ElVee

I find it very hard to think of myself driving a Z back in high school. I was a dork and kept my head down for the most part; did my school thing and the typical introvert with only my inner circle of few friends. And still that sort of thing kept me a very happy person.

And it's not because of whatever car I drove. Driving a sweet car would not have bought me cool. It likely would have bought me hazing, dings, scratches, worry, etc. Even having gone to a school on the nicer side of the tracks (for Iowa), really no one drove nice cars or even all that much for fast ones. And no one that would have reacted positively to my driving a Z likely wouldn't have been someone I'd want to hang around with or have hang around with me. High school is pretty cliquish.

There is nothing about my personality or habits or circles back in high school that would have supported a sporty car. Just wouldn't have fit me at all, nor could I have afforded it nor even wanted to afford it. It probably still doesn't fit me, but I'm old enough that it doesn't matter.

I had an '86 Oldsmobile Calais for about 1-2 years and an '85 Chevy S10 Blazer for the rest of high school and through college. Pretty much anonymous in a school parking lot. There were not really many imports in my parking lot; pretty much all used cars and hand-me-downs; as it should be in high school.

(And having the Z in a college freshman parking lot? hah)


Update: Being in Iowa with our winters, there's no way it would survive the hills in town where I lived. I drive careful, and still the winter would have done something disastrous. I couldn't call out of school like I could for work.