MY ‘69 CAMARO….Short-lived glory !

1969 was a pretty good year in the Real Estate business in New York State. My husband made a big sale and surprised me with a brand new Camaro SS coupe. It looked very much like the one in the picture except that it was a gorgeous shade of burnt-orange.

Dick paid cash for the car and as it turned out this was the first and only time that we were able to splurge like this in our married life, but I didn’t know that at the time.

My husband had a Blazer and we decided we’d use that to show property and to chauffer children and animals. The Camaro would be for my use and for special occasions for the two of us. I still remember how I felt the first time that I drove off alone. I was one foxy lady…in my mind, anyway !

I got a lot of attention when I drove that car. I was no longer a dowdy old housewife and I reveled in it. I like to think that I was still a good wife and mother then but I have to admit that I loved the feeling that I still had “it”.

About 3 months later my husband started to expand the building area of his Real Estate business. It meant that he was doing a lot of hauling and he was using his Blazer to the max. I’ll never forget the night that he sat me down and told me that we had a serious thing to talk about.

I think he must have practiced his speech because it was very effective. He explained that we were in desperate need of a truck and that the only way we could afford this would be to sell my car. He never actually said it but I felt that I would be very selfish to keep my frivolous “toy” in the face of this “family emergency”.

So, there you have it. We sold my gorgeous Camaro and bought a dark green flat-bed truck. I’d never thought of my husband as the jealous type and I know the truck was good for business, but I’ve often wondered if he had another motive?

If he did, it worked. I took over the Blazer and went back to hauling kids, groceries and dogs. I never again had so much as an admiring whistle from a stranger.