Before I was able to own my convertible, I was aware of some elements of its past. I'd seen it around town since the late 1980's and was very curious about it. As I grew older and got more Cougar experience under my belt, I realized that this was a pretty rare car, and that if I were to ever get the chance to own it that I should without hesitation.

In 1994 I finally found the owner of the car. While driving down a main street in town I noticed the car in a used car parking lot, but not with the cars for sale. The top was missing completely; only the skeleton remained. An attendant at the lot told me it was the lot owner's mother's car, and they had just sent the top out so that a new one could be made from it. I asked if it was for sale and he didn't know. At least I had a lead on finding the car now.

The following year in May I drove by the same lot, and lo and behold, there was the convertible for sale! Immediately I pulled in and asked to test drive it. If I remember right it was about an hour before I ever took the car back. I stopped by my parents' house to take photos and get my mom's opinion. She loved it but was concerned for me being able to afford it. At the time I was engaged to be married so there were more important things to do besides buying a car. And I felt the price was a little high, although when one runs into a Cougar convertible this uncommon, price should not be an issue. Very reluctantly, and with a sadness that's hard to put into words, I returned the car, seemingly never to see it again.

That winter the car was nowhere to be found. Mentally I kicked myself over and over for letting it go. Fortunately I had dodged a bullet that previous fall and got dis-engaged, meaning I was financially clear to buy the car, but now that it disappeared the irony really set in. Was this to be the ultimate tease? To know that I could finally buy the car, but now it's gone, and was just a few miles from home? Was it just in storage for the winter, or had it really been sold? Fortunately the answers to all of those questions weren't far off.

As it so happened, my mom's car needed transmission work the next summer. One early August morning I had to take her in the car back to the shop to have it adjusted. Coming home I drove by that used car lot....and there she was, again for sale, and better yet---$2000 lower in price! I could not believe my luck. I remember saying, "Mom, I'm going back to get that damned car already!" While she was concerned that I was between jobs and maybe couldn't afford it, that never stopped me. We got home and I switched cars, drove back to the lot, and asked for the owner. He said, "Still interested in this car, eh?" And I said, "Oh, it's mine. I'm going to the bank right now. I will be back in two days with cash. Here's $100 to hold it." He was a little surprised at my brashness but I didn't care. When the E Man wants something, he gets it.

Then I drove to a bank where an ex-girlfriend's mom worked. If anyone could secure me a loan with no job, she could. And she did---the next day I cleaned out my savings account and got the loan, cash in hand. Off I went to the car lot and plunked the cash down on the owner's desk. He said, "You were really serious about this car, weren't you?" And I said, "I've never wanted anything so bad in my life." We got the paperwork done and the title notarized, and the car was mine.

One last detail remained though. This was his mom's car, after all, and she'd been very attached to it. He called up his mom and asked her to bring the spare set of keys to the lot because the car was sold. "Mom.....mom, don't cry," he said. About 25 minutes later she pulled into the lot in her "new" ride, a rare 1990 Cadillac Eldorado convertible. She handed me the keys, gave me a big hug, and said through tears, "My Eldorado is a great car but it will never replace the Cougar. There are eight memorable years of that car. PLEASE take good care of it for me." I promised her that, and visitation rights. And off I drove for home, that short 5-minute drive, toward destiny....

(As an update, I did see this woman again in 2001, after 5 years of me owning it and immediately after the car was redone. She couldn't believe it was the same car and was absolutely thrilled to see what I'd done. I cannot imagine buying a car from a nicer woman. I showed her all the details and all the work put into it, and then she half-jokingly said, "Now I want to buy it back!" To which I replied, "Well...you couldn't afford it now!")

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