Elanore was a 61 Chevy 4dr sedan with a hot-water six, and a 3-speed column shift, and a chalked-out shade of faded blue. It used almost as much oil as it did gas. Powell had scrounged it somewhere, and his wife of the time drove it more than anybody. One high point was driving it to the Las Vegas gun show, and pulling up to the portico of the Sahara in a cloud of blue smoke, and Powell handing the keys to the valet while the rest of us high-chinned it into the main entrance. It used exactly one case of oil for the trip. Powell used a re-refined stuff called Ruby Lube, and of course we thought the name was hilarious. Somewhere in the middle of the night at a pit stop, I saw a candy in a box called "Pucker Pellets". The name was a classic, so I had to have some. From that moment on, "Ruby Lube and Pucker Pellets" became part of the permanent lexicon, for use whenever appropriate. "You boys better keep an eye on Youngblood. He's high on Ruby Lube and Pucker Pellets!".

I was working at the LeBaron hotel at the time, and Powell was working there one night a week to cover the odd shift, my Monday night off. I needed some wheels, and Elanore had been demoted to a spare, so Powell and I cut a deal, and Elanore was mine for $150, on credit. I was piled up enjoying life one Monday night when Powell called. He had treed some honkytonk special, was in a major heat, and would I go in and cover my night off? Not a chance. "Oh pleeze pleeze, old buddyol'palol'buddy! I'll pay!". Silence..."I'll tell you what". "Yeah yeah! What?" "I'll do it for half the note on Elanore". "What!!! $75 for a single shift! Why you $%@$%pirate*@&^%$robber&%$#*thief!!!" "Take it or leave it." (he was toast, and he was mine!) "I'll take it...mutter mumblemutter*%@#%#". Elanore was mine for $75.

The first thing about Elanore was that she was like Trigger, and wouldn't go down the road for just anybody. The old shift linkage was completely worn out, and goosy-loose. On the shift from first to second, if you didn't make *just* the right circular shifter movements, with *just* the right english on them, the linkage would lock up, and require a trip under the hood to free it. This wasn't my first rodeo, and I was a past master with worn out Chevy column linkage. Piece o' cake. Shoot, I didn't even lock Elanore, and left the key in her half the time. No self-respecting thief is going to spend much time in an old heap stuck in first gear.

So Elanore and I became quite the couple. I lived near UTA in Arlington, and the Le Baron was on hwy. 183 and the Trinity river in Dallas. I'll let the other locals figure the miliage, I'm no good at it. On the second trip to work since a full crankcase, as I came down the exit ramp at the hotel, the oil light would come on, indicating Elanore was two quarts low. So that was one quart per round trip to work and back. Ruby Lube by the case was like 20 cents a quart...no big deal.:)

I always parked Elanore on the third floor of the parking garage, facing the down-ramp. She had always been utterly dependable, but like I said, this wasn't my first rodeo.:) I came out one morning headed for home, hit the starter, and nothing...not even a click. Kind of unusual for a battery to commit total suicide in 8 hours, and I had left nothing on...oh well. I gave a shove over to the down-ramp, clutched second gear, and Elanore fired immediately, and I motored on home. When I got there, I figured the battery had charged, so to make sure, I tried it. Nothing...not even a click. Now something was up! I climbed out and popped the hood. During the night, thieves had stolen my battery! There was nothing to charge! Sweet Elanore had brought me home on her generator! Try that with one of these new cars.:) I gave Elanore a big smooch on her faded hood, and went in and went to bed.

I think I drove Elanore for well over a year. The stolen battery was the only part I ever replaced. Some new guy had gone to work in maintenance at the hotel, and was in bad need of some wheels. I sold him Elanore for $150.:) The first week he owned her, the cops pulled him over and gave him an excessive smoke ticket.:) He didn't even try to learn the shifter. One of his first orders of business was to install a cheapie Pep Boys floor shifter.:) He was still driving Elanore when I left the hotel

JLF.