I can attest to this, from your son's point of view. My dad always had a
Sprite while I was growing up. I remember sitting in it in the driveway
when I was a little kid and sitting behind the wheel acting like I was
driving. I remember when we were playing catch in the front yard and how
mad he got when I let loose a bad throw and smashed the windshield. I
remember when one time we took in on a test drive and one of the wheels fell
off a mile from the house.
Once I got to be around driving age we got more serious about getting it
fixed up. Me with the thoughts of getting to have it, and him with the
thoughts of just getting it running again. (Guess who won that one. Here's
a clue: it wasn't me!) It took most of two years, but right before I
graduated we got it all the way running again and painted. It was an Earl
Schieb job, but it looked a ton better than it did before. It was working
on that car where I learned a lot about fixing things, and also honing my
troubleshooting skills, which has helped tremendously in my jobs in the
computer field. I remember that was great the two of us working on that
car, sometimes cooperating, always arguing on the best way to do
something...<grin> Mom sometimes had to step in and settle. But the thing
was, the car RAN. Working together we got it to go.
I have a Sprite of my own now, and I know that if I hadn't been around one
growing up, I'd never have the appreciation for them I do now. Many people
ask me why I bother with my Sprite, but I can't really answer that, because
they just don't know. The answer is unique to all of us that either own
one, or have owned one.
Greg Gowins
'69 Sprite
Dublin, CA
----- Original Message -----
From "Mike Maclean" <macleans at earthlink.net>
To: <spridgets@autox.team.net>
Sent: Monday, April 17, 2000 9:39 AM
Subject: Younger Generation
> I was lucky enough yesterday to spend quality time with both my LBC and
> my 10 year old son. He always wants to help when I'm working on my
> Bugeye restoration, but some things just don't require 10 year old
> skills. Yesterday I was installing the rear bumpers and as anyone with
> a Bugeye knows, getting into the boot area and being 49 years old (read:
> middle aged fat) is not real easy. My 10 year old son, Justin can crawl
> in there and hide if he wants to, so when it came time to hold the
> stiffeners in place to start the screws,
> he was an invaluable help. He was quite proud of this fact, especially
> when I told the rest of the family later that night at the Outback
> steakhouse, that I couldn't have done it without him. After installing
> the rear bumpers, I let him help me chase threads on the gas tank
> fasteners that hang below the boot floor. I'd start the die and let him
> turn it up to the top and back it off again. As everyone knows, after
> body work and painting, you've got a lot of threads to chase on the
> body. Justin gets more and more excited as the car begins to look more
> like a car. I have the suspension, wheels, windshield, steering wheel
> on the car now. In our two car garage, to work on my car, I first have
> to move my wife's car out and then move the Bugeye over to work on it.
> I used to be able to just slide it over before the suspension and wheels
> were installed, because I had it on a homemade dolly with casters. Now
> I have to push it back and forth, turning the steering wheel until it's
> centered in the garage to begin work. I figured, here's another task
> where Justin can come in handy. If you add all these little things he
> can do to help together, he becomes quite involved and he asks if there
> is more he can do.
> I'm beginning to feel I won't have to worry about the fate of my
> Bugeye or other LBC's if we can involve our sons and daughters like this
> at an early age. Days spent with dad like this are not forgotten when
> we are older and to bring back those days, playing with our handed down
> LBC just might make us feel better.
> Mike MacLean 60-Sprite
>
>
|