A lot of people don't realize that one of the best things to do with babies is to take them out in the world. I speak from experience-I was a dad, at-home with my son, throughout his babyhood and early childhood. But, to the point. I'm assuming you're the kind of parent who wants to keep life interesting for both you and your child, and that you would like to provide your child with a variety of life experiences. Both of these goals can be accomplished by getting out of the house, and I don't mean going shopping. I'm talking about going to the zoo or to a town or state park, or maybe dropping by the shore of your favorite river or lake just to be outdoors, look around, and see what's there. If you're going to go on outings, it's a really
…show more content…
It turned out to not really be a Buick, but manufactured by the German company, Adam Opel, and then sold by Buick in North America. And while I now know that the Opel was considered something of a sports car and cult classic, mine had an automatic transmission and was a "Kadett C" wagon model. It was also sold in some parts of the world by Isuzu as the "Gemini." By all current standards, it would be considered a compact car, but in those days it was marketed as a large family vehicle. I used my first car for all things teenager. It was my transportation to school, to tennis outings and beach trips, to piano lessons and to summer jobs. The storage "trunk", accessed through the back hatch door, was like Hermione Granger's magical bag. At any given time it contained school books, clothing, a field hockey stick and cleats, a tennis racket, my majorette baton and boots and other trappings and refuse of my mad dash teenage lifestyle. The car was bought used by my father in 1976 as an economical mode of transportation for my mother. Because of the Opel's terrific gas mileage, he intended it as something she would use to run errands. Before actually handing over the keys, my father (a diesel and heavy-duty mechanic) realized the car might have an engine problem. He spent some time attempting to replace one of the pistons and, after several attempts, he finally re-installed the original piston. Then the car received a snazzy paint job. Its dull gold color was repainted a metallic light blue. By this time, I had turned 16 and gotten my license, so the car was given to me. My Opel, or "squirrel mobile" as it was dubbed by friends (more on that later) was a perfect first car! It was reliable and got great gas mileage. As mentioned previously, the trunk area was ideal for carting belongings. And three of my friends (or more if three could fit in the second seat and the "trunk" area was cleaned out for passengers) could ride along. The car did
It turned out to not really be a Buick, but manufactured by the German company, Adam Opel, and then sold by Buick in North America. And while I now know that the Opel was considered something of a sports car and cult classic, mine had an automatic transmission and was a "Kadett C" wagon model. It was also sold in some parts of the world by Isuzu as the "Gemini." By all current standards, it would be considered a compact car, but in those days it was marketed as a large family vehicle. I used my first car for all things teenager. It was my transportation to school, to tennis outings and beach trips, to piano lessons and to summer jobs. The storage "trunk", accessed through the back hatch door, was like Hermione Granger's magical bag. At any given time it contained school books, clothing, a field hockey stick and cleats, a tennis racket, my majorette baton and boots and other trappings and refuse of my mad dash teenage lifestyle. The car was bought used by my father in 1976 as an economical mode of transportation for my mother. Because of the Opel's terrific gas mileage, he intended it as something she would use to run errands. Before actually handing over the keys, my father (a diesel and heavy-duty mechanic) realized the car might have an engine problem. He spent some time attempting to replace one of the pistons and, after several attempts, he finally re-installed the original piston. Then the car received a snazzy paint job. Its dull gold color was repainted a metallic light blue. By this time, I had turned 16 and gotten my license, so the car was given to me. My Opel, or "squirrel mobile" as it was dubbed by friends (more on that later) was a perfect first car! It was reliable and got great gas mileage. As mentioned previously, the trunk area was ideal for carting belongings. And three of my friends (or more if three could fit in the second seat and the "trunk" area was cleaned out for passengers) could ride along. The car did