March 28th, 2024

Thought I would talk about two different things today.  First thing is this car.  The one in the picture at the top of the page.  (sigh) I love this car.

It's a 1956 Chevy Bel Air.  (sigh again)  I have no idea why it appeals to me so much but if I could choose ANY car, of all the cars ever in existence, this would be the one at the top of the list.  I love the two tone, I love the white wall tires, I love the chrome trim, the hood ornament and the chevy emblem on the front.  I love the roundy headlights, the snazzy grill, the big old steering wheel and the bench seats.  And it's all absolutely ridiculous!

Why?  Because I would never in a zillion years be able to drive this car!  And for three really good reasons.  First, it's standard shift.  I never learned to drive standard.  I barely learned to drive at all, frankly.  Several people have tried in vain to teach me, but I guess I'm just not coordinated enough to manage clutch and shift. Clutch OR Shift I may have eventually figured out but not both.  This car is standard.  I suppose it could be made automatic after the fact, but that would ruin the car. It's a classic. You should never mess around with a classic.

The second reason I would never be able to drive this car is because I can hardly see over the dash and steering wheel.  A very nice man, who was very amused as he observed me oooo-ing and aaahhh-ing over his BelAir, allowed me to sit in his.  I was tickled to bits.  I gingerly slide onto the seat, squared myself behind the wheel, sat up very straight and then burst out laughing because no matter what I did, I only just barely saw the hood of the car, no road at all.  The seat would have to be raised somehow. 

Which brings us to the last reason.  I not only cannot see over the dash and wheel, I also cannot fully reach the pedals!  LOLOL  The seats would have to be raised and blocked forward!  Which means, since it's a bench seat, that the entire front seat of the car would be raised and blocked forward which in turn means that only very short people would be comfortable sitting in the front seat of my car LOLOL  !!

Good thing I wasn't planning on buying one.  But I will ogle them whenever I have the opportunity to see them.  Tim and I walked over to the annual Venice Car show this past Sunday and spent a few hours wandering around admiring the 200+ vehicles on display.  It was awesome!

It's odd how much I enjoy that particular car show because I'm not a car person per se.  I don't care what I drive as long as it's reliable.  And if you asked me to describe someone else's car I would only remember what colour it was and how many doors it had. 

Most cars today look very similar to me.  I'm sure if I knew (or cared to know) more about cars, that I would notice the subtle variations but unless I see the model/brand of car written right there on the automobile, I have no idea what sort of car it is.  It could be a Mercedes, it could be a Toyota.  To me they all look pretty much the same.

And heaven knows that engine talk goes right over my head.  I'm not stupid, I understand how a combustion engine works.  I also get the whole Electric car thing and the hybrid car concept.  Beyond that, I do not know and I'm not especially interested.  

But I know what I like, and I like older cars.  They had some style, some panache, some flair.  They were interesting, they were wildly different and new ideas meant not just a new type of engine or safety feature but also a completely new look!  I hear commercials touting new looks now, but it is rarely true. Very Disappointing.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm all about safety features.  Yay safety! Fuel efficiency is important too naturally.  But gosh I miss interesting looking cars!  Fun looking cars!  Unique ideas and features!  Apparently, there is no way to mesh Fuel efficiency and safety with fun and interesting.  And then make it affordable.  LOLOL  Oh I am hilarious today!

There were six Chevy Bel Airs at the car show on Sunday, each one was a different colour and not all of them were '56s but close enough to wow me!  I was satisfied for another year :)

Now what was that other thing I wanted to mention?  Oh yeah.  You remember recall that this past Monday  I posted on Facebook that I was blocked out of my blog construction site because somebody reported it as being dangerous and/or unsafe (insert eyeroll here)?  Well, Tim fixed it for me the same day.  He did it without complaining, with no, probably deserved, remarks about how untechie I am and he did it quickly.  He is my hero. For a thousand different reason on a thousand different days, but still, he is, as always my hero. Charging up the hill to my rescue, once again.

Thank you also to my son Corbin  who sent suggestions on how to correct the problem.  Another hero!  Tim had already wrestled it to the ground by the time I read his excellent ideas, but  I appreciate it anyway, and if Tim hadn't been available to take care of the problem, I would definitely have tried it!   Thank you too, Corbin!

I admit that when I saw that big red screen with the "Thou Shalt Not Pass" warnings all over it, I panicked! Oh no!  I'm being forced to do something against my will!  They are keeping me from my blog construction!  The world is coming to an end!   Much like Chicken Little , I leaped to an unsubstantiated conclusion that I would never be able to get back into the site or write on my blog again!  Oh NO!  

One really good thing I learned (other than to not panic about such things) is how much I would miss writing the blog!  Every once in awhile, it crosses my mind that I've been writing this thing for a number of years now  - since October 2016 in fact!  And perhaps I ought to think about working my way to an end point.  But I guess it's still too important to me to quit.  At least not yet.

So anyway, those were the two topics for today.  My favourite car!  And, I'm sorry I made such a big dang deal about not being able to write my blog on Monday.  Sorry about the over-reaction. 

Have a Wonderful Easter Weekend!  Hope the Bunny brings you goodies!