Editorial January 13, 1997 Issue

One way only—forward

William E. Moody

When I was in college, I needed a car. I found one that fit my budget. It was a secondhand Plymouth Fury. Light green, automatic transmission, AM/FM radio, sleek tail fins, chrome wheel covers—the works. It was certainly bigger than I needed, but it had been well cared for and low mileage. The owner had finally brought the price down to $100.

Even at that bargain price, however, there was a reason why no one else had bought the car by the time I went to see it. The push-button transmission worked fine, in all the gears except one—reverse! Still, I figured I would usually be going in only one direction anyhow. How could I refuse it for a hundred dollars? I drove off, completely happy with my new purchase.

I'll admit there were a few challenges, like trying to find a parking place on the narrow street where my apartment was located. The space needed to be long enough so I could dock that big boat of a car, front-end first. Sometimes I'd drive around the block a dozen times, and eventually find myself putting the transmission in neutral, getting out of the car, and pushing it backward into a space while trying to turn the steering wheel through the open window. That was always a last resort! Yet as long as I was driving that old Plymouth in one direction, it was great. Forward was the only way to go—literally!

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