A British Car Tale
Once upon a time, there were two young men who were very much alike. One was
named Ernie and the other named Hugo. Even though they were a lot alike, they
had never met one another. They lived in separate towns in different parts of
the Country, but they did share a lot of common ground. Like many people, they
both liked tinkering in the garage, spending quality time outdoors on a
beautiful day, sightseeing while traveling, and enjoyed doing exciting things
with their friends and loved one's. But unfortunately, there was something
missing in each of their lives. You see, they had slipped into the deep, dark
doldrums of life, and had become boring. As a result, they were spending a lot
of their spare time on the living room sofa flipping television channels and
watching others having a good time. This seemed to be their way of coping.
One afternoon while Ernie was driving home from work in his daily
run-of-the-mill family car, he began to think about what he might do once he
got home. He thought and he thought, but he became saddened when he realized
that he couldn't think of anything. So he decided that he'd settle for eating
an early supper, then watch television until he couldn't stand it any longer,
and then go to bed. The next day he'd do the same all over again.
While keeping his focus on the road ahead he spotted an eye-catching little
sports car heading toward him. He could see the driver of the car was wearing
a baseball style cap turned backwards, and he appeared as though he was having
a great time driving his fun little car. He took a closer look at the car, and
realized it was a little British car that he hadn't seen on the road in many
years. "Wow" he thought to himself, "That guy looks as though he's having the
time of his life. What a wonderful way to spend a beautiful afternoon
unwinding after a hard days work. I could sure have a lot of fun with a car
like that!!" Ernie waved to the driver of the car, then gave him the thumbs-up
sign, and the driver waved back with a big smile.
Ernie was right, the expression on the guys' face was unmistakable. He was
surely having the best time of his life. As a matter of fact, it was something
he did on a regular basis because he knew the best time of his life was now.
Driving his British car every day was essential. During that entire week,
Ernie spotted more and more little British cars driving around his town that
he hadn't seen in many years. Some of the cars he had almost totally forgotten
about. He later discovered why they seemed to be suddenly making a comeback in
his town. The entire week was a special honorary week for all classic British
cars. It was called British Car Week. He learned that British Car Week is an
annual awareness week intended to encourage British car owners to drive their
cars regularly and provide them with increased exposure for the people in
their community to appreciate. It's a week for enjoying them, but also for
remembering the pleasures they have brought to the many lives over the years,
especially those who have been fortunate to become familiar with them during
the past and present.
By now Ernie was getting very curious, and decided that he'd like to become
more familiar with them. He wanted to know all sorts of things like, "Where
can I buy one? How can I find a good one? Are parts available? If so, then
where do I buy them? Are there local clubs that provide helpful support? Do
they still publish books and magazines about these cars? Where do I begin!?"
Fortunately Ernie was able to talk to some of the car owners during the week,
and within a few months he had joined several British car clubs. As a result,
he met some great new friends, located books to read, and subscribed to
magazines that enabled him to learn as much about British cars as he needed.
He located a car that he found for sale in a club magazine, and is now the
proud owner. He also bought another car that needed to be restored, and is now
buying parts for it. There was no longer any doubt what he would find to do
after work, and in many cases he didn't return home immediately after work.
Instead, he was taking the long way home because he was driving his enjoyable
little British car........
Be sure to mark your calendars and tell all of your friends and British car
club officials about the 8th Annual British Car Week! May 22 - 30, 2004
Oh, I almost forgot! You're probably wondering whatever happened to Hugo?
Well, he's at home sitting on the sofa watching television. Unfortunately his
British car clubs didn't celebrate British Car Week.
See you on the road.....
Scott Helms - Curator
BritCarWeek@arczip.com
http://users.arczip.com/zntech/britishcarweek.html
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