Where were you when you saw your first Mercedes?

[Carrameow]

I remember it was in the early 80's. I grew up in a small town, and back then American-made cars still had most of the market , except for the Volkswagon Beetle. You never ever saw any other kind of car. People on the high end of life, doctors, lawyers, executives bought Cadillac Fleetwood Broughams. I mean once in a while you might see a Saab or one of the first Datsun 500's but this was a grand time for American cars.
I knew there was a brand called Mercedes out there, but only by word of mouth and it was always mentioned in awe, as the next promotion after the Cadillac.
I do remember a few years later, we had a wealthy neighbor and the wife had a new Mercedes, it was a 1983 Diesel. Her husband was a prominent Architect and he bought it for her as an anniversary present.
I remember hearing all the older men in the neighborhood talking about it in awe and sneaking furtive glances at it whenever she drove by. " A Diesel", they would say, quietly to each other, as they huddled in small groups on the driveways after Saturday afternoon lawn care. They were proud hard working people, I think they would have rather been caught sleeping at work then get caught staring at that car. The way I heard them say it, the engine's its smooth clatter and rattle implied something phenomenal and mysterious and made of platinum and titanium under the hood.
All of us kids told each other we wished we would own one someday. Well wishes do came true, but in funny ways. It didn't own one until 1999. I paid $500 for a 1985 300D in 2000 at a junkyard. In that sense I'm glad my wish to be a Doctor didnt come true, I probably would have been a forensic pathologist instead of a surgeon.
I remember none of us kids dared play street ball near it or even go close to my neighbor's Mercedes and I always saw it from a distance. I mean no one ever went on their lawn, let alone their driveway or look in their garage.
This was in the days when some families only had one car, and my Mom never drove, she barely had a license. I remember my Mom was kind of sad when ever she saw that lady driving her Mercedes out everyday to go shopping or to the clubs, she was depressed becuase she felt that it was her personal failure as a house wife.
Boy, my neighbors flouted their wealth. Trips to the Carribeen and the Bahama's. Country Clubs and Golf Clubs. And they rarely even said hello to anyone and their four daughters were princesses with two cars between them.
Anyway, their marriage ended in Divorce, the husband ran off with another younger lady.
Not that I had any feelings about it. By then I was in high school, bent on escaping small town life. Of course now everyone yearns and dreams of living in a small town and a feeling of community in an era where you don't even know your next door neighbor....
I do remember 20 years later ,when I had to go back to my hometown 4 years ago to repair the family home and to sell it for my parents, I saw that lady still living there by herself, her home was missing shingles and siding and the once incredible lawn was choked with weeds now and she had an old Toyota Camry, and it wouldnt start in the winter, because the choke was stuck and one morning it was freezing, so I went over and fixed it for her. .
Of course she still never said hi for the few weeks I was in town after that, but i don't think it was because she was being snooty, she was just cold and miserable from old age.