Tonight I went with Joey and Roger to pick up Joey’s first car. I found it a couple days ago on Craig’s List. We have been looking for a while for the right one. Joey had some parameters [as most of us who are car shopping do] — it had to be small, good on gas and within his budget. He didn’t care too much about color or the “pretty factor” but wanted something that would be good and reliable. Of course I began by looking at Honda Civics as they fit all of those parameters We found a few, but nothing quite fit. A lot of them are stick shifts and that was not in the mix unless it was so over the top cool that he would deal with it. I happened upon a red VW Golf that looked really nice and fit all of his specs. He looked at it and said, “I think that is the one,” even before he saw it in actuality. So he and Roger went and looked at it last night and he put a downpayment on it. Today was the day and he pulled out a bunch of fresh hundred dollar bills and paid in cash, in full, for his first car. Let me just say that I am proud of him for saving for everything he wants to get. He sets a goal and then goes for it. He doesn’t spend much like you would think a typical teen would. He has financial goals and sets about achieving them. And this goal has been long coming. It’s a nice car. It’s shiny, red, and has power windows and a sunroof. It drives well, no rattles, and feels good and solid. I pray that it will be a good car for him for the next few years.
My first car was a 1973 Ford Maverick. It was for sale just down the street at Hap Avery’s Service Station. He wanted $50 for it. It was a little rusty, a lovely shade of brown, and not something I was thinking had much cool factor for an up and coming yuppie like myself. At this time I was enamored with BMWs, and anything less was just not what I wanted. Of course, my budget and mere reality demanded otherwise. My whole family turned against me when I said I didn’t want to get it. “It’s fifty bucks! Are you crazy!? It’s a car! It will drive you wherever you need to go. It’s fifty bucks!” They had a point. I was almost 16 and how could I pass up the straight 6 power of that vintage car. It was a great car really. I called it the Ghostbuster because Dad and I fixed some of the rust holes with green bondo, so it looked like it had been slimed.
As I stood at the little dealership in Osceola tonight, I looked up at the sign and the name was Maverick Motors, with a image of a Ford Maverick on the right side. Kinda cracked me up as I stood there twenty five years later remembering the day I got my Maverick, and here was Joey, getting his first car that I found him from a dealership called Maverick.
There’s something about your first car. It’s like a rite of passage in our culture, especially as a teen guy. You want to show it off to your friends right away and take them somewhere…anywhere. I can remember those days of driving all over Saratoga and later Albany. Spending my hard earned money on gas for this new thing I now had. Suddenly, where I used to ride my bike everywhere, I was driving. You want me to go to the store? You want me to go pick up Matt or Sara? Do you want me to drive you to church tonight? Oh yeah, I was so excited not to have to take the bus any more. And back in the days before cell phones, I had to make sure the parents knew my whereabouts. I was good though and kept them in the loop. Like my father and grandfather, I did have a bit of a heavy foot though, though despite that, I have only had three speeding tickets in my 25 years of driving. Accidents are another story which you can read about here: https://www.wonderbox.us/wp/?p=1350. A car, after all is “a tool, not a toy” as my friend Jay’s mom used to always say. There’s a lot of responsibility that comes with owning a car, and a lot of rules that suddenly you have to obey. Suddenly you are paying for gas and insurance and fixing wheel bearings and mufflers and oil changes and all sorts of other things that make your debit card squeal in pain. But I had a lot of good times in that car and I look back on that year fondly. A long string of cars followed, and 25 years later I am on car #25. Some have lasted years and others have been with me only months. But every one has had its challenges and experiences on my journey.
Even though some of these cars have been a little rusty or old or ugly, I have learned to steward them to the best of my ability. I kept them clean, in good repair and it taught me to value the little things. Sometimes I think the way we keep our car is a good indicator on how we steward the gifts God gives us. If I were to trash it and don’t bother maintaining or cleaning it, how does that speak of how I treat what God entrusted me with? Just a car? Nope. Faithful in the little things = authority over big things later on.