Hoopty-Hoo

The Ford Pinto. That is the car I can remember Mom and I having growing up. When the Pinto died we had a nice long stretch with no car. But the Pinto is the car I associate with my childhood.

I'm not sure what year it was. It was a lovely shade of faded red. It founded my love of the hatchback. It was a stick shift. And I thought it was the best car ever. I dreamed of the day I would drive it.

I can remember my Mom having many a car issue with the Pinto. One winter it was so cold it wouldn't start regularly, so my Dad put a boat battery in it. Needless to say, we never had a starting issue with it after the upgrade. (Which I still wonder, was that even safe? Good thing we never blew up.) Oh yeah...also the muffler fell off. It had a boat battery. Every start sounded like we were blasting off.

With everything else my Mom and I had, the Pinto was not in the best shape. The floor boards had rusted through holes, and I do not know the story, but for some reason the trunk had maggots. 

I guess there are people that forget they should try not to hit another car, even if it is a hoopty. Why should someone with a raggedy-ass car care if it gets another ding. Because people with an old beat up car can totally afford a new one, right? So don't try to avoid it, just go ahead and smash right into it. Monster Truck Mash it up, brother! Yep, that happened to our little Red Pinto. One day a person decided to back into it, leave a giant dent, and drive away. Adding to it's oh so evident charm. Damn thing was a tank. Even though the dent was very close to the gas cap, it didn't miss a beat. 

I don't remember what exactly the cause of death of the Red Pinto, I do know I was sad to see it go. Mom let me shift for her. I helped drive and I thought that kicked ass. Moreover, the end of the Red Pinto meant no car for mom and I for a long time.

We had two other hoopties after the Red Pinto. A Pontiac of some sort that I can't really remember (aka it didn't last long) and then the Blue Ford Escort with a Red Door. A Red Door that we try to spray paint blue...yeah...I'll just let your imagination go wild with that one. The Escort came to us during my Junior High years and I was so embarrassed that we had a blue car with one red door. It was like the Scarlet Poor Door.

You probably are thinking Brandi has pulled herself up from poverty, she probably has a Cadillac now. Nope. I have a 1999 Pontiac with almost 170,000 miles, no air conditioning, two+ dents, and lots of rust. I still have a hoopty. The time for a better car is drawing near and I'm not sure how I will react or feel! A nice car? What's that? Getting a new car every 4 years? What? I've had my beloved Snow Bitch for ten years. 

Morale of the story? Be nice to hoopties, someone loves and needs them.