White Wedding

Sara -

I was just reflecting on our first (and only) car, Woody. If I recall correctly, it originally belonged to our Uncle Glen. It had wood paneling on the exterior and blue velvet upholstery inside. I'm quite certain that Dad purchased it from him and gifted it to us after our high school graduation, right around the launch of our music career. This move seemed like a not-so-subtle push for us to finally take our driver's tests and get our licenses, so we could drive ourselves to gigs. However, this tactic didn't work. Woody remained parked behind Mom's house on the garage pad, untouched, until we sold it and moved to Vancouver, still unable to legally drive.

Station wagons galore in our youth.

It's hard to imagine that a station wagon would have been our first choice of car if we had been given a choice. Nonetheless, it was suggested that a station wagon would be an ideal vehicle to lug our equipment to shows.  Local ones anyway. To the best of my knowledge, neither of us ever took the wheel of the station wagon. I recall Dad maneuvering it into the spot next to the garage when he handed it over to us, and it remained there until we sold it six months later. I also have a vivid memory of sitting in the backyard with friends, having a bunch of us piling inside Woody, to pet his velvet seats.

While I was writing this message, I Googled "station wagon seating." I have a lot of memories of sitting in the fold-up concealed seats of various station wagons during our younger years. Looking at it now, the whole setup strikes me as remarkably unsafe.

Truly terrifying.

I also remember Uncle Glen taking us for a ride in his station wagon (which might have been Woody).  It was a scorching summer day, and the interior of the station wagon was sweltering. You and I were in the fold-up seats, with the back window rolled down completely, our hair swirling in the wind. And Dad and Uncle Glen were up front, singing along to Billy Idol's "White Wedding.”

When you Google “station wagon” there are so many photos of kids hanging out the back. Not us, but it could have been.

So much has changed since then. As a parent, I’m sure you know this, but children now have to be in car seats until they're practically teenagers. There’s an abundance of precautions now that didn’t exist when we were young.  Despite the risks, I’m grateful that we had the opportunity to live so recklessly, unburdened, during our younger years.  Aren’t you?

Tegan