Name That Car
Their children found them the perfect gift.
Christmas Day 2014: My wife, Karen, and I were honored to have our four children and their families with us for the holiday. We gathered around the tree for our annual gift exchange, where Karen was handed a small package containing three old eighttrack tapes. She did her best to look excited. Our son Jordan explained: “Those go with the eight-track player that is too big to wrap.”
Then he walked us outside—and there in the driveway was a candyapple red convertible. Jordan handed us the keys. “Merry Christmas from your family!”
Jordan was 2 when I graduated from seminary and purchased a new car almost identical to their gift. It was my dream drive—burgundy with a white top, leather seats and a 455-cubic-inch V-8 engine with a four-barrel carburetor. Sadly, seven years later, that dream car was a total loss when another driver rear-ended us on an icy mountain pass.
Jordan searched for five years for a car to replace the one we loved. He finally found this in Merritt, British Columbia, a week before Christmas. With lots of help from his brother and sisters, Jordan bought it and arranged to have it transported across the border. They stored it offsite, where they got it sparkling clean to give to us at our family gathering.
Of course, we were thrilled and grateful. Since then, we’ve repainted the car burgundy and installed a new top and carpet. Now it’s just like the one we lost more than 30 years ago. We still love to take it out for a drive. We get lots of waves, thumbs-up and playful honks from other drivers.