My Nephew And The Hudson

A couple of weeks ago, my mom and dad took my niece and nephew to see Cars.

Now, first of all, if you haven't seen this movie, go see it. It's fantastic. People will make fun of you if you don't go see it. It's important.

One of the characters in the movie is "Doc Hudson" - he's a 1951 Hudson Hornet. He's voiced by Paul Newman. And as soon as he showed up in the movie, my dad got all excited.

Dad has a 1950's Hudson in his garage. I don't remember the model year, but it might actually be a 1951 car. It's not a Hornet, but the body is similar. The poor car is in relatively good shape for a car of its age. It has no brakes, and the engine overheats. It's not rusty, but it is metal-colored, any semblance of paint having long since given up and wandered away. The interior is cracked in places. A nest of wasps made a rather expansive home in the engine compartment at one time. And most of Dad's tool collection is in the trunk. That's right - a 1950's classic car has become a glorified toolbox.

So depending on how you look at it, it's a junky old car. But if you look at it just right, it's absolutely beautiful.

When they got back to my parent's place after seeing the movie, Dad jumped out of the car, all excited. He opened up the side of the garage that holds his Hudson. Waving, he called over my niece and nephew. "Look, here's Grandpa's Hudson!".

My nephew, clearly unimpressed, looked it over with a critical 6-year old eye. "It's supposed to be blue." Then he wandered off.

Poor Dad. :) Hey, if it makes you feel any better, *I* still love that old car.