Hey Gang,
Lord how I hate to contribute to the smoke and fire that is currently
dominating the list traffic... As an outsider--I've only had my MKI a
few months, never attended any Tiger function, never met any official or
member of any Tiger group--I gotta tell you how all this looks from the
wilds of New Mexico.
Clearly, there are two factions here who have issues with one another
that will never be known--let alone understood--by the rest of us. Of
the two factions, the Tiger Technologies lot seems to be the most
strident and most ready to hurl invective and scurrilous attacks. The
Sagers seem much more rational but some of the underlying logic is
wanting...
$35 for a meal! Imagine that... it must be 1998. Sure, that is more
than the meal would be worth "down in Berdoo," but this ain't down in
Berdoo, this is up at the lakeside at a "premier" motoring event. It
sure does not seem like an outrageous amount for dinner.
Yes, a Master's Class is a nice way to spread the wealth of trophies and
get a wider participation from some of the new blood but the classes
were announced some time ago and the time to raise the issue was 11 or
12 months ago when I suspect the first steering group started to work
toward this event. Why sit around and bitch about it at this late date?
I confess that I do not understand the reluctance to state the judging
criteria for the concours. It appears that there may not be any formal
criteria, that the judges will make subjective rankings based on their
own knowledge and experience... If that is the case, and based on the
amount of bile being spewed by both sides in this imbroglio, it does not
appear that the judging can be done fairly. After some of the trash
that's been talked, it would be awfully tough to make an impartial
subjective judgment.
It is puzzling that the boot sale is being held at the same time as the
concours. Maybe there just was no other time available. Maybe it
really was just poor planning. Why not try to fix the problem, why not
work the issue instead of screaming rape and prejudice? If there is
really no way to improve the situation, then work to alleviate the
problem next year.
And, finally, why not at least try to deal with issues instead of
personalities? Believe me, from New Mexico both sides in this
controversy look pretty damned petty and pretty damned vindictive. And
who started the movement for a counter event? Talk about counter
productive!
I thought the event was called "Tigers United..." Obviously unbridled
optimism on someone's part. "Tigers Ignited" would apparently be more
appropriate.
One good thing has come from all this foolishness. I had been feeling
really badly about the fact that my wife and I will be unable to attend,
but now I realize we ain't gonna miss nothin'.
--Colin Cobb, Las Cruces, NM, USA
'65 MKI
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