Since I am still on the south side of 40 (although within spitting
distance), I don't think that I can be classified as an old fart. However,
I am also definately not a youngster, either. As others have said, people
come in all differant shades of freindliness. It has been my experience
that LBC people tend towards the freindlier side, however.
Now that I have the MGA, I am amazed by the reaction that it produces among
the very young. My two kids are in grade school and yesterday I had took
one to school in the A and picked up the other. Lots of the kids shouted
"nice car" and gave me the thumbs up or other unfamiliar hand gestures that
I chose to interpret as positive. Older kids are too worried about their
image to react but you can see them watch and point.
If I look back, I first developed a passion for cars in grade school. The
cars I want now are the ones that I wanted then. How can the younger
generation develop a passion for LBC's if they never see them? You see, it
is almost a public service to drive your cars! If you don't, this
generation will grow up wanting Cor**ttes and Po**ches. It's up to us! A
word of caution, though. Old geezers cruising the streets next to grade
schools tend to attract other types of less positive attention these days,
no matter what they drive :)
One result of this youthful fascination with the A is that I am constantly
bombarded by questions or stories of other people who have LBC's. I know
that these are perfect opportunities to fan the LBC flames in these budding
enthusiasts but it usually happens when I am on my way somewheres. I try
to be considerate but I can't spend all day talking about the car when I
have to pick up my daughter in 3 minutes. You younger folks have to
realize that, as you get older, you try to fit more stuff into less time
and sometimes just don't have the luxury of time to spend shooting the
breeze. Besides that, I get more easily distracted as I get older and if I
stop to talk about my car, I may very well forget to pick my daughter up
completely!
Now that I go back and read what I just wrote, it sounds like I am making
excuses for my being a jerk. I guess I owned that Cor**tte too long. I
promise to be more considerate in the future.
Regards,
Bill Eastman
61 MGA preferred 5 to 1 over Jap cars by grade schoolers
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