Not until its engine died did I realize what had made the car so special. While most of my friends invested in car stereos that could rattle windows a block away， I stuck with the old original radio that barely picked up two stations on a good night. Mostly， we just left it turned off. There were no bored silences or demands that I buy a better radio， though. We filled the musical voice by arguing about girls， making up silly songs about one another， or telling stories.
But the moments that truly stand out were more sober. I’ll never forget the silence as we drove home from the play-off game in which our team was eliminated. Nor the nights when Chalie talked about his parents’ financial troubles， Tom spoke sadly of his father’s absence， and Eric told us of his dream of playing professional hockey.
Since we graduated from high school， my friends and I have spread out across the country and grown into adults. Yet I’ve never forgotten my youthful emotions that day when the mechanic delivered his sad verdict. In that old car of mine， we had stockpiled memories like firewood， knowing that someday， somewhere we would gather as grey-haired man to relight the blaze of our friendship.
是的，我承认，我的第一辆汽车要被拖到旧货市场时，我坐在方向盘前哭了。你会说不就是一辆有玻璃有轮子的车吗，不至于那么难过吧，而我永远也不会为那天的失态辩解。一个年轻人的第一辆车，更多的是年轻自由的纪念碑，而不是简单意义上的交通工具，至少对于我来说是这样的。
一切都开始于两年前：我刚过完16岁生日，父母就把家里那辆红色的旧车淘汰给了我。没过多久，我就和这辆车成了最好的朋友。我们会在任何时间、任何地方让想搭车的人搭乘。而且我们驾着这辆车，冒了很多次险。
有些冒险是令人毛骨悚然的。最有名的一次是在一个下午，放学后我召集了10个朋友坐上我的车，其中包括埃里克，他宁愿选择坐到后备箱里，也不愿被落下。我们只是开着车四处逛，无所不谈，感觉很不错。尽管我的时速只有20英里，还是与一辆校车相撞了，那辆车上坐满了七岁的小学生。我首先想到的就是后备箱里的埃里克。我跑过去，打开后备箱，发现他一动不动地躺在那儿，我上气不接下气。他睁开眼睛，大笑道：“你是世界上最糟糕的司机。”