I am increasingly aware of a pronounced difference between most men, especially the career military, of my generation and those of the '(mis)information age'. We are not the ogres folks like The Young Turks like to make us out. We just have significantly different foundational experiences and frames of reference. Gaming computers and hacks were not our thing.
For my $.02, growing up in the 60's and 70's was a blessing. As kids and teens we played hard, outside, and out of sight of the old folks. Once we got a license we found twice owned muscle cars were affordable, repairable, and parts in ready supply.
It left its mark. Some guys of our period still sometimes speak of, and remember, others by what they drove or rode. We'd see someone and ask – 'hey, wasn't he the Chevell with the ladder bars'? Or, 'oh yeah, you're the green Evo bagger with the straight pipes'.
So here's a recollection of some of the vehicles that got me here.
The Beginning – 1965 GTO ('family' car) <> Introduction to driving. Also introduction to illicit racing and traffic court. Did learn to drive fairly well – but lost license 2x.
Co-pilot on one such encounter was later a career cop and detective. Once, after a colorful high speed chase and successful arrest he remarked to a partner the experience 'wasn't as bad as riding with Greg'.
stock photo
Mustang Mach I <> First real vehicle owned outright . Mechanical nightmare when driven as I had come to expect from the GTO. Push rod penetrated valve cover on a missed shift. Shifter subsequently had the temerity to attempt to depart the vehicle (in motion) from the bottom. 'Muscle car' my ass. Super model looks, peewee Herman stamina.
Thanks to road adventures which I'll not bore you with, by late teens my official record was somewhat spotty. Thereby I recall sitting in a room with dozens of other young men at a joint processing station and filling out my first government form, sort of a request for background check before consideration for military service (think 'Alice's Restaurant'). When I reached the little box under the header 'have you ever been arrested or fined - provide details below' I broke into a sweat … and asked for more paper (!). When done I gave the form to one of the officers supervising the process and asked - with a little tremble in my voice - 'will this hurt my chances'. He (a Naval Aviator come to think of it) looked at the remarks briefly and said, 'hell, this will help!'
God bless him. I knew then I was headed generally in the right direction.
VW 1600 'Super Beetle' <> Old reliable. Driven countless miles, and through many adventures as an Ensign out to see the world. Rebuilt in a BOQ parking lot with minimal tools and a Hawaiian Punch can. I remember driving my boss, the Admiral, shortly after the rebuild. Proud moment. Unfortunately it was before rebolting the passenger seat to the floor. Ooops. Event came to mind listening to Paula Poundstone reflecting on the significance of a seat back in her Mustang. (5:05 to 6:52 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk0coCISibA )
Dodge Power Wagon <> 'Miss Piggy' Brutal ride. During the 'fuel crisis' demonstrated MPG like a F-4 Phantom … with loaded triple bomb racks ... in burner ... at 100' AGL.
Triumph Spitfire <> Sigh. Should have learned from an earlier GT6 project. Socialist quality construction with peanut brittle wire harness and amusing bits of ingenuity like the 'laycock de normanville' electrically actuated (did I mention the Lucas wiring?) overdrive. To the good, a rag top - so happily easy to push start and hop in over the door as it chugged away from you.
Pontiac Grand Am <> Hoped to relive good old GTO days. Would have restored. Rot got ahead of available idle time.
Jeep Wrangler <> First jeep. Solid as a rock. Rough as a lady Bos'n. Bought without niceties … like a roof or doors. Aftermarket rag roof was crude, blew off in a rain storm while wearing dress blues. Aftermarket hard top/doors made it a solid year round ride.
VW Fox <> Right size. Right configuration. Uninspired and uninspiring.
Jeep Wrangler <> Second jeep. First months were disappointing. Was communicating with factory rep while documenting 'lemon law' claim. Finally Jeep Corp resolved the problem. Mexicans were sloppy with wire terminations. Had several other similar jeeps self immolate like a Buddhist monks due to overlapping wire strands left out of the crimps on termination plugs.
After that, really great car. Boys did not like 'bogging' the swamp though.
Buick Le Sabre <> Thought it was a good idea for a post active duty career as salesman. Neither the car nor the job fit.
Nissan Frontier <> Mighty good vehicle. Nearly 10 years ~100K miles.
VW GTI <> Best car ever. Sporty (vice fast) and a sun roof. Sold to obtain a newer clone with less miles as was on I-35 a lot while geo-bacheing.
VW GTI <> Almost best car. Including the wife's Jetta, our 5th VW. May be our last as VW no longer cares to offer a 2 door or sun roof however. Why can't we here in 'merica not get an 'R' spec Sirocco? In blue, with sunroof? https://www.oto.com/en/mobil-baru/volkswagen/scirocco/r
Still, GTIs have been great cars.
One gripe with this last one, which brings us back to the opening comments, this car came equipped with really intrusive electronics. Constant GPS tracking, 'black box' recording driver activity, and VW's idea of 'on star'. Small print in contract explored after purchase indicated conversations may be monitored remotely. Cost to have dealer hard wire disable ~ $500. Cost for toggle switch for microphone ~$6 and some solder. Guess which way I went. Paranoid? Two days after I put the switch in VW called me at work and wanted to know if anything was 'wrong' with my car. I guess the folks at the monitor station missed my witty commentary on other drivers. Recently noticed there's now a soft switch option for turning off telemetry which wasn't there before the last dealer service visit. Thanks, but I'll also keep the mike off when I don't need it. (I've a faraday bag for the cell phone under the seat)
Musings.
Maybe 1 car to go before checking out.
2 Wheelers
Can't afford a military jet or a supercar? A bike is just as dangerous at a fraction of the cost
About the time I found myself doing less and less air wing flying I began looking for a, mostly, legal alternative to the excitement.
CB-750F <> Purchased ~ '88 (bought used) Wonderful old 'super bike' of the 70s by then considered sedate and 'dated'. Great first bike. 2 'oopses' learning to ride. Both in Daytona a year apart. Only 1 was particularly scary (truck bumper stopped just over the noggin).
CBR-600 <> ~ 90 A Jack Russell on 2 wheels. Inadvertent wheelies and always moments from an intensive care unit. Did catch 'air time' thanks to crossing an armadillo at warp speed. Fell in with some nice regular touring riders and, on occasion, some crazy ones.
Triumph Trident 900 <> ~ 93 A bull. Stable, strong and comfortable for hours. At will easily able to embarrass the Harley riders in the group.
VFR-750 ~ 97 to 2015 <> Vehicular Apogee. Most comfortable and fastest (150 mph readily on tap) ride I've owned. Easily, even unconsciously, spanned the state more than once. Hated to sell but, in retrospect, the right move. 1 mid-speed low side on sandy twisty, 1 embarrassing topple (jeans cuff snagged foot peg) at a busy, biker infested donut shop no less. Sigh.
TaoTao 150 <> ~ '16-20 Zero adrenaline but wanted to stay acclimated, cheaply, to 2 wheeling. Filled that niche well enough for ~ $800. 9 ½ horse, 52 mph. The scooter came semi assembled in a crate. I was happy it went together so nicely and subsequently posted a picture of riding it. Quick response from one classmate, a MARSOC O-6, was 'nice – do they make one for men?'
Sigh.
Denouement?
Yamaha SR400 <> ~ current. Unapologetically modest. Roughly ¼ the HP and ½ the speed of the Viffer. Max is 80 mph with wind at back. But still copious fun for mind clearing, relatively short rides. Light and uncomplicated, does local rural Texan unpaved roads easily.
And in all honesty, with the forecast for diminishing SA (situational awareness), vision, and balance ... probably my last bike.
They've all been great fun, zero
regrets. And there's no app for that.
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