Ran across this picture and had to laugh. I had no idea any photos existed that had all four of the Cash kids in one place. Sharon was the oldest and you almost had to pay her to be around her "creepy" brothers, except maybe Cole, the oldest of us boys. Sharon and Cole were tight.
Then there was to the right of Cole and Sharon (respectively left to right) Holden, the lover boy and his "kid" brother Paden. You'll notice a (probably) 13 year old Paden (with a pair of Roy Orbison shades borrowed from someone..) sitting proudly on Holden's '63 Bridgestone 90. You will also notice Holden's left forearm pressed solidly on top of my right hand to make sure I didn't accidently drive off. Gawd we were all so skinny...
The car was Sharon's sixty-somethin' Plymouth Valliant (I think). She eventually had Pop's take the luggage rack off because the rest of us saw too much opportunity to haul junk back home with it.
Cole is wearing his sleeveless t-shirt that he wore under his softball jersey, so this was either before or after a game.
Cole was the "youth minister" at our Congregational Church and the softball coach. There were several teams but his favorite was the "fast pitch" softball. The kid could drill a softball at 80 mph. He was the best.
Sharon had been snubbed on a date to a dance by some bonehead. Cole had taken it upon himself to "avenge" the creep and restore the family name to a level of prominence. Sharon had told Cole to "bug off" and mind his own business, but to Cole this was "man's" stuff and needed to be taken care of.
Sometime around the time this photo was taken there was a softball game at the church. The 'creep' that had stood-up Sharon was unfortunately present at the game. I got the story second hand so I don't know all the details. But somewhere in the warm-up area behind the bleachers and the dugout, Cole drilled an 80 mph fastball into the pants of the fella that jilted Sharon. I guess he felt restitution had been made. And I'm sure, as always, he was able to make it look like some unfortunate accident. I think it took the fella a few minutes to be able to get up out of the dirt.
I talked to Cole today. He's a seventy-something year old retired Methodist minister living in Colorado Springs now, and fakes having a poor memory. When I asked him about the incident he tried to act like he didn't remember...but I could hear the smile in his voice.
All he had to say about it was, "The Lord works in mysterious ways...".
Damm, Paden. If you're 13 in that photo you were the runt of the litter. You were probably one of those sneaky twerps that would do something horrible to a bigger classmate then turn on the sad-looking, injured-rabbit look just as the teacher turned to see what the ruckus was about. The big kid is always labeled the trouble maker while you get away with it...........again. There are a couple of those guys that I'm still looking to "accidentally" run over on the street someday. At 13, I was more Cole's height with about 40 more pounds holding me to the ground.
Back in the early to mid-60's cars of various makes had a similar look. The car in the photo looks a bit like a 62 Chevy to me.
I recognize you, weren't you in the Norman Juvenile Detention Center Work Farm in 1964?
Holy Cow, post: 396609, member: 50 wrote: Damm, Paden. If you're 13 in that photo you were the runt of the litter...The car in the photo looks a bit like a 62 Chevy to me.
Sharon had a '59 Chevy also. I thought it was the Valliant that had the carrier on top, but I might be mistaken. I was a late bloomer. I outgrew my own clothes AND hand-me-downs all in one year. If you can believe it by 16 I was a head taller than Holden.
Payden, I think you are one of the best story tellers on the forum.
N
Nate The Surveyor, post: 396696, member: 291 wrote: Payden, I think you are one of the best story tellers on the forum.
N
Thank you Nate. I appreciate it. I do feel compelled to return a complement so here goes....uhhh...
You're probably the most fertile human being I have ever known. 😉
I'm guessing that's the '59 Chevy based on the curve of the windshield. Here's a Biscayne, but hers may have been a bit different. Close but not close enough to say for sure.
