Cars Through The Years: They All Had Their Names Pt.6 Poem by Frank Avon

In the meantime, she had had
two little siblings, sharing her pad:
Teddy Bear, the brown Toyoto,
and the Silver Pimpernell,
a Chrysler LeBaron, with leather roof.
Teddy was a second car
for the family's second educator,
whose students kept them busy
and aware; and he double-dared
anyone to scare the teenagers
with learning permits he shepherded:
lots of scrapes and dents
and traffic tickets, appearances
in traffic court (two generations
on the same day) , schedules,
soccer meets, music lessons,
band practice, PTA, track and field,
tennis, orchestra, part-time jobs,
driver's tests and new licenses,
high insurance rates,
low maintenance, tricky business;

and the Silver Pimpernell,
shiny silver (teenage daughter:
'It looks like it belongs to
a PIMP') . But he was dignity,
say what you will. A compact sedan,
if that term's kosher, elegance
and usefulness, not quite virginal,
not quite matronly, let's say
haute cuisine for the middle-aged,
busy parents of a family down-sizing,
beginning to have cars of their own
(we won't go there: it's a many-pronged
destiny - er. destination, Minnesota
to Texas to Kansas to who-knows-where) .
Silver moved with us to Florida,
and felt quite at home, retiring
to Blues Creek, with ailing Moby Dimple;
eventually going only backward,
working only in reverse,
she regretfully gave her place
among our race of cars to...