Being a native South Dakotan I used to spend most of my spare minutes as
well as my spare dollars hunting and fishing and I did so for the better
part of 20 years intensely and another 20 years off and on, including
right now. The part that was always missing was my wife's involvement
as well as that of our daughters. They more or less tolerated the
activity, but never became any more involved than to enjoy eating that
which was obtained.
About 10 years ago my wife and I together agreed to purchase an old car
- a 1953 Chrysler New Yorker sedan. While the car was in better shape
than most, it still was old and needed a lot of TLC. They all do no
matter their condition. What I started to discover was that a degree of
family affection for this old car was developing and we were having fun
together - driving it, washing and waxing it, sometimes just looking at
it and talking about it. The money being spent on it didn't seem to
matter much and everyone started looking forward to the next
improvement, whatever it might be.
Today we own a number of "old cars" of varying ages and conditions and
our daughters have moved on to their own marriages and lives. As our
interests have changes a bit over the years my wife and I decided that
maybe we should advertize the New Yorker - try to sell it. Actually,
that was really my idea.
Well, the day came late this past fall when what appeared to be a
serious buyer called. The price seemed to be agreeable and a tentative
date was set for "the inspection" visit. I did tell him I needed to
have a final discussion with my wife.
She then asked how I could seriously consider selling something that had
become such an important part of the family. Our daughter then called
from St. Paul, Minnesota, and she told me the New Yorker was her
"favorite" car and she wanted to own it someday. (It wasn't more than
six months earlier that she had told me that the Imperial was her
favorite car and...). It wasn't too much longer that our other daughter
who lives in Russia weighed in with a similar sentiment.
Today none of our cars are for sale. I just wish I would have become
more interested in old cars 20 years ago and spent less time in the
goose pits and on the bass ponds.
Hope this helps! Arlo Levisen, Revillo, SD
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