Jalopy Memories

Jalopy Memories The old jalopy still proudly rumbles down a street now paved with asphalt Flying tattered banners and trailing mists of smoke and steam in circles Riding on thin tires held together by shiny spokes glinting in the sun Remembering the brightest summer Sundays with ladies holding lacy parasols Sitting on leather seats next to gentlemen sporting summer straw hats Holding hamper baskets filled with picnic delicacies of sweet peach cobblers, Jugs of lemonade, crispy chicken and spicy pickles Or recalling afternoons of sweltering heat when a rumble seat overflowed With children clad in bathing suits cradling their inner tubes and fluffy towels Heading to the sandy beaches of a refreshing lake or to the swimming hole With rope swings ready, waiting, for splashing shouts of glee; Hearing again the songs of good old summertime Sung in rhyme to the rhythm of the chugging engine Happily bouncing down shady streets with streetlamps only stopping now To wave at neighbors, scaring friends with “ah-ooh gah” horns, While eating dripping cones of ice cream - No booming woofers drown out the song, The reminiscing of Fords and Packards rebuilt to glory with loving hands Celebrating now their yesteryear in parades with main street cheers When memory’s sweet hand guides the wandering heart back into jalopy days. Written 7-22-19