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Dream….Have you ever had a dream? We all have dreams, yet most of us do not have the opportunity to see them come true. I too have had a dream, a dream that has occupied the recesses of my mind for more than thirty years now. Wind blowing through my hair, the awe struck look of passers by, and the power under my foot that excels me along the cold concrete pavement that brings me to my destination.
After a long and arduous journey I have been able to fulfill my lifelong dream. With financial security on my side, devoted support from my loving wife, and a difficult, maybe selfish decision finally made, I have been able to realize my dream, which is now quietly sitting in its protective shelter. At last I can awake from my slumber, peek my head into the garage and finally realize my dream in full consciousness. As the vanity plate on the back end shines in the reflected moonlight, "ITZA 58" stares back at me. Itza 58 alright, a beautiful, unblemished Panama yellow 1958 Corvette, that I have dreamed and fanaticized about in my prairie homeland since early childhood for which I can now and very proudly call my own.
With the advent of the Internet my labor-intensive search for my dream had become considerably easier. After locating a number of potential prospects, I managed to narrow my search down until I was satisfied with just one, the one that I hoped had the capability to satisfy my longing and fulfill this childhood fantasy of mine. After contemplating for what seemed to be an eternity of time, I went ahead and made arrangements that would bring me to the countryside in rural Quebec, where I hoped I could step back in time to the year 1958.
When I arrived at the quaint countryside farmyard that was to be my destination I was almost giddy with excitement. "Could this be the one?", I kept asking myself, "Am I really going to do this?" As the feeling of anticipation was nearly paralyzing, I somehow managed to get out of my rental car and began what I hoped to be the last leg of my journey. An elderly fellow, whose broken English was at times hard to understand, approached me. We shook hands and introduced ourselves, yet I was barely able to remember his name due to the utter excitement and anxiousness that was overwhelming my body and mind. As I retreated my shaking hand from his somewhat clammy and damp palm I was overwhelmed with a feeling of nervousness and uncertainty. Had I wasted my time and made a mistake. Did I really need to be here? I was suddenly and most unexpectedly taken back to my childhood at Christmas time. Was the thrill of actually wanting something going to be more exciting than actually receiving it? Was it just the idea of owning the car of my dreams that appealed to me? As these questions swelled in my brain to what seemed to be an unbearable amount of time, we were already on our way to a distant barn out in the field ahead of us. The moment had approached. The big sliding barn door was before me. The Frenchman spoke, but I did not hear what he said. My hands were sweaty, my mind racing. The seconds were turning into hours. Was this the moment that I had envisioned for years? Was I doomed to bitter disappointment, or to be filled with utter bliss? As the old Frenchman's wiry hand reached for the rusted barn door handle I felt like turning around and racing back to my dingy bed and breakfast as fast as I could. But then something happened. As I was on the verge of a fast and furious sprint away from the barn, something caught my eye. I am not sure if it was the crisp, clean white walls of the original tires, the metallic shine of the spectacular chrome finish, or the unique and pristine yellow of the car itself. Whatever I saw through the initial crack in the barn house door, it was powerful enough to stop me dead in my tracks. As the door slid fully open, I was not only overcome by the smell of barn must, engine oil, and grease, but also by the mere beauty of what lay before me. Before I had a chance to catch my breath the old Frenchman in his thick Quebec accent exclaimed…" So uh… what do ya think eh?" I stood there speechless, awestruck and numb.
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