BOERNE MAN USES PASSIONATE PINK MUSTANG
On special occasions, Boerne’s Sam McGee throws open a garage door, slips into the 1968 passionate-pink Mustang and takes her out for a spin.
“The car is a ‘one of one,” McGee said, one of just seven Mustangs made special for Valentines Day in 1968. “But this is the only one with a black and white checkered top, making it a ‘one of one.’” McGee never knew his grandmother, Eva McGee. She died of suicide in 1973, two years before Sam was born to her son, Mike McGee. Her ownership of such a one-of-a-kind vehicle — and her absence from his life — makes the reacquisition of the car all the more special.
Shortly after Eva’s death, the car was sold to a family in Kansas, where the McGees lived. It was
Flinn: ‘Take a moment, make a difference’ Page 4 Critical Mental Health Awareness numbers Page 4 not until 2022 that McGee was able to finally “seal the deal” that brought the Mustang back into his family.
“She died of suicide in 1973, and now ... we use the car as a platform to raise awareness for the destigmatization of mental health and asking for help,” he said.
Eva was in her mid-40s when she died, about the same age McGee was when he reacquired the car.
“As an analogy ... this car is a ‘One of one,’” he said. “My grandmother was a ‘one of one.’You’re a ‘one of one,’ I’m a one of one.’” McGee, owner and CEO of Crestmont Private Wealth, is also a Boerne volunteer firefighter and Hill Country Family Services board member.
On this particular morning, McGee posed with three Kendall County mental health specialists to talk about the car, his grandmother and Kendall County mental health response with may being National Mental Health Awareness Month.
“When we drive this car around and show it, the message is, ‘You’re a one of one, too,” he repeated. “So, reach out for help if you need it, recognize the warning signs of people when they’re in crisis.”
He said he enjoys using the car and several placards to share Eva’s story, to use her story “in a positive way to shed light on darkness, on an otherwise dark subject.”
Dealing with mental health illness is a new target in many communities across the country. Dealing with suicide and depression in the 1970s, he says, was nearly unheard of.
“But I think the stigma still exists today,” he said. “It’s getting better; it’s OK to talk about mental health. But it’s usually just not something that comes up in conversation.”
“The more we can make talking about mental health a normal part of our daily lives — like we talk about going to the gym, or the health food we eat — I think the better off we’re going to be,” he said.
Bryce Boddie, senior director of behavioral health for Hill Country Family Services, said listening and being a friend are essential for someone in the throes of depression or suicidal tendency.
“The amount of time you stay in crisis depends on how many healthy inputs you have before that happens,” Boddie said. “The shorter amount of time we can stay in that, means that we’re getting more help here in Kendall County to help those folks get out of that crisis, and find the help that they need.”
Listening, he said, is the most important thing to do. Not letting anxiety, depression or thoughts of suicide be “the norm” is impactful.
A friend is the best link that person has — “to get them out of bed, to notice it, to realize it, to listen, to not be scared to ask the questions, ‘Are you depressed? Are you OK? Are you having thoughts of suicide?’” Boddie said.
“That friend is the No. 1 resource right there, because they care enough to notice in the first place.”
Anyone struggling with suicide or suicidal thoughts can call 988, Boddie said.
“988 is a great resource, the National Suicide Hotline. You can call it, text it, or go with a friend to call for them,” he said. “I can tell you from personal experience here in Boerne, we’ve had people call 988 and 988 called (Boerne) dispatch and called us to come out and help those individuals, to get them the help they need when they are a danger to themselves.”
When McGee takes the Mustang for a spin, he said he feels closer to the grandmother he never knew.
“It’s kind of a way for me to identify with her,” he said. “This car is kind of a living tribute to her, and I use her story in a positive way to hopefully have more people know about ‘Dial 988’ and have more people know about the tremendous resources we have in Kendall County for mental health.”
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