My father is a soft-spoken man of very few words. Growing up, my mother did most of the talking in our household, while Pop taught my siblings and I by example. He worked hard, sent us all to college, built us each a beautiful kitchen, along with numerous bedroom sets, bookcases and bathroom armoires. He never asked for anything in return, and usually adamantly insisted that we give him nothing. This selfless part of his character was a hard pill to swallow, we all felt a bit guilty taking from the man over and over again.
Two years ago I spoke with my Mother about my Fathers upcoming 60th birthday and his retirement plans. They had recently talked about what he wanted to do to celebrate the end of a lifetime of working hard every day. He replied that he wanted to build and race a vintage race car, specifically he wanted a 1750 Alfa Romeo GTV and he wanted to build it at our shop here in Michigan. My mother wanted to make his dream a reality, so along with giving the whole idea her blessing she gave me a budget and told me to start looking for the perfect car to surprise him with on his 60th birthday. In the end, I didn’t find a run of the mill, tattered Alfa GTV. I found a 1971 GTV 1750, one of the most collectable GTV’s on the market. It was for sale right here in Grand Rapids, and I picked it up for a little less than we had discussed spending.
This June, we celebrated Pop’s 60th birthday with the entire Michele family, here in Michigan. We closed the shop early that day, and assembled with appetizers and birthday cheer on the patio. Everyone followed me down to the body shop, where I was supposedly headed to show off our latest restoration projects and new paint system. Pop was right at my heels, unaware of what awaited him in the shop but truly excited to spend the evening amongst old cars and family.
I swung open the large overhead door revealing the GTV sitting under a banner that read “Happy 60th Birthday!” Pop looked at the car, looked back at his entire family gathered together and then buried his face in his hands and wept. My family and I looked at each other nervously while the children excitedly chased each other around the shop. After a few long minutes Pop cleared his throat and quietly said, “It’s so beautiful”.
It was one of the greatest moments of my life. I have been looking for a way to show Pop my gratitude for a very long time.
Two years ago I spoke with my Mother about my Fathers upcoming 60th birthday and his retirement plans. They had recently talked about what he wanted to do to celebrate the end of a lifetime of working hard every day. He replied that he wanted to build and race a vintage race car, specifically he wanted a 1750 Alfa Romeo GTV and he wanted to build it at our shop here in Michigan. My mother wanted to make his dream a reality, so along with giving the whole idea her blessing she gave me a budget and told me to start looking for the perfect car to surprise him with on his 60th birthday. In the end, I didn’t find a run of the mill, tattered Alfa GTV. I found a 1971 GTV 1750, one of the most collectable GTV’s on the market. It was for sale right here in Grand Rapids, and I picked it up for a little less than we had discussed spending.
This June, we celebrated Pop’s 60th birthday with the entire Michele family, here in Michigan. We closed the shop early that day, and assembled with appetizers and birthday cheer on the patio. Everyone followed me down to the body shop, where I was supposedly headed to show off our latest restoration projects and new paint system. Pop was right at my heels, unaware of what awaited him in the shop but truly excited to spend the evening amongst old cars and family.
I swung open the large overhead door revealing the GTV sitting under a banner that read “Happy 60th Birthday!” Pop looked at the car, looked back at his entire family gathered together and then buried his face in his hands and wept. My family and I looked at each other nervously while the children excitedly chased each other around the shop. After a few long minutes Pop cleared his throat and quietly said, “It’s so beautiful”.
It was one of the greatest moments of my life. I have been looking for a way to show Pop my gratitude for a very long time.
