Glistening under the spring sun in the teacher’s lot, right by the unmowed grass dotting the hill, sits a bright blue, sleek Jeep. Its dashboard contains a few scattered ducks, and its back is open from time to time, holding a Harley Davidson and Vespa-like scooter.
This Jeep, a 2021 blue Jeep Gladiator, is occasionally nicknamed Blue after the dinosaur from Jurassic Park and belongs to health and physical education teacher Mr. Steve Woolery.
Woolery originally owned a big, yellow Hummer and wanted to trade it in for a Ford F-150. However, this plan did not go accordingly.
“They [Ford Dealership] basically lowballed me so bad that I felt insulted, so I told the person, ‘Do you see that blue Jeep across the street at that Jeep dealership? I’m going to leave here and I’m going to go buy that right now,’” Woolery said. “And I actually got in my car, my boys and I smiled, we went over, went in, and I said, ‘I want to buy that,’ and I literally bought it that day.”
Woolery’s Gladiator contains a convertible feature, four-wheel drive, and a lift kit.
“Once it gets warm out, it has four doors that actually all come off and the top two panels come off and the back comes off, so it is fully converted,” Woolery said. “I’ve never done this, but the windshield actually folds down as well so you can do a full sand journey.”
With such exciting features come some danger built into the very foundation of the Jeep.
“I think that when they built the Jeeps, they extended the back and put no weight, so when I’ve been driving around curves, the whole tail slides around,” Woolery said. “Everyone else at your age would probably think it’s cool because they would say, ‘I’m drifting,’ but unfortunately, I’m not drifting, I’m close to crashing.”
Woolery is considering eventually trading in his Jeep for the F-150 in a few years to buy and tow a boat. For the time being, though, he looks forward to driving in the converted Jeep during the summer and gives advice to younger Jeep drivers.
“I love the summertime vibe of heading to the beach, my surfboard in the back, and I’m hauling my jet skis behind it and just enjoying it,” Woolery said. “As a young teen, if you get the opportunity to drive a Jeep, please convert it, take it around during the sunny days. Let it breathe, let it have fun, and take those tops off.”
