - basically getting to
know each other a little better. I heard countless stories about
Rita and spent endless hours in the carport imagining what fun I
could have with her - if she was only mine. I learned to admire
her for more than the classic lines of her body, but also for her
peppy spirit and her simplistic yet perfect interior.
Spring, a time for growth and regeneration, brought Brian,
Darren and me together in the carport to work on Rita. Brian had
picked up two good doors, a boot lid, a windscreen, and a framed
white soft top. The side hood mounts were chiseled off to make
way for the soft top frame, the dents pulled and filled and Rita
was primed and ready for a spray in a dress coat of bright signal
red.
During this time both my mom and I were looking to buy cars
and we asked Brian to look at any prospects as he is a liscenced
british mechanic. It was almost destiny that at the car lot
where my mom had wanted to by a car that there was also a green
TR7 coupe for sale. Brian came down and looked at both cars, mom
bought the one she wanted but Brian also wanted to buy the TR7.
So as a result of a family discussion they decided to sell the
Spitfire so that they could buy the TR7.
I wasn't the first person who they offered to sell the
Spitfire to, but luckily enough for me that in the end I was the
one to buy her. Rita was going to be mine - if I could only
describe that feeling to you of the exact moment... I worked a
lot of long days and hard hours to pay for the car but when I
think about all the pleasure I've had with Rita I know that I'd
do it again in an instant.
Since that summer things have changed a lot. But every time
that I get behind the wheel and drive down a tight winding road
listening to Sgt. Peppers or driving along the beach like at
Whiterock listening to George Micheals that life feels so much
simpler like it was for me in the summer of '86.
Triumphantly
Jester!!!!!
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This is a true story, a chapter out of the relationship of Rita
and I. I would appreciate c/c by e-mail to
Jester@dev2.invlogic.com. Thanks.
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| Jester! | 1982 Honda V45 Sabre, present |
| the CANADIAN edition | Five 1965-69 TRiumph Spitfires, resting in Canada|
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| Innovative logic Corp. doesn't want my opinion and you may not either! |
| email -> <jester@dev2.invlogic.com> |
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