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Thread: grab a snack, a seat, and/or a drink, because this is long

  1. #1

    grab a snack, a seat, and/or a drink, because this is long

    I'm sharing a poem about my 1961 Ranchero which is thematically on topic, but stylistically an outlier in a hobby forum. I mean, unless the forum was for amateur poets in which case you'd see a lot of it I guess. But not here so much. So this is going to look a little weird here, and I get that, but someone might enjoy it. (If you don't make it all the way to the end I'll quite understand.)

    This poem is about a 3-day journey I took this week, starting shortly after dawn Sunday morning, and arriving home to Shelton Tuesday night circa midnight.

    A poem about travels can't help but remind me of the St. Ive's ditty, which tends to stick in the head due to repeated words and themes, ending with a clever riddle that you never forget. While mine is also about a journey, I've deliberately minimized repetition of words, and I pose no riddle at the end. Although truth be told, you might end up with question(s) at the end but none posed by me. It might be any number of unanswered questions which pop into your mind, starting with "what possessed a man to write and/or post poetry in a Falcon forum?" But some questions really have no rational answer so I cannot promise a satisfactory reply!

    Best I can explain is this: There really is a lot of time on the open road, and on the last leg of my trip some rhymes and phrases kept falling together in my head. Some of them, I liked how they meshed so I tried to remember them.

    Then, sleep deprived from 2 nights of napping in my car, I slept sound and heavy Tuesday night. But upon waking I sorted those rhymes and phrases out, organized, wrote some new ones to fill out the story, and here it is:

    1961 Ford Falcon Ranchero
    (Latest Chapter)

    I arrived in the dark, after twilight and sunset
    Patrick signaled his flashlight, so finally we met
    I'd driven since morning, crossed a state line or two
    Seeking Falcon exhaust pipes, and a muffler too

    I'm building a specific car, a classic
    A family project (though my kids didn't ask it!)
    But help they have, not inconsequential
    Their assistance has been absolutely essential

    These parts I can't get in my local store
    Mail order would take weeks, or more
    Only one solution would do the trick
    I jumped in the car (and drove rather quick)

    To meet a man who's already done
    Restoring his own Falcon (as we do for fun)
    His '61 Sedan is show-stopping stunning
    For first place ribbon, this one's in the running

    "You're crazy!" he admired, suppressing a laugh
    Like a compliment lightly folded in half
    "I've never driven a distance so far
    Just to get a part for my car!"

    But I saw the Falcon that Patrick restored
    With that '61 grill I've always adored
    And couldn't help think "he's one to talk!
    I drove the drive but he's walked the walk."

    His car was restored by his very own hand
    And much finer than anything I have planned
    In contrast, I've barely given a fraction
    Of the commitment this man has put into action

    My 61 Ranchero is just barely driving
    The mechanics around here don't think she's thriving
    Some even recommend I just "put her down"
    As she sputters and steams when I roll into town

    But it's more than just a car to me
    I'm redeeming some personal history
    Building it to match the one I once had
    My first car, the hand-me-down Ranchero from dad

    Patrick answered my questions (yes I had a few)
    But the late got later and finally I flew
    Las Gatos to Las Vegas on long highways
    Through desert, over interstates and lesser byways

    To answer the craigslist ad for wheels
    From a 61 Falcon, is it worth the ordeal?
    After I got there, the answer was yes
    For what I saw seemed nearly priceless

    Kirby's '61 Falcon Station Wagon
    Is worthy in every way of braggin'
    This was his dad's own original Ford
    Now 60 years old, preserved and restored

    A few minor upgrades but mostly she's stock
    A gorgeous teal repaint, the envy of the block
    Each little detail shows the love and care
    Over many decades of maintenance and repair

    Preserving some family history
    Is appreciated by the likes of me
    But finding our cars had the same interior
    Elevated this visit to something superior

    "Number 54" is the name of the trim
    Of the ranch-themed seats that Ford had put in
    To some of the Falcons when factory new
    But over the years I've seen only two

    In person that is, but this wagon makes three
    And oh what an exciting thing to see
    Although the seats were since replaced
    But clues were there for me to trace

    His door panels were the same color I knew
    Then I checked the door plate, and it matched too
    Trim 54 below the serial number
    Meant the cowboy seat pattern had once graced this wonder

    Branding iron design ain't easy to find
    It was damn near impossible for me to get mine!
    But having done so, then I had fun
    Telling Kirby which upholsterer could get it done

    That's how it is when Falcon fans meet
    Two strangers who'd otherwise pass on the street
    But common passion creates instant bond
    Gushing over the Falcons of which we're so fond

    Well now I'm home with my new/old parts
    And my Ranchero which so noisily starts
    Might tomorrow be more pleasant to hear
    With factory-spec muffler installed in the rear

    But the bigger change which might longer last
    When I look back, when now becomes past
    Are the memories I'm making with family and friends
    The Ranchero is just my means to that end

    And what better metaphor could there be?
    Cars take you from points A to B
    I don't think it requires my explanation
    The value of connecting between generations

    So watch this space, in case I write more
    Maybe after I paint, or repanel the doors
    In remembering the past, I'll give to the future
    A Ranchero that looks and drives just as I knew her

    Todd Richert RN

    rancheroplatefront.jpg

  2. #2
    Pretty impressive. And a great story too!
    Roger Moore

    63 "Flarechero"
    powered by: 347ci stroker | Tremec T5 | 8" 3:45 TracLoc rear



  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Federal Way
    Posts
    906
    Awesome job Todd!
    That was great reading.
    you should definitely submit it to the falcon club news magazine.
    Don Bartlett
    Federal Way, WA
    61 Four Door Sedan
    144-6, 3 on the tree



  4. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by dhbfaster View Post
    Awesome job Todd!
    That was great reading.
    you should definitely submit it to the falcon club news magazine.
    Thanks! Glad you enjoyed that. And I just received my first issue of that magazine the other day... it seems like a good idea, if they like it too maybe they'll want to print it.

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