The putt-putt and the Moonflower bush

The story of the putt-putt and the Moonflower bush came to fruition in a small South Dakota town. It is a childhood story and as such, a very special tale, for it brings forth the best of memories of times past when things were much different than today.
The Moonflower bush in this story was the pride and joy of my Auntie Lois who was also our next door neighbor. One bright summer day, my father, who always had the best of ideas, came up with the idea of building his daughters the infamous “putt-putt” car. This idea was welcomed with great enthusiasm for what child would not love to have a motorized vehicle of their very own with which to cruise the neighborhood in.
Dad scouted through the outbuildings until he found a small motor and then proceeded to build a frame, add some wheels and steering and built a small smoking and roaring vehicle for us to try.
We elected my sister Chris to go on the maiden voyage so she was seated at the wheel and my dad pulled the cord of the lawnmower motor powering the putt-putt.
To everyones surprise, it took off with a roar and headed into the neighborhood, which in this case was my dear Auntie Lois’s moonflower garden.
It should be understood that is this dry and barren prairie, this moonflower plant was the pride and joy of nearly everyone. It was gigantic and as the sun rode low in the sky and the evening stars came out, the huge white flowers would open wide and spread a gentle fragrance through the neighborhood. It was a thing of beauty and admiration that this would even happen in the dark of night and was a subject of discussion as to why this flower opened only after the sun went down.
Nonetheless, sister Chris was the family adventurer and hanging firmly onto the wheel plunged deeply into the moonflower plant. The putt-putt proceeded to smoke and fume and stalled out leading to a huge amount of consternation over the damages that ensued. My father apologized to my dear Aunt and removed the vehicle from the bush. My mother declared it a hazard and we were not allowed to cruise the neighborhood again, but it was a great adventure to be sure.