PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

My grandfather’s car is beautiful, or at least that is what we always think. I always say that my grandfather’s car is almost like art. Only a few people can really see the beauty of art, and this is the case of Juancho (Yeah, it has a name). From what I remember, it is just a bunch of metal and iron pieces put together resembling a car. It does not work. It is missing one door, and its paint is almost gone. It is beautiful, but only to our family. Just as art, what really makes it beautiful is the meaning of it and not the economic value. My grandfather bought it in 1960, the year it came out to the market. I remember my father telling me how much he loved it. He had a special ritual when he was going to wash it, and when he did that, he always had to do it listening to The King (Elvis Presley) or any other rock artist of those times. My father also told me that as a child he practically lived on that car. He was by his side when my grandfather was washing Juancho. When my dad had to go to school, my grandfather always gave him a ride win Juancho and they reached the top speed (which I don’t remember what was it, but it was not too fast). But what makes Juancho so special to my grandfather and to our family? What started to make my grandfather proud, and Juancho so special, was the fact that he bought it by himself. He came from a rich family, but he did not want any help from his parents. He had to work all day and all night in order to achieve what he wanted at that time. The first thing he bought when he had enough money was this ugly (or beautiful) car. When my dad was born, my grandfather took his wife (my grandmother) to the hospital in that car. He always said to my dad that thanks to his car they arrived in time at the hospital. My father told me that one day my grandfather said to him that the car was going to be a “test of time through the generations” of our family. My father did not understand what he meant at the time, but now he does. When we see the car (or what is left of it) we see proof of 3 hardworking generations of Talamás and the lesson that my grandfather taught us: “Good things in life are not those that can give you happiness, but those that give happiness to others.”