Thursday, March 21, 2013

Maxine Overdrive

I think it is time for another Maxine story.  I know people wonder why I call my mother, Maxine, but when I am telling one of her stories...or one about her...she becomes Maxine to me...and not the Hallmark card Maxine with the rollers in hair, smoking a cigarette while holding a glass of wine.  No way!  My Maxine was a "never let a drop of liquor pass my lips" type of woman...."God put us on this Earth to look nice for others" (yes, she said that...usually when I was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt.)...so she would NEVER leave the house without her makeup applied correctly and she was always wearing a matching outfit.
Maxine and Mort

Maxine did not like to drive.  When we were young...I was five and Linda was eight, my father went to school in Philadelphia for a few weeks and would only be home on the weekends.  He told mother that she really needed to drive since we lived out in the country and she may not be able to depend on the few neighbors all of the time.  He bought this big old car...I don't know what kind...but it had the split front windshield and an electric choke...and the back seat (where I spent most of the time on the floor praying we would make it to our destination) was huge.
This is not the car...but this is what it looked like.


There is not enough time and space to write all of her driving misadventures so I will just tell of three.
  • Picking up her friend on her way to get her license...(yes, she had to drive one country road to the house and thought that would be okay...since she was getting her license that day)...gets to the house, drives down the drive way...stops and sings out of the window, "I have arrived!"... and Alberta steps out of her house, looks at the garage door and says, "I see you have!"...the front of the car has gone through the garage...Maxine was totally unaware.
  • Then there was picking up my sister and her friend  from a Brownie meeting.  Somehow, probably driving out of the driveway after dropping off Linda's friend...Mother could not get the car in forward.  No worry though!  Maxine was a problem solver. She just drove us all the way home in reverse...that's one of the times I was on the floor in the back.
  • One more....we had a big rock at the end of the drive way....yes...she did...she drove right over it and got the car stuck. She jumped out of the car...stormed past my father...handed him the keys...and said she would never drive again.  It took him hours (with the help of a few neighbors with tractors and tools) to get that old car off the rock.  All the time some of the young neighborhood boys watching and asking, "Mr. Haworth...how did you get your car on that rock?"

 Soon after, the big old car was sold and Maxine did not drive again...until she was 67 after my dad died...but I will write about those adventures on another post.

Maxine had a life filled with laughter...she would always make an experience into a funny story...even if it was not funny at the time....like her adventure of chasing the purse thief, Stop Thief! , or the bumble bees, Attack of the Bumble Bees! , or the wild animal in the house, Wild Animal in the House .   If you have time and haven't read these, you might enjoy.

7 comments:

  1. What a great story! I laughed, picturing her escapades as you described them. I love her line about God wanting us to look nice - I think my mom learned that somewhere along the way! Thanks for a great slice of memory!

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  2. This was great. Maxine sounds like quite the character. I hope you continue to share her stories with all of us.

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  3. Picturing you cowering in the back created a funny image. Your mother was full of life. You were lucky to live with such a person, of course at the time you may have cringed at some of the antics.

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  5. I love your Maxine story. She sounds much like my mother-in-law--with the always dressed to the max with make-up always applied. My mother in law is 91 and still wears heels. This attitude has gotten her through many a hardship. I love the way hearing other stories brings back connections I never really thought of as stories. Your words bring Maxine to life for all of us. What a great tribute!

    P.S. I deleted above because I wrote sorry instead of story. Sorry!

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    1. No problem Deborah. I agree..reading other stories brings memories of my own. I love hearing family stories.

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  6. You have some marvelous stories of your mother's "adventures." I'm chuckling as I picture you on the floor of the car, trying to protect yourself as you mother drove backwards!! Oh my.

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