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80Automobiles, Lawrence County (149-05)Sometimes, when I spot a car or pickup truck sitting on flat tires, slowly rusting away, I picture a little boy riding home from the dealership with his daddy when its paint and chrome were shiny. Perhaps, later, when the newness had worn off, his older brother borrowed it for a date with a special girlfriend. That car or truck made routine trips to town for groceries, to church, to visit relatives, and to the funerals of friends. We all have many such memories, so it%u2019s no wonder some people simply can%u2019t part with their vehicles when they no longer run. Instead, they park them, in fields, along fence rows, or in overgrown woodlots, where they serve as memorials to the past. Many of us also have a special relationship with railroads. I recall my first train ride when I was five years old, placing pennies on the tracks after school to be flattened, the times I was in a hurry to get somewhere and was stopped at a crossing by 100 boxcars rumbling by. But when railroads outlived their usefulness, the track, engines, and cars usually ended up in scrap heaps. That%u2019s why I smile when I come across an abandoned train station, a lonely bridge without rails, or a retired passenger car that has, against the odds, survived.