Easy Rider
A fellow writer of Amish fiction has been listening to my drama about my car this week. Today she wrote that the Amish have it figured out: horses are better than cars.
Well, I don't know about that. I think horses would be a lot of work to do for the occasional ride or errand. Linda, my Old Order Amish friend who reads my work to check for accuracy, once laughed at my silly questions about horse care when I called her for some fact checking. I didn't have a clue about their care. She said she wouldn't have a clue about what to do for a car so we were even. Linda, by the way, has a new book out. I know many of you enjoyed her first, Running Around (and Such). Her new book, When Strawberries Bloom, is about to release. I hope you'll pick it up. I love Linda's writing style and her sense of humor.
Anyway, I was driving home from having dinner with my daughter and youngest grandson in St. Augustine the other night and my car overheated... on the Interstate...in the dark. Well, I used to be a police reporter for the local newspaper and I watch too many episodes of shows like Medium where women are victims of crime and I can get pretty anxious in such a situation. I saw a sign that there was a rest area with security a mile away and edged there, watching the temperature gauge. Well, as soon as I pulled in there I found a Florida Highway Patrol trooper. He was wonderful, checking under the hood, giving me tips on how to get home with the problem, even typing the FHP phone number into my cell phone and telling me to watch the mile marker signs so I could tell the dispatcher where I was. How blessed was I? (Yes, I'm writing the FHP to tell them how helpful their officers have been to me for the two recent incidents I've had with my car on the road.)
The next day my garage gave me the bad news that the engine block was cracked. That meant a repair bill of thousands of dollars. I called the dealership and received my second blessing: it was a problem this make of car had experienced and a new engine and labor was FREE. So I dropped it off one day and got it back and I even have an endless warranty on the engine. Blessed again. I can't tell you the relief I experienced.
Unfortunately, all the drama kept me from doing what I wanted on the blog today. I was going to photograph and put up one of the gifts I have planned to give away in a monthlong book launch contest on AmishHearts: a small Amish-made basket filled with quilting goodies. It'll have to wait ... so instead, I'm going to give away another autographed copy of A Time to Love, the first book in the Quilts of Lancaster County series, which released early, and a darling metal bookmark I found which has a small dangling enameled quilt block painted on it.
Just tell me your best car drama moment OR your favorite memory associated with a car on the blog at www.AmishHearts.com by midnight Thursday, September 16. My favorite car memory would be the summer my dad bought his first new car -- an aqua and white convertible -- and took us on a family vacation across many states one summer. I was constantly car sick (I still get that way very easily). My dad would just stop, I'd get out of the car and throw up, and I'd be given an ice cold Coke from the cooler to settle my tummy. Then we'd get back on the road. They didn't let that deter them from taking us to so many wonderful places.
Until next week, may you have safe travels!
Barbara
Well, I don't know about that. I think horses would be a lot of work to do for the occasional ride or errand. Linda, my Old Order Amish friend who reads my work to check for accuracy, once laughed at my silly questions about horse care when I called her for some fact checking. I didn't have a clue about their care. She said she wouldn't have a clue about what to do for a car so we were even. Linda, by the way, has a new book out. I know many of you enjoyed her first, Running Around (and Such). Her new book, When Strawberries Bloom, is about to release. I hope you'll pick it up. I love Linda's writing style and her sense of humor.
Anyway, I was driving home from having dinner with my daughter and youngest grandson in St. Augustine the other night and my car overheated... on the Interstate...in the dark. Well, I used to be a police reporter for the local newspaper and I watch too many episodes of shows like Medium where women are victims of crime and I can get pretty anxious in such a situation. I saw a sign that there was a rest area with security a mile away and edged there, watching the temperature gauge. Well, as soon as I pulled in there I found a Florida Highway Patrol trooper. He was wonderful, checking under the hood, giving me tips on how to get home with the problem, even typing the FHP phone number into my cell phone and telling me to watch the mile marker signs so I could tell the dispatcher where I was. How blessed was I? (Yes, I'm writing the FHP to tell them how helpful their officers have been to me for the two recent incidents I've had with my car on the road.)
The next day my garage gave me the bad news that the engine block was cracked. That meant a repair bill of thousands of dollars. I called the dealership and received my second blessing: it was a problem this make of car had experienced and a new engine and labor was FREE. So I dropped it off one day and got it back and I even have an endless warranty on the engine. Blessed again. I can't tell you the relief I experienced.
Unfortunately, all the drama kept me from doing what I wanted on the blog today. I was going to photograph and put up one of the gifts I have planned to give away in a monthlong book launch contest on AmishHearts: a small Amish-made basket filled with quilting goodies. It'll have to wait ... so instead, I'm going to give away another autographed copy of A Time to Love, the first book in the Quilts of Lancaster County series, which released early, and a darling metal bookmark I found which has a small dangling enameled quilt block painted on it.
Just tell me your best car drama moment OR your favorite memory associated with a car on the blog at www.AmishHearts.com by midnight Thursday, September 16. My favorite car memory would be the summer my dad bought his first new car -- an aqua and white convertible -- and took us on a family vacation across many states one summer. I was constantly car sick (I still get that way very easily). My dad would just stop, I'd get out of the car and throw up, and I'd be given an ice cold Coke from the cooler to settle my tummy. Then we'd get back on the road. They didn't let that deter them from taking us to so many wonderful places.
Until next week, may you have safe travels!
Barbara
Posted by Barbara Cameron at 9/10/2010 9:54 PM 
Categories: Quilts of Lancaster series, A Time to Love
Tags: Amish fiction
Categories: Quilts of Lancaster series, A Time to Love
Tags: Amish fiction
My favorite car my father had was about a 1950 Mercury. I loved that car but one day we loaned it to my friend, Mary. We were both in nursing school & she was living with my parents. Well, it rained very hard and several places in GR were flooded. Mary tried to get through an area on her way to the hospital but the water came way up, past the wheels and she had to leave it. That was the end of our beautiful Mercury that I loved. The motor was ruined!
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Wow what an experience you had, I have read the book you are talking about "RUNNING AROUND (and such)" I just loved it I am waiting for the next book.
My experience with cars or trucks is when My Dad told me to go out into the field with the tractor with my sister and pull the truck up because it would not start I told my Dad that I know where to hook the chain to pull it up, but I guess I really did not, because I hooked it on the tie rods and that is not a good idea because I was watching something bend and that is not good so my sister and I went back to the barn and told my Dad and all he said was I IWILL DO IT MYSELF, he was not really happy with me but it all worked out, that was about that was about 45 years ago and we still laugh about it
I would love to win this contest
Gods Blessing to you and yours
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I have read both of Linda's books and loved them.
We had an old station wagon and it was loaded with my 4 kids and my friend and her kids. We were in the middle of a main road at a red light. When I tried to go after the light turned green, the speedometer was moving but my car wasn't. The drive shaft had fallen out in the middle of the street.
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My favorite memory of a car problem was when my husband and I were going for a Sunday afternoon in 1971,with our small babies and we had a 63 Chevy impala and as we drove around seeing the sights of the country farmland, showing our oldest son(4) the cows and other farm animals the car began to act funny, and then all at once it stopped, my husband of 20 crawled under it and found that the universal joint had broken and needed replaced before it could be moved. we were 7 miles from anywhere and as we waited for someone to come along and help us I finally ask him if there was something we could do, he was slightly agitated by this time and said rather sarcastically, if I had some kind of metal I might be able to piece it together and get us back to a gas station.. He had already search the car for something but I didn't know what he wanted.. I open my purse and searched but all I found was a Midol tin and ask if he thought it might work... He gave me one of those looks , and I just close my purse.. after another 30 minutes, however he finally ask me to get it out.. I took the pills out and handed it to him.. He crawled back under the car and I heard him talking to himself for sometime then he came back out all dirty and shrugged his shoulders and said," well, all we can do is try it and say a prayer.." We started toward town again and slowly made it back to the first gas station on the highway.. As we limped into the parking area, he turn to me and grinned
and said, " I guess Midol does cure all your aches and pains, you will have to tell them about this one.." I just laughed and thanked God we were able to get there and get help. but later I did indeed drop the Midol company a note about it because I thought it was great that tiny, metal tin held our car together long enough to get us to safety. I received a cute note of thanks from them and a coupon for a free box of Midol.. and that one the most memorable car trip I have ever had, filled with lots of love and beautiful memories.. thank you for letting me share it with you.. God bless you ..
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My favorite memory of a car problem is of a Sunday afternoon in 1970 my husband and I were taking our young babies our into the country to do some sightseeing.. As we drove around the countryside enjoying the sights and sounds of the farms along the way, showing my oldest son(4) the cows, and other farm animals, our car began to act funny.. We pulled the car to the side of the rode, and my husband crawled under it to see what was wrong.. The front universal joint had broke and needed replaced immediately and we were several miles from the nearest gas station or a phone.. back then there were no cell phones..lol anyway as we sat waiting for someone to come down the road and take him to get parts we laughed and talked about our dreams and played little silly games with my babies.. As the time wore on and all the snacks and baby bottles emptied, the children got cranky and so did we.. I finally ask my husband if there was anything we could do to temporaryily fix it.. He said he needed a piece of metal and he might be able to piece it together enough to limp our way back to town. He said he had already searched the trunk and we would have to wait unless I had something.. I open my purse and all I had was a silly old box of Midol made in those days in tin metal boxes.. I took it out and ask if he thought it might work.. He gave me one of his 'looks' but told me to give it to him, so I empty it out and he took it and twisted it around a lot then crawled back under the car.. I heard him talking to himself and fussing then he crawled back out and said it was in, and all we could do was try it.. and say a prayer.. We headed back to town and I silently prayed and kept the babies as quiet as I could, finally the old gas station came into sight.. It was closed but had a pay phone and we were able to get help.. As we waited for his Dad he turn to me and grinned and said" Well I guess Midol does cure all you aches and pains" and we both just laughed and he said I should tell them how it helped our car get us help.
I did indeed write the Midol Co and they sent me a nice note and a coupon for a free box of Midol.. And after all these years this is still the greatest memory for me because it is filled with lots of love and laughter and wonderful, happy memories.. thank you so much for letting me share it with you. God bless you..
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I am so sorry.. please delete this entry. my electric went out and as I was finishing the first post and didn't think it went thru and when it came on I rewrote a comment for this, and I am so sorry there are two.. thank you so much.. I don't want both of them on here,that is not right.. have a good day and God bless,
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I inherited my mothers old Ford (it’s been so long that I don’t know which kind of Ford. When she used to drive it to the filling station, she always got propositions by the men worked there. They said that it was a “classic”. Of course she only drove it to get groceries, the bank and church. I think she had it for about 20 years.
I drove the old blue Ford for another 5 years and then it started to make noises like the transmission was going out. I decided that it was about time.
I drove into parking lot. I was very proud of myself for actually getting there. The car was shimming shaking better than a belly dancer and it gave off all sorts of unusual noises. I discussed buying a beautiful red Ford with black leather seats with salesman. I told him that I had driven my car in and would like a trade in. I told that it still runs. He went off with the keys smiling and said that he would just like to drive aroung the block.
Half an hour later, he returned in a rumpled suit, with a place and looked like he had just seen a ghost. We had to continue our discussion of buying the red car until the next day because he was so shooken up!! That was the only time in my life that I had a car salesman delay a sale. Unfortunately for me, someone else bought the beautiful red car later in the day.
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Around 1960, my mother, my sister, my mother's cousin and I went on a vacation "out west" as my mother kept saying. We had an enormous station wagon at the time. In Colorado we kept seeing signs for a motel that my sister and I begged to stay at. We bypassed several places to stay in other towns to get to this motel . It was getting later and later and we were on some pretty treacherous roads. It turns out this was the only motel in town and it was full. My mother was concerned about driving any farther in the dark. We stayed in a city park and folded the seats down to fit all of us in the back to sleep. It was the one time we were very grateful for such a large car. We still talk about our night in the car with two worried adults and two young children who thought it was a grand adventure.
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Thank God for Policemen.......enjoyed reading about your episode, glad everything worked out fine.....my car memory was of a "FRAZIER" car my dad had that used to burn oil....so everytime we went anywhere, he'd have to add a quart of oil......this went on for yrs.without the oil there would be a trail of blue smoke behind us for miles.....needles to say they never made anymore of the FRAZIER cars.....and I wonder how many readers here can even remember this car.....not sure what year it was.....maybe late 50's......
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When I was working 3rd shift at a factory in a city about 40 mi.away I started my car and saw that the temperature guage went straight over. ( it is supposeto be in the middle and stay there) anyway I didn't know that at the time so I started out for home... all of the sudden the car started to overheat BIG TIME!!!. I pulled over and spotted a house near by. the people let me use the phone . I called my son cause I knew he would be home . I told him what had happen and where I was. To make a long story short, he was a race car driver at the time so he knew exactly what had happen so he got his race car haller and came and got me ( by the way it was rainning cats and dogs that day ) while on the way home he explained to me about cars and things that I should do all the time. It is hard for me to do some of them now because I own a suv, but I have a dear mechanic who does that does it reguarlly for me. After that I keep telling people what to do with their cars and their reply is "how do you know all this? then they remember that I had a race car driver in the family. I thought he would be so mad at me but he said that you need to learn some things if you are going to own and vehicle and be single which I am today. and I have never forgotten the tips that he has tought me.
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First of all, I love Amish books -I grew up in the heart of New York's Amish communities and I have always found the books give me peace and remind me of driving around aimlessly through the country and happening on random Amish communities. One of my favorite sights was the Amish schoolhouse with all the shoes lined up outside on the front steps. Anywho... one of my car drama memories involved buying a used standard-transmission car and my dad teaching me how to drive it. I did NOT have a knack for it and got stuck on an incline at the main traffic light in town. I was embarrassed (b/c it was a small town, and I knew the people.... and I was frustrated, so I had a crying fit and got out of the car and made my dad and I switch - he was so patient with me as I cried, "I bought a car I can't even drive! I an never use it! I'm an idiot!" Well, I learned to drive it and it became my favorite car!
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My first car.
I was 17 and a guy my Daddy worked with wanted to sell a car for I think $300. I said yes. Never seeing it or anything. He wanted to buy some hogs. Mom and Dad worked nights in a town about 40 miles away. They drove the car home at 1:00 in the morning. No tags or insurance. They woke me up and I thought it was the most beautiful vehicle I had ever seen.
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When I was about 8 years old, I woke up with the flu on Christmas morning. I was too sick to open presents, and I slept the day in bed. Sometime in the evening, my mom brought me in a present and said maybe it would make me feel better. It was a basket with a baby doll, filled with clothes and shoes, and all the little accessories that a baby doll would need. Along with chicken soup and 7-up, I spent that Christmas propped in my bed, dressing and undressing that doll! The whole family brought their favorite things in to my room, and we spent hours in that quiet room, together-enjoying the day God gave us, His Son's birthday!
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My fondest memory of my car was when I was only 18. I had just gotten my driver's license and my first car, which was a 1965 Mustang. I didn't hardly know where to put the gasoline in it. All I knew was to get in it, put in gear and start driving. My sister wanted me to take her for a ride. When we went to get into the car, we discovered it was on a flat. Well, one thing I did know was how to put some air in that tire! After using a hand pump to fill it with air, we watched as it slowly began to leak out again. My sister had this bright idea that we could actually put some scotch tape on it. We used a whole roll of tape trying to stop that leak. Needless to say, it didn't work and we tried to change the tire by ourselves. We couldn't figure out to use the jack and finally had to ask for help in changing the tire. We watched diligently while the tire was being changed so we would know how to do it if we ever had that problem again!
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After graduating from college, I bought a green/white VW bus. I remember sewing curtains for the windows to make it look really 'hip'! Unfortunately, I only knew how to drive an automatic and the VW bus was a stick shift. One winter, I left it parked in front of my parents house. It took a LOT of maneuvering to get my poor bus unfrozen from that spot! My boyfriend (husband now of almost 36 years) ended up driving it more than I did...
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I got my first car when I was a Jr./Sr. in high school. It was a gray Pontiac Sunbird with a sunroof. I would vacuum and polish the inside of the car all the time. It was my first day of college, when I was in an accident with the car. I was rear ended at a stop light and hit the car in front of me! The car was repaired and when I got it back, the horn didn't work! A few months later I got a new purple Cavalier.
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I have read the book Running Around (And Such) also and loved it, I have been patiently waiting for this next book, When Strawberries Bloom... Can't wait
When I was 11 yrs. old, my Step-Uncle let me get in his car and drive it in the yard, but, I got in, started it up and put it in gear, but, all I did is go around in a circle!! lol So, I stopped it, got out and that was the end of that until I got a "little" older.. Then he taught all of us on an old truck that had been cut down to a Doodle Bug..
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I don't remember what kind of car it was and exactly how old I was -- in elementary school is as close as I can come. But we were so excited the first time we got a "new" (new to us) car that actually had an air conditioner. As we say in the south, we were "in high cotton."
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Hi!
I think my favorite story about a car of mine happened when my mother and I set out for a shopping trip one hot summer's day in Miami (are there any others?). Coming off a side road onto Biscayne Blvd, I was aware of my engine catching fire while flames actually were shooting up from under the hood! Naturally, I pulled over as fast as I could to the side of the road - mind you, no cell phone or highway markers to call anyone. Then, as I unlatched the hood and opened it while covering my hands with a towel from the back seat, I watched as my ordinarily sedate mother grabbed handfalls of sand from the roadside (handy in South Florida) and threw them all over the engine!! She remained calm "under fire" so to speak. A police car came by and had a mechanic help "Lulu" (black '42 Ford) and us within minutes. And, yes, we continued on our way that day to our shopping destination. This was long before the saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping"!
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My fondest car memory is a funny one. About 9 yrs ago,when my son was a college senior, he and his father and I were on a 12 hr road trip to visit my parents. A few hours into the trip, while he was driving, all the cars on the highway started passing us like we were standing still and yet the speedometer was saying 100mph. We made it to the next rest area, coasted into a parking place and then the car died. When the tow truck finally came it had a woman driver, who was very friendly and had a good sense of humor. After hooking the car up, we all had to pile into the cab of her truck. My husband rode in the middle(straddling the gear shift),then my son. So where was I supposed to sit? On my son's lap!!! Now my son is over 6', but I am not a small woman. Needless to say there were many jokes made on the way to the garage. Even though the car was fixed the next day, even now all these years later, we still laugh about it all.
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My memory of my first car was a red mustang and during the cold winter on Sundays, it had a mind of its own. If I wanted to go out on Sunday during the winter when it was really cold, I had to start the car before 10 am. If I waited after that it would not start. The next day it was fine, ready to take me to work. My second car was also a mustang brand new but lasted 5 years. It had a problem of shutting off and turning itself back on while I was driving. Never had to pull over because by the time I started to the car started up again. They couldn't find the problem that was causing this but eventually it corrected itself.
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My car story happened on a Halloween night when my girls were young enough to go trick or treating. I took a girlfriend and her two girls with us. It was a very cold and rainy night. It was so dark we kept almost driving off into ditches when we would try to back out of people's drives. I was almost to a friend's house when my windshield wipers both starting going crazy and my lights kept flashing off and on and wouldn't quit. Luckily I edged into my friend's house and called my husband who was a Paramedic at that time. He had the Ambulance follow him to my friend's house and brought me the other car. We finished our trick and treating. I picked up up next day at work and we went and picked up the car. Nothing was wrong with the car and it wouldn't act again for anything. Never did again either.
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I owned a 1989 Beretta that started overheating as I was on the way to work at 6:30 in the morning. I pulled over several times to allow the car to cool down so that I could get it in town to a station and call my work and let them know that I was going to be late. A few minutes later a guy that I graduated with and his friend pulled into the station to get gas. They were on there way to go deer hunting and stopped for gas. They asked me what was wrong and told them what the car was doing and that I was suppose to be at work. They offered to give me lift to my job. There was only one problem there was only room for two people in his truck. The friend rode in the back of the truck to allow me to sit in the front. They were a light in a very dismal day. I think of their kindness quite often.
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I think the funniest memory I have is getting my very first car in l968. my dad saw an ad in the paper and took me to look at the car. it never crossed my mind to question my dad about what kind of car he would get. it turned out to be a very old comet...black, as in spray can black, literally. he only asked two things about it, "does it run and does the radio work"...the man said yes and daddy said "sold". no air, a heater that took forever to heat up, but it played music and it got me down the road. Eventually after I got a job and a better ride....he gave that old car to a couple that did not have a car. I called it the "Black Bomb", and treasure the memory of that car shopping trip with my dad. And I think he paid either $50 or $150...probably $50...we got our money's worth, but the memory was better.
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My favorite car was a 1971 Toyota Carolla Wagon. It was my first car. I paid 25 bucks for it in 85. It was wrecked. Me and my dad fixed it together wih my uncle. It was good on gas. I drove it for 7 years. The car had 7 owners. We knew each of them. I was last. They just don't make cars like those now a days. It was my favorite car.
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I have two great stories. While driving my daughter to her first year in college, the engine in my car started acting funny. Would just stop while driving down the Interstate. The first stop was about 30 minutes from home. My husband told me to call the state police and get some help. Well we waited about 30 minutes. It was 107 temp outside, but the index was 120 degrees. No shade trees around. We decided to try the car again. It started and so we went down the road with window open. We got about 29 miles futher down and the right outside a state trooper office the engine exploded and we were dead in the road. When we called 911 they asked where we were and we told them right outside the state trooper's office in Clarksville. I told them that if they came out their back door we were there. I had coasted off of the road. They came out brought us some drinks a few minutes later and we called a friend who lived in the town and he took us the rest of the way into the town where she was going to attend school. It was about another 45 minutes away. The car was towed into that town where another friend got us a good deal on another car. With the insurance and the good deal we got a great car and a bad situation turned out for the better. God puts the right people in your path at the time that you need them.
The other story is that when I was in high school in 1974, my dad bought a second car for me to use to go to school in. I was a senior in high school. It did not have power steering or even air conditioning. I hated it, until one day one of my male classmates needed a ride after school. He went gaga over it. The next day a bunch of the guys had found out about the car. Now I was a popular person. Any time something went wrong with the car, the guys would fix it. My dad loved all the free labor. In late summer, my dad had enough of the repairs that need to be made, so he traded it in. Bought a used Ford Cougar. Two door that had the turn light in the back that ran in the direction that you were turning. The doors had no window frames. It was a cool car. Once again the guys were hanging out. Surprising how a car can get you noticed.
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I enjoyed Linda's first book "Running Around (and such)". I really enjoyed it. Am looking forward to the next one.
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Well mine is such a sad car story. When you are a teenager and just get your license and you always dream of the hottest car and you will be so cool that you will have the hottest guy falling all over you....NOT...my first car (now we were what you called poor farmers ) was white and it had so many dents in it that if I wanted to hit something I had to buy another car. It was sad and not only the dents were bad it made so much noise I could never be late for anything and everyone in town ( I live in a small town of 300 at the time) knew when I was coming and going. Our dog would howl when I came home and run away from me. Needless to say I drive a much better vehicle now.
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Barbara~
First of all, I am about halfway through reading A Time to Love. I am loving it! I am so excited that this is a new series!
Since I am already reading it on my kindle, I am trying to win a copy of your new book for my mom for Christmas since she LOVES Amish fiction too!
So here is my favorite car story:
I work in Downtown Springfield (MA), which is a medium sized city, so I park in a multi-level parking garage. For some reason, which I cannot remember, I had my husband's truck that day. You see we commute to work together and I drop him off first and I take the car (or truck) to work. It was a Ford F-150 with a cap over the bed of the truck. Well when I was driving it in, I swear that I did not hear anything because the long antenna was hitting every metal beam along the way. So I parked the truck and went into work. When I came back to leave for the night, I noticed that the cap was STUCK under a metal beam and I could not move it. So I had to call my hubby to get a ride and come down to help me get it out. He had to let some of the air out of the back tires and he sat in the back of the truck to try and weigh it down. Thankfully, we got the truck out but it created an egg sized hole in the fiberglass cap. OOPSSS! He never lets me forget it but it makes a great story for contests! LOL!
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We lived about 60 miles from where my husband worked. One day I went into town( about 15 miles ) from our house and when I finished shopping my car would not start I tried several times to start it and finally called my husband he came and the car started on the first try.He just gave me a look. Later we found out it had a crack in the distributer cap.I never trusted it again until we got a new cap.
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The time that I went to the grocery store and locked my groceries in the car with the motor running.
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The prettiest car my mom ever got when I was a teenager was a blue and white Buick Apollo, a brand new one.
One car memory we have is when my husband had just finished his music teaching job at the Baptist academy for the year and we were headed from there straight to Maine for a vacation. We had only gone about an hour or so on our way when the water pump (if I remember correctly) went out and we had to find a motel much earlier than we intended. My dad and mom had to bring us a water pump.
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My favorite car memory was from about seven years ago. I was in college and could not afford to buy a car on my wages as a part-time retail sales associate, so I was still driving the old beat-up Ford Escort station wagon that my parents had purchased for a couple hundred dollars for my sister and me to use as we learned to drive back when we were in high school. It made all sorts of odd sounds and unpleasant odors, there was no air conditioner (not good when living in Florida!), and my parents warned me that it was a fire hazard and should it ever suddenly catch fire, then I was to just leave my purse and get out as fast as possible. (My friends were certainly not fond of riding in it!) Anyway, by this time the car was barely running and often stranded me at the most inconvenient times. I learned to stop for gas only at the station near my house because more often than not once I had turned the car off to pump gas, I could not get it to turn back on. I was always having to use a payphone to call my mom to come get it started for me again. (She had the magic touch apparently.) Well, I was starting to get nervous about driving it far from home. I knew I would never be able to afford another car if I didn't save everything I could from what little I was making at my job, and yet it was becoming increasingly difficult to get to my job with a car that just randomly stranded me for various periods of time. Then one day out of the blue, my parents asked me to come outside. When I stepped outside, my dad handed me a key and told me to go bring my car into the driveway. It took me a confused minute before I realized that the silver '96 Nissan Altima parked in the street was for me! I didn't care that it wasn't brand new like my friends had. My parents have only ever been able to afford used cars. But this one was in great shape and was mine! I was so excited! My parents had just sold their house and decided to take out a few thousand dollars from the sale to buy this car outright so I would have a reliable car to get around in. As a result, I was able to accept a much better job further from home and pay my parents back every dollar within less than a couple years, officially making the Altima my first car. Seven years later, that car still runs great and I appreciate it as much now as I did then.
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