All the 'Cool Truck' comments
Without fail, when we drive Old Blue we get comments and horn beeps from admirers of the blue and white '66 Slick. Many people stop to talk about similar trucks they owned in the past, or that their parents or some other relative had owned something similar. Sometimes they talk about their memories of driving around in an old truck and share something special to them. The kids and I never know what to expect when we pull into a gas station, a grocery store, or even just stop at a red light. People respond to the classic lines and paint scheme in a way that harkens to days past, when communications were simple and it was OK to show true emotions to strangers.
The truck touches something in young and old people alike. We are often asked about what year it is; and have taken to responding with 'Take a guess' ! It is amusing to hear younger kids think this old steel monster came from the 80's or 90's !!! When they hear it is from 1966 they are surprised and amazed it looks 'so new' for a 50 year old truck.
We have settled many a bet between people - couples guessing what year it is while driving down the road, when they pull up beside us at a light or stop sign and calls out "Is that a '65?" When we answer there are smiles and whoops and more stories about how one or the other made their guess.
Lessons Learned
Driving Old Blue around town opens doors to many areas of interest for us. I listen to the kids talking when we are cruising and I think they get a sense of how she reflects the golden age of american manufacturing, her place in the evolution of automotive engineering, and even problem solving strategies - all unexpected benefits of taking on the stewardship of the vehicle.
My youngest son immediately recognized the difference in analog technology versus digital and comments frequently how Old Blue runs and displays information just like his mothers Honda but without any computers. This often leads to discussions on how automotive engineers from the past could create sensors and circuits to communicate data to the drivers of these old autos with NO digital processing available to them. Our trips to school in the morning, when not focusing on vocabulary words or math functions typically include some discussion about 'Fuel/Fire/Air' translating into simple physics perspectives of torque, power, motion - we stay away from talking about collisions except to note that 2 tons of heavy american metal is no match for the plastic in cars built today!
