enduring golf

Golf... the car... not the game!

As an adult, I still buy an occasional Hot Wheels or Matchbox car when one catches my eye.  I don't think I'll ever outgrow the allure of a bright, shiny new car... for less than a buck!  

Years ago, I bought a Matchbox VW Golf casting, because at the time I drove that very car... except, mine was blue instead of red; and it was a four-door instead of two; and it had the steering wheel on the left, instead of the right like all cast-as-European-but-sold-in-America Matchbox cars... but, I digress.  I'm not sure why, but I gave that car to Dylan as a tiny tyke when he was first deemed old enough to safely have one of his own.  I almost wish I'd have kept the Matchbox Golf, because I loved my actual Golf.  But, then it wouldn't have the history that it does now.

It was Dylan's very first Hot Wheels/Matchbox-type car.  He used and enjoyed it much, and it often went with him when we left the house.  It was a prized possession.  Eventually, though, his car collection grew and other new shiny cars would take the favored spot.  Occasionally, cars would get misplaced here and there, but the VW, though no longer the flashiest car in the collection, was never forgotten.  The VW endured.

Years later, along came Ben.  At a very young age, Ben was fascinated (and still is) with Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars.  His obsession with them caused him to "acquire" the two older boys collections when they weren't looking.  They would reclaim them, and he would "reacquire" them.  It was a viscous cycle, and eventually the boys gave up the battle and just let Ben have their cars... although I think they are still a little cheesed.  (I know I would be!  My small collection is in a secure location... or at least I thought they were, until he breached my security a few weeks ago when I caught him with one of my 1970's vintage Hot Wheels!)

I've never counted them, but at age seven, Ben now has well over a hundred, possibly approaching a few hundred cars (and is still thrilled over every new one).  A number have been misplaced over the years.  Some reappear in couch cushions, under car seats, or the pocket of a coat that has not been worn for months.  Others have vanished and been sucked into a die cast car black hole, never to be seen again.

But, there is one, battered and nearly devoid of paint, acquired from Dylan, that is still a beloved favorite of Ben's.  And, for years it has withstood the pull of the black hole.

That car is...

the one and only... the original... the enduring Golf!

Matchbox VW Golf

My 1986 VW Golf (no longer enduring)