Surprise gift left dad ‘speechless’
Bayou Gauche natives Coby and David Orgeron had long planned on giving their father a gift he would never forget. Consider that mission accomplished, and they made sure their presentation matched the occasion.
The idea of a “dream car” is not an uncommon thought shared among the people of the world. Everyone seems to have one in mind, though few have the means to specifically nail it down — close, perhaps, but ultimately a compromise is reached somewhere along the way.
For the Orgeron brothers, the apple of their father’s eye was no secret: his ideal was a 1966 Ford Mustang, ever since a friend of his had a 66 Mustang growing up.
“I had a ’62 Chevy and loved it, but that Mustang always stood out to me,” said David Orgeron Sr. “I always wanted one but couldn’t afford it.”
Coby said David Sr. has never hid his enthusiasm for the classic style Mustang.
“Anytime we were driving somewhere and we saw one on the side of the road, he’d freak out and always pull over to look at it,” Coby said.
The brothers asked David Sr. his ideal color (greenish-blue) and model year —“We had him Google it and everything to show us exactly what it would be,” Coby said. A little over a year ago, the brothers decided to try to turn their father’s dream into reality.
“We were probably looking for an entire year,” Coby said. “We would find kind of what he wanted here and there, but never pulled the trigger. Randomly, one day, we found one that was perfect and kind of convinced one another we should do this.”
They found the car for sale listed on Craigslist and ventured to Baton Rouge to make the deal.
All that was left was to surprise David Sr. [pullquote] “When we were kids, he did everything for us … we just knew we wanted to do something like this for him, one day, if we could.” – Coby Orgeron[/pullquote]
They parked the car outside a car restoration store so it would blend in with the other vehicles. Upon asking a store worker if they could park the Mustang there, they found he was a willing volunteer to enhance the moment.
“He wanted to play along with it,” said Coby. “He acted as if he were a guy looking to sell the car. It was kind of an improv thing and he did a great job with it.”
David Jr. was in from California, while he and Coby’s sister and her children were also there to see everything unfold. The family was heading to have a meal together when David Sr. saw his dream car.
“He had no idea,” Coby said. “The guy tried to get him to test drive it, and he was saying ‘no, we’ve gonna go eat, I’m not looking to buy anything right now.’
“Then my brother told him, ‘It’s yours.’”
David Sr. was speechless.
“He couldn’t get words out. He didn’t know what to say,” Coby said.
David Sr. concurred, noting he was absolutely floored.
“I didn’t believe it,” he said. “That’s the kind of kids I have. I believed it afterwards because it came from them, but it’s just unbelievable for someone to give you something like this.”
Not only was the make, model and color exactly what he’d always wanted, but the condition was pristine.
“Even the ones I could have afforded, I don’t know if I could have got them to look like this,” he said.
Coby said that he and his brother wanted to show appreciation to their father for all the things he’s done for them in their lives.
“He always put us first,” Coby said. “When we were kids, he did everything for us. Sports, bringing us to practices and games … we just knew we wanted to do something like this for him, one day, if we could.”
Coby said his father’s reaction was worth it, and then some.
“It was one of the best moments ever,” he said. “For the entire family to experience it together, it was just awesome.”
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