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The
Incredible "Miata" Story |
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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. |
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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". |
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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! |
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Carolyn, ready for a Springtime ride through the country |
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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! |
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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". |
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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. |
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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 |
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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. |
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The DMV found the guy driving
the truck and took his statement. This is "his" version of
the story: |
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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! |
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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!) |
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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. |
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That's the end of the 18-wheeler story, but
not the final part of the Miata story! |
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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.” |
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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. |
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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. |
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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!" |
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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! |
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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. |
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So ... is that the end of the
story? Not really. |
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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? |
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Some of the damage
on the bumper from the dog's chain |
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As a result of the damage this time, I had to
have the entire car painted! |
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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! |
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Long story... I know ... but
it's interesting! Right? |
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Curtis in the Miata, September 2007 |
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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. |
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If you have additional photos of the Loftins
with classic cars, please contact me. |
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