Then the Mercury Was Ready To Go

A couple of posts ago, I made passing reference to my parents old 1972 Mercury Monterey. 1972 is the year I was born and they bought it because they needed more of a "family" type vehicle, what with the new little addition and all.

So, they purchased....a boat:




I typed "1972 Mercury Monterey" into Google Image search and lo and behold, a 1972 Mercury Monterey. Not just any 1972 Mercury Monterey, but the EXACT car my parents had.

Brown.

Brown must have been the happening color for cars back then.

The seats were a tan vinyl, bench seats front and back, so you literally had to climb over the seat to get from one to the other. I can fondly remember making that journey many a time during our travels, much to the annoyance of my parents. I remember the license plate number too. 988KIG. And it wasn't the nice spiffy New York plates we have now. They were the ugly old yellow and blue ones.

The first time we traveled to Florida to visit relatives, in 1976, I remember my father put a big board across the back seat so my brother and I could spread out our sleeping bags and take naps. No seatbelts required. Don't worry about sudden stops, or you know, safety or anything. It really does boggle the mind how unsafe vehicular travel for kids was a mere 30 years ago. By todays standards, that's akin to murder, for crying out loud. It's a wonder we were never hurt.

By far, the best part of that car was the 8 track player my father installed. It was in that car my love for music was truly cultivated. Where it developed and matured. I can tell you the exact cutoff point of every single John Denver 8 track, the exact point where the song would stop and the tape would change tracks. What technology, eh?

We had that car until 1984, when they finally traded it in for a Ford Crown Victoria. Another boat.

Now, 23 years later, my parents still have a penchant for Mercury's. They tool around in a semi-boat like Mercury Marquis now.

And yes, it's brown.