So it’s Father’s Day again this weekend and for the first time in my life, my dad actually told me his wish list of gifts.
The first set was easily doable, asking mostly for a variety of gadgets and accessories for his iPad2. It’s amazing how a 60-something can learn how to master such a technologically advanced gadget. For someone who is a technophobe, it shows that through sheer determination, anything is possible. So keyboard-dock-charger and a man-purse that can store his beloved iPad2, mobile phones and wallet are my gifts for him on Father’s Day.
His next set of wish list is much more complicated and at this point in my life, downright impossible. My dad is a frugal person, very practical and no-nonsense. He appreciates and respects the finer things in life, but he will never spend on such things, especially for himself. That’s how he is I guess. Makes me wonder where I got my particular set of traits?
So as always, we were talking about the newest latest fastest and most luxurious cars over the past weekend. While I prefer to dream about owning the latest track-oriented performance cars such as the Porsche 911 GT3 RS mk3 with the new 4.0 liter flat-six engine, my dad was swooning over the latest Audi A8 and Mercedes-Benz S-class. He loves these big luxo-barges, perhaps because in his youth, right after the last world war, the Philippines still heavily influenced by America, he’d see a lot of the big Buicks and Cadillacs driven by the elite during the ’50s and ’60s and probably left an indelible impression, a dream to aspire for, a goal to achieve. Later on, the Mercedes-Benz sedans driven by the new and affluent class of Manila after the end of Martial Law reminded him of his desire to own a luxo-barge. Many years later, these thoughts and images are like vague flashbacks which pop into his very busy mind as soon as he stops working and starts relaxing.
But they say the memory of yesterday is always sweeter than it actually ever was and so my Dad can’t bring himself to buy a fancy car now. The harsh memories of the Asian financial crisis of 1997 are still fresh in my Dad’s mind, so now that he’s older and wiser than from 14 years ago, prudence, temperance and fortitude weigh heavily on his conscience and his mind. Thank goodness for that as there’s only room for one high impulsive, shoot-from-the-hips member in each family which happens to be me in our household.
But that’s how I am, and that, thankfully is how my dad is. Our inherent differences have helped us to live much more fully, vicariously through each other, complementing each other’s thoughts. My dad saves, and I spend his money as my mom likes to joke. Seriously, whenever I bring home a test-unit, my dad’s eyes light up like a child’s on Christmas morning, excited to be driven around in whatever it is I have for the weekend, more so if it’s from a luxury brand like Audi, BMW, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche. I look at the overall driving feel and dynamics in the car, and my dad comments on the space, refinement, ease-of-use and overall comfort, things I’m too busy to notice as I’m spearing down every deserted stretch of road I find, eyes straight ahead, foot flat to the floor and mouth dry from excitement/fear at the daunting task of extracting as much as my skills permit out of a car.
So now I have a new goal in my life. Maybe it won’t come into fruition this year, or next, or perhaps not for another 10-20 years. Hopefully my dad will still be around as he lives a very healthy lifestyle, has no vices and has finally learned how to relax. I hope one day that I can be the one to buy him a nice, fancy car or two. But it has to be both refined and super-fast; rather stately on the road, but a real tarmac terrorist as well. An Audi RS / BMW M or Mercedes AMG will hopefully be in the cards in our future. How much is the lotto grand prize nowadays?