1957 Corvette

During Christmas vacation at home in 1956, Mom and Dad said they would make the down payment on a new 1957 Corvette, if I agreed to make the monthly payments. Thinking it over, I agreed. As graduation approached in June 1957; I picked up my Corvette from a Washington DC dealer. After graduation, mom and dad in their Oldsmobile and (9yr old) Penny and I in my new Corvette set out driving for Birmingham at a leisurely 60 mph driving on mostly state highways. When Penny grew tired, she and mother switched places, so Penny could sleep in dad's back seat.

We stopped often along the way to relax, eat, stretch and enjoy this adventure. Everyone was happy and having a grand time. After 4 days of driving, this magical adventure ended. I had two weeks at home before reporting in at the Navy Supply Corp school at Athens, Georgia. My new Corvette allowed me to get home most week ends and date two girls mother introduced me to. Apparently, she thought it was time for me to get married and settle down. Nice as the girls were that she picked out, I wasn't about to let my domineering mother select my future wife. (The slap she gave me at thirteen was still fresh in my mind at twenty one.) On one drive, I met a car stopped perpendicular to the right lane. Going around him, he started up apparently not seeing me, hit my Corvette, knocking it across the left lane into a ditch where the Corvette's nose hit a culvert smashing and breaking my car in half. Georgia police investigated and declared "No Fault."

My insurance paid up the full value of my Corvette and I walked away with no injuries.
My Dad offered to sell me his 1960 yr old blue Volkswagen Beetle at a good price. I grew to love that little car as the second best car I ever owned. That was our honey moon car we drove across country to San Francisco to be transported on to Honolulu for my next job with the Military Sea Transportation Service.