The Cars

The cars in the Hogan family were not numerous, but the memories certainly were. Whether it be basic errands, day trips to Earls in Franklin for Halloween pumpkins or long driving-heavy vacations, the car was a place where we all grew closer. We would read, talk, fight, listen to music, laugh, sleep and just be a family in those cars and that is why they are special to me.

Let's start from the first one I can remember. The Benz...

From Kristin:

• It was always breaking down.
• Mom and Dad brought me home from the hospital in it.
• I still remember it's smell- not sure what that was...not bad but definitely there.

From George:

I remember it being parked all the time, but I can't recall riding it though. I have a fairly vivid memory of sitting in it a few times. I remember that the brown (leather/vinyl/pleather) upholstery was torn in a few places. Kristin mentioned the smell and I also remember that smell. It was a faded scent of pipe smoke. Dad usually had a pipe and pouch in the glove compartment and sometimes the pipe was left out near the emergency break.

Then came the back-to-back Oldsmobile station wagons. The first one was a blue woody and the second was a grey woody.

From Kristin (on the blue leased wagon):

None- I had to call Mom to even confirm that we had one. Apparently we leased it from one of Dad's hotels- It was an Oldsmobile, as was the next wagon.

From George:

I don't have any memories from this one either. Not sure how I remembered its existence.

From Kristin (on the grey wagon):

• Playing with George and his "guys": T.V. Man; Fuzz hair and later came Eric and Lamonte.
• Watching out that we aren't impaled by that horrible wire that stuck out of the seat.
• Combing Dad's hair on long car trips and holding his hand while he drove.
• Pulling your hair out
• "Ahhh, I just vomited" -George
• Junior Trivial Pursuit- I ALWAYS got the hard questions and I STILL hate that game!
• Mom reading out loud nonstop in the front seat...usually my summer reading books
• Mad Libs

From George:

Of course I remember playing with my "guys" back there. I would play with them everywhere. Sure, I didn't have quite the collection as Will Brockman, but I played them until they couldn't be played with anymore. And I also remember the wire that Kristin stills claims scarred her legs for life. Luckily I escaped without major injury. I think that I would usually sit behind Mom on trips. I could avoid the hours and hours of reading The Education of Little Tree by hiding back there. I also wasn't as excited to brush Dad's hair and hold his hand. I guess holding his hand would have been fine, but I was never a fan of the noises he made when his hair was brushed. That, and the dandruff.

I do have a couple memories that I could mention though. One, is when the family was driving somewhere on a trip with Boston in the car. It was known that Dad (like me) is not the most observant driver in the world. He tends to weave within the lines, so when we got pulled over by a suspicious police officer, it came as no surprise. The officer walked up to the car and questioned Dad about his behavior behind the wheel. Dad, being as quick as he is on his toes, decided to blame the entire thing on Boston. I remember pieces of the conversation as I clearly recall sitting behind him in that instance. He said something like, "The dog...all the kids...the dog...loud...distracting...the dog and sorry." I think the officer had been in that situation before and let us go with a warning. Poor Boston, but nice thinking on his part.

The second great memory is one that only Dad, Edward Buchanan, Tee Tompkins, Tom Paine and I would know. After basketball practice at Ensworth (with Paul Clements), Dad would sometimes pick us up. When he would arrive, we would beg him to lay the back seats down flat so we could roll around as he drove erratically on small and quite streets. He would take the long way home on small side roads off of Golf Club Lane. We would roll back and forth; laughing and laughing as he darted from side to side. It was so much fun, but pretty short-lived. Still, it was fun.

Then came the dark grey Peugeot.

From Kristin:

• Mom pulling up in the hook-up line at Ensworth playing "Kokomo" by the Beach Boys with the sunroof open.
• Heated seats- woohoo!
• The Sherrards had one too
  

From George:

I've already mentioned baseball times with Coach Hogan and bringing Emmie home in the car. She was so cute. She had such a big and bare belly. The only thing that I remember on top of that is that, for some reason, I liked to use the cigarette lighter on the upholstery. Not sure why though. When did we get rid of that car? Why don't I have any memory of that?

And finally, the Hogan family favorite: The Montero.

From Kristin:

• Gratefulness that we didn't get the mini van that looked like a Dustbuster
• The Tilt-Meter
• Learning how to drive in it and passing every boy on his way to MBA and waving on my way to Harpeth Hall
• Trips to Captiva
• Mom listening to her singles of Peter Cetera "Only a Fool", Annie Lennox and "Constant Craving", and "Just Another Sad Love Song" by ...?

From George:

The Montero is a legend in our family. That thing was Mom's favorite thing ever. She felt so trendy in it back in 92 BEFORE everyone else got an SUV. I also learned how to drive in the car and I remember Mom and I sneaking out in Franklin when I was 15 to practice. There are way too many memories in this one, so I think that I could do it better with the Top 10 songs from the Montero days.

Number 10: "Just Another Sad Love Song" by Toni Braxton



Number 9: "Finally" by Ce Ce Penniston




Number 8: "Losing My Religion" by REM



Number 7: "Rock Witch'a" by Bobby Brown



Number 6: "This Used to be My Playground" by Madonna



Number 5: "Luka" by Suzanna Vega



Number 4: "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum



Number 3: "One Day" by Mariah Carey featuring Boyz to Men



Number 2: "Why?" by Annie Lenox. (This one is live. Here is the studio.)



Number 1: "Even a Fool Can See" by Peter Cetera (I couldn't find the studio.)



Bonus points to whomever can remember my version of "Even a Fool Can See".

Did I miss any?