By Diane Forrest
When I turned 15, my brother and
I were still having visits from Santa on Christmas morning, but on this year,
the presents he brought could not be placed under the tree. So, it was that year that we were introduced
to Santa Bunny. When my brother and I ran
down the stairs, I was disappointed to only see our stockings hung on the
mantle. On closer inspection, we saw a
letter to each of us taped besides our stocking. We were instructed to wake up our parents and
they would give us a clue to send us on our present hunt.
Santa Bunny left us the first
clue with our parents, then when we located the gift, attached to it was the
clue for the next gift. We had to bring
them all in front of the tree before we opened the gift, and it was a great way
to start the day. My last clue told me
to look in the yard; there was something for one, but to be shared by 2. Attached is what I found in the yard, my very
first car!!! a 1967 Mustang! I was
supposed to share it with my brother, but thankfully he bought he own truck a
couple of weeks later, so I never had to share.
My “Uncle Jack” for his two
daughters who used it to go back and forth to college originally bought this
car. When I started to drive, he was
going to just give it to my father, however, my daddy couldn't accept such a
gift without paying for it, so, they settled on a price. Five Cents!! And believe me, it was worth
every penny. I drove that car for many
years, until I threw a rod, and the engine had to be replaced. If that car could talk!
In 1984 I entered it in the
first of several Mustang Rally's that were held in my hometown. This was not a race, but a car show. The week before the rally, I was involved in
a minor accident, this brick mailbox jumped out in front of me and the front
side panel was a bit crushed, but not as crushed as I was. I had been spending weeks getting it ready
for the show, cleaning and washing, and removing every speck of dirt, only to
have my dreams smashed! While it could
not be repaired in a short amount of time, my father simply covered it with
brown wrapping paper and drew a Band-Aid on it. I entered it in the show, and even took home
a trophy in my category! I had it
changed from the original color to candy apple red and changed the black top to
white. It was a great car.
Today is Ford Mustang Day. According to history.com, Henry Ford II at
the World’s Fair in Flushing Meadows, New York, officially unveils The Ford
Mustang, a two-seat, mid-engine sports car, on April 17, 1964. That same day,
the new car also debuted in Ford showrooms across America and buyers
immediately snapped up almost 22,000 Mustangs. Most new cars are released in
fall of the year titled for the next year, so the first Mustang was titled a
’64 1/2. Named for a World War II
fighter plane, the Mustang was the first of a type of vehicle that came to be
known as a “pony car.” Ford sold more than 400,000 Mustangs within its first
year of production, far exceeding sales expectations.
To celebrate the day, drive by
your nearest Ford dealership and take one for a test drive.
