Monday, January 20, 2020

Connected by a Chevy Suburban

The way it used to be
Orlando, FL
January 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram
The scene: We're wandering through Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park under a perfectly blue Florida sky.

The period-correct streetscapes seem to have come alive in the warm morning sun, the art deco architecture snapping into sharp relief in a riot of pastel shades and rich textures. If I do nothing more than stare at everything I see today, I'll consider it a day well spent.

Retro-looking billboards dot the rooftops, and each one merits a photo. But this particular one is special.

When my wife was a child, her dad drove a Chevrolet Suburban. The brown and beige giant towed the family trailer, and together they formed the backbone of memories of trips across the continent that she carries with her to this day.

The towed trailer was gone by the time we started dating, replaced by an even larger one permanently moored deep inside an upstate New York campground. But the Suburban was still in the driveway. And its shadow loomed large as we slowly built the foundation of our own life together. It was a sad day when the Suburban gave way to the big green Olds.

Years later, I brought a Chevy HHR home. My little black retro-wagon was styled after the 1940s-era Suburban, something that made my father-in-law chuckle when I first told him. It was just a car, but it connected us.

So when I saw the basis for my since-replaced Chevy on this billboard, I instantly thought of him. He would have smiled. I did for both of us.

Because you never know when a cherished, deep-rooted memory will present itself. Or when the universe will choose to gently tell you where to look to find it.

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