An old car brings back Kodachrome memories

Alfa Romeo in a field
“So why did you put that old car and barn in your blog header? It doesn’t look Really Redding,” asks Karry.
Alfa Romeo in a field
Not Really Redding, but I did spot this car sitting in a field adjacent to a home I was showing in Cottonwood. It brought back a gush of memory. I bought an Alfa Romeo like this for a few hundred bucks when I was 15. Well, maybe it was in slightly better shape than this, but so was I back then. Who can forget their first car? As you get older, your favourite make and model of car gets older with you, cars get upgraded and new, more desirable models come out. It makes me so sad! It’s more of an option these days to replace parts on your old car from services like TDC Automotive and build your beloved motor back to life. Sometimes I when the memories hit me like that, I wish I would have attempted to keep my little AR alive.

Alfa Romeo in a field

It was a poor choice for practicality. It literally came with a second car just for parts, which was good, because parts were near impossible to find since I didn’t live in Italy. Nowadays, car parts are easily accessible with websites like Czok, mostly used for upgraded performance and style. But who cares about that when you’re 15? I envisioned myself driving it looking like this one, shiny, red, and sleek, whilst hoping that it didn’t break down on me. But when you buy a car that isn’t really practical, I almost expected it to happen. I hear so many stories of people needing to look for something like these Woodward Synchro-Start Solenoids because their engine has become faulty and they need to get it replaced as soon as possible. Luckily there are so many places that sell them these days that it might not be much of a problem. Surprisingly, I don’t think I ever ran into any problems with my little old car. So, I went looking for photographs of my red Alfa among my oldest shots, and at my parent’s house, but found none. How odd. Nowadays I take photos of life’s smallest details, but back then it wasn’t important. Or so it seems. Perhaps it’s best. In my head, the Alfa was bold and stylish, but the reality was probably something more like this one out to pasture in Cottonwood.

Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, Oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don’t take my Kodachrome away

Thanks Paul Simon, for the bittersweet observation.

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