For many people, the memory of their first vehicle is something unforgettable. It represents a series of memories of the effort they had to make to obtain it. The hours of hard work, the savings, penny by penny, and the illusion of being able to sit behind the wheel and make your life more comfortable. For Brazilians, the Volkswagen Beetle is one of the most used and preferred cars by drivers, and for Orlindo Rodrigues, a 71-year-old retired cabinetmaker, who currently lives in Tapejara, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil , this is not the exception.
He owned one of these models in 1975, but had to sell it eight years later, in 1983, to set up his own carpentry. However, he never forgot this old vehicle which gave him so many satisfactions and moments of joy in the company of his wife and daughter. Then, to surprise him, his daughter from Connecticut, Gabi, decided to bring back her father’s former four-wheeled best friend.
She says she doesn’t remember the car clearly, but she’s always heard stories from him and her father. Orlindo has always expressed his desire to retrieve this red beetle. “I always heard the stories about the red beetle from my dad, so he was always a part of me. When he sold it, he made the person who bought it promise that if he wanted to sell it, he would give it to him. But that never happened,” Gabi said. In this way, the young woman insisted on searching until she found the owner to make him an offer she could not refuse.
However, the task was not easy at all. The current owner did not want to sell the Beetle under any circumstances. “We made several offers, but he did not accept. However, my husband and I did not give up,” she recalls. They finally managed to close the deal in early June last year. From the United States, Gabi contacted his cousin, Edsomar Franz, to help him complete the paperwork needed to restore the car. Upon receiving the car, Orlindo could not contain the emotion․ He hadn’t expected to see a surprise of this size.
But, also, as if that were not enough, the emotion was even greater when he finally reunited with his family after 22 long years. For her part, Gabi declined to reveal how much she spent to acquire and restore the Beetle. According to her, her father’s happiness is priceless. The reunion of his father and his dear bocho, 37 years later, was well worth every real. What an amazing gift and loving daughter, isn’t it? Definitely, there is no word or brush that can reflect the love that a son feels for his father.
