Similar, dad drove me and brother and mom across the Mojave desert in summer in a bug. I can still smell the black "pleather" melting in the back. At some point he stopped at a rest stop and shaved both our heads. Why he had a set a Wahl in the car, I could never get out of him.
When we got to the other side of the desert and the Rockies, all 4 re-tread tires had bubbles. It took a few days for new tires to arrive in St. George. He bought the re-treads because we were "poor as church mice" but it ended up costing a lot more for 4 new shipped there, plus hotel accommodations, even at Motel 6. Probably most of the expense was for quarters to make the bed vibrate
To contribute to this discussion, there were eventually 4 of us boys. I was the only one who was supposed to be a male. After me dad wanted a girl. HE wanted to try for a 5th, mom said no way
