You aren’t going to believe this one. Of all of the cars that my father own I remember this one in particular. I think if memory serves me right, it was a canary yellow “Buick Special.” At any rate, I know it was a Buick, but not sure about the style. Daddy called it a light car, because when he “got on it” the back tires just “burned rubber!” In other words his positive traction wasn’t making a connection with pavement. Back in the old days, most all cars came with a big V-8 engine and a large gas tank. We all know the reason for the large gas tanks. Most all cars with “V8 Engines” were later considered “gas guzzlers.” I have to admit I do miss the “V8 engine era!” It has always been my belief that boats powered with V8 engine seem to get more attention from the fish.

My father always had a need for speed! He loved to drink a fifth of liquor and take an impressible drive. The fifth he drank could be his own special brand such as Rich and Rare, Seagram’s, and there were many others. There was this other brand called “OP.” This was his favorite, because he said, “he liked it the most!” The brand of “OP” boiled down to “other people’s liquor!”

The car as I said earlier was a little light on its tires. My father took the car over to Clem Burnsed paint and body shop. This was the first time that Clem and he got to do some real business talking. He had an idea on how to correct his problem. His instructions were simple. Daddy had obtained a “rail” from another outside source. Knowing him while riding on the train, he just picked one up! They were to cut it in parts so that they would fit into the trunk. Once placed in the trunk they were to somehow weld the pieces to the sides so they were stable. In other words “stabilization of rails!”

Once the rail parts were stabilized as he called it, it was time to take the ride of a lifetime. I can’t lie I wasn’t there for the “Maiden run,” but I heard about it all the way from Westside Savannah. According to the story, daddy newly added weight to the trunk of his light car certainly did worked. As he took off, tires were spinning and rubber was burning. However, when the tires melted just enough and grabbed daddy was off in what was soon to be called “the spectacular launch!” It was a success! As he pasted lookers on the sidelines according to daddy were a bit blurred. In my father’s case the smell of tires burning meant speed and lots of blurred vision! As he told me this story I had to wonder if “OP” was speaking for him.

And this is just about when my father’s and Clem’s AGDF ERA began!



Two great captains!
Captain Bill Marsh (1935-2013) and my father Captain Sherman Helmey (1901-1993)