It's Valentines Day. My Facebook newsfeed is full of photos of engagement rings, red roses, champagne, and heart shaped chocolates. If you follow my Miss Mopar page, I can promise that amidst the lovey-dovey pictures of couple with captions expressing their love on your newsfeed, you will see a picture of me and The Little Black Dress. Why? Because as we celebrate love, there is nothing worth mentioning more, to me at least, than my 1972 Dodge Charger.
My friends and sisters will see my post, laugh, and then list names of eligible bachelors with multiple traits checking off key points on my list of characteristics held by "the perfect man". My grandmom will joke that she hopes to live long enough to see me get married and someone will likely advise that I "cut back on the car posts" to stop intimidating the men I've dated. After all of that, and after receiving a bunch of texts starting with "so-and-so told me to text you, they said we might hit it off", I'll wander out to the garage with my dad and find some Mopar to tinker on.
It's been my experience that it takes more to power a Mopar than a V8 and some gasoline. It takes love. Love for the hobby, love for the car, love for the manicurist that fixes all of my finger nails that the restoration claims. Right now, I am in a place in my life where I find contentment in fixing old Dodges. I find my self worth when they fire up for the first time. I find my fulfillment when I cruise down open roads, the rumble of the engine providing the soundtrack to my own personal RomCom. I've tweeted this many times and I still believe it to be true- "I will know love when I look at a man and feel what I feel when I looked at the Little Black Dress."
Now, to be clear- my Dodge and I don't share the type of romantic love that Valentines Day is meant to represent, obviously. But, the idea of this post is that I've never needed validation in the form of flowers or chocolates...I get it in the form of my Mopar. And for right now, though I often claim to be "an aspiring housewife," I prefer it that way. So to those alone today, and even to those celebrating with significant others, we dedicate time and patience and love to our hobby of automotive restorations, why not celebrate that as well! Love is something that most people spend their whole life chasing, but this year...I'm gonna drive it. I'm gonna slip behind the wheel of The LBD, smile as the aroma of carbureted exhaust fumes embrace me like open arms...and drive. Like always, my heart will feel full.
I wish all my sweethearts who follow along with my page, and their Mopars, a very Happy Valentines Day! 💞
hi Miss Mopar good words like your carit has a good owner a nice young lady that know how to take care of her car yu have a good valen tines day
ReplyDeleteIt would be awesome to live somewhere to take my 33 Mopar hot rod out for a V-day cruise. :)
ReplyDeleteIt would be awesome to live somewhere to take my 33 Mopar hot rod out for a V-day cruise. :)
ReplyDeletea very happy valentines day to you , you post above says it all I am a dodge boy to the bone, I have had a 57, 59 plymouths 64 dodge station wagon 3 omnis 3 direct connection rampages,I went to greenville south carolina came home with a red 66 plymouth sport fury 2 door hardtop 383, 4 speed 321 gears traded one of the rampages even for a 68 imperial lebaron ermine white with blue leather guts, lately I have had 3 neons a 08 dodge avenger, then a 13 dart rallye turbo with the dual clutch auto, now I have a 14 chrysler 200 limited in pewter grey, and the love of my life a 97 dodge dakota reg cab short box 318 v8 5 speed stick no air, hd everything and!! the best part she is magenta in colour, I ordered it in oct 96 and did not get it to easter weekend 97! was told momma mopar would"nt build it till the had 7 sold orders to run them through the paint shop together, my baby is a whole lot rarer than r/t dakotas all day long o yea its a 2 wheel drive too 3 rd gear at 25 hundred rpm nets you 95 miles per hour! be good love your posts jerry from newbrunswick canada eh!! bye
ReplyDeleteI know how you feel, too. I just picked up a 1972 Dodge Charger, no trans, but I'm really excited to get this project started and have big plans for it. I love your excitement for working on these beautiful cars. I can't wait to finally be on the road with mine.
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