Bill Royal’s Birthday Surprise
Bill Royal has been fortunate in life, he’s 80 years young, has his family, his wife of 46 years and a lot of special memories.
One of these memories was of his Nightwatch Blue 1965 Pontiac GTO. The 389, tri-power, 4-speed goat had air conditioning, power steering and power brakes. It was the most fun car he’s ever owned in his life. He and Charlene had many good times in the car but Bill’s heavy foot, and the “need for speed” created a lot of revenue for the local municipality, more than he could afford, so the GTO had to find a new home.
His family heard this story many times and they knew what the car meant to him. When he sold it, it was like losing a best friend. Fast forward to March 16th, 2012.
Mike Bowler, Bill’s son-in-law, had an idea, a thought about giving Bill another opportunity to enjoy a trip down memory lane. Mike contacted the Cactus GTO Club in Phoenix, AZ to see if there might be someone in the club who would be interested in helping Bill celebrate his 80th birthday. Mike thought if he could get someone to bring over a 65’ GTO it would be a great surprise.
Mark Neumann put out memo to all of the members to see if anyone might be interested in stepping up to help out. Since Bill lived in Sun City West and I lived in NW Peoria, we were practically neighbors, so I volunteered.
Mike and I started having some dialog online figuring out the dates and times that would work for both of us. We locked in on Sunday, March 18th. The idea was for me to drive to Sun City and pull up out front of Bill’s home, knock on the door and ask for some help or directions. Mike and Bill would come outside (with the rest of the family) and watch Bill’s eyes light up at the sight of another 65’ GTO sitting in his driveway.
Well, Mother Nature had other ideas. A cold front was moving in, the temperature was going to drop 25 degrees and rain was forecast for all day Sunday, not the prime time for taking a ride or for photo opportunities either. Since the family was scheduled to go to Sedona and spend the night on Friday, Mike and I coordinated a time on Saturday afternoon before the weather came in to surprise Bill.
Everything went smoothly. I was there 20 minutes early when Bill and the family pulled up. We exchanged greetings and allowed Bill to go back in time, to go back 40 plus years, when the Goat in the driveway was his. He looked at the car like it was a long lost friend, asking questions, running his hand over the paint, even lifting the hood to reveal the 389 cu. inch, tri-power engine. The expression was priceless.
His son-in-law brought out some old pictures of Bill’s Goat and of Bill and Charlene before they got married. For those of us old enough, it was very interesting looking at the 3”x 3” Kodak prints with the white border, not to mention the way we dressed back then. By the way, nice sweater Bill.
It was time to take pictures so I invited Bill to get behind the wheel. He slid into the driver’s seat and his smile went from ear to ear, his eyes were looking everywhere and as his hands touched the steering wheel you could see the memories coming back, almost as if it was a reunion of best friends.
I had originally told Mike that I’d be glad to take Bill for a ride, but seeing him sit behind the wheel, I asked him if he still had a driver’s license, he said he did, so I handed him the keys and said “would you like to take it for a ride?” His eyes lit up, and while he said he hadn’t driven a stick shift since his GTO days, he didn’t get out of the driver’s seat either. So I got into the passenger seat, we buckled up, and he started the engine.
The engine fired, and he gingerly put the clutch in, released the parking brake and backed out of the driveway. His family stood by, telling him how good he looked behind the wheel, as they offered encouragement. We slowly pulled away and spent the next 15 minutes or so cruising through Sun City. It didn’t make any difference that we didn’t go over 35 – 40 mph, it was all about the feel, the smell, the noise, that made this day worthwhile, for him and for me.
We returned to his home, pulled in the driveway and took more photos. I gave him a couple of club items, a GTO keychain to remind him of the day as well as one of our old 2011 Cactus GTO Calendars. While the calendar is out of date, it had nice pictures of all the GTO years represented from 1964-1974, plus a new generation 2004.
While I hope this day brings back special memories for Bill and Charlene, I have to admit it was special for me as well. We all love our cars and giving them up would really be a tough thing to do. They are our hobby, our passion, and in a lot of instances our life.
Thanks Bill for allowing me to share in your special day. Here's a link to the pictures.
Denny Deal
Cactus GTO Club
Phoenix, AZ |
