My 1969 CAMARO !
In 1969 my husband made a big Real Estate sale and, to celebrate he surprised me with a brand new Camaro SS coupe. It looked a lot like the one in the picture except that it was a gorgeous shade of burnt orange. He paid cash for the car and it turned out to be the one and only time in our married life that we would be able to splurge like that ... but, of course we didn't know it then.
My husband’s vehicle was a Blazer and we decided we’d use that to show properties 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. No longer was I the dowdy old housewife with three children …I was one foxy lady (in my mind anyway ! ) and I actually got some wolf whistles.
About three months later my husband came to me one night and said we needed to have a serious talk. I think he must have practiced his speech because it was very effective. He explained that his business was expanding and we were in desperate need of a truck and the only way we could afford that 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 the family emergency.
So, that was that ! We sold my Camaro and bought a dark green flat-bed truck (ugh!). I went back to hauling kids, groceries and dogs in the Blazer and lived the rest of my life without once getting an admiring glance or a whistle from a stranger !
11 Comments:
"lived the rest of my life without once getting an admiring glance or a whistle from a stranger !" ... I don't believe you !
Oh Ginnie, what a sad tale. My first set of 'wheels' was an old used Ford, permanently stuck in second gear. Those were the days.
What a grand muscle car and at least you got to enjoy it for a while. I only got to admire one from the curb.
Ah, you were a brick, Ginnie. I have been in a red one once -- 1966 or 67, but it was a Firebird. Really nice.
I'm with Patti - you had it for a while. I always wanted a Mercedes 500 series convertible, but I never got one - we couldn't figure out how I could deliver flowers in that.
I'm glad you got a few months of having a car you loved. Sweet post.
Funny, I have always been a van person... maybe from my first love affair with the famous VW bus back in the late 50s early 60s. Then station wagons to haul art supplies around, then the vans. I feel like part of a moving company sometimes, but it seems to fit me.
Then, a flashy foxy car fits you!
Did I ever tell you when you were visiting me a male friend asked who that gorgeous lady was that was with me in the art studio? And you didn't even need a red car! We were probably in my utilitarian van!
Perhaps it was better to have felt like a foxy lady in a sportscar, then never to have experienced that thrill, Ginnie. You obviously have some fond memories of that short-lived experience and thanks for sharing them with all of us.
Hello Ginnie,
You were a dashing and daring woman in those days when I would have expected women to be more conservative. Fantastic.
I agree it was a heart breaking decision to sell the lovely car and buy a truck. It was a let down. This is what happen in life. When our heads are in the clouds life gives a jolt to bring us to the ground and understand the reality. But you coped with the change brilliantly. It doesn't matter you didn't get whistles from strangers.
I enjoyed reading this wonderful post of what happened in your life during the sixties.
Best wishes
Sorry you had to give up your car and especially after having it only such a short time. Must have been an exciting feeling when you unexpectedly received the gift. Must have been an impulse purchase showing his heart was in the right place at the time. Don't know what his reality was when he traded it for the truck.
Love that car, Ginnie. . I had a Mustang back in the day. My father gave it to me and I took it to college. It got quite a bit of action--LOL.
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