On June 24, 2023, I said goodbye to one of the loves of my life. In her heyday, she was beautiful: classic lines, beautiful shiny black paint, white hardtop with porthole windows, black ragtop concealed within, wide whitewall tires, and a white continental tire on the rear. The T-Bird’s chrome reflected like a mirror. Her interior of white pleated leather upholstery on the side panels was crisp, and her white and black upholstered front seat held three people. She had an automatic shift and seat belts. Her unique quality was that she was built for export. A quick turn of a knob would change the odometer from miles to kilometers per hour. She caught everyone’s eye. I remember the first time I saw her. Pres Waterman, owner of a Ford dealership in Patchogue, was driving west on South Country Road in Bellport around 1986. The top was down, and he waved to everyone, like a king riding in his royal carriage. It was then I thought, do I want the man or the car. In the end, I decided I wanted both, and that was exactly what I got. I later learned that he had either taken the T-Bird in trade or bought it at auction. He couldn’t remember the circumstances, but it didn’t matter how he acquired the car. My happy day came when he signed her over to me.
Occasionally I drove the car to Brookhaven National Laboratory, where several colleagues would take turns driving her around the 3-mile accelerator ring. Since we were all contemporaries, driving the car took us back to our teenage years. Memories came flooding back; we were kids again. But could we still get three gallons of gas for a dollar?
The years went by and the car began to show its age. Steve Nolan, an attendee at a high school reunion luncheon, and I started talking about cars, and the Thunderbird in particular. He was excited to look at her, and as soon as he saw the T-Bird, he wanted to be a part of the restoration process. For the next several years it was a joint venture. He did the work, and I paid for the parts and labor. It was a fun project, while it lasted. She began to have internal problems; she would stall easily or be hard to handle. The fun left and the frustration began, and Steve had other projects he wanted to attend to. So, for the past 11 years, she remained covered in a damp shed, without seeing the light of day.
Today, she was unceremoniously loaded onto a trailer, a shell of her former self. The chrome was rusted and dull, the paint pitted, the tires flat – a product of years of neglect. She was going to a new home in Arizona. I hope that the T-Bird will be restored to her original beauty and driven with pride as in her glory years. And most of all, I hope she will be loved and admired for the incredible automobile that she was and may become again. I loved that car, and I loved Pres. Both are gone now, but the image of them together will remain in my heart forever.
Ginny Waterman
9/28/2023
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