No GAP for Grandpa
by: Larry Edsall
My name, right there on my birth certificate, is Larry Edsall. Not Lawrence. For some reason, my parents didn’t want me to have a nickname, so they gave me one to start with.
And I’ve never really had a nickname until I became a grandfather. Like so many little boys, my first grandchild, Nicholas Russell Chester, had trouble pronouncing his L’s, so I became “Gompa Murray.”
When Nick’s sister, Alexandra Brook, came along, all she heard was my nickname, so Gompa Murray it is.
Anyway, Gompa Murray writes about cars for his living, and part of writing about cars is driving a lot of them. Nick and Roxie, -- yes, like Gompa Murray, Nick presented her with a nickname -- and their younger cousin, Owen Frederick Watkins -- I like to call him “O-man!” -- never can be sure what I’ll be driving when I visit them.
I’ve shown up at their houses in sports car and minivans, in luxury sedans and econoboxes. I think they’re favorite, however, was the “ambulance.” At least that’s what Nick called the Dodge Sprinter van that Airstream had converted into a luxury motor home. The van was shaped like an ambulance, after all, and when Nick saw the bed inside, he was convinced Gompa Murray somehow had himself an ambulance, even if it didn’t have flashing lights and a siren.
Several times, I’ve even driven my own vehicle to visit the grandchildren. My own vehicle is a 2000 Nissan Frontier, Crew Cab, 4x4, that I bought when I moved to Phoenix from Michigan.
The people I used to work with at AutoWeek magazine thought I was going through some sort of mid-life crisis. I was the one who wore ties to work, and here I was, showing up in jeans. I also was one who pretty much hated all pickup trucks, and here I was buying one.
But I didn’t buy a pickup truck, I insisted. I bought a lifestyle vehicle, a vehicle that fit in with my new lifestyle in the desert, a desert I wanted to be able to explore far from pavement, yet I still wanted a back seat so I could take friends and out-of-town visitors with me, whether I was out on the Butterfield stage coach trail or seeing the Grand Canyon.
That was nearly a decade ago. The truck now has around 110,000 miles on its odometer and is still going strong.
It needs to be strong because its cargo bed – lined with a Bed Rug that cushions the floor -- has become a favorite place for the grandchildren and their fiends to play.
Funny, as kids we love to play in the back of pickup trucks. As grownups, lots of us still like to play with our trucks.
Remember all the talk a couple decades ago about the “Generation Gap”? Well, there’s no such gap when it comes to pickup trucks, grandparents and their grandchildren.
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2008 Women's Expo
Channel 3 TV in Phoenix Arizona asked Two for the Road USA to represent them at a Belo Booth for the 2008 Woman’s Expo. Most of the Two for the Road staff was there over the three days including Rev up your RV with Cathy B. Suburbdaddy, Julia’s Garage, Michael from AZ3Sixty, Cathy, Bill and Grandma’s Hot Wheels Little granddaughter, Jayden.
2008 Ford Escape Hybrid
The other day, when my three-year-old granddaughter was exiting my car, she held up two fingers and said “Peace out.” I wondered where she had heard that expression. I hadn’t uttered that phrase in over 30 years and surely her Gen X father (my son) wouldn’t be caught saying that, as he laughs when I say “cool” or “far-out” in conversation. That’s okay; I snicker at his use of “whatever” or “as if.”
Grandparents “GETAWAY” Car
If someone mentions a town car to me I think of a chauffeured trip to the airport or a neighbor’s car that always has room for two or more additional passengers. It’s hard to find the look and feel of a limousine made by one of the big three auto manufacturers for under $40,000. However, Chrysler has a 300C Hemi engine designer sedan called the Walter P. Chrysler Executive series.
Hip-Hop Meets Pop-Pop
The Cadillac names that have spanned our generation include: The El Dorado, Seville, Coupe de Ville, De Ville DTS, Allante, and Cimarron, to name a few. I remember my family’s first Cadillac, a Sedan de Ville. Our neighbors clamored to look inside and wondered out loud as to what my dad did for a living to be able to afford such a status automobile. There was elegance associated with the brand, there was heritage, and eventually, its own subculture, with over 1,000 songs written about the Cadillac car to date.
"Green" Grandparents are Cool
Did Ozzie and Harriet have a garage? I think so, but how many cars did they have? You might find most of today’s grandparents with two cars in the garage, one a sporty ride and the other luxury, with perhaps a classic car in a third garage as well.
Was that a Hot Flash or a Hot Car?
Grandparents are not only young at heart, but in a lot of instances, we are chronologically young as well. Though we may be thinking about the coolest vehicle we can own and travel in, we may also be thinking about what vehicle is the safest to transport our grandchildren.
Read about Cathy Droz featured on GrowingBolder.com
Cathy Droz's articles are included in 55+ Alive!
About Love Inspired Photography - Weddings, Portraits, Family and Sports Photography
Grandma, Cathy Droz has 20 years of automotive marketing experience. She writes a weekly column with her daughter called Boomer and X and has a successful radio show in Phoenix, Arizona. She is the proud grandmother of Jayden Droz, who will accompany her on her test drives for fun and research. For more reviews go to www.twofortheroadusa.com or contact Cathy at drozadgal@aol.com
