It was 45 years ago that Pam fell in love not with me, but my car. No, not
my Sprite, but my ex-police car. The 1965 Dodge Polara Police Pursuit is
long gone, the Sprite remains with us and today marks our 45th anniversary.
I was an Orange County cop at the time, and the car was a that I knew had
been the watch commander's car, with low mileage and absolutely no
mechanical issues. For only $700, I had a car that flew like a bat outta
hell!!!! It was equipped with:
--413 ci single 4-bbl
-- hi performance cam
-- dual exhaust
-- High-capacity radiator
-- 60 amp extra-heavy-duty Leece-Neville alternator w/dual belts
-- Police TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic transmission
-- 3.23 differential
-- Power brakes
-- Power steering
-- Heavy-duty suspension w/special rear springs, torsion bars and 122
wheelbase.
-- Less than 9 miles per gallon of 30" a gallon
Six weeks before, we had our first date and we had gone for lobster in the
L.A. harbor, then to Hollywood for a premier. After that, Pam just HAD to
drive my car, and went flat out up Highway 101. The next day, we took a
drive in the Sprite, and of course she loved it. But the Dodge was to be
HER car. Two weeks later, we decided to get married, and knowing that she
had "immunity" as a cop's wife, she took full advantage of it and kept the
pedal to the metal.
Today, she still loves me (and the Sprite).
(A few years later, I was teaching history at Cal State University Long
Beach. I had a student who was an ex-con, fresh out of the joint. He had
no money, no food, no job and no car to find a job. He was a sure bet to
return to the joint. So, Pam and I loaded the Dodge with some of my clothes
and food. And, we gave him the car (yes, free), so the ex-con was driving
around in an ex-cop car!! I and got him a job as student assistant in the
department (although the chairman insisted his past had to be kept a secret
from our liberal colle)agues who he knew would revolt.) He would later
have an executive position with a string of truck stops.
Buster
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