Going on a Run.

"I gotta take a run!" Grandpa Andy would shout this in his slightly raspy, enthusiastic voice. The subtext of everything he ever says always has a smile behind it. A playful, teasing smile. But his proclamations have the confident commanding manner of an auctioneer moving forward. "I need somebody to go on a run with me? Who's gonna go?"

The kids would all fight for the opportunity. One lucky one would be chosen and he'd shout a general announcement as he left.

"Marge! I've got an assistant! David (or Andy or Daniel or Angela or Toby or Jodie) is goin' on a run with me!"

Sometimes there would be a responding shout -- Where you going!? or Hurry up then! -- shouts between rooms seemed like the preferred mode of communication at the Long Ships -- or even in the Floridian Trailer. After the shout, or if there was no shout, Grandpa Andy would look at you, raise his eyebrows a little, open his eyes a bit wider. And a little laugh would come out.

How about that!? -- danced across his eyebrows and through his laugh. He'd shake his head. How about that?

My favorite runs were in the red pinto. There was something mythical and magical about that car. It was partly the fact that all the missing pieces of the Universe seemed to be stored somewhere in the back. Partly the size, the compactness. Partly that the feeling of driving it was so connected to the experience of the road. It didn't have great shocks or a smooth transmission -- so driving really felt like driving -- and Driving with Grandpa Andy meant watching him perform a comedic responsive routine akin to a subtle Buster Keaton as we drove through the back streets of Sault Ste. Marie or St. Petersburg.

I have to admit that I don't remember a lot of what we did on the runs. So I'm curious if anyone else actually remembers the destination of the runs you went on with Grandpa Andy? Where'd you go? What happened? Was it just the magic of the genre -- going on a run -- or were the triumphs of the run -- bargains attained, goods bartered, personalities encountered just as important?