Love the One(s) You’re With

I built plastic scale models from about the age of 10. First it was military aircraft and ships, then some funky, early, rickety-looking automobiles. Parts didn’t always fit together as the instructions suggested; frustrating for me, and this was chronic with certain brands of kits.

Then I discovered AMT model cars, probably about 1958. 3-in-1, the box touted. You could build a “stock” car, or embellish with Continental kits, spot lights, mirrors, bumper guards, and FENDER SKIRTS! Well-detailed kits — the parts fit together very well. One needed restraint here, but each kit I bought and brought home was a joyous moment, and when completed, each had a place on a shelf in the bedroom I shared with my brother, who also built model cars. I still have the 1960 Bonneville two-door, red, and the black 1964 GTO.

Mowing lawns was how I financed this growing habit. Fifty cents, a buck, even a buck fifty was my take for a large two-acre lawn… using Dad’s riding lawn mower and fuel. A kit was $1.50, but you might need glue, a couple of bottles of Testors paint for highlights, and as skill increased, some spray paint at 69 cents. So my “economy” became mowing lawns and buying model kits. My father, who lived through the Depression, was trying to explain restraint and saving, but that was no fun.

Looking at my latest purchase one day, my mother proclaimed, “You have buy-itis!” And my father, who was saving for three college educations, wasn’t happy about my squandering $2.00 on my model habit. But then it was a Schwinn Continental, HO railroad equipment, a slot car set, a go-kart, a mini-bike, and later, a used and troublesome 1962 Honda Dream. My mom was right; I had buy-itis, but through my materialistic actions, I was a happy kid. I’m a happy kid as an adult as I’m still afflicted!

Fast forward, after several bikes in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, well, somewhere in there, I acquired a second, then a third bike, when it was known that I could only ride one at a time. So what? And that word “need” has never factored in when it came to model cars or real motorcycles, even cars. Not wanting to risk my CB750, I needed an RD350 to go road racing. Then a Super Hawk, ’cause they meant a lot to me.