My first new car

I once bought a car with eight quarters

     Back in 72 or 73, we had one car.  I don't remember much about the car, but it was a used car with lots of miles on it.
     What I do remember is it had a kill switch under the dashboard.  This little toggle switch would kill the engine if you flipped it.  If you put it in the off position you could not start the car.   When Jackie was pregnant with Julia, we would stay at my folk's house in Chicago on weekends.  Our doctor was at Columbus Hospital and we wanted to be close.
     A friend of ours from Rochelle had a daughter in nursing school in Chicago.  Jackie and I thought it would be fun to fix friend John up with Janet, so we invited them over to my folk's house to play cards.  Jackie was 9 months pregnant.  During the card game she constantly complained of a back ache.  When she went upstairs to use the bathroom, her water broke.
     I sent John to get the car, which was parked on the next block over.  He raced over and tried to start the car, but I had thrown the kill switch, so it would not start.  He raced back, told me the car wouldn't start, so I grabbed the keys and raced back down the block, got the car, picked everybody up, drove to the hospital, gave John the car to take Janet home and waited.  And waited.  And waited.  That was Saturday night, about 11.   When the Bears kicked off Sunday at noon, she still had not delivered. But near halftime, my first darling daughter was born.
     They had to use a forceps to pull her out because she was turned.  Plus, she had had a BM prior to birth.
     The nurse came out and showed me this baby, covered with slime and poop and blood, with huge red marks around her head, and said, "Isn't she beautiful?"  I almost puked.
     Anyway, the car had served us well, despite the kill switch.  But I was working in Rockford and she might have been in school, I honestly don't remember.  But I know we needed another car. (I think I was working nights, and she was getting a ride from a neighbor to class.....but I am a little fuzzy on what happened over 40 years ago.  Hell, I can't remember yesterday.)
     So one day, on my way home from work, I stopped at Lou Bachrodt, which at that time was down near the Rock River by the west side.  I looked at a new Chevy Nova.  The salesman asked me if I wanted to take it for a spin, I said no, I was just looking.
     I sat in the car, smelled the new car smell, and decided this was the car for us:  new, safe, dependable.
     I told the salesman I would come back in a couple of days.  He was kind of pushy and asked me how much money I wanted to put down.
     I told him none, because all I had was 8 quarters.
   Before you could say plaid jacket, he had some papers, the keys, took my eight quarters and said to drive it home to show my wife.
    Understand, I puzzle over what toilet paper to buy, what cereal to have,  where to go to eat, what flavor of ice cream to have.  Yet I spontaneously bought a car.
    It served us well, but it was made pretty clear to me that I could never do something like that again.
     And if Jackie reads this, I am pretty sure she will correct my memory.......