For most people, their car is much more than just a way to get around. People tend to become attached to their vehicle of choice, especially if they’ve put their hard-earned money into repairs and upgrades for it. Unfortunately, not everyone can afford their dream car, but that doesn’t always stand in the way of finding it.
For Kyle Cropsey of Lindenhurst, NY, cruising along the beach in a van big enough for everybody to come along sounded like the ideal ride. The only thing holding him back from getting it? He’d never actually seen the particular one that he wanted out on the road before, or anywhere for that matter.
Luckily for him, all of that changed one fateful day while he was out surfing the waves of Rockaway Beach.
Kyle always had a passion for cars, as well as for the fascinating culture surrounding the world of automobiles. Even though he was just a newly licensed driver at the age of 16, he already had his perfect ride in mind, and for him, that was Volkswagen Type 2. A mini-bus of sorts, with plenty of extra room in the back for boards and buddies. The only problem was that VW had stopped manufacturing them years ago.
Then, one day, it happened. Kyle was taking a quick break from the waves while surfing, when he suddenly looked up and spotted the car he’d always been looking for, right there in front of him in the parking lot!
Thinking fast, Kyle grabbed a piece of paper and quickly wrote down a note expressing his interest in purchasing the vehicle from the owner. He slipped it into the van through a gap in the window and then watched it fall onto the floor. He was aware that he’d probably never hear back from the owner even if they were to find his letter, but still, it was worth a shot at least. Before leaving that day, Kyle took a quick photo of himself standing next to what he considered to be the holy grail of automobiles.
Eight years went by, and all of Kyle’s efforts to acquire a Type 2 were still unsuccessful, so he eventually settled for a similar type of van. However, everybody knows that there’s nothing quite like the real thing.
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the country in Oakland, California, a man named Cris Mead was taking on the daunting task of getting all of his late father’s affairs in order. While searching through some books, Cris was surprised to find that a handwritten note was hidden inside of one of them.
It was the note that Kyle had slipped through the window of the Type 2 eight years prior! Cris’ immediately came to the conclusion that his father must have found the note, tucked it away inside of the book, and then simply forgotten about it.
He also realized that he now had a tough decision to make. The Type 2 was his father’s most prized possession, with him even going so far as to name it Matilda. Cris’ late father, Cornelius, had taken Matilda on many adventures in his time, and he eventually drove it so often that the odometer could no long track his mileage! How could Cris possibly let it go and sell it to someone else?
He eventually made up his mind, and he decided that a classic car that was in such good condition deserved to be out on the road again. Luckily for him, he already had the information of a potential buyer. But would Kyle’s phone number still be the same after all this time? Did he even want the van anymore?
Fortunately, Cris was actually able to contact Kyle, who was overjoyed at the possibility of finally owning his dream car. The van was a true classic, so Cris estimated that it could go for as much as $1,500 if sold to the right buyer. However, that was out of Kyle’s price range, with him only living on a modest teacher’s salary at the time. Would they be able to find a middle ground and strike a deal?
Cris eventually decided to forget the middle ground all together, and amazingly, he then offered the van to Kyle free of charge! In his heart, he knew that his father would want Matilda back out on the road again, as well as back into the hands of a proud owner.
To this day, Kyle is convinced that fate is the only possible explanation for how his dream car suddenly came back into his life after eight long years. He finally has all of the room he needs for surfing trips with his friends and countless other adventures.
Cris still remains in contact with Kyle so that he can keep a log of Matilda’s new travels out on the road. Kyle, inspired by Cris’ generosity, plans to pay the kindness forward to someone else in the future.
So was it fate? The stars aligning perfectly that day? Or do you think that it was something else all together?
Kyle Cropsey already has his mind made up.
