Datsun

Our first family car is a Datsun. I can still vaguely remember the white metal cabin and the charcoal-black plastic door handle, the grey plastic lining in the passenger cabin, and the sound of engine groaning against the slopes. It had very powerful air-conditioning, something we sorely miss when the Proton Iswara replaced it.
What I really missed is the lovely evenings - family dinners, movies, or a wedding dinner perhaps, that we children are permitted to go (newlyweds nowadays think inviting children along is a nuisance). If the function stretch beyond bedtime I would usually fall asleep in the car, rocked by the sudden jerks of brakes and acceleration. When we arrived home Dad would carry me in his arms into bed. I just loved the feeling of being ferried through air in Dad's arms and landing in our snuggish bed - even though it was only a mattress on the floor back then. Usually the next thing I know would be waking up to sunshine the following morning.
Daddy wasn't muscular, and he had a weak spine - one thing I found myself inheriting. So as I spurted in height and weight (weight much more than height back then) Mum would refrain Dad from carrying me, roughly nudged me awake, and make me brush my teeth before going to bed. Gradually I begun to lose my ability to fall asleep in a car, or any mode of transport now. Later in high school we never woke up to sunshine but the alarm clock or Mum (or even our maid's) incessant threats of being late (even though I am usually the first few to arrive in school). Soon I'll wake to telephone calls asking me to attend to critically ill patients.
Even though we have 3 cars now (only 2 drivers at home), I still miss our white Datsun and I wonder why.