When middle age creeps around and even though things are going well, boredom can set in. About six weeks ago it did for me. My oldest son plays baseball for North Georgia College. I could see myself riding to his games on a motorcycle and cruising the North Georgia Mountains. Having ridden motorcycles when I was younger I started looking for a Harley. Not certain that would cure my itch, I also began checking out some older cars. I found a great bike out in Arizona and a beautiful yellow 73 Mustang convertible in North Carolina. While dreaming about the bike I decided take a 6 hour drive to Lumberton, North Carolina. With my wife and five year old daughter along for the ride, we arrived to find a beautiful car. When my daughter sat in the car, top down and sunglasses on, she said "Hollywood here we come!" However, while test driving the car I started thinking about the mushy steering and the inherent chance of getting stranded in an older car. Those thoughts stayed with me all the way home and the Harley became more real.

In the following days, one thought I couldn't shake was how my little girl reacted to the car we had driven. If I bought a bike she wouldn't be coming along, neither would my wife. We work together and spend little time apart (probably why she didn't put up much of a fuss at the idea of a motorcycle she wasn't going to get on!) but I began to think of what kind of newer convertible I could purchase and ride with both my wife and little girl. Vettes were out along with any other two seater. BMW's seemed a possibility but their yuppieness was hard to deal with. The Mercedes C320 is simply too much money for a weekend ride and a Sebring just not my style. A 65 Mustang was my first car so I began looking at the newer ones. I visited several car lots and checked out cars in parking lots and going down the road. I went to Ebay and to Auto Trader online. I came across the 1999s noting the difference in the body style and the price range. After seeing ads of a couple of cars which said 35th Anniversary I typed that into Yahoo. Guess what came up (Mustang35th.com)! After visiting the website and seeing a real enthusiasm for the Limited Edition, I narrowed my search. Being reminiscent of cars from the fifties, the two toned black and silver interior appealed to me. And I knew my little girl would enjoy the ride.

I found several cars online and looked at a few. I was really taken by a black convertible automatic north of Atlanta. The price seemed fair to me but my wife thought maybe I shouldn't pay so much. I sat with the sellers number punched into my phone and ready to tell him I would be up tomorrow to pick up the car. But as I sat there and then called, I left a message instead letting them know I would not be the buyer.

I continued to look and found a black convertible and a silver convertible down in Florida. I also found a silver car in Atlanta which I went to see. The Atlanta car had not been well cared for and the interior was a mess. The top was suspect and the body had seen it's share of mall parking. After seeing the silver I did decide to limit myself to the black cars. So off I went to Gainesville, Florida. This time alone. Upon arriving just before dark I saw what I wanted and it was priced to sell. The top was is great shape. The interior great but the carpet needed a shampoo from a chocolate shake that had found the space between the seat and the cup holder. The headlights were yellowed from sun and time but the paint was only slightly dull. Cobra R wheels made the car look sharp. Unfortunately the original wheels were traded in and long gone.

The seller told me all about the woman who had the car until about a year and a half ago. She had kept record of oil changes and kept the car in a garage. Now with 57,000 miles the car had been driven but not war worn. The seller had cosigned with his son. The son had not lived up to his end of the bargain. I had driven over three hundred miles and the mosquitoes had started to bite. I offered nine hundred less than his asking price went up two hundred and made the deal. Two days later I drove back to Florida, met the seller at his bank, and paid off his car. I got my bill of sale and headed to pick up a U-Haul to pull behind my red SuperCrew.

Upon arriving at the seller's house the son came out and met me in the drive. He had no idea his car had just been sold. I won't go into all the details but it really doesn't take too long to load a car onto a trailer. I'll just say that after the deputy explained that it wasn't his car anymore it didn't take me long to get on the road. Halfway home I stopped and took a picture I hope comes out. The black car just somehow looked so good behind my red truck.

I couldn't wait to register my find (with the website). I typed in the info and waited for the reply. When I opened the email I couldn't believe what I was reading. I knew the car was early from the build date but had no idea how early. Number one, the first! My wife sits in the next office and I start telling her what I was reading. I printed the email and showed her. Of course she wasted no time reminding me how she had discouraged me from buying the first black Atlanta car. Then I showed our two supervisors in our shop where I park the car. I also have twin boys, seniors in high school, and I couldn't wait to tell them. They too could hardly believe old Dad's good fortune.

I ordered three plates. One for between the visors, one for under the hood, and another for the "shrine" I'm setting up with a model in my office. Not only did I get relief from that "midlife crisis" I believe I found the cure.