Yes, I can prove that old saying wrong because the All Seasons Ann Arbor retirement home provided hamburgers and hot dogs for residents and car owners that attended their car show today. There was also a DJ spinning Motown music and a photographer documenting the action. Both were provided by Diallo of Perfect Day Productions.
There’s not really a lot of action at most retirement homes, but this isn’t your run-of-the-mill old folk’s home. All Seasons has an awesome sports bar that fills up with fans on game days, a baby grand piano for residents and guests to play, and a library equal to one in an English professor’s home. The silver-haired crowd is made up of people that have been collecting their social security checks for a while, but they’re active, friendly, and like to socialize.
I happen to know about this place because my mom has been checking it out since it opened three years ago. She knows more about it than the sales team members. They keep inviting her out to special functions and events, hoping she’ll move in but so far they’re losing money on that strategy. Occasionally, mom invites me to join her at these promotional events. The wine tasting activity was my favorite. They probably didn’t expect to have a guest that could almost single handedly keep the bartender busy. Do what 2BukChuk does – take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way.
I drove my 1970 Datsun 1600 to the show, and it gathered a lot of smiles and comments from the crowd. I also discovered It’s a chick magnet for women over 75 years old. So, if you’re an older, single man looking to buy my car, the price has gone up! I have an interesting story about this car which I’ll post about in the future. This was a California car owned by a family for 45 years. It was not running when I found it on Craigs List last February, but it’s a solid rust-free car. Just needed a lot of TLC (meaning expensive parts and labor) to put it back on the road.
There were other cars, including a number of corvettes from the Road Masters Vette Club of Michigan. This 501c organization was founded by Rick Williams (Mr. Rick), Ron Johnson (Ice), and Donald Jinx (Jinx). They don’t just polish up those Corvettes for shows, they sponsor events to raise money for people and organizations in their community. Check them out online. Donate if you can. These are good people doing good deeds and having fun at the same time. If you’re part of a car club doing things in your barrio, submit information about it as a Car Story. It might inspire 2BukChuk to get off the couch and do something productive, too.
ABOVE – Cars driven by members of the Road Masters Vette Club of Michigan
I met Dick, one of the residents at All Seasons. He brought his 1966 Plymouth Satellite 426 Hemi to the show. This had to be a rare sighting. I’ve not seen a Satellite Hemi but then I’m not really the most observant person at times. So, I used my backup brain and Googled it. This is what I found on the internet: “Plymouth managed to sell 35,399 of them (Satellites) but just 817 were Hemi equipped – making this a very rare car!” I had a hunch that’s what I would find. Dick has had the car for over 28 years and he’s not parting with it anytime soon. His wife won’t let him! I didn’t want to push it but she might let him go before they let that car go…So nobody’s goin’ nowhere, and that’s true love.
There was a beautiful 1999 metallic blue Cobra at the show. It was built in South Africa and shipped to the original owner, who resided in Sonoma County, California. The current owner is the brother of the original owner. It’s not unusual to have cars kept in families for long periods of time, as was my 1970 Datsun. The nearest I came to having that experience was when my brother drove out to visit me in his 1967 Dodge Coronet. I was stationed at Lackland Air Force base near San Antonio. He drove around with a case of transmission fluid in the trunk and every time he filled up the gas tank, he added a quart of fluid to the tranny. Instead of driving it back to Michigan, he traded the leaky car for an airline ticket home. He got the best part of that deal. When I transferred out of Texas, I gave that car to another airman for a couple of cases of beer. That time I got the best part of the deal.
Where was I? The Cobra. It won the Best in Class trophy by 2 votes. There’s a great story behind this car, but I’m hoping the owner will submit it online soon. I don’t know who came in second, but maybe it was my Datsun roadster. Or else it isn’t such a chick magnet after all. Well, I was too busy eating, talking, and looking at cars to vote. It was a close call between that Hemi Satellite, the Cobra, and the yellow Vette. I really dug that bright yellow Corvette. 2BukChuk said “put a big blue “M” on the hood, “Go Blue!” on each side, and a wolverine on the back deck, then get ready for tailgating in September.” For those of you who don’t live in the USA, the wolverine is the University of Michigan mascot. It’s the largest member of the weasel family and is known to be a vicious critter. But fear nada, the wolverine was never known to have inhabited our fine state.
That’s about it for the car show. Even if you don’t have a car to show, it’s always fun to check out the cars. Seeing them brings back memories of the past, hopefully good ones! It might even motivate you to search for your own project car or dream car. Stay tuned, we’ll get into some of ways you can do this. And I’m hoping as this blogs takes off, other readers will share their expertise and experiences with us.
Fear Nada, 2BukChuk