The 1998 Lumina that I took my driving test in, left the driveway of my family's house one last time on August 26, after 12 years in the family (all but 2-3 months of our time living there). It was sad to see it go, but it had seen its better days and we no longer had use for it. My mom first purchased the car in July 2001 after having it recommended to her by Dad, in addition to Grandma and Grandpa Webster. Grandpa Webster drove a 1996 Lumina from 1998-2012.
I got my temps for the first time in March 2001, practicing with Mom's 1989 Chevy Cavalier. I got to be a pretty good driver with that car, but since it was hard for my parents to get me out for practice, it expired prior to me being able to practice manuability and highway driving. I renewed my temps the following June and scheduled my driver's test for August 31, the first Friday of my senior year sat Barberton High School. I didn't have to take driver's ed since I was 18, although my mom later said she wished I had. After my mom purchased the '98 Lumina she gave my dad the Cavalier, which she drove for the past six years. My dad had been driving a 1985 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cierra, which was driven by Grandma Muffet before she had to give up driving. Grandma told me at one time that I could drive her car whenever I wanted it since she did little driving. After having a stroke in Sept. 2001, my parents decided to keep her car around for me since that was her plan. However, that car was getting beat up, so the '98 Lumina became the car I drove most days. Mom couldn't get out when dad worked and I was in school since she was caring for Grandma who was homebound. I was glad that Grandma rode with me while I practiced driving since she could no longer get out by the time I earned by license. Her stroke took place in the backseat of the '98 Lumina when we were returning from vacation after visiting family in Louisville, KY.
I got my parking pass for my senior year, which was done on a first-come, first serve basis, instead of class priority as was previously done at BHS. Since I didn't like going to school early, I usually parked in the gravel S lot (sections of BHS parking were named by letters of the word "Magics"), across Barber Rd. near B&C (which closed in 2007). I liked it better than parking behind the school anyways because I could drive right out of my spot right after school, although I usually got stuck talking to someone on the way. The new BHS was only in its third year of existence, so driving in the parking lot was a free- for-all since it had not be regulated yet. In those days, I still had my first cell phone, a huge Nokia phone that looked like a portable phone. I used to leave it in the driver's side door compartment since it was too big to carry around, since I only had it for emergencies. The most bizarre memory of the '98 Lumina was when I slid on ice and into a snow bank. The insurance company sent someone out to tow it out of the snow bank at no cost.
In Sept. 2004, my parents loved the Lumina so much, they decided to buy another one, this time a 1999 version. Mom was going to take the new one and give the old one to Dad. However, I ended up totaling it after falling asleep behind the wheel on the way home from UA in late October. Dad bought it off the insurance company and remodeled it with help from a few friends. The project took a year and all three of us shared the Lumina, an experience I would never want to go through again, and it racked up 20,000 miles in that year. Dad decided to keep it and gave the '98 back to Mom. I continued to drive it to the UA until graduation in Dec. 2008. After graduation, I began to save money for my own car and in May 2009, I bought a 2007 Chevy Impala, which is in the same family of Chevy cars as Celebrities and Luminas.
I drove the Lumina once in a long while after that and in Sept. 2012, Mom was tired of the air conditioning giving out on it and decided to buy a new 2012 Chrysler 200. Dad sold his '99 Lumina and started using the '98 Lumina for another year as a work car until his health caused him to retire in August 2013. In addition to the memories above, we also drove it on memorable drives to graduations, funeral, and to hang out with friends.
