the PANTHER APRIL COLUMN STAFFER OF

Edie Carnerio | Copy Editor

The Month

Dear Miami Palmetto Senior High Bell System,

I wanted to express my appreciation to you and your pleasant timeliness. The fact that you do not ring at the correct time is nothing short of splendid; after all, I love the late dismissals from my classes because it makes me late to the following class. It is so considerate of you to ring your bells in the middle of a period while I am hyperfocusing on an important test. I understand that you went off schedule because of daylight savings time and I could not feel more gratitude that you stuck with the change even after daylight savings ended. The random ringing always keeps me on my toes — or given how it interrupts me in class, it keeps me awake throughout lessons or tests. You give MPSH a unique twist, every other school’s bells are aligned with their schedule; however, you are a free-thinker and a paver of your own path. The inaccuracy of the bells changed my life for the better. For one thing, I got so much better at telling time. Thank you for everything; the bell system makes me proud to be a Panther. The bell system embodies the main element of a student’s everyday life at MPSH — turbulent. I will always appreciate the way that you are, thank you— for being you.

Sofia Taddeo-Goldstein Opinion Editor s.taddeogoldstein.thepanther@gmail.com

PALMETTO’S FAST AND FURIOUS

Whether playing key roles in financial independence, socializing or simply as hobbies, these MPSH teenagers find their “freedom on wheels” in more ways than one. Obtaining their driver’s licenses have allowed these fast and furious Panthers to find community among other car enthusiasts, earn their own money and learn the ins-and-outs of having a car.

On a November afternoon, a 1976 Pontiac Firebird TransAm pulls into the Flanigan’s parking lot off of Bird Road. The driver, dreaming of short ribs, curly fries, coleslaw and soda, minds his business as he prepares to place an order and wait in line for a table. All of a sudden, his head turns: an older woman calls out from behind him, “Hey! I lost my virginity in that car!”

Miami Palmetto Senior High school junior Logan Shapiro laughs off the woman’s comment, having grown accustomed to the casual thumbs up from other drivers on the road, shoutouts on his way to baseball practice, stares from his peers and compliments from his fellow vintage car enthusiasts. Shapiro’s passion for the classic car community stemmed from a childhood love for all things engines and cars.

“It sounds a little weird, but I’m in a bunch of group chats where all they talk about are cars and if anyone needs anything; there’s always someone in the group chat that can supply. With learning about cars, you can basically learn about all engines in general. When I was 14, I rebuilt a boat engine, and that kind of translated over to the car, because once you figure out the basics for that, you can do anything,” Shapiro said.

One day, during the summer between his sophomore and junior year, MPSH junior Vance Schroeder woke up to see his dream car for sale: a 1967 Ford F-100. Schroeder hopelessly dreamed of the car, thinking he would never get it as his father was reluctant. But to his surprise, he found it in his driveway on a sunny July evening. Over time, Schroeder has learned the ropes of his old-but-new car.

“But now that I’ve been driving it for a while I’ve formed a weird sort of a bond with it because I’m the only person who knows how to start it and make sure the lights don’t blink and how to make sure the windshield wipers don’t stay up and keep it from stalling out...it’s kind of like only I know its secrets,” Schroeder said. “Plus, when I got to start it for the first time, I completely fell in love with the loud rumble of it and the old smell. Plus a guy as small as me driving a truck that huge is pretty funny. A match made in heaven. ”

Growing up surrounded by classic cars, MPSH senior Stevie Ricklick found her passion at the age of 15, when she first got her permit. Ricklick now owns a collection of classic cars and has become a talented car “fixer-upper,” alongside her dad.

“I got into cars when I was 15 and bought my first car, a 1967 Mustang, and redid it myself and still have [it]. After that, I bought a 1972 Volkswagen dune buggy that I redid as well. Just recently I bought a retired 1947 Chevy snow plow/dump truck that I’m in the middle of redoing,” Ricklick said.

Earning one’s license, which many consider a rite of passage, not only comes with freedom but comes with responsibility. For many students, their cars have become a vessel for opportunity: whether through getting a job, driving around for fun or relying on the vehicle for transportation to extracurriculars.