I was fortunate to have a
pleasant weekend, with a
variety of list members, as
well as looking for some old
car parts.
Wednesday had me preparing the
Impala, and display driver,
for the trip to be sold.
Thursday, I headed up to north
Fort Worth, to meet up with
Bruce Lowry, and his friend
Shane. I met up with them a
bit later than expected, as
rain had slowed Bruce down to
a crawl through Dallas. I
parked the Impala next to
their spaces, and installed my
dummy driver, Gene Simmons. I
had found a mask of him at a
flea market 3 weeks earlier,
and thought it would be a
grand idea to put a torso with
his head on it behind the
wheel. The response was
amazing, Shane said it creeped
him out, and countless others
smiled, laughed, pointed, or
if close enough before
noticing it, screamed. I can
send a photo to anyone that
terribly interested in how
real it looked.
Friday morning, Mike Graziano,
Texas' newest list transfer,
arrives at my door. We packed
a few items, and hit the road.
Mike said he was used to
walking a round of golf, but
sometimes was a bit tired
after 18 holes. He was
surprised at the size of this
swap meet. Mike, we DID see it
all. I found this out Saturday
with Fisher. Anyone on the
list who has yet to meet Mike,
he is a great guy. He spent a
bit of time chatting with my
daughter about his travels in
Europe. He was a big hit with
my dog, as he left behind a
few slices of honey baked ham.
Dutchess says you can do that
again any time!!! Martha
thought he was very nice, as
did I. I appreciated him
taking a chance and traveling
up to the "snakeman's" home,
and being even braver and
staying the night. I brought
the Impala home that evening,
as they were calling for
severe weather up at the
speedway. Bruce had shared
stories of past years and 70
mph gusts of straight-line
winds. The decision was made
when he told of a man using a
transmission as a weight to
hold his tarp down, and the
wind caught his tarp just
right, and trebuched
(catapulted) the transmission
over several rows. Elizabeth
and Fisher Jones with their
grandson Devin showed up that
evening. They had also been
delayed by the storm on their
way up. I was glad to see them
arrive safely. Mike G. was
introduced, and conversation
carried on into the eve.
Saturday, up for breakfast,
and Mike packed to head home.
E and Martha stayed in town,
while Fisher and I headed back
up to the swap meet around 1
pm. We left late to allow the
rain to subside, and on
arrival, found many vendors
packing up and heading home.
We found a few things here and
there, but most of the
bargains were gone. After a
few hours, we headed home and
spent most of it round the
house talking.
Sunday, we packed the truck
for E and Fisher, and they
headed home. It was a busy,
but very enjoyable weekend. I
hope others get the
opportunity to meet these
wonderful folks.
Brad
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