I transferred a videotape today that contained footage of my client as a young man winding his way along the California highways in a Corvette.  Took me back.

I have loved Corvettes ever since my uncle Chuck (the Navy fighter pilot) pulled up in front of our house in a stellar 1964 Corvette Stingray. Coolest car ever.

Ever since then, the idea of owning a ‘vette was paramount in my mind. But, as you know, it is not the most practical nor economical automotive choice available. Never was. Still, the idea of driving a Corvette seemed to me to be the epitome of cool. So I graduated high school (where I drove a 1964 Ford Fairlaine station wagon); I graduated college (where I drove a 1969 Pontiac Bonneville); entered the workforce (where drove a 1977 Mustang); got transferred to New York City (where I reluctantly traded in my beloved Mustang and bought a cheap Datsun because I knew it was fated to be trashed).

But then, one fateful day, I was visiting my parents at their first retirement home in Ocean City MD, when my baby sister pulled into the driveway with a guy who was driving… you guessed it… a snazzy little Corvette. Sibling envy kicked in.

The very next day, I traded in my butt-ugly, orange, and severely dented Datsun B210 and bought myself a brand new 1986 Corvette convertible. No way I was going to let my little sister have my dream car before me. And for the next 2 years, I enjoyed the heck out of it.

Watching my client’s video reminded me of the pleasure I received from driving something that other people envied. I once had an anonymous love note tucked under my wipers when I parked outside a restaurant. The fact that I couldn’t afford it never really occurred to me until I had to face that reality and traded it in for a boring sedan.  But there was no denying… it was fun while it lasted.

Michael Ondrasik and Home Video Studio specialize in the preservation of family memories. For more information, call 352-735-8550 or visit www.homevideostudio.com/mtd.