she was junky when junky wasn’t cool.

she’s large. she’s marge. she’s large marge the party barge. our official fleamarket mascot, junky mode of transportation, and all around good-timin PiNK mobile.

but her story begins loooong ago.

remember the post of the sleepy little town amie & i were lucky enough to grow up in? overton, texas…where the pine trees are tall and the twang is thick? well, large marge spent her early years there. at overton isd. amie & i took many a school roadtrip in that white suburban. it was used for many things…FFA events, UIL meets, tennis & track teams…among many others.

{at a state UIL meet after a roadtrip to austin in marge.circa 1993. yes, that's a GIANT scrunchie in my hair}

when the day came that marge (she didn’t know it then but that was her name) was to be replaced with a shinier, newer ride, she was put up for auction. GypSY daddy & janie hit that auction likes moths to a flame (actually janie hits any auction, junk store, garage sale, or flea market like a moth to a flame…buuuut i digress). and they walked away with…well, a $300 1980 white suburban. the seats were torn, the dash was dry rotted, and of course, no power locks or windows, but mom and dad just knew they had to rescue ole marge. they knew she needed a new home with our family. they knew she wasn’t meant for the scrap yard, but for great celestial things. she was meant for great adventure.

she. was. to one day be. a … suuuuuperhero (you have to say that oprah-style: suuuuuperrrrr-he-rohhhhhhh) of junky epic proportions.

(actually, i think dad thought she might end up at our farm in arkansas…as a farm cruiser so to speak…but when they brought her home, we loved her and knew that fate had landed at her final and intended destination).

{first trip to the farm for some good timin' river days...our cousins carved their names in the dash}

that was in 2002.

then, we decided she must be pink…

{one of marge's first photoshoots...fortune small business magazine, circa 2005}

with horns on the front, flames down the sides, pink striped curtains, and lots of bumper stickers to make her extra fancy!

and then in 2005, we did what any good gypsy with a salvaged-junkafide pink suburban would do…we held a contest to name her. it had to be the coolest of cool and totally bad-to-the-bone. and we knew we needed a little help from our friends…

submissions came from across the globe…from near and far…from sea to shining sea…

here’s just a few (well, that’s a slight understatement….) for you to peruse:

the JUNK deville – claudia from MN
gypsy soul suburban – pete from CA
big PINK – eddy tom from TX
road trippin JUNKER – betty from new orleans
LOLA – todd from TX
gypsy jalopy – julie from bandera
pinky mcpinkersons – nathan from CA
FLO – caye from el paso
rosa enfuego – hj from TX
crackalackin’ junky-smackin’ – buck from las vegas
ROXI – stephanie from TX
big bertha – meghan from houston
hot, pink and righteous - shane from hollywood
sugar shack – joe pete
lil junker – brandi from NYC
petticoat junktion – carol from TX
gypsyville wrecker – kimberly from RI
pink hunk o’ junk – heather from KS
pepto paddywagon – dee ann from Ft Worth
pink lady wanderlust – angie from FL
pickled fink – janis from KY
large marge, the party barge – theresa from HOLLAND
junk yard DAwG – malisa from TX
pepto gizmo – deb from CO
pinky tuscudaro (fonzie’s girlfriend) – susan from TX
junkillac – Denise from HOUSTON
JUNKy COLD MEdiNA – SHaWN from DALLaS
PINK punkaRELLI – TiffaNY from AuSTin
THE pinK BoheMIAN RUBBIsh RIDE – JenNIFER from SAN ANtonIO
JUNque-a-BAGo – THeresa from HOLLAND

after hours and hours of deliberation, we narrowed the list down to our top 10…and then left it up to y’all. you voted. and it was henceforth declared that she shall be known across the lands and throughout the world as LaRGE MarGE the PaRTY barGE.

fearless and full of wanderlust…she’s traveled the world.

from the tour de france…

{lance could barely keep up with ole marge…}

and the eiffel tower…

{did we mention she can fly?}

to running with the bulls of pamplona…

{marge in spain, valentines 2007}

and she once flew the coop on a celestial roadtrip through the MiLKY waY…leaving nothing but her rhinestone-studded tire tracks and a taco wrapper (her favorite food, extra spicy) behind.