My blog n'at

You’re reading that right. I won a 2009 45th Anniversary red Ford Mustang. Every year the parish I belonged to in Erie gives away a new car to the person with the lucky raffle ticket and this year it was in my pocket. Kinda.  Since I moved to Pittsburgh in 1998 I haven’t had many chances to return for the festival because of obligations in town so Mom will buy tickets for myself, my brother and all of our kids. The running joke with many of us from the parish is that it is never anyone young or local who wins the car so I’m proud to be the one to end that tradition. Well the never young at least.

My phone rang Sunday night around 10:20pm with a frantic mom on the phone. I forgot that the festival was going on and thought something serious had just happened.  Here is how the call went:

Mom: Douglas, are you sitting down? (great way to start a call eh?)
Douglas: ummmmm yeah. what’s wrong
M: You will NOT believe who won the car
D: Don’t really care but who? I’m watching TV.
M: IT WAS YOU!!!
D: STFU! I did not! No one ever wins that thing!
M: You did and you need to come to Erie and get it!
D: OK but mom… what car is it? (Seriously, I didn’t even know what car it was this year)
M: 2009 Mustang!  Here talk to Bill (member from the church). He’ll give you the details.

From there the dream quickly began to change. I had the choice for $10,000 or the car. The catch, the Mustang is a coupe and has NO room for a baby seat. There I sat speechless, father of a 5 month old and in dire need of a new family car. I would call Bill back in the morning and tell him my decision. Before I was even off the phone Facebook and Twitter was already buzzing from people at the festival announcing I was the winner. Calls and txt messages started coming in faster than when Teaspoon was born.

I can already sense everyone reading this going “oh no…”

After much debating, calming down and thinking logically we had made the decision. We have to trade in the car. If I this was even 1.5 years ago it would be a no brainer to keep the car (even store it) but the responsible father in me says “trade it in and get something for the family” and that’s what we did. We have 2 cars already with high mileage that we dumped a good chunk of change into this summer (nice when you’re laid off, huh) so we thought this was the sign.

This past Monday I drove up to the dealership with Lushie, told them I was trading in the car and needed to find something new. We spent the next few hours car shopping and test driving before we settled on a vehicle. (Now I’m not telling you what we’re getting cuz I know you crazy ass stalkers will get all “OMG! it’s spoon’s car! Hurry up get a picture and add it to our shrine because we crazy ass”. Yeah I don’t need that.) We would trade in the Mustang and one of our cars, which we owed on, for a new ride. Now it will be a couple weeks for the title transfer but until then its sit and wait as I know the anticipation will kill me. The way we saw it was “We got rid of the old high mileage car which we owed on for a newer vehicle and long kickass warranty and no car payments.” Besides, I won a car!

While it’s bittersweet to make this trade I did have to laugh at this fact. My dad worked that car booth at the festival for over 30 years and was the voice of the festival which could be heard for up to 5 blocks away. Now 3 years after he passed, his son wins the car.