vroom, vroom on a saturday!

"The Summer Movie Camp was about cars today?"

Well, no. AMC did not deign to show the noon screening of "Shrek 2", neither here nor at their cinema in Statesboro. So, I boycotted them today, choosing to not see any movie there. I'm still waiting for them to respond to my message sent Wednesday on their website. Me and my peeps have spent a good deal of money there on Saturdays for those films, so the company's unexplained reneging on their showing of the long-scheduled kid movie for this day is not acceptable.

"Heard. So... was this about a get-together with the kids anyway?"

Nope. Zach was the only one interested, so we canceled. Christina is swamped with her new job, and Michael has to work this weekend, and Hope is out of the picture. So that left me scrambling on fb for something to do today. And I got lucky! I found two events to entertain me! Even better, both were free!!!

"Well, that was quite fortunate! So, what did you do?"

I threw myself out of the house and into the bright sunshine, that's what I did! (smile!) Off I sped to the Alee Shrine Temple on Skidaway (sounds like a joke, but all true!) for the 9th Annual Summer Heat Wave Car, Truck, And Bike Show. So many cars!!!

"This looks like a sweet ride!"

It was truly the first one that made me stop, but it was really the message below the image that caught my heart. "I HAVE TO REMEMBER YOU LONGER THAN I KNEW YOU." All I could think was that I don't want to live so long that it's true for me and Mama. I never did see who the owner was so I could ask.

"That's a heart-wrencher, for sure."

Most def. But as I roamed around, I saw so many beauties there, like that Pace car for the 1969 INDY500. That would have been for my 11th birthday! You see, that race was on Memorial Day weekend. I bet they even had fireworks! And do you see that it was the 53rd of those races? That means they're up to their 107th now.

"Very cool! I bet Uncle Jimmy saw one of those races while he lived there. Maybe?"

I don't recall him ever talking about them.

"Hmmm. Okay, new topic. This is a Bel-Air, right?"

You bet your sweet bippy! It's a 1955 model, only partly two-toned, with hood, doors, and trunk wide open, and ready to hit the road!

"It truly is lovely!"

Yep! And I spoke with the woman inside as the man was putting things in the trunk. She and I talked about their car and some of the other Bel-Airs on the lot. I told her I liked their the best and she smiled! She was pretty tired of the heat by that point. I got there after 1 PM and they had been there since before 9 AM.

"Yikes. That made for a very long day for these drivers. And again I say 'Yikes!', looking at this truck!

Hey, I like it! And I applaud the young owners for bringing it to the show. This is clearly a work in progress and I love it that they wanted it to be seen!

"Yeah, I get it. Your sweetie is 22 now and just hit her 230,000 miles mark."

That's right! Old doesn't mean useless, though it could mean rough around the edges. (smile!)

"Whatcha got right there?"

A herd of ponies being corralled by an old dalmatian's ride! Hahahaha! Just a little joke, right? So many folks had brought their Mustangs to show them off that there was a portion of the field allocated just for them. Oh, and in case you didn't realize it, that photo at the top of the post? That's looking down just one row of the three rows in the northmost field, with cars, trucks, and even motorcycles of all types. This stable of ponies was in the next field south, with some newer cars and trucks - like the one Chris Grunow has - in the third field.

"Wow! That's a lot of vehicles all in one place!"

Yes, it is! I kept flashing back to the car museum in Las Vegas, back in 2010. I was splitting a week there with Paul and Cathy for the first few days, then my bff Sam for the last few. Between times, after the El Cerrito pair left and before the ATL dental hygienist arrived, I was left to my own devices. Just down the street a few blocks from DRI's Polo Towers, one of the resorts had old cars on display, to bring folks into the building. I even saw one of Johnny Carson's rides! Very nice, very nice.

"I remember that trip! It was the first time back to The Strip since the trip with Mother Pat, before your world became AD. That was a good reset of memories there, with some of the things you'd done with her and lots of new experiences with some of the friends who'd kept you off the edge. Good times, very good times!"

You're right, those were good times. And this particular good time was coming to a close. I'm glad I came late or I might have missed the exit parade!

"Oh, is that with the firetruck leading off?"

It is, sans dog, too! I don't even know if there ever was a dog with that truck. I stood right in the shade and watched and waved as cars and trucks and bikes went past! Then I noticed there was also a parade on the main exit road, catching the Pace car as it drove past. Oh, and here's a curious coincidence! Yesterday, I was reading the January issue of the American Legion magazine and there was a nice article about the INDY500 and its promotion of the Legion. Right place, right time! Glad I was seeking a change and found this event on fb!

"Don't you just love these bright moments? The Universe surely is a wonder!"

It certainly is, and that's the point I was trying to make to Smitty last night at Jalapenos. A new guy was waiting our table of 9 and a third of the orders got bungled... and we had just been talking of changing things up to go to Cancun the next week! I told Tony, whose order was the most wrong, that "there are no coincidences" and Smitty immediately took umbrage. So I told him about the poem that speaks of "for want of a nail, the shoe was lost..." and he still wanted to argue. I dropped the subject. He isn't an analytical scientist, so he isn't trained to see patterns or correlations the way I do, and that's okay.

"How odd for him to just argue about that. You sure he wasn't pulling your leg? You know what a joker he can be."

I do, and I was surprised to realize he was being serious. Oh well, both he and I will be missing next week, him on a golf tournament and me at the Rodeo in Rincon. That means we'll all have a bye for next Friday, just as the kids and I had a bye this morning.

"That will change the pace for all. And what's that on your plate?"

Camarones Tapatios. Mighty fine they were, too! I have four of those bacon-wrapped shrimp waiting for another meal. That will probably be tomorrow night. Tonight, I will have spaghetti, using the rest of Mel's sauce and my tofu, and trying out the rigatoni pasta. Not quite the same experience as before, but definitely will be tasty and just what I want.

"I hear ya. Sometimes you have a taste for something and nothing else will do."

Exactly! Okay, I'm off now for another free event I found today!