Howdie List,
Texans are really friendly people! If all of you could be Texans, you would
know what I mean.
You may meet a few Texans in life. But remember your social graces and
never ask if someone's from Texas. One Famous Rule of Etiquette is "Never
ask a person if he is from Texas. If they are from Texas, they will be sure
to mention it in every conversation. And if they are not from Texas, you do
not want to embarrass them".
My recently purchased California Roadster has worked hard to become a Texan
and really enjoys motoring to Dallas on an almost daily basis. Have kind of
gotten use to the friendly honks, waves, and thumbs up (much different from
the finger as in some other states :') that the Roadster receives on a daily
basis. I have been amazed at the wide variety of folks, who have made a
point of commenting while in rush hour traffic, gas stations, restaurants,
etc. The Roadster has gotten favorable compliments from Cadillac to Lexus
drivers to teenagers in pickups. Often people will work their way across
several lanes of congested rush hour traffic to ask about and compliment the
classic Roadster good looks.
A few weeks back, early one morning leaving for work, it was still pitch
dark. The night air was cooler than normal, so I had put on my light jacket
to keep off the pre-dawn chill. The slow rumble of the idling Roadster,
brought a pleasing musical note to the silent motionless morning air as I
climbed aboard for the 40 plus mile commute. Backing the topless Roadster
out of the drive, noticed that the moon was almost full. My mind wandered
back to my much younger high school dating years. Oh, to be a youngster in
school again, and have a cool Roadster convertible rather than your parents
old Army green Chevy. Boy, would the girls have dug me in a convertible.
Another glance at the driver through the mirror smoked that pipe dream.
As the Roadster wound through the gears and the neighborhood, we came upon a
loading school bus coming down the opposite side of the street. The yellow
and red lights awoke the darkness with commanding flashes. The Roadster
came to a law respecting stop and I gave the accelerator a couple of kicks
to soothe the rumbling two litre's idle .
A young boy probably around 12 or 13 wandered out of the house. Rubbing his
eyes he slowly stumbled to the patient school bus. Then off to spend a
boring day with some ancient, uninspired teachers (that thought brought the
back to school dream back to rude reality).
Ending the daydream, found me glancing toward the clear, starlit sky. It
was then I noticed that several of the buses windows were coming down. I
could just imagine a bunch of teenage boys, trying to get the girls to
complain about being too cold. Of course, the boys don't mind because
they're tough.
Then all at once, four or five small hands emerged through the open windows,
and the Datsun Roadster receives a group teenager "thumbs up." The buses
flashers flick off, and I wave a friendly thanks to my fellow though much,
much younger Datsun Roadster admirers. Of course, the Roadster can't wave.
So it says "Howdie" and "Thanks ya'll" by leaving respectable strips of
rubber in two gears.
The Datsun Roadster may have been born around the same time as these young
teenagers' geezer parents, but Texans young and old recognize and appreciate
the Datsun Roadster cache and ageless styling.
Enjoy the ride everytime you can and share your Friendly Texas Smile with
the top down!
Mark Gill
Denton, TX
SRL311 14359
1970
The Roadster's starter works great at times and not at all at other times.
My practice recently is to look for hills to park on, which tends to be a
real challenge in North Texas. Thankfully, I have made a lot of new Texas
friends asking for a push start with great frequency. If it hadn't been for
places other than Texas, we probably would not have had electric starters.
Thanks ya'll, there is lot of good in everybody from every state and
country.
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