Every day, as I head off to work, I drive past a parking lot filled with shiny new and slightly used vehicles.  At first glance one might think it’s an automobile dealership but it’s a parking lot for the adjacent high school.  I’m not jealous that all of those teens are driving vehicles nicer than most of the ones I owned before I was 30 but you sort of have to wonder how many have actually been given the responsibility of making the payments.  My parents weren’t able to provide any of us with wheels.  There was always a bus to ride and once in a while we rode with a friend that was borrowing their parent’s car or actually scraping up payments for the one they were driving.

I didn’t get bitten by the “car” bug until I received a job offer that was 35 miles from where I lived.  I knew walking was out of the question and car pooling might work but I’m sure the willing party would expect me to drive sometimes and I knew I would eventually run out of excuses when it was actually my turn to drive.  Anyone with even the tiniest amount of common sense would get a bit suspicious if I had a flat tire every other Monday when it was my turn to pick them up.

My dad didn’t spend a second worrying about my wheels or lack thereof but my brother did.  I’m not sure why as he had never spent a lot of his time bonding with me unless you can call throwing me off the back of his snowmobile every time he offered to give me a ride to my friend’s house bonding.  He’s in his mid 50’s now and I still don’t fully understand how his brain works.  I appreciate what he’s done for me and perhaps someday I will actually be able to “figure” him out.  He told me he was just tired of me driving mom’s car so he took it upon himself to lead me in the direction of some very affordable wheels.

I’ll never forget the night I first laid eyes on something that would land me my very first “honest face” loan at the bank.  It was late in the afternoon when Jr stopped by and asked if I wanted to buy a car.  He had located a 1974 Plymouth Volare up in North Dakota.  He had no idea if this would be the perfect car for me but he was willing to take me to the little old farmer’s place to check it out.  We knew it was in running condition and due to the fact this requirement was at the very top of my list, we headed north.

It was half past dark when we drove in the yard at the old farmer’s place and the only light available was a distant dusk to dawn light and a few rays streaming from the kitchen window.  What I saw resembled a car and it appeared to be red with a beige top.  It was a two door and the engine came to life once the key was turned in the ignition.  Both headlights and taillights worked.  It was quite clean and after a very short mechanical inspection Jr said, “Well, it’s up to you but the guy wants $350 for it and I’ll co-sign a loan at the bank if you want it.”  It wasn’t long and we were rolling down the driveway with a car I had just written a rubber check for, praying the bank would loan me the money the following day.  Jr only let me do this as he had the money to cover my check if the bank wouldn’t.  I can’t say I wasn’t excited.  I’m quite sure the kids that get the new cars handed to them are excited too but this kind of excitement was the kind that put the fear of God in you because you knew you had finally reached the point in life that had awarded you with a brand spanking new set of responsibilities!

I’m not sure I slept at all that first night.  My car….m-y  v-e-r-y  o-w-n  c-a-r  was sitting out beside the house!!!  I worried about my meeting at the bank and then I worried about insurance and then I worried about having gas money.  I worried about everything I could possibly think of except the water pump.   When my dad came in the house after doing a few things outside the next morning and told me my car was sitting in a pool of water due to the fact that the water pump went out.  Devastation hit!   Life, as I knew it, was over.  My bubble had been burst.  My financial obligations had just gone from scary to I NEED TO WIN THE LOTTERY AND FAST!

Needless to say, the new water pump wasn’t that expensive and Jr was willing to replace it, saving me labor costs.  I did get approved for a loan at the bank and I’m quite sure the banker chuckled a little when he saw how terrified I was “signing my life away!”  I sort of think he just took the money out of his personal account as he called it “An Honest Face” type loan.  I didn’t miss a single $65 monthly  payment at the bank so I had set the ground work for being a good risk for future loans and when it came time to trade up my brother told me, “That car didn’t cost you a dime.”  I didn’t know then but I know now, just exactly what he was talking about.  I drove that car back and forth to work, 70 miles a day round trip, for several years and the only thing I put into it was a water pump and a thermostat.  After seeing it in the daylight, I joked about the fact that it was 10% car and 90% body putty.  It was obviously in an accident that caused the rear end an extensive amount of damage but it still ran.  I did drive it one whole winter without heat but that probably did more good than harm as it helped me to be thankful for every car that had a working heater after that.

Now I’m driving a very nice car.  Everything works and it is definitely costing me a whole lot more than a dime but I wouldn’t trade my experience I had with my old Volare for anything in the world.  It taught me to be thankful for having a mechanic for a brother.  It taught me to be humble, as it delivered a hefty dose of humility every time I got out of it when there were people around.  It taught me to never take anything for granted and it taught me that not having everything handed to me most likely helped me to build a very solid foundation within myself that I have relied on for many years since.