Cars are as important a part of our lives as anything I can think of. We are a mobile society. A good part of our city is set aside for cars—streets, driveways, parking lots and garages. Cars are a symbol of our freedom.

Even though their intentions are pure, I find it a personal affront when I hear people criticizing automobiles. Bicycles are for recreation, not transportation. I have a stationary bicycle; I certainly wouldn't want a stationary car!

I was shocked to find that driver's education is no longer taught as a class requirement. That was the coolest class in school. Since we exchanged common sense for litigiousness, lots of cool stuff went the way of the dinosaur.

The Nash Rambler we had at Campbell High in '63 may not have been the brand-new dream machine they had at Los Gatos High, our arch rival, it was the only set of wheels we had.

Despite all the hundreds of teenagers driving that car, it didn't have a dent on it. Sure the teacher might have us pull over so he could have a cigarette to calm his nerves, but we made it back in one piece every time.

We only drove the Rambler a couple of times, but it was the idea of being on the road that inspired us to reach beyond our neighborhoods. The students at Campbell High weren't from rich families, so there weren't that many kids that had cars. Those that did had used cars, like '56 and '57 Chevys and Fords. Just average cars of the day, they would be classics in today's market.

When Westmont High opened in '64 it drew in students from Campbell High, Los Gatos and Saratoga. Newer and fancier cars were parked in the lot. All the used and dilapidated cars belonged to the teachers. As a junior at Westmont I didn't have driver's ed, but it was still a class every sophomore took.

Our parents were under a constant barrage to let us get our driver's license—I, for one, harangued my parents daily. But my father thought that if I had my license, I would bug him to drive. Since I decided to stay in high school and school was within walking distance, I had no need of a license, let alone a car. I was doomed to walk the streets of Campbell until I graduated from high school.

What a bummer, since my three closest friends all had their license. My first girlfriend had a Corvair, which she let me drive in the parking lot of Westmont High. While I never wrecked her car, it had more to do with luck than any driving ability of mine. When Ralph Nader wrote the book Unsafe At Any Speed, he must have been talking about me!

A year later I had a different girlfriend and a different car. Jani was smart enough to not let me drive her car! She had a name for her car, Christine. This was decades before Stephen King wrote the book of the same name; in fact it was the same model Jani had.

The day before I graduated from Westmont High, my dad took me to get my driver's license. I think I was the only 18-year-old in the universe without a driver's license at that point!

Two days after I got my license we headed east to visit relatives and I got to drive the entire way! Fifteen-hundred miles of open road, behind the wheel of a 2-ton behemoth—now that is living.

I guess my dad wasn't so dumb after all. As soon as I got my license I started to bug him to drive. My dad was of the mind-set that education ended at high school. My wanting to go to college didn't sit well with him at all; in fact, he was rather vocal with his displeasure. However, as long as I had a full-time job I could continue going to classes. And, of course, driving.

There are moments in your life that are unforgettable, like when you meet your first love, or drive your first car. These are vivid memories that last a lifetime. Who knows—today my first love might be a chain-smoking, toothless grandmother living in a trailer park in El Paso, surviving off the kindness of strangers. And my first car might be a rusted-out piece of junk (in a trailer park in El Paso).

If I saw my first love on the street today I might be pleasantly surprised. But if I saw my Chevy convertible, that would be great! We can't go back in time and relive our relationships with people, but we can with our cars. I would love to have that car again, but past relationships are best left in the past.

Today a car costs as much as a house did 25 years ago. Can you imagine in the year 2025 the average car costing $500,000? That stationary bicycle doesn't seem so bad after all.

In the past 40 years I have driven everything from a go-cart to an 18-wheeler. But nothing compares to that '51 Ford that was the first car I drove, or that '65 Chevy Impala convertible that was my first car. You remember your first car, don't you?

Jerry Baum is a longtime Campbell resident. Reach him at zinfindel@earthlink.net.