第17章长大成人（1）
ingofAge
佚名Anonymous
Okay，I’lladmitit。Sittihewheelofmyfirstcarbeforeitwastowedofftothejunkyard，Icried。YoutellmeauchglassaI’llneverapolmycoolthatday。Ayoungman’sfirstcarislessameansoftransportationthaohisdiscoveryofyouthfulfreedom。Atleastmine>
Ithadallstartedtwoyearsearlier：Soohbirthday，mypareheoldredfamilydpasseditontome。Bef，thatdIhadbeethebestfriends。Wegaveridestojustaboutanyonewhoasked，anytime，anywhere，andhadallsortsofadventures。
&headveyhair-raising。Onefamousafternoonafterschool，IpiledteothegEric，whooptedtorideiruhabehidrivingaround，feelinggood，talkihingandnothing。AndalthoughIhadbeengoingonlyabout20milesanhour，thewithaschoolbusfullofseven-year-oldscrumpledthefrontofmycar。MyfirstthoughtwasErithetrunk。Irushedoveraofindhimlyingmotionless。Igasped。Heopenedhiseyesandlaughed，“You’retheworstdrivero。”
Bystaaredas，oendazedhigh-soresyeonthebuswashurt，thougholegirlwasgbecauseshehadtogotothebathroom。Asfarasthelittleboyswereed，Iwasahero。Theycrowdedaroundmeinadmiratiohepoliaosmile。
Myparents—furious，ofcourse—settledonmypu：Iwouldusemyuperayfortherepairs。Tolessenthefinancialblow，Iihemeicfixthecarwithusedparts。Soaspleted，theoldredcarhadagreenhood，ayellowfenderandbluedoor。Ididhecarwasfarfromabeauty，butshewasmine。
Thatsummer，onceschoolwasout，Ifoundmyfreedomexpandedhugely。OndayswhenmyfriendsandIwouldoncehaveriddehepublicpool，wedrtheriverroadtoexploreanoldabarainstation。Insteadtobaseballgamesinthecoalikelittlekids，wenowrodeinmycarassophisticatedadults。Wewlasses，andspitsuhewindowaasgoodasifwe’dalready>
&ashiherestaurantwhereIworked，myfriehewheelsfrommydleftitstandingdisabledandawkwardoeblotheparkihebestreatotheirtrickwastoig，Iwalkedhome。ThemIfoundtheyhouse，coveredwithatwo-inchlayerofshavingcream。
Onebyotdriver’slidbroughtdifferentautomotiveoptionstoourfold。Butafterafewdaystryingoutwhoeverwasthe，oundupbamyoldthen，Iasn’tflashy—exulti-coloredparts，itlookedjustlikethesensiblefamilycarithadowasn’tfast—55milesanhourwasastretditlywasn’tfortable—therewasnoairing，andonhotdayssstucktotheseats。