For those of you that remember we had an " oil " shortage back in '73. That is what we were told anyway. The truth was OPEC, a collection of Arab countries decided to place an embargo on oil. That was in response to our support of Israel. I don't recall the news people reporting on that in that light. I was quite a bit younger then and not really paying attention to global politics. All I knew was gas was getting hard to come by and expensive.
I was in the Navy back then stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. I owned a 1965 Pontiac Bonneville at the time. I had purchased this vehicle for $ 300.00 from the local butcher. It was a fine automobile , no doubt about that. It was even equipped with an aftermarket air conditioning unit. The unit was mounted under the dash, right in the center. This car had a bench seat, like many of them did back in the day, but because of that a/c you really couldn't sit in the middle anymore. But, this car was spacious and a great cruiser. I can't remember now what size engine was in that beast but it was thirsty. I would drive that car from Norfolk to East Hampton, out on Long Island, every weekend I was free to do so. I would often post a little note on a bulletin board and take riders. That is how I could pay for the gas. I would drop those people off anywhere along the route they wanted. Most of them wanted off at an exit of the Jersey turnpike. Well everybody in Jersey lives by an exit to the turnpike. That was a running joke, you live in New Jersey ? What exit ? Dropped more than one guy off on the side of route 13 too. That was the routine though. Get as many riders as I could and head for New York. If those riders were in the place I dropped them off I would pick them up on the way back. Like I said I was quite a bit younger then and shall we say less than responsible. I'll leave it to your imagination what some of those rides would have been like, five or six young sailors heading home for the weekend ! All I can say about that is, I'm a survivor.
Gas was a problem, as I mentioned. There were odd and even days to deal with. In case you have forgotten or don't know odd and even days were based on your license plate. Whatever number was the last number, say odd, you could get gas on an odd numbered day. Wasn't much you could do about that, an extra set of plates helped, not that I knew anyone that did that. There were exceptions though. On the New Jersey turnpike you could purchase two gallons of gas if you had has less than 1/4 of a tank. The attendant would look at your gas gauge to verify that. Strangely the gas gauge on that Bonneville remained " stuck " just over the empty mark during the whole crisis ! Now someone had put an auxiliary gas gauge inside the glove box that worked just fine. Wasn't that a coincidence ? I could stop at every service center along the turnpike and get two dollars worth. slowed progress down some but I got where I wanted to go.
I don't remember what happened to that car. I'm thinking I just wore it out. I do recall toward the end of her days oil consumption was getting to be an issue. That car did leave oil spots everywhere it was parked. It was a fine automobile as I mentioned earlier. Just how many trips it made back and forth I couldn't say. It certainly took a lot of abuse. Some good memories associated with that car. There is one person I remember in particular. This guy would ride almost every time I went. I don't recall his name I just called him the sleeper. This guy would get in the car and just fall asleep immediately. I would wake him when I reached his exit on the turnpike. I always picked him up on the way back as well. Same thing, he just slept the whole way. I remember one night driving along the freeway and he wakes up a little. He is staring at the dashboard, head barely up and says, man it's foggy out there. I just laughed and agreed. He went back to sleep. It is the only conversation I can remember having with the sleeper other than where to drop him off and pick him up. I expect he is in New Jersey to this day, asleep.
I wasn't the only one doing this. Guys would get rides lined up a few days in advance. All this was long before Uber. No text messages, no Facebook, no nothing to set it all up but we still managed it. Were there is a will, there is a way. There were weekends when I even made a profit on the deal. If someone wanted to get home bad enough they would pay a premium. Yes, you could get booted real quick for a ten spot ! Sorry, no more room. The only other option was the Greyhound bus. Those buses were lined up at the pier every Friday afternoon. Took them a few times and that was always a wild ride. From Norfolk to the Bus depot in New York City, the infamous Port Authority. From there catch a train to East Hampton. Not as convenient as driving your car but it would get you home. That was always the impetus, getting home. Made it home through the gas shortage and when I didn't have a car. There was always a way. I even hitchhiked a few times. Good times and good memories.
I was in the Navy back then stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. I owned a 1965 Pontiac Bonneville at the time. I had purchased this vehicle for $ 300.00 from the local butcher. It was a fine automobile , no doubt about that. It was even equipped with an aftermarket air conditioning unit. The unit was mounted under the dash, right in the center. This car had a bench seat, like many of them did back in the day, but because of that a/c you really couldn't sit in the middle anymore. But, this car was spacious and a great cruiser. I can't remember now what size engine was in that beast but it was thirsty. I would drive that car from Norfolk to East Hampton, out on Long Island, every weekend I was free to do so. I would often post a little note on a bulletin board and take riders. That is how I could pay for the gas. I would drop those people off anywhere along the route they wanted. Most of them wanted off at an exit of the Jersey turnpike. Well everybody in Jersey lives by an exit to the turnpike. That was a running joke, you live in New Jersey ? What exit ? Dropped more than one guy off on the side of route 13 too. That was the routine though. Get as many riders as I could and head for New York. If those riders were in the place I dropped them off I would pick them up on the way back. Like I said I was quite a bit younger then and shall we say less than responsible. I'll leave it to your imagination what some of those rides would have been like, five or six young sailors heading home for the weekend ! All I can say about that is, I'm a survivor.
Gas was a problem, as I mentioned. There were odd and even days to deal with. In case you have forgotten or don't know odd and even days were based on your license plate. Whatever number was the last number, say odd, you could get gas on an odd numbered day. Wasn't much you could do about that, an extra set of plates helped, not that I knew anyone that did that. There were exceptions though. On the New Jersey turnpike you could purchase two gallons of gas if you had has less than 1/4 of a tank. The attendant would look at your gas gauge to verify that. Strangely the gas gauge on that Bonneville remained " stuck " just over the empty mark during the whole crisis ! Now someone had put an auxiliary gas gauge inside the glove box that worked just fine. Wasn't that a coincidence ? I could stop at every service center along the turnpike and get two dollars worth. slowed progress down some but I got where I wanted to go.
I don't remember what happened to that car. I'm thinking I just wore it out. I do recall toward the end of her days oil consumption was getting to be an issue. That car did leave oil spots everywhere it was parked. It was a fine automobile as I mentioned earlier. Just how many trips it made back and forth I couldn't say. It certainly took a lot of abuse. Some good memories associated with that car. There is one person I remember in particular. This guy would ride almost every time I went. I don't recall his name I just called him the sleeper. This guy would get in the car and just fall asleep immediately. I would wake him when I reached his exit on the turnpike. I always picked him up on the way back as well. Same thing, he just slept the whole way. I remember one night driving along the freeway and he wakes up a little. He is staring at the dashboard, head barely up and says, man it's foggy out there. I just laughed and agreed. He went back to sleep. It is the only conversation I can remember having with the sleeper other than where to drop him off and pick him up. I expect he is in New Jersey to this day, asleep.
I wasn't the only one doing this. Guys would get rides lined up a few days in advance. All this was long before Uber. No text messages, no Facebook, no nothing to set it all up but we still managed it. Were there is a will, there is a way. There were weekends when I even made a profit on the deal. If someone wanted to get home bad enough they would pay a premium. Yes, you could get booted real quick for a ten spot ! Sorry, no more room. The only other option was the Greyhound bus. Those buses were lined up at the pier every Friday afternoon. Took them a few times and that was always a wild ride. From Norfolk to the Bus depot in New York City, the infamous Port Authority. From there catch a train to East Hampton. Not as convenient as driving your car but it would get you home. That was always the impetus, getting home. Made it home through the gas shortage and when I didn't have a car. There was always a way. I even hitchhiked a few times. Good times and good memories.
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