Earlier today I was grabbing images from Pinterest and found a potpourri of VW cars, from little bugs to buses. Then my mind traipsed back to the 1970s, and a novel I wrote that spotlighted those times, as well as the decades that followed. Of course, I had to create this collage to remind me of spring and the times of my life back then.
In this excerpt, which features an incident at the beginning of the 1980s, the MC Lindsay Malone has just gotten off the phone with her younger sister, stunned by the news of her older brother’s mysterious death.
Abruptly, Lindsay began grabbing up her keys, her bag, and quickly checked her hair and makeup. Since she had already changed for the evening, she had only to turn off the lights and head out to her orange VW bug. She had recently repainted it, so that it now looked shiny and new. This car represented a time when she had lived more casually. She fondly recalled those days and, as if in a trance, she drove the two short miles to Promises.
She thought about her brother, the only family member who didn’t judge her. Who hadn’t judged her, she reminded herself. He was gone! He had been her ally in childhood, her mentor in high school and college, and had made her believe in herself back then. What would she do without him? Forlornly she drove, and when she pulled into the parking lot at Promises, she sat there for a moment, remembering. They hadn’t spent much time together over the past few years because of his work and research. He had recently started teaching at a college in the desert, where he was the new coordinator of environmental studies. He had kept her updated through letters and postcards.
Jarred back to reality, Lindsay heard the music from the band, pulsing, alive. Pushing back tears, Lindsay forced a smile onto her face and pulled open the heavy door….(pp. 40-41-Miles to Go)
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When you think of those nostalgic moments in your life, are there images and unique possessions that seem to define the time for you?
POTPOURRI 
Yes!!! But my memories are tied to clothes…outfits that I wore at certain times!
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I do that, too, Patty…and when I look through my photos and see what I was wearing then, I feel a special fondness for certain outfits that I recklessly gave away! But of course our closets wouldn’t hold everything!
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