Most of my early childhood memories are shadowy, but Sunday drives through the countryside are some of the clearest. Mixed with the sights outside the window were the sounds of my parents' voices raised in song. I still know the lyrics to many songs of the forties, learned on Sunday road trips. That was certainly a different era. In 1940, when gas prices were 18 cents per gallon, an afternoon drive was cheap entertainment. Contrast that with current gas prices, which are now over $3.70 per gallon at our local pumps, and you won’t have any trouble understanding the demise of this pastime.
