University of New Orleans ScholarWorks@UNO University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations Dissertations and Theses 5-20-2005 Auto Biography: A Daughter's Story Told in Cars Lynda Routledge Stephenson University of New Orleans Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td Recommended Citation Stephenson, Lynda Routledge, "Auto Biography: A Daughter's Story Told in Cars" (2005). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 231. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/231 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by ScholarWorks@UNO with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights- holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/or on the work itself. 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AUTO BIOGRAPHY A DAUGHTER'S STORY TOLD IN CARS A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the University of New Orleans in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts in Drama and Communications Creative Writing by Lynda Rutledge Stephenson B.A. Baylor University, 1972 M.A. Texas Tech University, 1981 May 2005 © 2005, Lynda Rutledge Stephenson ii To my sisters, who have their own tales to tell iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ..........................................................................................................................v Epigraphs ...................................................................................................................... vi PROLOGUE: 2004 FunMover.......................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1: 2004 Police Car.......................................................................................5 CHAPTER 2: 1997 Chevy Astro Minivan....................................................................13 At Carriage House .............................................................................................30 CHAPTER 3: 1963 Chevy Corvair ..............................................................................40 At Carriage House .............................................................................................54 CHAPTER 4: 1984 Dodge Ram 50..............................................................................61 At Carriage House ............................................................................................75 CHAPTER 5: 1987 Starship Enterprise........................................................................78 At Carriage House ............................................................................................83 CHAPTER 6: 1999 Mazda Miata.................................................................................85 At Carriage House ............................................................................................93 CHAPTER 7: 1959 Chevy Station Wagon ...................................................................98 At Carriage House ..........................................................................................105 CHAPTER 8: 1965 Buick LeSabre ............................................................................106 At Carriage House ..........................................................................................117 CHAPTER 9: 1966 Cadillac DeVille .........................................................................118 At the Frosty Mug Root Beer Drive-In..............................................................125 CHAPTER 10: 1977 Chevy Vega................................................................................127 At the Frosty Mug Root Beer Drive-In..............................................................132 CHAPTER 11: 1989 Lincoln Hearse ...........................................................................134 CHAPTER 12: 1953 Ford............................................................................................143 CHAPTER 13: 2004 Rental Car..................................................................................152 At Carriage House ..........................................................................................158 CHAPTER 14: 1939 Studebaker.................................................................................160 CHAPTER 15: 2004 Trauma Ambulance ...................................................................169 CHAPTER 16: 2004 FunMover..................................................................................172 Vita ...........................................................................................................................193 iv ABSTRACT Auto Biography is a creative nonfiction memoir: A daughter, forced to move her unlovable, ever-combustible, wheelchair-bound mother cross-country in an RV, attempts to come to terms with her via the automobiles of their lives. The story explores: 1) the universal dilemma of caring for aged parents––its stress, its pain, its sacrifice, and its dark humor; 2) memory––the "peeling back" narrative dynamic working in the same layer upon layer way of memory, its non-linearity creating not so much a one-piece narrative but essay snapshots forming a family photo album view of this thing we call memory and this thing we call meaning; and, of course, 3) cars––their subtle yet surprisingly essential role in all our modern and post-modern lives. v Women make up 70 percent of the population age 85 and older. —Federal Interagency Forum on Aging Related Statistics, 2000 If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy. —Bumper sticker vi PROLOGUE 2004 FunMover 28', handicap-friendly, Ford V-10 chassis engine rental motor home with garage section, wheelchair-accessible hydraulic lift gate, rear compartment bed, bathroom assist handles, standard upfront motor home living quarters With the help of a trucklift, we have loaded our frail, feisty and sporadically senile mother, wheelchair and all, into the rented "FunMover"—half RV-half moving van—our vehicle of last resort. It is the crack of September dawn. My Texas sister Deanne, my Colorado brother-in-law Bob, and I are about to move a woman, who has never lived anywhere but Texas, cross-country before it's too late. We've laid down rugs and secured every box, chair, mattress and bedframe in the back-end moving van section where she will ride the entire bathroom-on-board road trip in the comfort of her own bed, surrounded by her remaining earthly possessions. We've strapped open the door between the van and RV sections, and left a pathway all the way to the front seats. Outside, Bob and I shut and secure the FunMover's "handicap accessible" trucklift tailgate, then we climb into the RV where Deanne and Mother are ready and waiting. "Did you bring my Hershey's Kisses?" Mother demands to know. 1 That was how she had greeted me, 24 hours ago, when I first walked into her room at Carriage House Assisted Living Center: "Did you bring my Hershey's Kisses and Tums and my Wrigley's Spearmint and Kleenex?" When I told her I hadn't been able to go shopping yet, having traveled 1000 miles to get there, she'd given me her pursed lip fume and said: "I'm so disappointed in you, Lynda." And hello to Agnes Rutledge at 85. "Here they are, Mom." I grab the just-purchased Hershey's Kisses bag from the galley and pitch it to Deanne who hands it to Mother then takes a seat by her bed. We've packed her Tums and her gum and her Kleenex. We've stocked the RV's fridge and an ice chest. Bob, an M.D., has stashed an emergency medical kit and a mammoth thermos of coffee. The plan: Drive straight through, all the way to Colorado; no stopping for anything but gas. With visions of being stranded in the middle of nowhere or in some small-town emergency clinic, we are ready to go. "Who's in charge of prayers? Now's the time," Bob murmurs as he heads toward the driver's seat. "I'll drive," I say, beating him there. "At least across Texas. You may be needed to help with Mother." But that's more than a reason. It's an excuse. I look into the rearview mirror. Coward, I say, gripping the steering wheel. This vehicle's a strange one, but this feeling isn't. Truth is I have always felt best when I am driving away from her, my mother in my rearview—even if only a few safe feet. "Lynda!" I hear her warble from the back. 2 "I'm driving, Mom," I call toward her. But I can hear that my sister has already taken over. So far, so good, I think. At least she didn't call the cops this trip. As I ease the FunMover into gear and head slowly for the Interstate, the early fall leaves crackling under our tires, I take a deep breath. We are finally doing this. Six months in the planning; seven years in the making. It's been one wild ride. And, God help us, it isn't over yet. 3 CHAPTER 1 2004 Police Cruiser Ford Police Interceptor, 4.6L overhead cam fuel-injected V8 engine, tinted glass, driver's-side spot lamp, 3.27 ratio-axle/ traction-lock, heavy-duty steel wheels, dual exhaust, cupholder The last chapter in our mother's life––and our lives with Mother––began the first day of March. It was my turn to broach the subject of moving and, after arriving early in the morning, I'd already put in a full day with her