'38 Chevy "Sweetie," Love at First Sight

In 1938, a brand new Chevrolet dealership--the B.A. Tubbs Motor Company--opened in downtown Arkansas City, Kansas. Shortly thereafter, a local letter carrier and farmer named Elijah Ham came in and bought a new Chevrolet Master Business Coupe, a car he would keep for years but would drive but sparingly. During the 1950s and '60s, the dealership tried repeatedly to buy back the coupe--they wanted to display it as one of their first cars sold--but each time Mr. Ham politely refused. One day Mr. Ham gave his beloved coupe to Mike Webb, a family friend whom he had treated as a grandson.

    My first contact with the beautiful old car I would call Sweetie came one day when Mike drove up in her, grinning ear to ear as the rest of us guys died of envy, just as Mike intended. Sweetie was so sleek and lovely in her beautiful black coat, and she had all the right curves in just the right places. She was the perfect lady that day in that she didn't smoke, smell, or make rude noises. It was love at first sight for me, but alas there was NO way Mike was about to part with her.

    Years passed, but I never forgot Sweetie. On occasion Mike would speak of her and told of the time when he and she were out for a spin and the brakes failed. Sweetie's right front fender got bent and Mike, not having the money to get her fixed, took her home, rolled her into the barn and waited for better times, which never came. Mike fell on hard times, and over the years I would occasionally broach the subject of buying Sweetie from him. Mike always declined.
    Then came October 2003 when by chance we met at a local citywide garage sale. We sat and made small talk for a while and I again asked if he would consider parting with Sweetie. I detected a change, perhaps the realization that he wasn't going to be able to restore her after all. I told him if he did relent and sell her to me I would keep her as original as possible and not turn her into a common harlot, a street rod, as most suitors would. Again I was turned down.
    In November 2004 my thoughts again turned to Sweetie and the fact she had been sitting in the barn for far too many years. I called Mike on the telephone, pleading with him to consider Sweetie's well being. Every day she sat abandoned in the barn she died a little more. Someone needed to nurse her back to health. Mike told me he'd think about it.
    December 2004 brought another garage sale, when along came Mike once more, this time with a walker. He sat beside me and said, "I about have everything out of the way for you to come take a look." I couldn't believe my ears! Sweetie would live again! We discussed when I could make a preliminary inspection followed by negotiation. The very next Saturday turned out to be the day MY intimate association with Sweetie began. The journey ahead would be one of introduction, union, rescue, resurrection, and rehabilitation--costly, long, and arduous, but SO fulfilling..--Richard Thomas, Ark City, Kansas.