- Jan 2, 2008
- 37
- 10
Grandpa Valery came from a small town in the mountains of Sicily and at the turn of the century there weren't many automobiles in his area. So after he immigrated to the US he was astounded by the number of cars and trucks on the roads and he began a love affair with autos that lasted all his life eventhough he never had a license to drive or sat behind the wheel of a car.
On Saturday afternoons his favorite thing to do was to walk across Market Street and visit with Joe Scalzo who owned a garage/service station. Grandpa would sit by the entrance to the garage with his bottle of homemade wine in a paper sack and watch the cars drive in and out. One day a man drove in in a brand new Cadillac coupe and Grandpa was struck dumb at the massive beauty of the automobile before him.
As Joe Scalzo busied himself filling the tank and wiping the windshield Grandpa sauntered over to the driver's window and peered into the plush cabin of the beautiful car.
"Jeez...dis' a beutiful ting here.....wat kinda auto is-a dis?" asked Grandpa.
Puffed with pride and vanity the driver replied: " This is a brand new 1946 Cadillac....I've only had it a week or two."
"Meengya...it's fantastic.....Wat's all dat stuff over der?" Asked Grandpa pointing to the complicated dash with its array of buttons and levers and instruments.
"Well, er....Thats the gearshift, this is the switch for the headlights, windshield wiper control, ash tray, heater switch, Glove compartment, you know... the usual.."
Grandpa thought about this, still enthralled by the beauty of the huge machine. About then Joe came to the window and announced that the bill came to 8 dollars and 16 cents. The driver retrieved his wallet and counted out a five and three ones, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change. Among the change was three or four wooden golf tees which immediately caught Grandpa's attention.
" Hey...Wat-a dos tings ?"
"Why, they're Tees...They're what I put my balls on when I drive"
Grandpa replied in awe: " Oh man! Dees guys at Cadillac, Dey tink of everything!"
On Saturday afternoons his favorite thing to do was to walk across Market Street and visit with Joe Scalzo who owned a garage/service station. Grandpa would sit by the entrance to the garage with his bottle of homemade wine in a paper sack and watch the cars drive in and out. One day a man drove in in a brand new Cadillac coupe and Grandpa was struck dumb at the massive beauty of the automobile before him.
As Joe Scalzo busied himself filling the tank and wiping the windshield Grandpa sauntered over to the driver's window and peered into the plush cabin of the beautiful car.
"Jeez...dis' a beutiful ting here.....wat kinda auto is-a dis?" asked Grandpa.
Puffed with pride and vanity the driver replied: " This is a brand new 1946 Cadillac....I've only had it a week or two."
"Meengya...it's fantastic.....Wat's all dat stuff over der?" Asked Grandpa pointing to the complicated dash with its array of buttons and levers and instruments.
"Well, er....Thats the gearshift, this is the switch for the headlights, windshield wiper control, ash tray, heater switch, Glove compartment, you know... the usual.."
Grandpa thought about this, still enthralled by the beauty of the huge machine. About then Joe came to the window and announced that the bill came to 8 dollars and 16 cents. The driver retrieved his wallet and counted out a five and three ones, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change. Among the change was three or four wooden golf tees which immediately caught Grandpa's attention.
" Hey...Wat-a dos tings ?"
"Why, they're Tees...They're what I put my balls on when I drive"
Grandpa replied in awe: " Oh man! Dees guys at Cadillac, Dey tink of everything!"
