California Mustang Dreamin'
I remember the first time I saw a Mustang. I was five years old and I
was leaving the doctors office with my mom and a girl in a red
convertible Mustang drove past. Her long blonde hair was blowing in the
breeze, she had a huge smile and music was blasting from the speakers.
She couldn't have been more than 17 or 18 which seemed very old to me at
the time. I thought it was the coolest car I had ever seen and wanted to
be that girl when I grew up.
My first car was the farthest thing from the Mustang. My parents got a good deal on a used Toyota Corolla in brown of all colors. It was slow and boxy and I left some meat in the trunk once by accident and the smell of rotted flesh never left the car. I drove that car until the doors literally fell off.
I moved from one sensible car to another, deviating to a small pickup truck when I bought my first house. It was practical for my seemingly daily trips to Home Depot, but it was not the car of my dreams.
All of my friends at work were pressuring me to get a new car. They were tired of looking like a circus contortion act when they got out of my VW Beetle at lunch. It was a slow day at work this February and I was checking out the Carmax site when I saw "The Car". It was a red 2007 Mustang with only 25 miles on it. It wasn't a convertible, but it was about $10,000 cheaper than the 2008 model with the same mileage. I showed everyone who walked past my desk "The Car". Tim was the voice of reason when he said "why don't you get the damn car". Luckily my boss is a muscle car enthusiast and a member of the lunch contortion act, he agreed with Tim and I left early from work in pursuit of the Mustang.
I pulled the Blue Book value of my VW, went to the Credit Union and secured a loan in record time, drove down to the dealership and yes my car was still available! Unfortunately the car was in Texas and I am in California. The new car anticipation would have to wait until they shipped the car to me. 2 weeks they said, then 3 and finally 4 weeks later I got the call that my car had arrived!
I sped down to the dealership and there it was! The car was red, shiny and mine… at least after an hour of paperwork. I have to make sure I get my car insurance sorted for this jewel, "The Car", which is yet more admin, but I'm checking out the guys from Beat That Quote (love that name) to sort that out.
30 years after I first saw the girl in the red Mustang, I drove home with the windows down, my long blonde hair blowing in the breeze, a huge smile on my face and music blasting from the speakers. Who knows, maybe a young girl saw me and thought I want to be that woman when I grow up.