In a message dated 2/11/00 2:04:59 PM Pacific Standard Time,
jonmac@ndirect.co.uk writes:
<< Depending on the individual, we usually follow through and ask why they
are so anti-club.
More often than not, the reply is along the lines "I'm sure the club is
helpful but I have
no wish to meet the people who populate them. Enthusiasts fine - but 'nerds'
NO!" There is
a general perception by the non-club member in the UK that those who do take
an active
part in the UK club scene are one of the lowest forms of life. This may be a
"class" thing
at which *skill* we, as a nation, have honed to some perfection. Certainly,
there are
'nerds' out there - but this is not restricted to car clubs.
Maybe the British nerds are different from the US nerds. When I hear the
word nerd, I think of a brainy geek sitting behind a computer all day and
night (taking naps in the chair) trying to input viruses and trash web sites.
Other geeks are very productive. You push them into a corner and have them
do research. We owe it to them for many of the technological developments in
computers, medicine, aerospace, smart bombs, missiles cruising up and down
streets looking for addresses, etc.
I bought my 1959 TR-3 in 1962 for the sole purpose of joining clubs and
participating in their activities of autocrosses, hill climbs, beer bashes --
you name it. These efforts finally let to SCCA driver's school in 1964, and
the following 35 years of working on the car and low level racing fun. It is
hard for me to picture a bunch of people scouring scrap yards, groveling in
the grease, and tearing apart and putting together vintage cars as geeks or
nerds.
I joined the Western Pennsylvania Triumph Club when I needed a source of
engine blocks, transmissions, differentials, and other components when most
of mine were destroyed. This quest has been fulfilled beyond my wildest
expectations. Last night after a club meeting, there were three groups
hanging around the beer barrel and planning get together's today for helping
each other move junkers, tear bodies from this frame and moving them to other
locations, welding, and other activities. Club membership is the best method
to support anyone's hobby.
I think I will attend another nerd activity tomorrow by meeting other club
members at this bar with a big TV screen for the Daytona 500 party.
Bill Emery
|