Published Monday, September 16, 2002
Herald Staff Writer
Mercer drivers may want to moo-ve on over if they see a cow coming down the road. That's because it's probably 17-year-old Samantha Rock, a senior at Mercer High School who cruises the streets in a car painted like a cow.
Samantha adores cows so much that when her brother gave her his dark blue 1985 Buick Century, she said she wanted to make it a Moo-ick Century.
"I woke up one morning and just thought, 'Hey, let's paint it,' " Samantha said.
Her dad, Walter, agreed to help.
When Samantha came to him with the idea to paint the car, he said, "Why not?"
"It seemed like fun," he noted. "The car is not really worth anything to resell."
They bought spray paint for the base of the car and, with the help of contact paper and stencils, the spots were painted on afterward. It was her dad's idea to put a fake bird on the antenna.
"It took a whole day. We had to paint it twice," she said.
She said she loves the reactions she gets from people, which range from weird looks to outright laughter.
"It's a highlight ... when you get to see people's reactions. And it attracts guys too," she said.
Dad said the reactions he's seen are people laughing and asking, "What's up with that?"
He said she's been a fan of cows for several years. She owns plenty of stuffed cow animals, some that "moo" and giggle.
"They're just cute," she said.
Though it's only been a few months since the birth of the cow car, Samantha said she won't be driving it after January.
"It'll never pass inspection." she said.
Instead she plans to donate the car to her Students Against Drunk Driving group at school for a "cow slaughter." For $1 people can have a go at beating the car to a pulp.
And after that? Perhaps her next car will be painted in the likeness of an elephant -- her second-favorite animal.
You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Larissa Theodore at ltheodore@sharonherald.com