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Life after Death

1K views 7 replies 5 participants last post by  Travis98146 
#1 ·
Don't get too excited. I'm not going to go on about religion, and I won't get too deeply philosophical here. Also not shooting for sympathy or anything! I just felt like sharing some stuff with you fellow gearheads that you might understand.

First though, some 'bad stuff'. Bear with me. It gets better! My wife ambushed me with a divorce about 5 years ago now, and it pretty much crushed my soul. I was a loving stepfather to her two kids, and I was under the impression that things were okay with us, so I didn't really know what to do with myself at the time. I lost pretty much everything, except for my old engine-fired '67 Mercury Cougar project car. That, I got to keep, thanks to a very good friend who didn't want to see me lose it.

After a while, I saw that it had been a pretty abusive relationship. I'm a manly man, not some timid mouse! How did I let myself swallow my pride so long, and put up with it? It's just a question of focus, and personal choices, I guess. I'd worked so long, so hard on keeping my marriage together, I couldn't see how bad things really were, as it got worse and worse. Weird, huh?

So I've been doing my best to put things back together, but it's been hard. I'm stuck in a small rural farming town out in Kansas, where there is not a lot of opportunity. I've got some health problems that limit my choices about where I work, too. I haven't had a car to drive for a long time, which has really made it difficult for me to get a job. The closest town with jobs is about 20 miles away. In the meanwhile, I've been doing odd computer jobs, and trying to become a professional writer. We'll see how that works out.

But recently, I've picked up a lot more computer jobs, and I've made some cash. I managed to score a complete power steering system for my car, along with a pair of useable '70 highback seats for an incredibly low price, and now I've got something even more important:

I have hope.

For the longest time, I've felt like I was just barely hanging on by my fingernails. Not really enjoying life, but waiting to see what would happen next, and wondering if that light at the end of the tunnel was an oncoming train.

I've wanted to have a 'nice' Cougar for 30 years now, and the chances of that happening seemed like a candle in a hurricane for a long time. But I feel like it's something that I can actually accomplish, now. I am making forward progress! I've got almost everything I need to make my old tin cat run again now. In time, once I've got regular income, I'll deal with making her the car I've always dreamed of.

Maybe I'm just rambling here, but it feels damned good to be able to hold my head up, and dream of better days to come. I *will* get my car put back together, and make her run once more. There have been a lot of setbacks along the way with this old Cougar. Every one of you has gone through the process of finding new problems as you put a car back together the right way. And each of you knows what heartache feels like. You've had tragedy in your lives, just like me. I'm no different from anyone else.

Maybe it's been a while since you had to pick yourself up and dust off some of the dirt, before you kept walking. There's a few aches and pains from the fall, sure, but I've got to tell you guys, I am smiling and proud, today.

Thank you for all that you share here. The questions, the stories about your rides, and all your hard work has encouraged me a lot. I can't wait to get those new parts on my car!

Best wishes to each and every one of you on these forums.

TL;DR - My car and I have been through a lot. It sure feels good to be putting her back together, and thanks for everything. :grin:
 
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#6 ·
Keep your head up. I kept my '67 Cougar after my divorce too. It's still not painted (except primer) as I have to repair some snow-chain damage to the rear fender well corners. It was totaled in a house fire and I had to replace the interior, wiring and tail lights. It's a daily runner now even though it's not a pretty as it should be.
 

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