After 30 years of car collecting he had just purchased his 50th classic car. It was the one he, and every other serious collector, had wanted, but it was so rare he had to “wait his turn” as they say in the car collecting world.
As with other works of art, the thought is the current owner is simply taking care of it for the next one.
It was a 1930s classic. There were only 10 of them made by hand.
They were custom made for the international elites of the day: Kings, Movie Stars, and the ultra wealthy.
Normally they stayed within the families as heirlooms.
But he had gotten lucky.
Since his early twenties, every time a romantic relationship ended in failure, he would spoil himself by buying something that would never reject his perfect love. A perfectly built classic car.
His cars never judged him, but sat quietly waiting for him to turn them on.
The great-granddaughter of an oil tycoon had called him one day. He had no idea that she lived only ten minutes away. She told him she knew of the love and care he gives to his cars and she wanted him to have her grandfather’s. It was actually #1 of 10, built in 1934, before the war.
He had heard tell of this car, but thought it had been lost long ago.
He went over with this team of mechanics and wrote her a check for her asking price without haggling.
Today, as he does everyday, he walks into his garage filled with his classic cars and walks over to that 50th one he bought for tens of millions of dollars (in 2024 dollars).
The car is mangled and burned, hit from the right side at high speed.
Burn marks and heated bent metal are still very visible from the subsequent fire that happened after it was hit.
He smiles so broadly as he has never been happier.
What? He feels no sadness?
Actually, he loves this car more than any other that he ever bought.
His wife joins him in her robe and gives him a cup of coffee which she always makes perfectly for him every morning.
She says: “So you're still not going to rebuild this, huh?”
“Absolutely not!” He says. “You destroying this car with your terrible driving skills has made me the happiest man in the entire world!”
The day he bought it, his mechanics had gotten it drive-able and he decided to drive it home. He thought to himself what could go wrong? It is only ten minutes away.
Within 5 minutes leaving the old owner's house, a reckless driver T-boned his new classic one-of-a-kind car at an intersection.
He got out of his car and ran over to the other driver to make sure she was okay. But she was not.
Her engine had started to smoke and then flames quickly shot out from under the hood. Her door wouldn't open so he had to break her window with his forearm.
He dragged her out of the car to the side of the road.
She was semi-conscious, her face covered in powder from the airbag that had inflated against her face.
Just then, her car exploded.
He made sure she was comfortable on the grass and then he looked as his multi-million dollar one-of-a-kind car also started to go up in flames.
At that moment he felt like a 10-year-old kid who had just opened every Christmas present that he wanted under the tree only to have them disappear in a moment and he was left with nothing!
The ambulance arrived and the paramedics collected the reckless driver. One of the paramedics suggested that he come along as he might have suffered a terrible concussion or other injuries.
He chatted with her in the ambulance as they went to the hospital.
He had heard that it was important to keep injured people talking before they got to the hospital.
His first question was: “So Miss, how did you learn to drive so recklessly? Did you go to a special school?”
They both realized that this was a great icebreaker and she so appreciated his use of levity at this moment.
She said: “At least you were driving that old clunker, thank God. It couldn’t be worth much. Were you bringing it to a junkyard?”
He laughed out loud, winked at her, and said: ”Why yes. I couldn't wait to get rid of that thing!
To be honest, it was worth everything to me and I had waited for over 30 years to find it. I just bought it today actually. I paid in the high 8 figures for it.
It will only take you a few years for you to pay me back.
What do you do for a living?”
“School teacher.”
“Ok, maybe more than a few years.”
When they got to the hospital he helped get the gurney out of the ambulance and followed her to the emergency room where they just couldn't seem to stop talking.
That was a year ago now and they both stood in his garage looking at his demolished classic car still mangled, badly burned and singed. Her demolished car sat beside it, perfectly wedged in the huge v shape it had created during the accident.
She said: “I'm really sorry about that, I knew this car meant the world to you.”
And he said: “I would wreck every one of these cars if it meant finding you as I did that day.”
He took a sip from the cup of coffee that he did not make for himself.
That was worth more than any of the millions of dollars that he had earned or the toys that he had bought.
He said: “All of these things that I had bought were just distractions. I was really looking for you.
You're the love of my life and I thank God that you're such a terrible driver.”
She said: “Can I finally take one of your other cars for a drive? It has been over a year.”
He said: “Uh, no.”
They hugged, laughed and went back inside and made love for the rest of the morning.
