First Car

Ok... several posts ago, I had mentioned doing a blog on all of the cars that I've ever had. "Had" really means that they were my primary "drive". The first car was actually owned by Mom and Dad... they covered the insurance, the gas, the maintenance. I had the privelege of driving it as long as I obeyed the house rules.

The car that I learned to drive in (aside from the wonderful driver's ed car) was a 1978 Buick Regal Limited. It was similar to the one pictured above. However, it was a beautiful shade of light blue... with comfy light blue velour seating. It had an 8-Track tape player. I still remember to this day riding along with the family (before I could drive) and everyone singing along to the Smokey and the Bandit soundtrack... the Oak Ridge Boys... and countless other 70s tunes.

I got to drive this car to school sometimes... not always. If the weather was bad or if I didn't have any special events after school (especially my Junior year), I was relegated to riding the school bus. I remember getting the car stuck in the snow in the driveway... I also remember leaving my boyfriend's house in a huff and spinning the car on some wet leaves. How it didn't hit any mailboxes or trees, I will never know. I remember cruising with my buddy, Angelia, and hitting a huge pothole, thus leaving me a flat tire... only to be discovered late at night when we tried to leave Pizza Hut. Oh boy, I really was excited to call home and get my dad out of bed to tell him that one... And, I also remember getting backed into by a guy (who I later found out was a suspect in a murder case) and having to go home and tell the parents about that one. I vividly recall walking into the house with pieces of the light assembly in my hand to show Mom... hoping to convince her to tell Dad. That didn't work... That turned out to be a learning experience on getting estimates and repairs done on a car.

That car was a great car for our family. It hung in there for many, many years and miles. Dad didn't like to wear his seatbelt, and this one of the first cars that beeped at you if you didn't have your belt fastened. Dad had a metal insert made at work so that he could pop that in and stop the beeping. The bumper started rusting through, so it eventually was held on by a chain... that was a real classy look. But, nonetheless, it was a wonderful car. I still have the hood ornament and one of the wheel covers from it... If I can ever dig up a picture to scan in, I will.