[2manycars]

I have been going to car show since 1960, and have a bunch of plaques to show for it, and a few trophies, but I go less and less these days. I passed on a show two weeks ago because they wanted $20. I go to the Belltown show, as I have most years since the first one in 1967, and I go to some British shows with my MGs, but drive the tudor less each year. The traffic is thicker and faster each year. The kids have less respect both on the road and at shows. (I guess it is no longer desirable to teach kids respect) I like the cruise-ins. No fee, no trophy, no assigned parking, come when you want, leave when you want. I went to the Mystic Seaport show last week, as I have for most years since it started, but the old orphan cars were few in number. If not for Fords, the show would have been a pitiful collection of a handfull of cars. The really old cars are not practical for road use these days, and it takes time and money to load the car on a trailer, towed by a truck that was probably bought for that purpose, and take it to a show that charges a fee that is getting more and more expensive. When I was a kid we drove our model A everywhere, even up interstate 84. That does not happen much today. I find my 36 coupe and my MGs more practical to drive, and can safely keep up with the nutty traffic, and can stop in a safer distance than with a model A, even a restored one. Whether or not we want to admit it, we are all getting older, and do not have the energy and stamina that we had in our youth. In addition, some of us suffer from various health issues. As for getting the kids interested, good luck with that. They are more interested in their cell phone and computer than cars, and where would they get the money to buy a model A anyway? Times change. We may think the same as we did years ago, but the newer generations do not think the same. Thankfully my son likes old cars, and has the roadster pickup that we restored together, but he is so busy on the farm that he only went to one cruise-in this year. I guess I dont paint a rosy picture, but that is how I see it.