Sweet Ride in High School

One of the biggest status symbols a guy can have in high school is the car he drives. As a result, people draw all kinds of conclusions and assumptions about them.

Since I wasn't popular or anything, I didn't really care what I drove ... until one fateful day.

But first, here are a few of the highlights about the first set of wheels I got behind:

1. It was my mom's
2. It was a minivan
3. It was white
4. It maneuvered like a geriatric with a walker
5. It had a vanity plate ... MAMA DUK (translation: Mama Duck)

Yeah, I know this isn't a white one, but I couldn't find the right picture.

So, I'm cruising along in my sissy van, not thinking anything of it, when I get stopped at a crosswalk while two girls cross the street. As they walk in front of the van, the one closest to me glances over at me and does a double take to read the license plate. Immediately, she turns to her friend while pointing at the front of the van. I don't have to wait too long before the other one leans over to look past her friend at my face (which is getting redder by the second). Both start laughing as they continue crossing the street.

Yeah, I was embarrassed, but I got over it. I kept thinking that at least I wasn't trying to get everywhere on a bike. I even drove the van to prom. While everyone was shelling out hundreds of dollars to rent a Hummer stretch limo, my friends and I decided to go as cheap as we could on principle. We even nicknamed it "Econo Prom."