[JONAT-chat] JONAT in the Carolinas

[Jim Morton]

Jonat in the Carolinas

We got off to the ultimately slow start with no known participants expected
in Richmond on Thursday night.  So we cancelled the activities there, which
was a shame because David Harrison, President of the Virginia Jaguar Club,
had done a great planning job on short notice.  He was most helpful to me.

Activities got restarted in Raleigh (actually suburban Cary) on Friday
night.  Bill Borrusch from Orlando had driven up in his XK8 so he could
complete the trip he started.  Bill was the only real on-going participant
in April's Orlando to Houston legs.  

Friday was a mixed-up day for your Carolina Sector Coordinator.  The
grandmother of our son-in-law died last week and the funeral was on Friday
in Durham, only 30 miles from Raleigh.  Our daughter and son-in-law had
flown in from San Francisco so we really wanted to maximize time with them.
Bill was really helpful and suggested he could just carry on without us,
but we compromised.  We were able to meet him Friday afternoon between 5
and 6 p.m. and discuss plans for Saturday's drive from Raleigh to
Charlotte.  In the process we confirmed that one cannot travel anywhere
near Raleigh during Friday night rush hour, especially on a holiday
weekend.  Bill then went on by himself on Saturday with Jay, the large
stuffed Jaguar, for company.   I have yet to hear how his travels are going.

We had a great time because I discovered Bill is retired from Ford in
Dearborn and we had many work experiences in common.  I even think I
vaguely recognized him; although we never worked directly together because
I was with Light Trucks and he with Cars I did have a lot of contact with
his Trim and Color department at Ford's Design Center.  Believe it or not,
there is a department that worries about making all the different materials
and textures inside a car match in color and gloss.  It does not happen by
accident, and in some cars, like Mercedes, it does not happen at all.

Jay, incidentally, is looking very healthy and is adorned with many badges,
mostly from Canada.  On his left shoulder is a large cloth badge that
proclaims him a member of a police force, Regina as I recall.  He also has
small pins in his ears but they do not appear to be painful to him.


Jim Morton
Carolinas SC
mortoncjc@mindspring.com