A Pyrate’s Life for Me!

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Heather Heughens

 
December 9, 2010, Stop #20 – Dallas, TX – Hurricane Katrina rocked New Orleans, it rocked Louisiana, it rocked the United States … hell it rocked the world. So what do you do when life throws you a curve ball so big you lose literally everything? You do what self-respecting Americans have been doing for centuries – pick yourself up by your bootstraps and start over. That’s precisely what long time lovers and former New Orleans residents Donna Le Saicherre and Tim Jones did.

Self-described beach lovers, Donna and Tim were loving life in New Orleans. The French Quarter was awesome and the beach was never far. Both were loving their jobs and the life and home they created when tragedy struck. “We were used to the threat of hurricanes,” Donna said, “so when the warning came, we packed for one night, planning to return in the morning.”

Needless to say, by the time morning came, Donna and Tim had lost everything. Their home was ruined, their places of business and all of their possessions were gone to Katrina.

After spending a few weeks in Baton Rouge, living in a house with 16 other Katrina victims, Tim’s company offered him a job in Dallas. Shortly thereafter, Donna and Tim made the move, bringing with them what little they had and starting a new journey together.

Flash forward two years, and as life starts to come back together for the duo, Donna gets a commission check from work and makes a decision, “We’re getting you a new car!,” she told Tim. And off to the dealership they went.

Tim had been interested in the Chrysler 300, but upon arrival at the showroom he decided that a Dodge Charger more suited his style. And so, that’s what they drove home in. A white Charger SXT, to be exact.

Immediately after purchasing the Charger, Tim became very active on the forums. At first, Donna wasn’t interested. That was until she went to an event with Tim and saw the Dodge Challenger. Donna got the HEMI bug and found remedy in her own white Dodge Challenger R/T.

The modifications soon followed. Both cars now sport a black and white “Pyrate” theme (a nod to the duo’s love of the beach and the fact that they now consider themselves “land-locked pirates”). And, after trading his Charger SXT in for a Charger R/T, the pair is sporting His and Hers HEMIs! Custom “Wenchy” interior seating is the newest addition to Donna’s “ship.” “We put each other’s mods first, taking turns on who gets the next cool thing,” Tim said.

“These cars have been our ‘come-back’ presents to ourselves,” Donna said. Tim added, “They’re the Icons of our recovery.”

And so, the moral of this story is, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” And when life puts a couple of pirates miles from the ocean, pirates get a HEMI-powered ship, because there’s nothing in this world that a couple of HEMIs won’t fix.