Aidan Clouse

Lucchesi

English 101

January 17, 2019

“In whatever form, sponsors deliver the ideological freight that must be

borne for access to” Deborah Brant

 

In 2014, one of my cousins was getting married in Ohio. My mom and I flew out to stay with my uncle and aunt for a few days before the ceremony since we do not see family often. My uncle and aunt lived outside a small farm town, on a big green property with a long gravel driveway. They had a yard out front and a garage unattached from the house in the back. I was fourteen at the time and had always been interested in cars or things that went fast, but never had a reason to love them. Unknown to me, my uncle restored cars. Inside his garage, my uncle would take old classic cars and do everything imaginable to them. He would turn them from rust buckets to shining beauties. He could make the interior look like it was brand new and even add some features to make the car seem futuristic. One day when the weather was clear, my uncle backed his 1965 Ford Mustang out of his garage. I was standing in the kitchen at the time and saw it through a window. It was painted a deep oceanic blue and had white racing stripes going down it. My uncle continued to back the car up until it was close to the house and waved at me to come outside. The paint was brand new, with no blemishes and it was obvious. He opened the door for me and grinned while I stood there and gazed at it. The wheels were polished and had a silver shine to match the front and back mustang logos. I looked inside and the floorboards and dashboard were spotless. There were smooth black leather seats with lap belts. He helped me get in and didn’t say a word. Once I sat in the seat that I was barely big enough for, I got to look around the inside more. Everything was immaculate, even the climate control knobs were polished. Before I even had a chance to take everything in, my uncle took us down the driveway and onto his quiet street. Even with his foot lightly on the gas, the car roared to life. It was a manual so he started to shift gears, but as a fourteen year old I didn’t know how driving stick worked. I asked him and over the rumble of the engine he explained to me what gears and shifting meant. My uncle explained to me all the little details in the car until we eventually got to a gas station. He popped the gas cap and pumped the gas as I continued to sit in awe of the car I was in. My uncle got back in the car and asked “Do you want to see what it can do?”. I said yes nervously and sat back in my seat, not really knowing what to expect. He drove the car to a flat, long stretch of road. One side was open farmland and another was a thick forest of trees. He slowed the car and shifted a couple more times and then without warning, put the gas pedal to the floor and we took off. My stomach leapt into my throat as I was pushed back into my seat by the acceleration. He went through all the gears as I watched the trees blur by and the farmland turn into a single color. We eventually slowed down and he headed back to the house. When we got to the driveway he undid his seat belt and looked at me. He asked, “want to give it a go?”. I remember being excited, giddy, and anxious all at the same time. We traded places and he instructed me on what to do. On the first try, probably by a miracle, I got the car into gear and headed down the driveway. It was a quick drive and we didn’t go fast but from that moment on, I fell in love with cars. We spent the next couple of hours looking under the hood of the car and he explained what everything does. We went over all the intricacies and from that day on, I was hooked. I couldn’t wait to get my license and own my own car. The next two years were spent reading about cars and every time I saw my uncle, I asked every question I could think of. Since getting my license, I’ve owned four cars and have continued to improve my literacy through them. I have fixed and modified them on my own, but without my uncle as my literary sponsor, I would never be as passionate and know as much as I do now.