OASIS CIGARETTES

One day Dad came home with a 1936 Ford pickup.

Naw, not the antique rusty rag you would expect an oil field hand to buy. This was a restored piece of art.

Seems Dad had an ole drinkin' buddy name of Elrod who was a career oil field entrepreneur (slant hole wells and the whole nine yards). His enterprising friend was in a legal bind and sold his classic ride to Dad for the princely sum of $1,000.

Hell, Dad likely didn't have $10, much less $1,000, but he went to Arp State Bank and asked Mills Parker for the dough. Parker agreed, but said Dad had to bring the truck by the bank so he could see how a 1936 vehicle could be worth that much.

Someone had taken the vintage Ford and dropped a 1957 Corvette engine in it. In addition to being powerful, the engine chrome included the air breather, valve covers, generator, and air conditioner compressor (imagine having an air conditioner in a vehicle back then!) The interior of the truck was red and white, roll and pleat leather with a white leather headliner. The dashboard had been replaced with a finished piece of beautifully grained wood with chromed gauges inset. It had a racing type steering wheel and the gear shifter was on the floor with a large chrome ball to hold onto.

The exterior included multiple layers of black paint complimented by white rubber running boards, chromed tear drop head lamps on the fenders, and chrome "flipper" hubcaps.

...and it would FLY down the road.

As I recall, the speedometer only went to 120 MPH, so Dad would just put the speedometer needle against the 120 mark and just keep mashin' down harder on the accelerator until he ran out of road.

I don't recall how long Dad had the truck, but at some point Dad's brother Buddy fell in love with it. Buddy's infatuation actually coincided with Dad beginning to realize that his economic status in life and expensive "toys" probably weren't totally compatible. Thus began a "dickering dance" between Dad and "bud drawers" over the rate of exchange for the truck.

Dad wanted his $1,000 back, plus????

Buddy agreed to the $1,000 and threw in a Sear and Roebuck motorcycle (that he bought on the credit and hadn't paid for). As the negotiations extended over a period of days/weeks, Boudreaux sweetened the offer with an engine timing light, some tools, a lawn mower, etc.

Finally, one day Buddy told Dad, I give you $1,000, all the other stuff I've mentioned, and my last pack of Oasis cigarettes. Dad's sense of humor kicked in about then and he took the deal based on getting his baby brother's last cigarette.

Dad bought, built, and abused a lot of cheap, junk vehicles in his lifetime. I am thankful to the good Lord, that for a brief period of time, he had the privilege of owning a beautiful hotrod classic.