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the neighborhood hero........ (Page 3)
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ProwlerOnline, Plymouth/Chrysler Prowler Discussion Forum
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the neighborhood hero........ (Page 3)
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| This topic is 3 pages long: 1 2 3 This topic was originally posted in this forum: Tires, Rims Discusssion |
| Author | Topic: the neighborhood hero........ |
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tangled up in BLUE Prowler Junkie Posts: 11086 |
posted 01-17-2003 09:49 PM
Growing up in a middleclass neighborhood in the 60's and being obsessed with cars, especially Corvettes, I kept a close eye on the neighborhood hot rodder ....across the street from me lived a real life "Fonz"....there were always cool cars pulling in the alley looking for this guy, Dave was his name......he had a '57 Chevy that was better than perfect, chrome wheels, tach, lotsa chrome under the hood, all the stuff they were supposed to have on them....his buddies all showed up in Chevelles, Vettes and 55-57 Chevys.....lots of parts were unbolted on any weekend, and then on Sunday nite a FASTER car left this little gray one stall garage......they worked on cars day and night it seemed....lots of guys, lots of leather jackets, chopped Mercs, always a few beer bottles left on the lawn for us young guys to grab the next day...we washed the beer bottles out with a garden hose, filled them with KOOL ADE and rode around on our bikes drinking from these(good role model stuff here).....during a cool autumn day I was out riding my bike when Dave, "the cool guy" pulled up to the curb in a new car...the '57 Chevy had been gone several weeks, I nearly cried when it was sold...his new car was a '66 Stingray....I looked, asked questions, and nearly fainted..... the car was maroon with tan interior and was sporting a 4-spd....absolutely the most beautiful car I had ever seen.....Dave was several years older than I and had never even seemed to recognize my presence during the 9 years or so we had been neighbors, but he saw me standing there in awe and asked me if I would like to go for a ride....I could hardly contain myself as I climbed into the new Stingray, it was brand new and I was getting a ride in it the first day.....he took me a short ride around the neighborhood, spun the tires a few times, and I was literally on cloud nine......he dropped me off at my house and took off in a blaze of tire smoke like I had never seen before....my best buddies were there looking for me on their bikes and I realized my bike was still across the street at Daves....I walked over to get the bike, walked it home and rarely rode it again for weeks....I wanted to be 16 and have a 'Vette.....today Dave and I are still good friends and I remember his kindness everytime I take a kid for a ride in a Prowler, Viper or what ever I happen to be driving that day....I have always made it a point thru the years to take kids a ride and see the expression on their face, make them a memory to have for life...I remember what it was like, and it seems like it was just yesterday....today we are all older, Dave still has a '57 Chevy(and his wife has a Vette)and it's still nicer than just about any '57 I have ever seen, we both are just overgrown kids at heart.....the leather jackets are long gone along with most of his hair, the chopped Mercs are seldom on the streets these days....my Stingray bicycle is a valuable collectors item these days, even saw one like it in a museum several years ago ......but all a kid has to do is ask, and I always have time for a ride, always hit a few gears just like Dave did in the Stingray all those Autumns ago....... |
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Prowler Prowler Junkie Posts: 745 |
posted 01-17-2003 10:18 PM
Great sentiment BLUE! I think I get a bigger kick out of seeing their faces as we cruise along than they do being in the car.
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Dale Beaman Prowler Junkie Posts: 2699 |
posted 01-17-2003 10:19 PM
Thanks for telling about growing up around cool cars. I remember as a kid all the cool cars, but no one ever gave you a ride or even asked. Since I got my Prowler in October I have given 6 people rides and it has been parked since the week before Thanksgiving. I work for Valvoline and most of the employees are interested in cars and when I drove it to work a lot of people checked it out! I drove it to the annual employees rally and it was surrounded in the parking lot by the Valvoline Instant Oil managers. Ray Evernham was there and checked it out also. The point of this is, if you ask, a lot of people are wanting to go for a ride but afraid to ask. I got started giving rides when I was at the tech lab and a college intern working there came out was looking the Prowler over. Under the hood, chassis, etc. When I asked her if she wanted to sit in it she jumped in. I then took her for a ride and all she kept saying is how cool it was, asked some tech questions and that her dad always drove Chryslers and she couldn't wait to call him. I gave a 12 year old boy at church and now he says I am the "Dude with the car". So offer to give people rides and let them enjoy the experience. The downside is that the price of Prowlers may sky rocket because of the new base of potential buyers. Thats what happened to me - a friend let me drive his and my only thought after that was getting one!! I still have about 10 people I have promised rides when spring comes. |
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