Chapter 2 (page 6)

This is the part where the car enters my life. For as far back as I can remember the car has been a part of our family-always there, somewhere in my life. Every story that I have heard about my life as a baby, involved the car in some way. From the story about how my Dad weaned my sister off of her Nuk(called a binky in those days), by pulling it out of her mouth and throwing it off the Verrazano Bridge as they were crossing it, to how I was in a small baby carrier and stuffed under the tonneau cover for the multi-hour ride to my Grandmother's house in Baltimore (no seat belts of course), "The Porsche" (as we have always referred to it in our family) was literally a family member, especially in those early days, when it basically served as the primary car. The car took us everywhere, trips, vacations, school, the babysitters; it was the life blood of transportation for us.

But as everything continues, things change. My sister and I were getting older and Mom and Dad opted for a nice country setting compared to the Northeast section of Philadelphia. We moved everything we owned up to the little country town of Red Hill, PA. I specifically remember leaving the city. By then we had 2 cars and in keeping with a true zest for German engineering, we had a Volkswagen Square Back and the Porsche. I remember leaving the apartment complex in the "Way Back" of the SquareBack. Dad was right behind us in the Porsche, top down, sunglasses on and Mom was with me and my sister asking that famous line of every kid, 2 minutes into a trip - "Are we there yet".

We settled into a new life in the country and that's where the story basically goes cold. The new house had a garage and the Porsche had the prime spot. For several years, the Porsche was drivable and we would get rides around the neighborhood from time to time. Dad would charge up the battery and go for a quick cruise. But eventually that became fewer and far between. Things like kids' activities took over and funds were spent on things like raising a family, taking vacations, school clothing and everything else you can think of.