"THE" car

So it was a Sunday morning and I was minding my own business, just going about my normal Sunday routine, taking mom to mass ... when this car pulled into a space not too far from mine.  

And I stopped dead in the center of the road - staring in a most impolite way at the sight of this perfectly restored car.  I could not believe my eyes!!  Here was a Fairlane 500 with the mega wings in the same green color my dad bought over 50 years ago.  Dad's car was a hard top and this was a convertible, but impact of seeing that car again in perfect show room condition was stunning.

Actually I have no memories of any other family cars from all the years I lived with my parents.  I am not a car person.  But this car stood out for exactly one reason.

We lived in an apartment complex in the 1950s on the second floor.  I was raised in apartments.  My parents never owned property and money was tight.  But one day, while mom was making dinner in the small kitchen, she looked out the window that viewed the parking lot and exclaimed:

"Oh my God, what has he done!  I don't believe it."

 What

I ran to the window and saw my dad pulling up in this exact car - huge even to my eye at that time.  I remember the wings and I remember the color because I love green.  I also remember my mom's dismay and anger at him.  I am sure she was thinking ... where was the money coming for this vehicle?

To be fair, if it was my husband and he had just purchased an expensive car without my input I would have been upset as well.  But that was my dad.  He did what he wanted, when he wanted.  He saw it and he wanted it.  So home it came home with him.

Dice!  How cute.  We didn't have those in our car.

Of course, here we were over 50 years later (mom and I) standing in another parking lot staring at pretty much the same car.  Then almost as if history was repeating itself, I couldn't restraint from whipping out my camera, sprinting over, and starting to snap pictures from all directions, calling out to mom in my excitement,

"Look mom!! (click)
  Do you remember???
Dad had this car. (click, click)
  You were in the kitchen cooking dinner.  
You saw him in the parking lot trying to park this very car. (click)
You were so angry, mom, (click, click)
 it was this car with a hard top, 
this exact green,
don't you remember?"
(click, click, click) 

and her saying as she kept walking towards the church (pretending like she doesn't know me, I am sure), and saying pretty much what she said more than 50 years ago ...

"Oh my God, what are you doing? I don't believe you."

Dad would be proud!  :-)

Unfortunately, mom honestly didn't remember the car or the event. 

But it was a moment of fond remembrance of my Dad and sorrow at what Mom has lost.