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Health & Fitness

Blog: Cars and Kids Sometimes Don't Mix

A man finds out that his youth is over when his wife and children no longer fit in his racy sports car.

Perhaps the most memorable car I ever owned was an MG Midget. It was like an MG sports car that had been left out in the rain and shrank. The forest-green beauty must have been about a 1965 model. When I first got it, my wife and I occupied the bucket seats, and our two very young children fit in the space just behind us. This pseudo-seat was probably designed for a suitcase, a golf bag or an assortment of tennis racquets. I pictured the Brits from the MG's native land driving around and hollering "tennis, anyone?" or "fore!" or "yoicks!" I have no idea what sport that signifies. Maybe the one where cute little beagles are sent to terrorize cute little foxes.

Our kids soon outgrew their allotted space, presenting me with a dilemma. I briefly considered giving them up for adoption, but my wife unaccountably opposed this. So we bought a bulbous Ford station wagon for family outings, shopping, and anything requiring the transport of an object larger than a shoebox or a 2-year-old child.

The Midget had four cylinders, a stick shift and a convertible top. It was the perfect car for Los Angeles, where we lived at the time. But we soon moved to New Jersey, where it was a terrible car. The puny heater could fry your right leg, but it could not heat the passenger space. The ill-fitting top let in even the most timid of winter breezes. Don't they have cold weather in England?

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I then bought a 1972 Datsun (cq) for my trips across the George Washington Bridge to CBS in Manhattan. My days as a sports car owner were permanently over. And I was kind of glad we hadn't given the children away. In exchange for this generous act, I'm counting on being cared for in my old age. Which began about five years ago.

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