True, only part of the car was made in the USA (the rest was made in Europe), as opposed to none of the T-shirt, but it makes the statement "less is more," and we like that. It's fun to drive, and we like that, too. Also good: It's easy to wash.
We never wash and wax a car without remembering our father's 1958 Oldsmobile Super 88. Our father was a perfectionist, especially when smaller fingers were polishing the chrome. "High-nickel chrome!" he would say. My brother can tell you how our fingers ached.
In the fifties, you may have recall, excess was far from wretched. Too much was just enough. They had earned it, after all, saving the world from authoritarianism.
Washing the car in the yard with the ballgame on the radio, going to town for something to grill, inviting friends over for a few hours of relaxation under the sun -- that's part of it, too. And to everyone who has worn this country's uniform and done their duty, we say thanks.
copyright 2010 J. O'Brien, all rights reserved
