Mr. kenju and I went to our local cafeteria tonight and ran into a couple we have known for a while, who joined us for dinner. The guy was telling stories about some people he has known or known about in our area, and recounted a story he heard about a local man back in the 1950's.
The guy had a brand new Cadillac sedan, and they were big and roomy in those days. His car had air conditioning, which was apparently not yet common in automobiles. He and another guy decided to go to NYC one summer and chose to drive instead of flying, since he had a way to stay cool. The story goes that about the time he reached Richmond, VA, his air conditioning went out. Being an enterprising sort of guy, he located a local ice plant and instructed them to fill the back seat of the Cadillac with as much crushed ice as it would hold. He and his passenger then headed north again, trailing a constant drip of cold water all the way to New York. Upon return to our town, he told friends that they remained very cool all the way north.
Nothing was said about mildew in the backseat, but I wonder if that was a problem later on....LOL
16 comments:
Good point about the mildew. I suspect rust might also have been a long-term problem.
Ick!
I have to have air conditioning in my car. I would never survive the humid summer without it. You know all about that too, Judy
I guess I'm dense. How would that keep them cool? Just by being near it? Cute story tho.
~K!
from Michele's
That's determination! (and the kind of story that could have only taken place in the '50s!)
Here via Michele today.
p
Good story!
And it reminds me of something we did in the '50s.
or the smelly carpet! A most ingenious solution, however!
I remember those old desert burlap bags that people filled with water and hung on the front of their cars. I was so impressed with that when I was a child and someone came back from California with one. They said it helped cool down the car a little.
heh heh. growing up in Hawaii, our favorite way of staying cool also involves crushed ice, or more appropriately shaved ice with flavored syrups.
michele sent me.
Clicked into Michele's site, and there you were!
what we will do to get what we want!
Michele sent me.
Not sure I would put ICE in the back seat of a new car...LOL! This is a funny story, Judy...
that is too funny!!!
Here from Michele's and I have to go down and check out the Redneck Etiquette post now...
Michele sent me to see you, Judy. It's so nice to be here. ;-)
My bullshit meter is going off the charts here, Judy. Can you imagine how much that amount of ice would weigh? That car would be limping up the road to NYC as well as dripping. Of course as it melted the weight would decrease, wouldn't it?
Is this story really true? I could not imagine putting ice in the backseat of a brand new caddie!
I also have to wonder what prevented the water from pooling along the entire floorboard, which presumably runs from back to front. Wasn't the guy's FEET in a couple of inches of frigid water?
HA!!!!
I do remember riding in my friend's 1964 White T-Bird (with red leather interior) and it had A/C. VERY fancy in those days. ;)
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