Marc:
Re Old Cars
What is/are your fancies? I guess I think the '53-'54 Studebaker Starlight coupe is about the most beautiful thing on 4 wheels, disregarding mechanics, body integrity and other non-essentials.
I have a '67 Olds Cutlass that I keep instead of a wife. Love to look at the sexy curves on old cars, but it is a rich man's hobby. My friend here in Portland just married a fairly younger lady and bought "her", or so he says, an older 12 cyl Jag. When my GF heard about it, she starts lobbying for a Mercedes.
Can't win for losing.
Anybody else have a passion for the old cars? I seem to remember a Radioman on the Cochrane during my era who had or lusted after the first of the Malibus. I believe it was yellow, but the memory is dim. He is pictured talking to Shanahan in the '65 cruisebook.
Then we had a notorious crewmember who absolutely must remain unnamed and unremarked, except for the big finned Chrysler convertible he bought that yielded no good end.
I drove an early 60's Ford Galaxy around Oahu in '67. Bought it off a departing crewmember for $400, an FT if memory serves, but I could be wrong. Learned to drive a stick off of it. A Hawaiian car, it had no heater/defroster. Brought it home with me after separation. Big mistake. '68-'69 was one of the nastiest winters ever in Pacific NW. Had to drive with the windows open to keep the condensation off the inside. I can't remember the exact model year because you don't see many today. They all rusted out. Mine was well on its way to terminal degradation in Pearl. Other thing I remember about it was it came with the Oahu Official animal, cockroaches.
Nice pets? Not.
Anybody got any cockroach stories? (I remember Doty and his roomies had a pad near Waikiki with cases of empties and empty kegs decorating the front. The little critters loved stale beer. On Hotel Street in the crummy bars, they'd sit up on the bar right beside us and share the brew. Very friendly, even to haoles.)
Thanks for the old car mention. It got me keying.
Paul Anuschat, ETN2 '65-'67