Converting Dreams to Reality
Owning a convertible is no longer on the wish list!
In 1965, my cousin bought a 1964 Galaxy 500 convertible and I was quite envious! In the same year, I enrolled in education classes at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. During my university years, I drove a VW “Bug.” It wasn’t until I got my first teaching position that I could consider purchasing a new car. It was the age of the muscle car, so I bought a 1970 Pontiac Acadian 350 with a four-gear standard positraction transmission and power galore! Patty (my wife) and I met on our first teaching jobs, and after four years of courting, we got married on July 10, 1971. We drove that Acadian until we started our family, with our son Kim arriving in 1975 and daughter Bree in 1977. From then on, we drove “family-friendly” vehicles and all dreams of owning a convertible were put on hold.
I retired in 2001, after 33 years in education. At that time I said to Patty, “I want to be a kid again!” As a teenager, I had trained horses for the neighbours and I wanted to try my hand at it again. So, from working in the field of education, I went to working literally in the field, training horses. Through all the years of raising family, providing learning atmospheres for children and horsing around in retirement, the dream of owning a convertible never faded. It wasn’t until last spring, stimulated by my convertible-driving younger brother, that the dream of owning one came roaring back. Patty and I initiated a search and, after six months, we were off to Calgary to test drive a 2004 Lexus SC 430—a hard-top convertible that I am happy to say we now own. After 47 years together, not only do I still have the hottest woman in town, I have a car she deserves to be seen in. To paraphrase from “The Corvette Song” by George Jones, “She’s hotter than a two-dollar pistol, the fastest thing around, long and lean every young man’s dream...but it’s not the car I want, it’s the brunette in the ’ vertible that turns me on!” And that’s my Patty! n
Top: Ken’s dream car—a 2004 Lexus SC 430—and his dream gal, Patty.
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of Gordondale, Alta., shares this adorable shot of her dog, Lakota. “Lakota is a Goberian— a cross between a golden retriever and a Siberian husky,” says Deb. “We adopted her from the SPCA when she was about five months old. She’s eight now. This photo was taken in our farmyard in May 2011, when Lakota was just two years old. I hadn’t planted my flowers yet and she decided this would be a comfortable place to sit! She is a very loving dog and even lets the farm cats snuggle with her. She is my constant companion on my daily walks—and still loves to hang out in my flower planters when she can.” Got a great shot of your family’s pet? Send it along and it may appear on this page!