…you might be having an anxiety dream.

Did I ever tell you about my all-time favorite car*?
riv
1972 Riv. 455 cubic inches. This car throbbed at idle. Went through a muffler and/or tailpipe annually. Got maybe 5 MPG idling downhill. God, I loved it, it was so tragically uncool.

When the transmission finally refused to pretend it was even vaguely functional, I still garaged it for over a year before giving up and selling it to a classic car buff who I sincerely hope restored it. Some guy actually showed up on my porch and offered me $300 because it was an old beater. I’ve rarely been so tempted to violence toward a stranger.

That has nothing to do with anything, except that the Riv visited me in a dream last night. Really. We haven’t spoken in so long.

I opened the door to get out and found the inside filled with broken eggshells and occasional defective broken eggs. I looked around, and we were parked in a friend’s kitchen. Newly refurbished, fresh paint everywhere. A totally inappropriate setting for a 44-year-old very scruffy musclecar-wannabe and me, especially when we seemed to be dripping broken egg detritus and maybe a little motor oil everywhere.

If the Riv’s appearance in the dream had any significance, I can’t imagine what it might be. The eggs, on the other hand, probably reflected growing uneasiness about my suitability as a chicken farmer.

Lost one of my laying hens yesterday, just one of those things where a hen gets sick and dies apparently within two hours. And her last mortal act was to lay an egg, which was kind of poignant. Of my three surviving pullets, only one is producing at all and she needs practice. One of the others keeps jumping into my arms and singing “I won’t grow up” in a high, girlish voice; she’s barely even getting a comb.

Which leads me to believe I should re-think my plans to not raise any pullets this year. The local feed store is getting chicks but I can’t raise any right now, I simply don’t have the electricity to run a heat lamp 24/7. I would need to wait a couple more months, and then I probably won’t be able to get chicks locally.

It’s not a life or death issue, but it is an issue.

*Technically it’s only my all-time favorite coupe. Favorite vehicle goes to a windowless ’70 Tradesman van. With paneling and orange shag carpet, yet, honest. 🙂 I went over about 50% of the country in that van. Those were the days.

About Joel

You shouldn't ask these questions of a paranoid recluse, you know.
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5 Responses to …you might be having an anxiety dream.

  1. MamaLiberty says:

    My first husband and I had a Dodge Tradesman van. He was a mechanic and his hobby was buying “beaters” and fixing them up for sale. All of our vehicles came from that proud line. “Fixed” is relative. Anyway, this van was white, with a typical commercial interior. We installed two bench seats, and it was instantly our Boy Scout mobile. Then one day, when it was full of scouts, someone hit us Tbone style at a stop light. Luckily, nobody was hurt except the ass*** who hit us. WHEW… but the old Dodge body and frame were toast. Since it had a mostly brand new engine, transmission and other stuff, my husband went looking for a body to transplant it all into. He came home with a nice looking one, a year or two younger than our old buddy, but with a completely blown engine. The tranny had been sold to someone else previously.

    Then began the transplant operation… a challenge in some cases, since the new body was younger than the engine and tranny we had. It took several months of weekends and odd hours of work, and I held a lot of wrenches, etc… but we finally got it running. My only complaint was that the whole thing had been painted bright “air/sea rescue” orange… evidently with a broom. Never did get around to painting it a more rational color, but it ran like a top for years. And again, luckily, the cops in town knew us and never gave us any grief over it… but I’ll bet they had a good laugh. 🙂

  2. Joat says:

    I don’t know why but I like the looks of those old Riv’s one of very few cars that look good painted olive green.

  3. For what it is and represents – those are some fine lines. I’m more familiar with the Ford/Merc line from the 60’s – but that’s an ambitious design.

    I used to work with a somewhat well known automotive designer – he had the hots for that same Riviera. He bought one in an online auction that was in fair shape – with an awful aftermarket green metallic paint job – iirc.

    I still have a fondness for a full-size 73 Mercury I used to own – that 429 filled the whole engine bay. It was a real pleasure at a high speed cruise – but too heavy to be a ‘musclecar’. I sold it to someone (after I’d nearly run the wheels off it) for $250. He planned on using it either for dirt track or demolition derby! We had to jack it up to put a decent tire on it for him to run it off – and when the old jack got uncooperative with him when he went to lower it – he just kicked the car off the bumperjack. Took him about 4 tries – but I already had the $ in hand and it was amusing as long as you stood back a few feet!

    I like to think that Carmen went down swinging.

  4. Buck. says:

    My grandmother had a ’72 Riv. Her old man drove a ’74 Impala. I ended up with the Impala in college. A buddy had a ’67 Riviera and I have been on the lookout for a ’64 or ’65 forever. They are getting pricey. I saw a sweet 65 at an auction in Vegas a few months ago but don’t have $12k to blow on a car like that these days. My buddy paid $600 for his…..damn, that car cruised smooth about 130mph.

  5. Zelda says:

    Smokey Yunick said it best: “Ain’t no substitute for cubic inches.”
    We were so spoiled by those vehicles and didn’t know it.

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