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| WESTMORELAND |
| BOYD |
| MOSSER |
| VASELINE GLASS |
| PAPERWEIGHTS |
| OTHER ANIMALS |
| KITCHENWARE |
| BEANIES |
| SLIPPERS |
GILDA
When I saw the clouds forming in the sky, I knew I was in for a trouble. Torrential rains in Arizona in the late summer can be quite a show. Living in the desert all my life I had seen quite a few of these lightening storms. "Lightening and thunder loud enough to scare the hair off the back of my jackass" is the way old Clem down the road says it.
I watched throughout the afternoon as the sky continued to darken. Lightening began to light up the sky, jumping from cloud to cloud as the large splatters of rain began to hit the window of my small house in the desert. I knew rain here pours off of the desert seeking the lowest point and I watched as water began to roll down the road! Flash floods are common during these storms but this one built up quickly and began to take down the sides of the dirt ditch in front of my house!
I sat at the window and watched as the water began to spread and come into my yard. I looked at my poor little Red Volkswagen sitting there in the downpour. I squinted through the rain to see my car begin to move with the water. I knew when the water rushes across the desert, it brings snakes, scorpions and everything else with it! But I couldn't let my car be swept away with the water! I ran out of the house just in time to see my car floating away! I grabbed a rope dangling from the tractor and ran sloshing through the water to save my car!I had bought my VW right out of high school and named her Gilda., we had been everywhere together and she had never let me down. I kept her clean and even set the valves myself every 3,000 miles. No rain storm would take her away!
I sloshed through the water and tried to loop the rope through her back bumper, but the water was turning the car around and I couldn't do it. I was soaking wet and mad! I managed to turn the rope around the back tire and quickly tied the other end to an old post at the side of the driveway! Gilda continued to slide along until the rope was taught and it held! She just sat there and bobbed in the water! I sloshed my way back to the house and fell with exhaustion right on my back in the mud.As I began to catch my breath I wondered what I might be laying in. Scorpions? I ran to the house taking off my clothes as I went. A hot shower and a close check told me I had nothing to fear.
The next morning I went out so see how Gilda had faired the storm. This time I picked my way carefully through the debris left by the flood. There she was sitting along the side of the road all mud and silt. I cleaned out her tailpipe, carefully got in the car and tried to start the engine. She sputtered a couple of times and started right up! I backed up a little to take the tension from the rope that had saved Gilda from washing away, unlooped it from the tire and drove her home. I immediately got a bucket and soap and a few soft towels and gave Gilda the best car wash she had ever had!
As she sits there, out in the yard, I look at her with great affection. Gilda and I had been through a lot over the years. We went places and did things and she had always gotten me home. Gilda was more than just a car, she was my friend. I loved her and sometimes when no one was looking, I even gave her a hug. I am just happy I could do something equally as good for her. We belong together! I am anxious to see what our next adventure will be.
By Lorraine Milligan