Street Sighting ~ Saab 96

Some years ago I made a friend out front the Adelaide museum. I was skateboarding with mates when the cross over of headz led to two crews just kicking it together. Conversations were financed over the cheapest ciders from the BWS buried in the back corner of the Rundle Mall Woolies. We used to call them fruit beers to make us sound less pathetic.

We were all having a great time. Warm nights, I was drunk, we were younger.

I would very occasionally see the bloke around. He was younger but cool, and I knew in my bones worth keepin an eye on.

More time passed and our direction in life moved circles of the Venn diagram further apart and possibly off the same page and into different books. But there was still social media interaction and mutual cross over.

But for me the critical ingredient was the spaces in which he moved. His transition from one incredibly normative environment to straight up no where. Then later back to reality, which fascinated me dearly. I could recognise this bloke was living and growing unlike others around me. 

Once he was back in Adelaide and we both had a minute it was decided; We were to catch up after work and ride push bikes between pubs - with something like 3 or 4 years since colliding circles.

We were very much off to a flying start after discovering the Colonist offers free oysters on a Friday. From there we pedaled between our next drink as I tried to satisfy my fascination with a person, and in turn learn about life.

We visited many watering holes, but it was en route to one where amid an interesting story of people, fraudulent governments, Scotland, building hospitals in Kenya, & more, we came across an olive of a vehicle. A Saab 96.

Quite a handsome but simple looking two-door in a pleasant colour and subtle styling. 

I know very little about these except for they were actually quite good rally cars back in the day - despite being FF.

The V4 caught my attention. Internet research informs me early models came with a two-stroke, then a 3banger and finally the non-conventional V4 - 1.6, later 1.8. We said goodbye to the Swedish olive and continued trading tales and drinking beers - making our way back towards town.

Adelaide was very alive, places were packed, the night was warm and eventually I was drunk and inevitably took a stack after fucking around & finding out.

I had a good pican pie at the 24 hour Bakery on O'Connell as we completed a side quest and pottered to Hindley Street to watch the more and less catastrophic exist. It would be rude not to participate so we got our final drink at Little Pub. We made it back and a little extra by smacking the fancy lights & sounds. I felt older, so much older than when we first met but in a more positive sense. After all I am too dramatic about age and achievement.

We split our ticket outa the joint and departed equally wiser having listened and learned from one another. The conversations we spat that day will govern much of the direction and momentum I plan to bring to 2026. 

As for the Saab 96 I'd road trip that puppy somewhere far from sensible.. Maybe Darwin - all to the sounds of songs like What the hell by blistar.