Soundtrack of Your Life

Dad, you will never know just how much I miss you and my profound regret in not articulating how much I admired you. Your loss is an unmitigated void but some of your patients have helped me heal. You restored their sight and never asked for a penny of their own money. No wonder they visited the house with so many unexpected and delectable treats. While my classmates loved either the Stones or the Beatles, you worshiped The Ink Spots so much so in fact that you never left home without them. They were the best front seat passengers imaginable and years later I understand why. It was the era of muscle cars and micro buses, bell bottoms and Bonne Bell.  Cars epitomized the post-war leisure culture. Virility was synonymous with wheels as the new found status symbol. Like a beautiful woman on your arm, your showpiece drew admiring glances wherever you went. Dreamboats abounded but only one sports vehicle was completely unique – yours. As individualistic as you and what we all loved about you. While those day trips in the Olds were fond memories of traveling to the North Shore, visiting Bear Skin Neck, or frequent forays to your favorite, local haunts, “the boys at the camera store” on Friday nights, hunting and gathering collectibles at the Morg (Morgan Memorial), they did not have the allure of your Avanti. That Olds saw us through good times and bad as we will never forget that sweltering day we broke down on the Fellsway heading to Belmont and the promise of a better life. We shared your exhaustion wondering when the tow truck would arrive and relieve us of the heat, the thirst, the clutter, and the frustration. Our brighter future still beckoned and so did John  DeLorean, as Pontiac GTO’s  populated the roads, a breathtaking paen to the status symbol Ferrari.