Oxford, AL – Neighbor’s kindness leads to more reliable ride for Oxford senior lineman as he works to restore classic car passed down from his late father
By Joe Medley
Jayden Beck won’t give up on restoring the blue, 1979 Monte Carlo passed down by his late father, through his grandparents, but a longtime neighbor’s act of kindness bought him time.
Until the rising senior lineman for Oxford High’s football team can YouTube and turn wrench enough to make his project a reality, he has a reliable white, 2019 Kia Soul to get him places.
“I like it, and I’m grateful,” he said. “It’s reliable. I don’t have to wake up early just to make sure I can get it running and make sure I can go where I need to go.”
Neighbor and Kia Store Anniston/Oxford chief financial officer Misty McCaig surprised Beck with his new ride Friday, at the dealership. It was a used car on the lot, approved by owner Don Hobden after McCaig struggled to find a car that fit specs and price.
The act of kindness surprised Oxford’s coaches, who were called to the dealership for reasons unknown after breaking up a staff meeting. Oxford head coach Sam Adams called it “really cool.”
“Jayden is just a fantastic kid,” Adams said. “Super hard worker, always super respectful, yes sir, no sir, always where he’s supposed to be. Just a great kid.”
McCaig and Beck first met when Beck’s family moved into their subdivision. McCaig estimates Beck was 8 or 9 at the time.
A frequent walker/jogger, McCaig quickly acquired a buddy.
“He would be riding his bike, and he introduced himself: ‘Hey! I’m Jayden!’” McCaig said. “It’s one of those things where, when a kid’s that friendly or that social, they stick with you.
“I’ve just watched him grow up. When he got to be a teenager, it didn’t matter. He’d still wave at me and say hey, or whatever. Just a very polite young man.”
When the Monte Carlo first showed up at Beck’s house, McCaig assumed it was a “fixer-upper.” She could tell the car had bent axles because wheels were bent in.
The car once belonged to Beck’s father, who died in 2020. Beck said he was “very proud” to have it when he got it.
“I’ve always liked that car since I was little,” he said. “I didn’t want to go nowhere unless I was in it.”
Beck proudly says he “got it running,” such that it was. Like a lineman with a nagging hamstring injury, it was day-to-day.
“It was, like, on and off, not very reliable,” he said.
McCaig monitored the Monte Carlo’s flickering progress from down the street and hatched the idea to help. She approached her boss about it.
“I didn’t feel like that was a safe vehicle for him to drive,” she said. “I said, I’m not trying to judge the situation by no means, but at the same time, there’s something that I want to do about it.”
Working in the car business, she started researching possibilities she could afford, something in the $2,000 range.
“I’d keep looking, and every time I asked the guys, nothing would pan out,” she said.
The best possibility on a list of possible cars was a white Kia Soul with 124,000 miles. It cost more than McCaig hoped, but Hobden stepped in.
“Mr. Hobden said, ‘Here’s the car I want to give him, so let’s do this,’” McCaig said. “‘I can tell this means something to you, so let’s do this.’”
Beck had no clue until McCaig knocked on his door and invited him to the dealership for a surprise. His coaches got the call to come, too.
McCaig and Beck emerged from inside the dealership to the crowd assembled outside. There sat his new ride, complete with white and gold helium-filled balloons tied to the passenger-side mirror.
“It kind of came out of nowhere,” Beck said. “My mom was really blanked. I was shocked. I didn’t believe it was real.”
Life’s break comes as Beck stands ready to make his break into Oxford’s regular playing rotation this season, Adams said.
As for the Monte Carlo, Beck still feels an attachment, with a touch of vendetta.
“I still plan on keeping it and working on it, trying to get it fully restored,” he said.
