When I was born, my father promised me two things: he would teach me the value of money and he would give me a Chevrolet Corvette when I turned 16. Of course, when I was born I had no idea what he was talking about, but when I was 10 I began to understand what my dad told me about the value of money. And now that I’m 16, I also like the idea of driving a Corvette around town.

As the years passed I’ve only grown fonder of Corvettes. I learned all the specifications and can tell you every model’s similarities and differences. The 1978-1982 style really grew on both me and my dad. It was a car from the past that would never grow old. When I turned 15, I started seriously looking for my car. My dad would bring home the Corvette Trader magazine and I’d look online for these Corvettes. Whenever I found one, there’d be a reason not to buy it: too much mileage, an interior in bad shape, or it had been in an accident and therefore the doors wouldn’t line up. So I kept looking. We even looked in Florida while on vacation and although we saw a couple, they were in bad shape.

Finally, after ten months, I found it. The car was a bright yellow 1979 Corvette. It was beautiful! It had a 430-horsepower Jasper engine and transmission with 6,000 miles; the body had 92,000 miles. It had perfect lines and was in pretty good shape.

I showed the ad to my dad and he too was in awe. It was in Brooklyn and we were hoping it wasn’t hot. We called the owner and asked a lot of questions. My dad and I talked and decided that if the car were really all the owner said, then we would buy it.

Then we wondered how we would get to the city and back. My dad thought we could bring the tractor trailer, but that would be a big hassle. Then he thought of bringing a dolly, but we couldn’t find one. Then my dad proposed that we fly down and drive back. I thought that was an awesome plan, so my mom searched for flights and found two Jet Blue tickets direct to JFK Airport. We booked them and eight hours later my dad and I were off.

We met the car’s owner in the airport parking lot. We talked it over with him and gave him the cash to buy it. Then he just walked away. I have no idea how he got home since he said he lived an hour away, which I thought it was pretty funny.

But I forgot all about him when I looked at my car. My dad and I were extremely excited. My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to explode. Dad got in the driver’s seat and I hopped in. Right away you could feel and hear the 430-horsepower engine roar. It was amazing, the car looked like the Batmobile. Halfway home we stopped for a bite to eat and took the t-tops off. Man, that ride home felt so cool. We got lots of compliments. With the t-tops off and the bright yellow paint, it was an astonishing car.

I waited 16 years for that moment. The whole day felt like a dream. It was unbelievable and exciting for both my dad and me. It’s hard to explain the happiness that I felt. Words can only go so far. I wish I could take you all for a spin. Then you’d see what I mean.