Vaughan & Kerstin Houger
Carnation, WA
1979 Corvette Coupe – “White on Red”
I can’t tell you how many times I have heard these words uttered from my husbands mouth over the last 28 years. Owning a Corvette has always been his dream but house payments and kids, one, two and three, all took priority in our younger days of married life. I would tease him saying only old men and drug dealers own Corvettes (no disrespect meant here!) So the comments would pass over his lips and out into the great void of wishes for his dream car.
Jumping forward to the present, you will find him during any non work/sleep hours ensconced in his office trying desperately to complete his dissertation, which will end 5 years of effort to earn a PhD in Organizational Leadership. The process for writing this magnum opus is grueling and at times discouraging. After submitting a 5th draft of the final two chapters and being rejected once again it became clear to me that he really need a boost. Something of a “reset” button to encourage him.
I talked to his friend Kim, who happens to be a Corvette owner, about getting Vaughan a Corvette for an early graduation present. I asked if I could find one in a specific price range and if he would be willing to help me find and select the car. I was very specific that I wanted to keep this a total secret.
Kim said I could totally count him in and he began looking for cars, making calls on ads and searching local listings. On a Wednesday he called me to say there was a car in the age range and price range we had agreed on. It was at Speedway Chevrolet in Monroe and he had talked to the salesman Joe as well as the previous owner who had recently traded it in. Kim felt it was a good option and we arranged to meet and take it for a drive. In the end the car was in terrific shape and I bought it for Vaughan.
Now to spring the surprise, Kim had to be there after all the help he provided. Plus all our kids wanted to be there so we agreed to meet at Olive Garden where I would present the car. Kim kept the car overnight at his house and at the appointed time everyone converged to watch proceedings. I wrapped the keys for the Corvette in a small box and presented it to Vaughan as we were entering the restaurant. I told him the box was a small token of my admiration for his dedication to school. He was perplexed by the whole thing but indulged me!
When he opened the box he said “Keys, what are these for?” I spun him around and said, “See that white Corvette over there? It’s yours!” You should have seen his face! The first words out of his mouth were “No Way!” And you should have seen his face when he sat himself down in the driver’s seat of his very own dream car. His expression was priceless, and oh my the grin, it was from ear to ear.
The car did the trick. Vaughan is working hard on yet another rewrite and vows to finish this PHD! Every time he takes the car out for a spin it give him the boost he needs to keep going. I own a debt of gratitude to Vaughan’s friend Kim for helping me and to Joe at Speedway for the professional service he offered in handling this purchase. I couldn’t be happier, and Vaughan’s still pinching himself just to make sure the 1979 Corvette in the garage really belongs to him.
