I couldn’t wait to get my driver’s license when I turned sixteen. My parents explained that if I wanted to drive I needed to buy my own car and pay for the gas, maintenance and insurance. I had no idea how much a used car would cost but I had been saving money from my early morning paper route hoping to buy something I could afford.
Some friends told my parents that their son was graduating from college and they were going to give him a new car. They knew that I was almost sixteen and wondered if I would be interested in purchasing their son’s old car. It seemed like a nice opportunity but I wondered what kind of a car it was.
It was a ’57 Chevy! The car was a two-door Belair with chrome rims and a beautiful red interior. The small V-8 engine had a four-barrel carburetor and loud glass-pact mufflers. The license plate had three letters and three numbers – JDY 007. The numbers 007 were the code name of James Bond in the famous movie series that started in the 1960’s. There is a picture of the back license plate of my car in our High School year book!
I bought the car two months before my birthday 16th in 1966. I had to wait until I got my driver’s license before I could drive my car without an adult with me. I think I washed and polished it every week. I was so excited to have my own car. After I got my license, I loved driving to High School and having the freedom to go out with my friends on weekends.
I had no idea how valuable a ’57 Chevrolet was. In my mind it was already ten years old and required a lot of gas with that four-barrel carburetor. So after I graduated from High School and set my sights on commuting to ASU, I sold my ’57 Chevy and bought a Volkswagen beetle. As I look back, I think that was one of the most foolish decisions I ever made! I should have kept the ’57 Chevy. It became one of the most iconic cars of our time. Let me encourage you to think through the choices and decisions you make in life – especially when it comes to a classic car. You will be glad you did and I will too!
For 365 more articles and stories (one for every day of the year) by the author you can purchase his book Let Me Encourage You. The After Christmas Sale price is only $30 for two books plus $5 postage. Contact the author at markh@efreedb.org. Purchase one for yourself and one to share with a friend. You will be glad you did and they will too!
Let Me Encourage You by Mark Hopper 