Another legacy of the Homeschool Time was The Blue Van.
One day, some men showed up and got in our green Buick and started it up. Dad rushed out the door and asked them what they were doing and they said, “Sorry, sir, you’re behind on your payments for this car and it’s being repossessed.” Dad looked incredibly embarrassed as I believe it was a school day and all the students were there to witness this shameful event, however he did not impede the men as they drove the Buick away from our house.
Several days later, Dad drove up in an enormous Blue Van, which looked like an old 80’s “serial killer van” except with a preponderance of windows to prevent it from being a true van of that type. We climbed in and Dad kept going on about how he got such an awesome bargain at $500. “This is a reliable vehicle, son, it’s great,” he said, and as soon as he said that, the entire center console, with the stereo and everything, fell out into the floor with an unceremonious thud. Dad picked it up and jammed it back in, his face beet red, and stammered, “Trust me, aside from a few flaws, this is a solid vehicle.”
Another flaw, however, was the door latch. One day, we rode along and came to the main curve in front of our small town’s ice cream shoppe. I was leaning against the front passenger side door. Can’t remember if it was (supposed to be) locked or not. Anyway, as we rounded the curve, the door flew open, and I launched forth from the vehicle with a loud “URGH” sound. I think we were going about 20 miles an hour. I landed in some grass and rolled off the road, but Dad made a big swerve to avoid me and looked back. My head popping up from the hillock on the side of the road let him know that I was okay. And aside from a skin scrape on my stomach, I was undamaged. I think Dad had all the doors checked after that, because we never had a repeat incident, thank goodness.
Dad became known everywhere for his ridiculous Blue Van. And it was a pretty reliable vehicle, as far as transport went. He even used it to lug youth group members around for Uncle’s church when they put on puppet shows and plays at various other churches in the area. We had it for several years, until Dad’s sugar mama leased him that Camaro in Nashville.