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Saturday, June 16, 2012

My Dad And The '67 Mustang

Dad with one of my little sisters and two cousins.
The mustang is photo bombing in the back.
You know what I remember about my dad?
I remember he drove a very cool car.
A 1967 Mustang.
I remember the car quite vividly because of the story that was told many times over
about it's purchase.

Dad liked to walk to the nearest Car dealership and look at the cars in the showroom.
He had his eye on one particular vehicle.
It had been ordered by one of the salesmen,
and for reasons I do not know was instead for sale.

It had a special "Thunderbird" black leather interior
and had every bell and whistle possible;
Air conditioning being the most extravagant.

The Mustang was a beautiful light leaf green with a black vinyl top.
The day my dad wrote his last final exam for his engineering degree,
he walked out of the classroom and just kept on walking.

He finally stopped walking a good long while later,
when he was finally standing in front of the car.
He told us he had decided he wasn't leaving without the Mustang.
He didn't have an extra penny to his name.
It was the late 60's and the fact that he now had an Engineering degree
was enough to get financing.

My dad attended University several years out of high school.
He was a little older than the other students.
He had a wife.
He had a baby.
And now he had a '67 Mustang.

I don't know if my mother knew he would be buying it that day.
It wasn't exactly what you would call a family car.
But that didn't seem to matter.
It remained the family vehicle until well after we were a family of six.

I still remember being stopped by a police officer on a trip to our grandmas.
When my dad asked the officer what was wrong,
he just said he was doing a routine check.
I will never forget the look on his face when he looked in the back seat
and saw all of us kids plus a dog.
I guess dad didn't fit the typical profiling of a Mustang driver.

My dad and the '67 Mustang.
For me they will always be linked.
I learned a lot from my dad.
He showed me that sometimes doing the practical thing isn't always your only choice.
And that life can sure be fun when you throw in a few unexpected surprises...
especially... if they come with air conditioning.


xoxo,



#SOCsunday
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16 comments:

  1. OK, that was one awesome dad! My dad dreamed of owning one but never did. We did have a 74 chevrolet impala :)

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  2. Love this Dana. This story is great! Thanks for sharing a sweet memory of your dad with us. My dad was also full of surprises, sort of a rebel, and loved to have fun in life. He lived it to the fullest.

    My dad had a '69 Mustang, and I remember it so well! We rode in it to church on Sunday mornings. We loved that car. I sure do miss my dad. I found myself crying myself to sleep last night over missing my dad. He's been gone 13 years, and I feel like I am forgetting some things about him, and that breaks my heart. Your story here reminds me that I DO in fact remember many great things about my dad as well.

    xoxo.

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    Replies
    1. You need to find a picture! I don't think we have a good one. But I want to find one.

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  3. Love this. My aunt had a baby blue Mustang. I was sad the day she sold it.

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  4. My Dad also had a Mustang, I think a 1964. I know in 1966 when my little brother was born, Dad picked up Mom in his mustang. Joe rode on my Mom's lap. They did manage to keep the top up, though. :~)

    I loved that car. I remember Dad sold it for a ridiculously low price to a young kid when we were going through some tough times. He never talked about it again.

    I hopped over here from SOCSunday - I am grateful I did!

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    Replies
    1. Julie,
      This is exactly what happened to my parents as well. My dad came across it again about a year later. He knew it was his because of the unique interior and offered to buy it from the guy. When he checked back a week later the Mustang was completely totalled in the back. I was 12 years old when they sold it... only two years away from my learners. I don't think I've ever gotten over it : )

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  5. That is an awesome story :) People just don't (can't? won't?) do things like that anymore. But I love the lesson.

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  6. Loved this story Dana...and what you feel you learned from your dad. Love it!

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  7. My dad had a 1963 VW Bug that didn't have heat or defrost. We would take turns scraping the frost on the inside of the windows when it was 30 below zero. Good times. Seriously, fabulous times.

    xoxo

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  8. My husband came home a few years ago with a red car. I called it his mid-life crisis car. He didn't have it for long. Anyway, not that any of that matters...but I do think men can be impulsive buyers when it comes to cars. And I do so like that "vintage" photo of your dad with the kids and his Mustang.

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  9. This was a fun story about your dad and his Mustang.

    =)

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  10. I loved this. And it wasn't until now that I really thought about it and realized I have a strong car association with MY dad. Not a cool Mustang like yours but man, what a great story!

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  11. I gotta find the picture of my dad's 63 Pontiac that he loves so much. And post on it.

    Thank you.

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  12. That surely is a cool way of remembering your dad! I’m certain he is quite pleased that you appreciate his ride like he did. Upon reading your post, I can feel how your dad loved his Mustang. Maybe because it witnessed the important events in his life, and most of it includes you and your siblings. Even the pic showed how happy he was to be with his kids and the vehicle!

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  13. That was a beautiful photo, Dana. Old as it may seem, I can see that it can still evoke an emotion, especially about your dad and the car. And Ernest is right. You can tell by your dad’s smile how happy he was to be with you and his car. I think your dad will be grateful that you remember him and his beloved auto! :-)

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