Sometimes you just drive away

Mass murder in Walt Disney World’s backyard.

Tempers and toilet paper flying in the transgender bathroom debate.

Hillary barks this. Trump yaps that.

And just when you can’t take another minute of the madness, along comes what you need, right when you need it.

Car d’Lane, pull on up.

Our community’s annual car show puts a coat of Armor All on the Father’s Day weekend; it looks better and even feels better because of this refreshing blast from the past. Old cars and trucks in pristine condition comprise the heart of the show, made more meaningful than usual this weekend, perhaps, because of the anxiety so many Americans feel from cultural, religious and political unease.

For the record, yesteryear wasn’t without its teeth-rattling potholes. This weekend’s beauts with the spotless upholstery and gleaming chrome might lull us into misremembering a picture-perfect past, but the truth is, those classic chariots were rolling off assembly lines even as our nation endured a couple of world wars, two subsequent major military conflicts, civil rights strife, red scares and recessions.

Yep; in every era, we’ve had our cultural, religious and political unease. But somewhere between the grill of a 1910 Buick Model 19 Touring Car, the back seat of a cherry ’57 Chevy Bel Air and the exhaust pipes from a smokin’ ’74 Mustang Mach 1, we pulled through. Our country did not wilt under the glare of international threats or freeze up during a cold war. We didn’t buckle when our president lied to us or Congress twiddled its thumbs when action was essential. Usually we confronted our challenges head-on, but sometimes we just climbed into our beloved car or truck, rolled the windows down, cranked the radio up and hit the open road.

This weekend during Car d’Lane, the good ol’ days will remind us that because they’ve been here before, they’ll most assuredly come ‘round again.