[SCG] Orig. '63 near Hollister, CA

[hank kaczmarek]

I was lightly chastised by my friend John Miller for my comment on this on 
FB.

I saw the pictures of the car.  It's simply in too immaculate a condition to 
give it to a kid.

In my law enforcement work in the 90's up to the present day, I've seen the 
results of giving kids spiffy cars in new or "Like New" condition like this 
Corvair.

I also don't know this young girl nor her family.  What I do know is all too 
routine,.

Kids (myself included when I was one) have an incredible feeling of 
independence when they get a car of their own.  That's a good thing.

however there are many distractions for young drivers, some of which were 
not present in our day, worst one being the damnable CELL PHONE.  Add to 
that friends in the car, loud music from the sound system, and the general 
excitement of being on the road and you have a cauldron of boiling potential 
disaster.

Just in my little, sparsely populated county in North Carolina, We are 
averaging one fatality a year in drivers under age 21, normally coming 
during the drive home from school.  The number of wrecks are much higher. 
For reasons known only to the Almighty, a lot of these wealthy parents will 
buy their pride and joy a NEW ford mustang or a BMW.  And they promptly wrap 
them around trees or ram them into other vehicles. Our last 2 fatalities 
were both girls.

About a month ago, a 17 year old girl (I know her and her family well as 
they go to my church) wrecked her mother's van beyond repair. REACHING DOWN 
ON THE FLOOR TO PICK UP HER CELL PHONE, TAKING HER EYES OFF THE ROAD, and 
slamming into a truck stopped in front of her. Luckily she was not harmed. 
I used to give her hell about her phone in catechism because as the Priest 
would be teaching, she would be texting.  She works as a cashier in a 
grocery near me, and when I heard, I saw her and told her I was very happy 
she was not hurt.  I then gave her hell because she could have DIED for her 
CELL PHONE.  She said "I knew that was coming from you Mr. Hank----and 
you're right".

And it seems to me that most children these days are not very concerned 
about what happens to ANY of their possessions.  Individual mileage may 
vary, but with 2 kids and 3 grandkids I see it in my own, plus the youth 
group in my parish.

A low mileage original Corvair in that condition being given to a child to 
drive is ludicrous.  I bet John miller 25 bucks she wrecks it, and we'll 
NEVER hear about it when she does.   The thought of giving that car to a kid 
is madness.