A Father and Son

The other day at work at shiny Granite grey Ram 2500 pickup drove up, parked. A full Crew cab model, when the doors opened a handsome, muscular Hispanic guy in his 30's hopped out, with him his pretty wife and two kids, a little dark eyed girl of 10 or so and a small shy boy around six. On the door was the name of his business, Hernandez and Son Masonry Contractors.

I walked over to him, introduced myself and he told me it was time to give himself a reward. He wanted to look at a Challenger SRT. His first question he needed answered was would he fit inside. I walked with the family up on the veranda of our store. We have a black SRT, with suede and leather Recaro style interior. I went in the store and got the keys, unlocked the car and started it up to turn the AC on full blast to cool it down.

The SRT has a 448 hp, 392 Hemi V8 and comes with a nasty set of pipes. When it started it barked. The wife and daughter jumped back. Hernandez and his little boy got huge grins on their faces. I got out and lowered the seat and put it back as far as it would go. Hernandez got in the car. He fit. I stood back and watched him. He hit the gas pedal, the SRT snarled. His wife rolled her eyes. His son climbed on his lap with a huge grin on his face.

They are coming back on Friday. I'm assuming they'll arrive after a long and difficult family discussion. If Hernandez prevails, he and his son will bond even more than they already have and the SRT will be the beginning of a new phase in their father-son relationship that will last a lifetime for the two of them.

I can imagine the black SRT, in perfect condition 40 years from now and Hernandez the son saying, "I remember being with my father the day he bought this car..."

I love being part of moments like this.