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This past week I had the pleasure of having an old high school friend, his wife and his dog visit/stay with us for a 4 days.
I want to share some of his responses to the T-Bird.
We met them early evening at the AmTrack station with a 4 door rental sedan. As of course the T-Bird could not carry all of us. We saved rides in the T-Bird until the next day, a beautiful top down 84 degree morning.
I took my friend out to the garage, as we entered we spoke of the way Ford combined some of the designs of the 1955 with today's engineering to create the Retro Bird. He felt the look-a-like grill and the big round head lights. He let his finger tips glide along the smooth fender lines. I pointed out and he touched how Ford included the hood scoop, tracing its lines back toward the windshield. A smile came across his face as he took in the rake & slope of the glass. Then my friend while commenting on the recessed door handle open and sat in the driver's seat. Not saying a word, just sitting, touching and taking it all in.
Then back out of the car he came and continued walking toward the rear all the time gliding his finger tips along the smooth lines. He traced out the Thunderbird fender script and admired the large round taillights, commenting how it tied the front with the rear. He really liked the large emblem on the trunk lid.
As he stood back there taking it all in I started the Bird. The sound brought on a even broader grin, a wide smile of pure delight and he could hardly move fast enough to get into the passenger seat.
We went out on a drive for about an hour. From the shade lined neighborhood streets to the main drag of town to the freeway he got to experience what we all do; the sun, the breezes, the sounds and the smoothness of the ride. He didn't catch the thumbs up we received from some people of the sidewalk.
On the Sirius radio I had tuned in the 50s channel. My friend sang along with every song of the great fifties with plenty of laughter we recalled our times growing up. As we pulled back into the garage his deep baritone voice chimed in to the last words of "Blue Moon". And then he turned to me and said "Mike, thank you so much for that. You took me back to a part of me I haven't been in a very long time."
Going around the Bird and opening the passenger door to help my friend out and not wanting him to swing it wide and possibly hit my truck parked next to the Bird, He looked me straight on and said, "You Sir, have a beautiful T-Bird. I can see why you are so fond of it."
Now you all may be wondering why I never let my friend drive, take his turn at the wheel and get the feel of the Bird. Well, there is a little something I purposely did not tell you. My friend has a genetic disease that has slowly taken away his eye sight beginning in his early 40s. Now he can only determine a lighted area from a dark area, no colors. He relies on his other senses and support from his dear wife and incredible guide dog.
My friend, his wife and dog are on their way home now. I can only hope that he realizes how he has enriched our lives with his incredible upbeat attitude, his infective laugh and his desire not to let his change in life affect his life.
It was just an incredible experience ! Another pleasure from our little car.
I want to share some of his responses to the T-Bird.
We met them early evening at the AmTrack station with a 4 door rental sedan. As of course the T-Bird could not carry all of us. We saved rides in the T-Bird until the next day, a beautiful top down 84 degree morning.
I took my friend out to the garage, as we entered we spoke of the way Ford combined some of the designs of the 1955 with today's engineering to create the Retro Bird. He felt the look-a-like grill and the big round head lights. He let his finger tips glide along the smooth fender lines. I pointed out and he touched how Ford included the hood scoop, tracing its lines back toward the windshield. A smile came across his face as he took in the rake & slope of the glass. Then my friend while commenting on the recessed door handle open and sat in the driver's seat. Not saying a word, just sitting, touching and taking it all in.
Then back out of the car he came and continued walking toward the rear all the time gliding his finger tips along the smooth lines. He traced out the Thunderbird fender script and admired the large round taillights, commenting how it tied the front with the rear. He really liked the large emblem on the trunk lid.
As he stood back there taking it all in I started the Bird. The sound brought on a even broader grin, a wide smile of pure delight and he could hardly move fast enough to get into the passenger seat.
We went out on a drive for about an hour. From the shade lined neighborhood streets to the main drag of town to the freeway he got to experience what we all do; the sun, the breezes, the sounds and the smoothness of the ride. He didn't catch the thumbs up we received from some people of the sidewalk.
On the Sirius radio I had tuned in the 50s channel. My friend sang along with every song of the great fifties with plenty of laughter we recalled our times growing up. As we pulled back into the garage his deep baritone voice chimed in to the last words of "Blue Moon". And then he turned to me and said "Mike, thank you so much for that. You took me back to a part of me I haven't been in a very long time."
Going around the Bird and opening the passenger door to help my friend out and not wanting him to swing it wide and possibly hit my truck parked next to the Bird, He looked me straight on and said, "You Sir, have a beautiful T-Bird. I can see why you are so fond of it."
Now you all may be wondering why I never let my friend drive, take his turn at the wheel and get the feel of the Bird. Well, there is a little something I purposely did not tell you. My friend has a genetic disease that has slowly taken away his eye sight beginning in his early 40s. Now he can only determine a lighted area from a dark area, no colors. He relies on his other senses and support from his dear wife and incredible guide dog.
My friend, his wife and dog are on their way home now. I can only hope that he realizes how he has enriched our lives with his incredible upbeat attitude, his infective laugh and his desire not to let his change in life affect his life.
It was just an incredible experience ! Another pleasure from our little car.
VIN#16336
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