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| The Voice of Towne Lake | |
The Flagship of Around Town Community Magazines | July 2008 |
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The First Car
by Kara KieferIt started more than a year ago. My son got his Learner’s Permit. As you may recall from earlier articles, the first few months were characterized by plenty of, “Watch out for the curb!” and “Are you paying attention to the speed limit?” It was 12 months of getting him ready to hit the road solo; we drove in the rain; we drove at night time; we even drove on I-75 to Florida. And on April 19, he got his Driver’s License.So, you know what’s on his mind now, don’t you? That’s right, his own car. There are several provisions he has to meet before this will happen, including maintaining good grades, getting a job to help pay for it and generally being the responsible young man we know him to be. But there’s still the coming together between parent and child and parent and parent regarding what kind of car will be appropriate for his first car, and as you can imagine, there are differences in opinions about what our first born should have as his first car. Mom: I want him to have something that’s not too sporty, doesn’t go very fast and has as many airbags as possible. It won’t be red in color, and it won’t have a convertible top. It will have a removable back seat so he can chauffeur his brother but not his friends. Dad: He wants a truck for our son. “Our son can help me haul stuff!” It does meet my requirement of no back seat, but there is a truck bed. And I’ve seen what teenage boys carry in their truck bed, lots of other teenage boys. If we buy a heap, it probably won’t go above 65 miles per hour. But if it’s a heap, it won’t have airbags everywhere. Son: He wants a Dodge Charger, Mustang or other such “muscle car.” He likes the 2008 models, but 2007 will be OK too. He’d like it to be red or black in color and have a GPS. When I was 16, my dad had the right idea. He offered to buy me a car, and he brought home the ugliest car I had ever seen and said it was mine if I wanted it. It was a long sedan model, olive green in color. It had an AM radio and that was it. It was a bomb. I humored him and drove it once around the driveway and said, “Thanks, but no thanks.” He knew I wouldn’t want that car, which is precisely why he offered it to me. As a result, I didn’t receive my first car until I was in college. Smart man! I’ve just got to find out what my son’s “olive green sedan” is, and offer that up to him…. Problem solved!
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Kara is the Editor of The TowneLaker magazine. She lives in Towne Lake with her husband Mike and their two sons Brandon and Garrett. Feel free to send your comments or questions to 
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