MSN_122018

18 | December 20, 2018 | Malibu surfside news sound off
malibusurfsidenews.com
Ride of the Week
Beloved, fire-damaged Ranchero finds new home at Murphy Auto Museum
Fireball Tim Lawrence
Contributing Columnist
Malibu resident
The Woolsey Fire left
many cars in ruin.
Literally hundreds
of them litter the ’Bu, and
many of them will head to
the scrap heap.
But when my friend
Thom Panunzio asked me
if there was anything we
could do with his 1957
Ford Ranchero, I had to
take a moment to contemplate.
This Ranchero was
in Panunzio’s hands for
many years and two days
before the fire started, it
was just completed. His todo
list was done. The next
stop for the car was my
Wheels and Waves show
here in Malibu.
This 1957 Ford Ranchero was one of many vehicles lost to the Woolsey Fire, but it now has a new life as a piece of history at the Murphy Auto
Museum. Ken Vela
But alas, the fires ripped
through the canyon and
destroyed his garage, cars
and all its contents.
So I made a call to my
friend David Neel at The
Malibu Newsstand
Murphy Auto Museum.
What if we could drag the
car out of the ash-littered
garage, take it to the museum
and put in on display
as a piece of history? And
25 Years in Business. #MalibuStrong
Thanks to all the brave emergency personnel
and volunteers, for their tireless work
protecting our beloved city.
It’s devastating to lose a
home, but most importantly
many lives were saved.
MALIBU IS
RESILIENT.
Malibu Newsstand 23717 ½Malibu Rd. in the ColonyShopping Center |310.456.1519 |Malibu.newsstand@gmail.com
to no shock at all, Neel
was immediately on board.
A few weeks later, I was
heading to Panunzio’s again
with my wife, Kathie, and
friend, Ken Vela, to grab the
car. We posted on Facebook
that we needed a trailer and
up popped Dennis Burnham
from Torrance. He had just
purchased a trailer and was
eager to help. We arrived at
the garage to find that the
car sat on its belly and was
in park. The only way to
get it out was to drag it. So,
we did.
It took four hours to get
the car on the bed — twice
as long as we expected.
We had to come back
the next day and drive it
from Malibu all the way
to Oxnard, ash flying out
the back. The dismount of
the ’57 was slightly easier
than getting it on the trailer,
albeit it falling a few times.
But once we got it cleared
using a forklift, we set her
down in a prime spot where
people could see her.
The Murphy is currently
closed for the holidays, but
will reopen in January if
you want to go up and get
a closer look.
But as we settled the
car in the space, Panunzio
called me to express
his gratitude that the car
that he once had truly
loved was going to have a
second life. This made me
very happy and gave me
perspective in regard to the
cars, homes and things that
people lost in this fire. The
attachments we had are not
about the things, but about
the feelings behind them.
The emotion that was
rattled in this year’s fire
was what truly shook
us. Most things can be
replaced and some things
can’t, but the feelings we
suffered from hit us to our
core. Many of us identify
ourselves with what we
have instead of who we
are. And it’s who we are
that truly defines us.
Loss of your possessions
is horrible. But loss
of yourself is worse. And
that can only happen if you
give up, which is something
Malibu will never
do — and that’s why I’m
grateful to be here with all
of you.
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tim.com.