Norm & Karen Nichols

2003 THUNDERBIRD

     In the Spring of 2021 I was diagnosed with high risk stage three colon cancer. After surgery I started chemo in August. In November I was looking on the web at my dream cars and I found this beautiful 2003 T Bird for sale locally. At that moment my wife came in telling me how much money we had to take out of our IRA, it just happened to be the same amount as they were asking for the Bird. The next day we were at my sons place and I showed my daughter in-law the ad. She immediately said to my son “go with your dad and buy this car”. After some negotiating I was the proud owner of a 2003 whisper white T Bird with 42,000 miles. After getting it home I started reading all the comments on the web about all the problems they have, and I thought “what have I done”.
     We drove the car to church the following Sunday and one of the members who works for a movie producing co. looked at the car and said he was looking for a car like that for an upcoming movie. In January I took the bird for a ride to Watertown on a cold winter day for the 1st. day of filming of the movie Stand in The Gap. It snowed that night so I took her out on the slippery roads to Ft. Atkinson for the 2nd. Day of filming. After getting her home she went to sleep till spring.
     In November we joined other members to see the premier showing of Stand in The Gap at the Fireside Theater. Birdy had a small part in two scenes. also in Jan. I was given a clean bill of health by the cancer Doctor.
I joined the Vintage Thunderbird club International in Nov. of 2021 and joined the Classic Thunderbird Club of Wisconsin in Jan. 2022. During the 2022 season we joined in on 20 Cruises and outings planed by CTCW. We have thoroughly enjoyed the car and the club activities. We have met many new friends. We put about 3,400 miles on the bird and the only problem was a burned out taillight.
In October I was honored to be nominated and elected to serve as the vice president of CTCW.
Looking foreword to a fun filled 2023 season