Tom:-
Don't let your experience discourage you. What you have really
discovered is that MG people, despite what might be said on this list and
the club newsletters ("I came for the cars and stayed for the people"
type things), are really no different than people anywhere. Some are
friendly, some are overly-friendly, some are cold, some are shy, some are
stupid, some are smart, some are helpful, some don't care, some are
selfish, some are boorish, some are princes, some are cads, some are
generous, some are talkative, some are quiet, some like young people,
some don't, some you'll like, some you won't (hey, that rhymes! I'm a
poet and didn't know it), some have a sense of humor, some don't. On
balance, most people take a little time to get to know you and to find
your interest is genuine, then watch out! You won't be able to shut them
up!
Unfortunately, most people don't understand this and expect everyone to
be nice all the time. Witness how quickly many people (including me)
make a judgement on whether they will do business with a company based
upon their experience with one individual out of many thousands of
employees.
Remember, all that these people have in common is their interest in
LBC's, and even the reasons for that interest vary like fingerprints.
Don't expect them all (or even many) to have a noble interest in
including everyone or preserving their hobby for future generations.
Most of them are too busy living their lives and doing this for fun to
take it all that seriously or to mount that kind of effort.
The best thing to do is assume-- assume you are welcome and you will be,
no one will throw you out unless you are a real jerk. Assume you are no
better or worse for your youth than anybody else, and you will be treated
accordingly. The young people that have been the most involved in our
club outings and such are the ones that don't wait for a special
invitation or pay attention to those that don't show them respect (I
think the term is "dis them" ;-)). Relish and seek out the company of
those like the T-type owner that are "good people" and avoid those that
aren't.
Keep the faith, no one will keep it for you.
(BTW, those that "dissed" you with the Texas license plates must have
been Yankee transplants-- oops, maybe I should have waited a couple of
months before I sent that! ;-))
David Littlefield
Houston, TX
On Tue, 22 Apr 1997 15:53:21 EDT thomas_pokrefke@juno.com writes:
>I often follow the practice, after I write an email, of re-reading it
>and deciding if the average reader could understand not only my humor,
>but the experience that I was attempting to relay. Such is the nature
>of our medium: that which needs to be emphasized often cannot be, and
>the reader is left to make their own conclusions.
>
>As a result of the limitations, I have sat on this letter for about 2
>months. I did not, and still do not, want to send it. Ultimately, I
>think that everyone on this forum needs to understand the implications
>and importance contained within. If nothing in this affects you, I am
>happy that you have achieved that level of humanity. Most of us,
>myself included, need to take notice.
>
>I attended the New Orleans British Car Show with high expectations. I
>was looking forward to the opportunity to meet other LBC owners and
>share stories. I parked my car in the parking lot, not in the show
>area, and made my way to the display. At the edge of the parking lot
>was an older gentleman with one of the T series MG's. I didn't
>realize it was his car, but when I walked up, I exclaimed that I had
>never seen one in person before. "Son", he said, "I saw you pull up.
>I think you deserve a seat." He opened the door and let me, dirty
>shoes and all, sit in his car.
>
>Taking that as a providential sign of good things to come, I made my
>way to the display. I tried to talk to the owner of a Sunbeam, but
>the owner was too busy wiping the dust off the engine. A gentleman
>with a Bugeye Sprite wouldn't answer answer my questions with anything
>more than a flat 'yes' or 'no'.
>
>One man, after watching me make my way down the row of E-Types, came
>over and showed me all the variations in each car. I recognized him
>as the owner of the T type. He hurriedly excused himself when an
>announcement was made over the PA.
>
>I spent a good deal of time looking at the MGB's. I saw a boy about 5
>years younger than me looking at a B up the line. By this time, I had
>already postulated what was going on, so I admired the car next to the
>one the boy was looking at.
>
>He was trying to ask the owner some questions about his carb (it was a
>Mikuni). The owner of the car was giving him the same disinterested
>answers that I had gotten from other owners. Then, the boy's father
>walks up and the owner begins to talk, in earnest, about the car with
>the boy's father. The boy would ask a question, and the owner would
>tell the answer to the boy's father, not the boy.
>
>As I left, I passed by the old man and his wife enjoying some shade.
>"Leaving already?" he asked.
>
>He did not seem to be surprised. I think he knew that I was viewed by
>many there as immature. I suppose my youthful looks indicated a
>predisposition to loud stereos, lowered suspensions, and other
>un-british qualities.
>
>The truth is, I could not care at all for those things. My top only
>goes up on the coldest of nights or the rainiest of days. I don't
>have an 800 watt stereo. I have no intention of modifying my MG from
>its original stature (witness my removal of the cruise control when I
>was berated by a friend for falling victim to modernization). Only
>one person there saw the real me: a 24 year old British Car
>enthusiast.
>
>Jim, I hope this catharsis did not offend you. I realize that New
>Orleans is your home town and you will fell a natural inclination to
>protect it: I understand. Allow me to say that the most offensive of
>characters sported liscense plates from either Arkansas or Texas. It
>was not the New Orleans crowd that had eschewed me.
>
>The next time someone says that the next generation will grow up to
>worship Miatas instead of MG needs to remember how we are treating the
>next generation.
>
>
>Thomas James Pokrefke, III
>1970 MGB
>thomas_pokrefke@juno.com
>http://ocean.st.usm.edu/~pokrefke
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