Ok, so it’s not really a hearse in the classic sense, it is a station wagon that was a funeral car, that, yes, did have a hearse license plate.

Let’s back up a few decades to when I was a teenager learning how to drive. Most of the guys my age wanted a Pontiac Firebird, an old Plymouth Barracuda, or a Chevrolet Monte Carlo. I wanted a station wagon.

Seriously. I’ve always had a thing for wagons, including the ones that my parents carted us around in over the years, like this 1960s Ford Falcon wagon and a 1980 Ford Fairmont Squire. Evidently, my chore was washing those wagons.

Longtime readers of “the Hartfordite” know about my penchant for these cars, that were such a part of American culture, especially the ones with faux wood paneling. It is one of the many reasons my brother calls me Clark, as in…