2000-09-28 - 15:01 MDT

THE WONDERING JEW

Idols

Long ago, about the time that cars became common, radiators were bigger, huge bug catchers mounted on the very front of the cars sometimes disguised by a fancy chromed shell. The fascinating thing to boys were the radiator caps. Smack in the middle and as "up top" as they could get. The first ones I saw were thermometers, glass faced on both sides, which gave an indication when the water in the radiator was too hot, just before the durn thing blew off. Then a bit later were the "heroic statuettes, and after that came the godesses, pure femaleness similar to ship figureheads only more streamlined. My mind niggles a bit and tells me that the Mercedes might have had a radiator cap looking like the Mercedes logo today, but I am not sure. Yeah they were sparkly, beautiful and desireable, we boys lusted after them and when stolen we hid them in a garage, woodshed or attic to be gloated over in private. These bits of beauty were where our daydreams started and our imagination would run riot -- these figurines were the heroines of many a fanciful story in our heads.

Did we feel guilt ? Only when we were caught, and the guilt was centered on our behinds. Part of the enjoyment was the thrill and the risk of kyping one without getting caught, how venturesome and intrepid we were.

Spare tires, there were wells in the front fenders of some cars where the spares were kept with various kinds of holding attachments, some of which locked. The expensive cars had a spare in the well on both sides of the car. On some of the cars there was a rack with a trunk-like contraption used to carry transportables on trips or the Sunday Picnic gear, (these were the forerunners of car trunks) Spare tire carriers were also mounted on racks attached there. Then there was the prosaic rack attached to the very back of the car to hold the trip insurance spare.

I was not too old when they began to cover the spares with fancy (oilcloth) covers, imprinted with a slogan or some such, pretty and pretty fancy. The cover I remember most was the one from Elitch Gardens, a Denver amusement park set amid Mary Elitch's greenery. Elitch Gardens had a playhouse which featured many of the great actors as well as some of the non-greats. The place drew from all walks of life, it was a place to picnic or to eat from the stands there. A place to walk the pretty, flowery paths with one's lady love, a place crammed with exciting rides. As well as the theater it had an impressive ballroom "The Trocadero" which was open to the balmy, summer zephyrs on all sides. Its bandstand was back in a protected area where rain couldn't blow in on it.

The Big Bands were becoming popular and would appear at the Trocadero through the summer - one band following another all summer.

Back to the tire covers, the one that stands out in my memory is one that had the phrase, "See Elitch's And Die" a puzzling phrase to kid of my age when I first saw it. Finally Dad put it this way, "Once your have seen Elitch's you have seen all there is to see and might as well die happy." One of them is NOT on exhibit at the new Six Flags -- Elitch's in the Platte River valley though, there are ads advertising Elitch's using other words. Die does not seem to be a popular word now.

Picnics in the country sometimes were more tire repair marathons, wherein the Daddies would fix flats while their boys would pester them. "What'cha doin' Dad ? Why are ya doin' it that way. What is that stuff Dad ?" and so on. The boys efforts to help were held under strict control due to the attendant dangers. I remember one time when coming home from Colorado Springs (the huge distance of 63 miles from Denver) we had a flat tire on the old 1925 Studebaker, Dad cussing under his breath because the "Stoody" had split rims which were bummers to get apart and equally difficult to get back together. We got home well after dark that time, with me like a happy little jaybird because we got home well after my usual bedtime.

Fan belts did not have a very long life nor did radiator hoses, there were usually spares carried in the storage space, but the changing was usually very dirty and oft times greasy, so wiping rags were part of the inventory too. Going somewhere out of town carried a great sense of adventure to me and curiosity as to what strange thing would happen each time.

Among my early memories were the scooters made by someone's Dad or big brother, it took half of one roller skate in front and half in back mounted on a two by four with an apple box front with a one by one nailed on top sticking out far enough on each side to make handles. Then all it took was the strength and coordination to use the contraption.

I guess that to a little boy something that is pretty and sparkly, some thing that roars, zooms rattles, clanks or clangs, jiggles the body and gives the feeling of speed and danger are, for the moment, one after the other, his Idols . . . . . . . .

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