SOL 3: My Brother and Cars

           I’m visiting a friend in Watsonville, and my brother lives in San Jose. Today he came down so we could hang out. My friend recommended a restaurant on the road to Monterey, Sea Harvest, since we were thinking of going down there.

            So we drove down Route 1 to Sea Harvest, overlooking Elkhorn Slough (pronounced “sloo” in case you didn’t know) just where it empties into Monterey Bay. When we arrived, my brother drove around the parking lot so he could park next to a car he had spotted, a copy of his own, a red Chrysler Crossfire. In case you don’t know what a Chrysler Crossfire is, it’s a sports car. Of course, it has to be red.

            We had a delicious meal, me a local rockfish fillet with a creamy tomato salsa, rice, and steamed carrots and broccoli, he a creamy seafood sauce over fettucine with garlic bread. We watched sea gulls and pelicans passing by. And a small child just learning to walk out on the terrace, rocketing back and forth.

            As we finished eating, my brother heard a man asking other diners whether they owned a Chrysler Crossfire. It was the owner of the other Crossfire. He and my brother immediately bonded over ownership of the same car. He reported that he’d bought his car from someone who’d acquired it at auction purely for its resale value. It had only 9,800 miles on it, and he didn’t drive it much himself. They traded cards, in case he ever wanted to get rid of it, and my brother might want it.

           

Here are the cars, and the two men exchanging car stories. My brother can still identify all the cars from the 1950s when I showed him my photos of vintage cars in Havana.

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I’m participating in the 10th annual Slice of Life Challenge over at Two Writing Teachers. This is day three of the 31-day challenge.  It’s not too late to make space for daily writing in a community that is encouraging, enthusiastic, and eager to read what you have to slice about.  Join in!