it was painted red the stripe was white it was eighteen feet from the bow to the stern light secondhand from a dealer in atlanta i rode up with daddy when he went there to get her he put on a shine put on a motor built out of love made for the water ran it for years till the transom got rotten a piece of my childhood that will never be forgottenit was just an old plywood boat with a 75 johnson with electric choke a young boy two hands on the wheel i cant replace the way it made me feel and i would turn her sharp make it whine hed say you cant beat the way an old wood boat rides just a little lake across the alabama line but i was king of the ocean when daddy let me drivejust an old half ton short bed ford my uncle bought new in 64 daddy got it right cause the engine was smoking a couple of burnt valves and he had it going he let me drive her when wed haul off a load down a dirt strip where wed dump trash off of thigpen road id sit up in the seat and stretch my feet out to the pedals smiling like a hero that just received his medalit was just an old hand me down ford with a three speed on the column and a dent in the door a young boy two hands on the wheel i cant replace the way it made me feel and i would press that clutch and i would keep it right and hed say a little slower son youre doing just fine just a dirt road with trash on each side but i was mario andretti when daddy let me driveim grown up now three daughters of my own i let them drive my old jeep across the pasture at our home maybe one day theyll reach back in their file and pull out that old memory and think of me and smile and sayit was just an old worn out jeep rusty old floorboard hot on my feet a young girl two hands on the wheel i cant replace the way it made me feel and hed say turn it left and steer it right straighten up girl now youre doing just fine just a little valley by the river where wed ride but i was high on a mountain when daddy let me drive daddy let me drive oh he let me driveshes just an old plywood boat with a 75 johnson with electric choke