It's National Mustang Day! Can’t see a Ford Mustang without thinking of Eli The Eliminator. I’ve told the story so many times about my conversation with him that revealed he was a Mustang fan. He had always loved anything with wheels. Even before he could have actual Hot Wheels (for ages 3+), his toys were vehicles. I had already been a big Hot Wheels fan myself since I was a little girl, so it was an easy excuse for me to purchase a Hot Wheels at Wall-Mart or Publix when I went grocery shopping. I kept them in a bag in the closet and when he (and Caleb, too, later) did something good or something as I asked, I let them pick one from the bag. Sometimes I let them pick a car from my bag just because it was fun to give them one. It was kind of like something the boys and I shared.
So, that one day at Target House, as Eli lie on the couch and I sat in the office chair at the desk, we talked about cars. I asked him what was his very favorite. He said “A Mustang.” I thought how on earth does he know what a Mustang is, and admittedly, I was a little prejudice toward Mustangs because of a guy that I had dated had one. So, I waited a bit, continued the conversation around cars, then asked again. Again, he said “A Mustang.” I was in denial and had him pick one out of a line-up, and he did. So, I conceded and from then on we looked for ways that he would get to see Ford Mustangs. A reporter doing a story with him one time asked him why he liked the Mustang and in his small voice he said, "Because they go fast."
Of course, you all know the story from there. How we were welcomed by local Mustang clubs, and how we were treated like royalty at Flat Rock. We’ve even been able to raise money for childhood cancer out of this love of the Mustang. Vic and I continue to enjoy being members of the Mustang community as owners.
I’m grateful for our Mustang family every day when I walk into our “Mustang Room” decorated with memorabilia from all of our Mustang activities with Eli. It’s not always about the car - although I have grown to love the cars - but it has given us a fun focus and something that always reminds us of Eli.
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