Our ‘65 Mustang

She was a beauty… hard top, bucket seats, wall to wall carpet, great lines, all packaged in a soft champagne-gray topped off with a running horse medallion. It was my parents first car purchased as a couple with the hefty sticker price of $2,300. The 60’s were simpler times. I was brought home from the hospital in this beauty of a car, in a basket. This sweet coupe was the family car with baby and doggy in tow on most rides.

I remember one longer ride we took. It was after my dad had been preparing for an art show. It was time to hit the road with his creations and we were Colorado Springs bound! Our sturdy and sporty little car was packed to the brim with freshly glazed canvases. To create an extra shelf, the windows had to be rolled down a bit, probably not ideal for my mom’s 1960’s beehive hairdo!

I don’t remember much about the drive or the art show but I do remember that little car filled with my dad’s work. His handcrafted wares, each brushstroke a labor of love with an emotional attachment to each piece. I think often about how my parents persevered to support our growing family, not always easy as entrepreneurs! I admire that he was honoring and pursuing what was making him happy and I admire my mom for supporting that dream. Making it into the art scene wasn’t (and still isn’t) easy! Marketing back then was a pounding of the pavement, in person and by word of mouth.

I don’t know if we came home with an empty car after that art show road trip but paintings sold or not, my dad was beginning to make a name for himself in the art community. And for our ‘65 Mustang, well, looking back, if I were to give her a name it would have been Destiny ~ a beauty of a car, always sturdy, carrying precious cargo… always arriving us safely to our destinations, with a dream of creating and destined for great things! I am thankful to my dad for showing me that honoring one’s dreams and inspirations is important for the soul! And I am so very thankful that he shared his love of art with me! A ‘65 Mustang named Destiny and a daughter following her dreams, still believing in the pounding of pavement and old-fashioned word of mouth … I know my dad would be proud!

♥️Jana