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Part 2 ~ Van Man
Most things about my dad are pretty obvious when you get to know him. He is a major New England sports fan, specifically spends many hours with the Red Sox. He enjoys walking and being outdoors. He loves his wife and kids like no other. He'd give the shirt off his back to help another in need. But what most people don't know is that the man loves himself a good solid van.
Yes, i'm talking big, small and mini vans. When i was really young, too young to remember, we had a big ol' grey ten to fifteen passenger Van. The thing was a beast. From the stories i'm told, dad bought it, brought it home for mom, and used a small car to commute in. Mom hated that van. The thing was like a mini school bus. At the time, i was just a toddler, mom had the three of us and a foster kid, Jeremy to drive around. I think this is also the time that my parents ran a food shelf out of their home, so maybe it was to pick up and transport large quantities of food? I'm not sure. Either way, they held onto it for a few years. Mom tried to get rid of it by "accidentally" backing out of the garage a few times with the door still closed. Then there was the winter driving with rear wheel drive only, and the small fact that we lived on a mountain. Needless to say, ol' grey retired and a new, snazzy micro-mini van was put in it's place.
The 7 passenger Colt Vista. This baby was mom's hip ride. It was like the GMC Acadia of today. I imagine some of her mom friends had car envy. She could fit the three of us plus friends, while still being able to swing this thing into a tight parking space. A breath of fresh air for her. You'll notice the third row seating in the picture above? Well those seats were individual, so one could be folded down. Typically, whatever kid scored this back, lone, seat was on cloud nine. Mom drove this rig for years and years. One year we all piled in and drove to Florida in it. Yes, 1,300 miles, 3 days, 3 kids and one Colt Vista. Probably a bit of a nightmare for my parents, but an awesome adventure for us. She held onto this for so many years that my oldest brother learned to drive on it. I believe it was this car that drove dad's van obsession to the next level. The vista proved to be a van of it's worth.
As my brothers leg's grew and room was a priority, the Vista was pushed to dad and a nice red Chrysler Town & Country was introduced. Mom missed her small ride, but adapted well to this van as she drove us to and from every event possible. My other brother learned to drive on this baby, which created a bit of a problem when my parents realized that he wouldn't know how to drive standard. My brothers would take this out to visit friends, streaming Tu-Pac or The Grateful Dead from the cassette player. A little while after mom started driving this, dad ended up totaling the Vista in an accident. Mom cried tears, partly for her husband, but mostly for her beloved Vista. As the Vista was retired, permanently, dad went out and got a stellar deal on, yes, another beauty of a van.
The ford Aerostar. At this point mom and I were beginning to get sick of these vans. My brothers were getting older so a majority of the time it was mom and I cruising the hills of Vermont alone. Dad's rational for this one, was that he worked with so many kids and was always picking and dropping kids off, so having the seating would be really useful for his job. Although this was true a bit of the time, mostly the man just wanted a good solid van to spend his 2+ hours a day commuting in. Upon opening the door of this large piece of machinery, you'd typically find a Boston Globe, scattered about, a caffeine-free diet coke in the pull down tray, a bit spilled and sticky. Some lottery tickets in the middle console, along with some loose change. You'd always find a well worn glove, a wiffle ball & bat in the back hatch, an umbrella and a bag of goods for a family in need. The van would be a bit messy, a bit dirty, but well loved. Dad spoke about this van as his second wife. I kid, but really, he loved her. He was still driving this thing when mom decided that her van days had come to an end and a nice blue Subaru was her new car of choice. My parents went to trade in the red Chrysler T&C and ended up with two gently used Subaru's. A baby blue one for my mom, and a light brown one for my brothers to share. After driving her new car home, mom was hooked. Subaru's were her ride of choice.
But dad, he stuck it out. He kept that green Areostar until it basically could drive no more. I remember in it's last year, we would back down the driveway, get into the road, put it in drive and it would stay in reverse. I remember the sliding door didn't close at the end. The drivers side window wouldn't go up. I think he had such a hard time letting go, as he knew this van would be his last. His kids were bigger, a van was no longer a necessity.
My memory is that he drove some Subaru's for a few years before we both came home with brand new Dodge Neon's.
Time passed, we all left home, Adam got married, Adam had four kids and boom. Mini-van.
Dad couldn't be prouder.
But dad, he stuck it out. He kept that green Areostar until it basically could drive no more. I remember in it's last year, we would back down the driveway, get into the road, put it in drive and it would stay in reverse. I remember the sliding door didn't close at the end. The drivers side window wouldn't go up. I think he had such a hard time letting go, as he knew this van would be his last. His kids were bigger, a van was no longer a necessity.
My memory is that he drove some Subaru's for a few years before we both came home with brand new Dodge Neon's.
Time passed, we all left home, Adam got married, Adam had four kids and boom. Mini-van.
Dad couldn't be prouder.
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