My wonderful and talented IRL friend Carla from This Messy Heart is hosting her first link-up, and it's about first car stories! Y'all, if you have a driver's license, you should join this link-up. It's like Victoria's guest post about shaving - we all have embarrassing awesome stories to share!
My first car was a beautiful white 1993 Toyota Camry. My parents bought him from a friend so that I could have a car {instead of the family van or monstrous truck} to learn to drive. I thought he was perfect.
His nickname was "The Duck" because his horn was dying and when the alarm system went off {which happened more frequently than you might think}, he would bellow, "HONK HONK HONK QUACK QUACK QUACK" until the ignition was turned. #WhyIWasn'tCoolInHighSchool
He had leather seats and a sunroof and a funny little habit of flashing the Reverse gear light when I hit the brakes. He also had a cd player, which made him perfect for road trips, but Dad didn't think the stereo system should be the reason for a road trip, and because of The Duck's age, I wasn't allowed to take him on long distance trips.
He was a great car in which to learn to drive, and one of my favorite memories of him is at a driving workshop. My sister Jayna had just finished driver's ed, and my dad signed the both of us up for a 3 hour Emergency Driving Situations class. One of the exercises was to learn to trust the car's brakes, which meant we gunned it down the "runway" and then slam on the brakes once we reached a certain point. Twas great fun.
Because I already had my license, Jayna got to ride with me during this exercise {we all know it's because Dad wanted to drive this exercise!}. As I pulled up into position and waited for the signal to accelerate, the instructor leaned into my window and said, "Are you ready? Oh, you've got a 6 cylinder! You're ready." The Duck revved his engine in response... ok, I might have done that. But it was a team effort.
I blazed down that runway, enjoying all 6 cylinders of The Duck's engine. Although all four tires were on the ground, it certainly didn't feel that way.
The Duck was with me when someone changed lanes into us. He went to the shop and I went to physical therapy, and we were both a bit stiffer after that.
The Duck was there when someone made a left turn into us. He went back to the shop and I continued physical therapy, and I hoped the invisible target was removed from our backs.
When I came home from Berea on breaks, I looked forward to driving The Duck around, even though I had to wrestle the keys from my sisters. And then one break, I came home and The Duck wasn't there. He had gone to a new home, because he was getting too old.
While I missed him, I chose to be grateful that I only had great experiences with him and didn't have to watch him slow down. In my mind, he is still the rip-roaring-est car I've ever had the pleasure of driving.
My first car was a beautiful white 1993 Toyota Camry. My parents bought him from a friend so that I could have a car {instead of the family van or monstrous truck} to learn to drive. I thought he was perfect.
His nickname was "The Duck" because his horn was dying and when the alarm system went off {which happened more frequently than you might think}, he would bellow, "HONK HONK HONK QUACK QUACK QUACK" until the ignition was turned. #WhyIWasn'tCoolInHighSchool
He had leather seats and a sunroof and a funny little habit of flashing the Reverse gear light when I hit the brakes. He also had a cd player, which made him perfect for road trips, but Dad didn't think the stereo system should be the reason for a road trip, and because of The Duck's age, I wasn't allowed to take him on long distance trips.
He was a great car in which to learn to drive, and one of my favorite memories of him is at a driving workshop. My sister Jayna had just finished driver's ed, and my dad signed the both of us up for a 3 hour Emergency Driving Situations class. One of the exercises was to learn to trust the car's brakes, which meant we gunned it down the "runway" and then slam on the brakes once we reached a certain point. Twas great fun.
Because I already had my license, Jayna got to ride with me during this exercise {we all know it's because Dad wanted to drive this exercise!}. As I pulled up into position and waited for the signal to accelerate, the instructor leaned into my window and said, "Are you ready? Oh, you've got a 6 cylinder! You're ready." The Duck revved his engine in response... ok, I might have done that. But it was a team effort.
I blazed down that runway, enjoying all 6 cylinders of The Duck's engine. Although all four tires were on the ground, it certainly didn't feel that way.
The Duck faithfully sped me around that training lot, and faithfully took me to high school, my retail job, a babysitting job, and countless visits to friends' houses.
The Duck was with me when someone changed lanes into us. He went to the shop and I went to physical therapy, and we were both a bit stiffer after that.
The Duck was there when someone made a left turn into us. He went back to the shop and I continued physical therapy, and I hoped the invisible target was removed from our backs.
When I came home from Berea on breaks, I looked forward to driving The Duck around, even though I had to wrestle the keys from my sisters. And then one break, I came home and The Duck wasn't there. He had gone to a new home, because he was getting too old.
While I missed him, I chose to be grateful that I only had great experiences with him and didn't have to watch him slow down. In my mind, he is still the rip-roaring-est car I've ever had the pleasure of driving.
Yes, yes, yes!
ReplyDeleteI can imagine the BLT (Brave Little Toaster) and the Duck being besties. And the BLT being the annoying older (smaller) brother because he was a whole four years older.
Thanks so much for sharing your story!
The BLT and The Duck would totally be besties :) Thanks for hosting this link-up!
DeleteLOVE :) So sweet Beks. RIP little Duck
ReplyDeleteThanks, Victoria!
DeleteThe Duck had a good run :)
My first car story isn't nearly as cool as this...of course my first car only lived 6 months. ;-)
ReplyDeleteYou could still write about its short visit in your possession ;)
DeleteOr cheat and write about your second car :)