Do You Know Who I Am???

While browsing Pinterest the other day I came across a picture of one of those old VW vans...like the Scooby Doo van if you will, but bright yellow.

Every time I see one like it it brings me back to a memory of a night when I was around 18 years old.

At that time I was dating (and engaged to for a short time) a guy named Alan. I met Alan in the elevator of the hospital where I worked.  We both worked the evening shift. My job was transporting  patients by wheelchair to and from X-Ray, dialysis, etc. and other misc. duties like collecting T.V. rental monies. Alan worked in Shipping and Receiving. We sneaked in every chance we could at the snack bar, hallway or...the elevator. Because we worked 5 days a week in the evenings our weeknight dating was limited to the night owl hours.

Alan was a serious, preppy guy who casually wore Izod golf shirts or button-downs and pleated khakis. He also had future plans,  goals, and aspirations...refreshing but not my usual type of guy..at the time anyway.  Besides his good looks, I'm pretty sure what attracted me most to him was his black 1969 Fast Back Mustang. To this day, I have absolutely no idea what attracted him to me either....me, the girl who listened to rap music, smoked cigarettes and wore clothes that closely resembled something hippies would wear.

After a year long courtship Alan  presented me with an engagement ring on Christmas Eve 1984.  Two months later by the end of January 1985 of the next year he decided that I wasn't good enough for him to marry and broke off our engagement. He was probably right. I loved muscle cars but I never played the preppy part very well. Even so, I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit heartbroken.

Even so, thirty years later I still have a couple of love letters he wrote me and a few pictures of us at Dauphin Island where we hung out that summer of 1984 with our circle of  friends on his Hobie Cat Catamaran. Those times were some of the best in my memory bank of life...

Looking at my life now it's hard to believe there was ever a time I did something other than  laundry, dusting, and preparing meals for the better part of my day...

Sorry, I got a little sidetracked in my memories there. Anyway....

....Alan was a car guy. He had a souped up midnight blue Toyota truck with dark tinted windows he drove to work and a 1969 Fast Back Mustang that he drove for 'pleasure' and on the weekends.

One late night Alan was dropping me off at my house after a night out.  For whatever reason he always parked his Mustang on the curb when he came over. When he left I walked out with him to his car so we could say our goodbyes and get in our last smooch of the evening.

At that time Dave Straker, a local meteorologist lived across the street from us. He drove a bright yellow VW 'Scooby Van'.

As I walked with Alan out to his car 'Dave' was pulling out of his driveway across the street and proceeded to back right into Alan's Mustang. It was dark and very late at night and Meteorologist Dave hesitated for only a second before driving off.

Alan was cursing and hollering at 'Dave' as he drove away and I was like "Shhhhhh.....that's Dave Straker!" Alan said, 'I don't give a shit who it is he just hit my car!.'

I wonder: Did 'Dave' drive off because he was drunk and didn't realize he hit a vehicle? (it was very late at night) or did 'Dave' not even realize he hit something? Or was it because 'Dave' was 'Dave' and knew people in high places that could get him out of trouble??? I have no idea.

It's been so long ago I don't remember what ever came of the incident after that night...