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Fond childhood memories aren't
always all they're cracked up to be. |
Back when I was a child Middle Child, my family used to drive from northern New Jersey to south Florida for winter vacations. Along the way, we'd also stop in Chester, PA to pick up my Grandparents. That’s me, my older brother, my little sister, my parents
and my Grandparents -- seven people in one car. Granted, my father’s Oldsmobile was big, but still -- seven people? And in those days, it was
at least a two day drive. Plus, the car wasn’t just packed with us. There was food and toys and anything that couldn’t fit in the trunk. That’s
a lot of people and stuff to be crammed into one car for a couple of days, but those trips were some of my happiest childhood memories.
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How many people should you
cram into a Oldsmobile? |
First of all, I always loved travelling. Any trip was an adventure for me, even if it meant being stuffed into a southward bound clown car. On these particular southern sojourns, my father always drove. My mother was always the navigator in the front passenger seat. My brother and sister were together in the back, nestled between Grandma and Grandpa, and I sat in the front between my mother and father. That’s right – front row center. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to secure such a prime location! Sitting up front in the “cockpit,” I had an unobstructed view of the speedometer, odometer and clock, making it easy for me to collect all the data required to calculate critical information about the trip and enter it in my travel log.( Yes, I kept a travel log.) Meanwhile, my brother and sister were stuck back in the cheap seats. Suckers!