So in 1965, when Dave showed up to court my older sister, he started off with two strikes against him. First, he was interested in my sister… which indicated either brain damage or a deep character flaw. And second – I heard he drove a Ford. I was skeptical.
It was a summer evening. As my friend and I - both fifteen, both named Jim, and both deadly bored - wandered aimlessly around our sleepy little town, too lazy to be looking for trouble but hoping trouble would find us… we looked up to behold a heavenly vision. It was a 1965 Ford Galaxie 500 LTD convertible… red, with white leather interior and a 427 under the hood. Our ennui swept away, we watched with awe and envy as it rolled down the street.
We were surprised. Residents of small, conservative Minnesota farm towns did not drive red convertibles. We were confused when this dream vehicle from another world stopped – then backed up. We were amazed when Dave and my sister grinned and invited us to hop in.
We then engaged in the time-honored activity of “cruising.” This consisted of making a circuit of the few main sites of the town… the two blocks of Main Street including the movie theater… the hill up to the watertower… First Street past seven or eight bars and the bowling alley. The object was not to see, but to be seen.
Ensconced in the backseat, we felt like we should be giving the world our best parade wave… "Elbow, elbow, wrist, wrist, touch your pearls and blow a kiss." After a couple of circuits it was traditional to park in front of the bowling alley. We did so, holding court as the locals came to bask in the beauty of our vehicle.
Up to that point, my status on the teenage social ranking was about as low as you can go. Assistant football equipment manager and school photographer are not activities for “the cool kids.” But my status went up like a rocket that summer night. Our cool factor was driven even higher when Dave demonstrated his record player.
You can keep your I-phones and Blackberries. Never before and never since have I witnessed such a cool piece of technology. It mounted under the dash. Everything was upside-down. The record – a 45 rpm, of course – slid onto the post from the bottom and was held onto the turntable by a spring. The arm was spring loaded so it would stay in the groove of the record.
A warm summer night… red convertible… white leather… “I want to hold your hand…” playing 17 times in succession on the one-and-only automobile record player anyone had ever seen… it just doesn’t get any better than that!
I wasn't sure if my sister would stick with this guy - but I knew I was in love! Later that summer he cemented his place in my affection by taking Jim and I to "the Cities" to see a concert at Met Stadium... Dave Brubeck and Peter, Paul, and Mary. I got to get up close to my hero, drummer Joe Morello, and watch him play those legendary one-handed, left-handed, seven-stroke, open-stroke rolls in 'Take Five.' The epitome of cool!
It is only now, more than 40 years later, that it occurs to me to ask why Ford named their primary full-size car line the way they did. Car names don’t have to make sense – the Chevy competition was the Impala, after all – but why the misspelling of Galaxie? I am unable to find any explanation. I like to think that some pompous middle-manager heard the name Galaxy, liked it, scrawled the misspelled word on a drawing of the concept car… and like the Emperor’s new clothes, everyone fell all over themselves to compliment him on his excellent choice, no one willing to risk a job to correct the boss.
The hosta named H. ‘Galaxy’ is not misspelled. Registered by the Lachmans in 1987, it is something of an oddity. It is a streaked breeder. Back in the day, most unstable streaked plants were not registered. Still, this is a very attractive plant and, for me, has only required splitting every fourth year or so to maintain the streaking. It was registered as a cross of a Beatrice seedling and a Frances Williams seedling, and it has definite sieboldiana characteristics. It is one of the few streaked plants that Zillis gave a primary listing in the Handbook.
Galaxy has been used in breeding. It is in the heritage of many plants including Dee’s Golden Jewel, Mack the Knife, and Rosedale Tractor Seat.
Not quite as flashy as a 1965 red convertible – but a nice accent in the shade garden nonetheless!
It's my understanding that there won't be many of those made and the dealers are naming their price. I'd love to see a pic or 12 of the car!!
