Over the last few days, I've had to ship off a fair number of digests,
as this list has really been vociferous this week. And a lot of the
chatter has been about The Roadster Factory, parts suppliers in general,
fermented barley beverages and on rare occasions, a message actually about
Triumphs. Well, maybe just Heralds!
I certainly won't claim to have read them all in detail, I've just gotten
an idea of the general tone of things while trying to edit the digests
down to a reasonable size. So I may actually say something that is totally
wrong and completely irrelevent, but the fear of sending off some stupid
email has never stopped me in the past!
First off, for those of you who feel that TRF is making itself too well known
on the list, keep in mind that all I've seen from TRF themselves has been in
response to questions and concerns that were originally brought up by list
members. If you really think that someone should not be able to respond in
the same forum in which they are discussed, I'd say at the very least you
are not being very fair.
I would like to express my appreciation and admiration for Charles Runyon
and what he has done with TRF over the years. Doing what he has done has
taken a level of personal risk and committment that I doubt very few of you
could handle in your lives. Doing what I do with the mailing lists is a
committment for me, and I continue to do it in the face of apathy, list
members feeling entitled to it, complaints about the level of service I
provide and so on. But I am committed to providing the service, as Charles
is committed to being a world-class parts supplier. And every once in a
while, something happens. Recently I got an envelope in the mail with a
cash contribution, from someone who just felt that what I do was well worth
the effort it took them to thank me this way. One incident like that far
outweighs stacks of complaints.
To continue the TRF chatter a bit more, it seems most of you missed what I
feel are the two most important things *I* noted in the not yet ubiquitous
newsletter. First off, TRF will be providing their price list in electronic
form. Stay tuned for more developments in this area. And then there was
mention of The Coventry Inn actually brewing their own ales. Back when
I first heard about the Inn, I mailed off a letter that, among other things,
suggested the the Coventry Inn needed to hire a brewmaster who not only knew
about making beer (samples may be available at VTR in Ft. Worth) but also knew
about Triumphs, and could handle getting TRF into the age of networking. Now,
I wonder who could fit that description?
As for vendors in general, if you think some vendor is being too pushy in
promoting themselves, send them email and express your concerns. Just wait
for a few days, since I am planning on sending off a little list of spring
specials from the Fat Chance Garage. This list will likely get a short
announcement, a more detailed version will appear on the autojumble@autox
list.
Enough of my ramblings for now. It's been a week of sunshine and record
warm afternoons, and I've still not fixed the major oil leak that developed
in my Spitfire Mark 1 at an autocross last summer. Sigh. But Pugs and I
are making progress on the Killer Spit. I may even scan in some new photos
of it for my web page this weekend!
mjb.
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