Loftin
LOFTIN
GENEALOGY
LINE
Curtis
Dean
Loftin
(1953 - 20??)
Sam
William
Loftin
(1918 - 1979)
Alonzo
Lester
Loftin
(1876 - 1937)
William Alexander
Loftin
(1851 - 1939)
James
Franklin
Loftin
(1827 - 1864)
Thomas
Loftin
(1798 - 185?)
James
Loftin
(1768 - 1836)
John
Loftin
(1740 - 1793)
_______
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LOFTIN:
Beatty
Corzine
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Harwell
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SETZER:
Aderholdt
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Heavner
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Ikert
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Babst/Bobst
Douglas
Faber
Fink
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Miller
Muller
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Robinson
JOHNSON:
Corzine
Fink
Hamilton
Kaiser
Leslie
Lewis
Moore
Sherrill
Upright
Wilkinson
The Incredible "Miata" Story
I had a Honda Prelude before Beth and Philip started driving ... a red 1988 Honda Prelude. It was a "sporty" car and I loved driving it. When the kids started driving, I had to "share" my red Honda Prelude with them ... because it was automatic and Carolyn's Honda Civic was straight-drive. I shared it with Beth and eventually had to "share" it with Philip. Then he "totaled" it! I'm just thankful the accident didn't "total" Philip.
In the late 1990s I started noticing "sporty" cars again - and the Mazda Miata quickly became my favorite. Not only did I want a Miata, but I wanted a red Miata! I looked but never found what I wanted and the time never seemed to be right. The week after our first granddaughter, Savanna, was born in April 2000, I was having my oil changed in the white Mitshubishi Galant we had when I happened to notice a beautiful red Miata ... 1997 ... used .... good mileage ... good price ... sitting on the car lot. Before the day was over ... it was mine. I did take a lot of teasing from the other teachers at the school where I taught, teasing me about my "midlife crisis".
You should have seen Carolyn and me in the little red Miata. We'd go to the store just to pick up the least little thing, and visited people in Catawba County we hadn't seen in ages. And the best thing about it - it was a convertible - my first one! You really should have seen the two of us, 47-year-old, riding down the road with the top down in that red Miata. Carolyn loved having the wind blow through her hair ... and I ... well, I enjoyed it, too!
Carolyn, ready for a Springtime ride through the country
In July of that year, we had several severe hail storms in the area. One of them caused damage to the paint job on my little red car ... but not Mom's, Carolyn's, or Philip's cars. So, I had to have it repainted. Thank the Lord for Insurance!
In August, I had another INTERESTING experience in the red Miata. I had met Carolyn for dinner at J & S Cafeteria in Hickory ... it was a Friday night. She decided to go back to work for a while, and I headed home traveling east on I-40. I was driving my red Miata in the right lane when I noticed an 18-wheeler passing me in the left lane. The LARGE truck didn't seem to manage to get enough speed to get around me - I assume because of the incline of the land - so he pulled the big truck in behind me. As I glanced in my rear-view mirror, I thought "He's awful close to my rear!". Then suddenly, "Bump", he hit me from behind, and started "Push-h-h--h-ing" me, and my little red Miata, down Interstate 40! My first thought was ... "open up those pearly gates, Saint Peter! Here I come!" I honestly thought that was the end for me. My second thought was ... "I'll never get to see my family again ... and I just got that grand baby".
Well, I guess the Lord must have had His angels watching out for me. Suddenly I came to my senses and realized that I had to get out of the way of that truck. I "step-p-p-p-p-ped" on the gas and pulled away from him. He moved back over to the left lane, then passed me, but made no attempt to slow down or stop.
I had no cell phone at the time, so I drove home - a 10 minute drive - and called the DMV. I had to meet a Highway Patrolman back out where the accident happened. I told him what had happened and I also told him I knew the name of the company who owned the truck. I had slowed down enough to get that info from the side of the truck before he pulled away - and I also knew the truck number
Remarkably, damage to my car was really minimal, but it was really a wonder he didn't cause my little red Miata to flip over ... thus killing me ... dead! There was only a small 4-5 inch scratch on the bumper ... about $300 damage.
The DMV found the guy driving the truck and took his statement. This is "his" version of the story:
HE was driving down the road in the right hand lane, when another Truck Driver radioed him on the CB and warned him of a "crazy driver" in a little red Miata who was trying to pass everyone in the EMERGENCY lane ... you know, the pull off lane where you change your flat tire, etc. He said I had passed him, but he had no idea the two vehicles had made contact .... that's why he didn't stop!
I was furious, so I called the trucking company and talked to the manager, who told me the guy was 60+ and just before retiring. He said if what I said was true, he was surprised the big truck didn't flip my car and kill me. He recommended that I talk to the OWNER of the company ... the "brother-in-law" of "THE" trucker!!!! (You'd better not be sitting there laughing at my story, either!)
To make an already long story shorter - nothing ever came out of the conversation. The damage to the car was minimal, so I just paid to have it fixed myself, and praised God for his protection. That was August.
That's the end of the 18-wheeler story, but not the final part of the Miata story!
Toward the end of October, Beth and Savanna were spending the night (Saturday) with Carolyn and me, Brad and a friend had gone to Tennessee for a car race. About 4:30 A.M. Sunday morning, I was awakened by our monstrous dog (Simcha, our Chihuahua) barking. Carolyn said, "Curtis, there's someone at the front door.”
I turned the light on, barely cracked the front door and heard ... "this is your neighbor, Bob. Someone's tried to steal your little red Miata, and it's sitting in our yard!" I looked out the front door, and sure enough ... the car was gone ... and was in the neighbor's yard.
The passenger door was standing open, and the trunk was open. How did they get into the car? Was it locked? Sure - or at least it had been. There was a large hole in the canvas roof that had apparently been cut by a knife - which allowed entrance to the front of the car as well as the trunk.
Before we had gone to bed that night, I had left $100 worth of Sundrops, Dr. Peppers, and snacks for school in the trunk ... not wanting to unload them Friday night, then reload them Monday morning. They were gone ... at least the Sundrops and snacks. Beth & Brad laughingly said, "they must have been red-necks, they took the Sundrops and left the Dr. Peppers!"
From the July hailstorm, I had the car repainted. Because of this attempted theft, I had to have a new canvas roof, a new front bumper, and I thought ... "why not have the scratch on the rear bumper (from the 18-wheeler) fixed, too, while the red Miata is in the garage?" So I did!
I had purchased a used car, but the longer I owned the little red Miata the better and newer it looked. ...A New paint job on 1/2 of the car and a New convertible top.
So ... is that the end of the story? Not really. In 2005, during the winter - and just after an ice storm - I just "happened" to look out the window toward my little red Miata. There on his hind legs was a large dog - Collie, German Shepard, Mut mix - on his hind legs, licking the ice on my car ... and that's still not the end of the story. Apparently he was someone's pet, because he had a short chain attached to a collar around his neck - and what the chain did to the little red Miata wasn't pretty! Can you imagine me trying to explain that story to the insurance company?
Some of the damage on the bumper from the dog's chain
As a result of the damage this time, I had to have the entire car painted!
Like I said earlier, the car just continued to look better and better. I had spent several years looking for a hard top for the little red Miata, and finally found one on eBay in 2007 ... and it was red, too! Throw in some an alarm, a new roll-bar for my 50th birthday, and some larger tires and new wheels, and it's become the car that I have now!
Long story... I know ... but it's interesting! Right?
Curtis in the Miata, September 2007
After having the little red sports car for 13 years, I finally decided to sell it to my son-in-law, Brad Seese in 2013. I know my daughter, Beth, and granddaughters, Savanna & Ali, will enjoy the car, too. If you have additional photos of the Loftins with classic cars, please contact me.
