The Secret of Life

A 30-Day Music Memory Series

Not actually my sister’s car Francois, but almost exactly. Image credit: http://image.trucktrend.com/f/9865507/163_0807_10z+diesel_revolution+1979_volkswagen_rabbit_side_view.jpg

My little sister was always a slow, safe driver. In our teens, I used to say she drove like a grandma. Nowadays, I appreciate the safety of it all.

I remember being Kimberlee’s passenger in her 1979 Diesel VW Rabbit out on the desolate Nevada roadways. The Dead Milkmen’s “The Secret of Life” blasting over the speakers. Her car’s name was François.

Kimberlee was 17; I was 21. I was home for the Summer working my Seasonal Park Ranger job. On my days off, we’d go for these long drives just to get out of the house. That’s how we’d go “do” something in a town that didn’t offer much else to do. We didn’t have plans, we would just get in the car with whatever money we had for snacks and fuel, and we drove. We sang. We talked, and we laughed.

My favorite lyrics from the song say,

Waves of time they rock us back and forth
There’s no telling if we’ll stay on course

The little car felt like riding in a spaceship because it was basically a small milk carton on the bottom and all windows on the top. I remember eating cheesy Doritos, drinking Dr. Pepper, and singing as loudly as we could. We were in a little spaceship, voyaging out as far as we could with four wheels on the ground. This song was a frequent backing track for our random adventures.