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Images
RUST IN PIECES
Texas’ Largest Outdoor Museum
by Brewster Hudspeth
Photos courtesy of photographers |
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A
lot has been written about that "new car smell” and until recently
one had to purchase a new car to get it. Now, thanks to the modern
miracles of technology and the millions of dollars spent on research,
the whole family can enjoy smelling a new car - even from the comfort
of their living room. Yes, "new car smell" (AKA NCS) now comes in
an aerosol can.
But what about the elusive fragrance of old cars? That blend of mildewed
carpet, cracked vinyl dashboards and the adhesive from the sun-baked
mosaics of old inspection stickers? And let's not forget the considerable
contributions of generations of field mice. Together these scents
form a sort of petroleum potpourri - and unless someone tells Ron
Popeil there’s a market for it, they won’t be putting OCS in a can
anytime soon. No, currently there’s only one place to get “old car”
smell - and that is (literally) in the field.
The auto graveyards of yesteryear have all but disappeared - they
were flattened by hydraulic crushing machines and hauled away by truck
or rail one car at a time. Cities now have yards where the public
is charged admission to browse metal morgues in search of old parts.
But these are quickly becoming extinct as the demand for used parts
falls. The junkyards of the deep south, once Kudzu-covered (like so
much camouflage netting) are nearly all gone.
People use the expression “meaner than a junkyard dog” without ever
having known the thrill of trying to liberate a float valve from a
'66 Impala without waking “Cujo.”
For those who find beauty in unusual places, or those who remember
amber-winged fairy hood ornaments and pin-up girls encased in plastic
steering wheel knobs, here’s our ode to bullet-riddled sheet metal.
We casually present: Rust in Pieces. |
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Rusting and bullet-riddled
in Toyah, Texas
Photo courtesy Jeff Jenson, 2004 |
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The one-ton
cousin of the preceeding pickup in Grenola, Kansas
Raoul Hashimoto photo, May 2005
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A little steel
wool and a coat of Rust-oleum goes a long way...
WWI Cannon in Cherryvale,
Kansas
Raoul Hashimoto photo, May 2005 |
| © John
Troesser. First Published June 7, 2005 |
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