Elder, like any other high school, has its room for diversity and difference among its students. One of the many things that is gaining a lot of attention so far this year is a group of six students and their new wheels.

Alex Sedler, Eric Ostertag, Kyle Kroeger, Kyle Kehling, Jack Dee, and Brian Schenkel put about 1250 dollars together and made a revolutionary purchase.

A 1995 Chevy Gladiator was there newest gem. This baby has over 141,000 miles on it, a completed cracked right side mirror, tires with white strips that look older than Mr. Kriemer, a paint job that has been abducted by 20 years of rust and a Mighty-Pac Brand mini-TV that is God knows how old.

The rich Mahogany wood on the interior, surrounding the limousine-style roof lighting, really adds the class to it. Not to mention the crooked ladder hanging on the back. In all honesty though, the car looks to be in good condition for its age. (The TV does work to an extent.)

They made the intelligent purchase about two weeks ago. When asked what prompted each of them to buy it, they all gave different answers. Alex Sedler said, “God spoke to me and said one piece missing from my life was a Chevy G Conversion Van.” Eric Ostertag replied, “Oh man, I don’t really know.”

Jack Dee told me he got a tingly feeling in his body when he saw it, in a good way of course. Kyle Kehling was simply peer pressured by his companions. Kroeger saw the van as, “an opportunity for never ending opportunities.” Brian went with Sedler’s answer, and agreed that God prompted the group to make this interesting payment.

I asked the group what they liked most about their new vehicle. They all came to a general consensus that the rusted and chipping paint really complemented it for them.

Kyle Kehling gave the heartfelt comment, “We’re all a little rusty on the inside, why not have a car that shows that.”

The interior of the car was completely cleaned by the group. When Alex Sedler made the initial purchase, the rest of them asked what color the inside was. Sedler replied, “Cloth colored.” Giving such an intelligent answer, the rest of the crew had to see it right away. The greenish cloth on the floor and seats was nearly spotless when I had the great privilege to sit in the back of this beast of a car.

After asking the guys what other people had been in the back of this van, particularly girl wise, I was appalled to hear the Kyle Kroeger’s own Mother had been seated back there. Confused, and generally disgusted, I moved on from the topic.

I had one final question for the group and that was simply what they plan on doing with their brand new, 20 year old car. Brian Schenkel told me he was hitting golf balls off of it yesterday. Kyle Kehling talked about maybe taking it down to a race track and do some time trials on it, or, “… maybe even a little drag racing.”

With all those miles, and many more to come, “It’s just getting broken in,” according to this lucky group of friends.