Oh, yeah, turn back that clock for me Butch. Turn it all the way back to August 3rd, 1970, when a 20 year old Airborne Ranger came home from his first tour in RVN. Home for thirty days, then headed back for a second bite of that apple. My Parents picked me up at the Airport, and after a few cups of coffee, my Father and I went car shopping. He was a lifelong Ford guy, but there were zero four-barrel Fords at the local dealership. We ended up at the Plymouth dealership. They had 19 new Road Runners in a row outside. Coupes, hardtops, and even two convertibles. Every color and engine option under the sun. Little outside my budget.
However, in the second row there was a blood red 1968 RR with a bench seat, column shift Torqueflite, 426 Hemi. $2650. A very short test drive, and we were back at the dealership signing the papers. Fill it up with SUNOCO 360, switch into jeans and a T-shirt, and clear the roads. I got 11 speeding tickets in 29 days. Aftermarket cassette player (remember them). Cruising to the Guess Who, Stones, and the Beach Boys. And, yeah, Eric Burdon and the House of the Rising Sun.
Then back to RVN for six months. Creedence Clearwater Revival had just released a second album. I lived in Southern Illinois, and one of the songs was "Just got home from Illinois, locked the front door Oh Boys...".
Two more short six month tours, and Sgt Me took his Honorable Discharge and went back to College. There are likely thousands of you out there about my age, with a similar story.
thanks for the memory,
ISS