[Zmagnette] Lou's Story

Tue Apr 29 10:12:40 MDT 2014

My pleasure Steve et al and my way of remembering some great people.  Having
known John an Lou since the 1990s I can echo every syllable Steve has just
said.

For those of you who are still thinking about should I send a card – PLEASE
stop thinking and almost doing it and send her one – it will mean a great
deal to her to get a physical card in the mail and remember after you sign
the card please PRINT your name on it – she WILL know you and WILL REMEMBER
you for it!!

Paul Barrow

153 Clemons Road

Montesano, WA 98563 USA

+1 360 249 5123 Landline

+1 360 500 9389 Cell phone

+1 360 249 3776 Fax

Paul.Barrow at centurytel.net

  _____  

From: Steve Hanegan [mailto:steve at betterwitnesses.com] 
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2014 8:31 AM
To: paul.barrow at centurytel.net; List for the Z Magnette Group - North
America
Subject: Re: [Zmagnette] Lou's Story

Thanks for doing this Paul, the copies have come through nicely.

I have just gotten off of the phone with Lou, and she was in decent spirits
and recovering nicely. She was in hospital last week for some tests that
included a minor bit of exploratory surgery. It seems as though working from
7am until after dinner every day of the week can be a bit tiring when you
are on the eve of your 87th birthday...

She was a touch anemic and her ongoing battle with her vision has taken a
bit of a toll on her health from stress. But, after probing and poking, the
Doctors have found nothing  that resembles a smoking gun. There are some
tests that will be returned in the next week or two that will paint a more
detailed picture, but, so far, there is nothing glaring that is amiss with
the Queen.

I am 58. There is no way I could remember and deal with the millions of
details that Lou deals with every day at nearly 30 years my senior! And
remembering which shift boot is Zed A and which is Zed B BY FEEL is way
beyond me! She is the guiding light of Magnettes, not just to us Yanks
(sorry Paul), but to the Sri Lankan, German, Brazilian, Australian, South
African and Mongolian Magnette owners as well.. some even remember that
there is a time difference between wherever they are calling from and 44 The
Street, Lenwade. Some remember to send emails in Large type, some do not...
And yet, Lou has a cheerful response for all and will remember EVERYONE"S
name by voice alone.

Things will be a bit slower these days as Lou gets her energy back and
continues to cope with not being able to see to take paper notes or read a
part number off of a box label, but, our connection with the spiritual
center of the Magnettic Universe is on solid footing for a few years yet.
Lou does very much draw energy and comfort from the Magnettic friendships
that she has developed over the decades and all over the planet. She truly
does consider our cars as her children and is rather fond of their current
keepers as well...

For those who attended GT 35 in Delevan: We were very fortunate to also meet
Lou's daughter Jenny Hunter. Jenny has been spending a day or two per week
at John & Lou's shop helping with emails, shipping and sorting the "stuff"
that is more easily done by those with good vision. This has been a great
help to both Lou and John, and Jenny's involvement will become even more
essential and prominent over the next several years. I think that Jenny and
her husband Ed will eventually end up being the proprietors of MG
Specialists one day. Jenny is no stranger to the cars, now having nearly
thirty years experience with everything from rubbing out the paint on
freshly painted ones, to sitting with Lou and quality checking the incoming
stainless bumpers from Vietnam.

John is doing well, all things considered, coping with the stresses of Lou's
being a bit under the weather. He has given up taking on full restorations,
but still keeps crazy busy building all of those fantastic rust repair bits.
He is still doing maintenance and tuning work and getting the cars past
their MoTs. And, for the adventurous, he is still putting grey hairs on the
heads of those who are fortunate enough to go with him for a spin in their
F2 Magna... I suppose that at 70 years young, thinning an enormous "to-do"
list by just a bit is fair enough. He can still whip up a set of perfect
Magnette sills in less time than I can clean off my work-bench and locate
all of the tools I would need...

When we deal with folks like Moss who are large companies with a shipping
department, a billing department, a customer service department and
"management", it is easy to have high expectations for punctuality and
perfection. When we deal with folks like John & Lou and Cecilia at
Scarborough Faire, it pays to take a second and sit back and remember that
these companies are run by one or two folks who have to wear every hat in
the catalog, often more than one at a time. Lou will be on the phone one
minute taking an order (in broken English) from someone in Sri Lanka, put
down the phone and put her hands busy to packing a panel order to Florida
while she is signing for an incoming order from Vietnam. And in the next 10
minutes, she will ensure our supply of inner door handles whilst
simultaneously qualifying a new potential vendor for the rubber boots that
go over the rear bumper irons and sourcing a supply of flex hoses for the
heater motors. And she does this from 7am until well past dinner... every
day... and she can only see the computer screen with a very large
magnifier...

We are fortunate to have the Shortens, they represent an institutional
knowledge of our cars that goes right back to their design. Even more
important, we are fortunate to deal with folks who's love of the cars and
the folks who enjoy them is as deep as the core of the earth. If only the
Porsche folks were so lucky...

Order from Lou! Ring her up (011 44 1603 872436), remembering that 7am in
Seattle is 3pm in Lenwade, have a chat (listen closely... the English speak
quickly, softly and with the occasional mumble...) and appreciate the fact
that you are part and parcel of the fabric that is the history of our cars.
Lou brings to the table nearly 60 years of figuring out which bits fit and
work, and which don't. I take great comfort in the fact that, though I might
find bits cheaper (not likely) or "on this side of the pond" (less likely),
I am buying from someone who has dedicated her life to the preservation of
our cars and who has personally installed every single one of the bits
dozens, if not hundreds, of times.

Ring Lou, place your order, follow up with an email IN LARGE PLAIN FONT, ALL
CAPS, and enjoy the experience. Your bits will arrive "in the fullness of
time", encased in, nay, mummified in, the most bulletproof layer of packing
tape imaginable. They will fit and work a treat! And, you will be part of
sustaining this bit of history.

Then, remember, that giving me a ring on (206)365-5807, I can take a credit
card for payment, turn it into  £  and have it deposited in Lou's account
quickly and easily. And as Bob's your Uncle, you are ready to go again...

Steve H.

On Apr 29, 2014, at 3:01 AM, Paul Barrow <paul.barrow at centurytel.net> wrote:

Also as requested – the edited article 
 with the cover and contents
embedded.

Don’t know who looks after our website but here you go whoever you are for
posterity.  If you want it as a PDF let me know.

Paul

Paul Barrow

153 Clemons Road

Montesano, WA 98563 USA

+1 360 249 5123 Landline

+1 360 500 9389 Cell phone

+1 360 249 3776 Fax

Paul.Barrow at centurytel.net

  _____  

From: zmagnette-bounces at autox.team.net
[mailto:zmagnette-bounces at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of franklin sprafke
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2014 7:28 PM
To: List for the Z Magnette Group - North America
Subject: Re: [Zmagnette] Lou's Story

Hi,

I'm glad to read that so many have enjoyed reading Lou's story.  In response
to some questions that were asked off line, I've scanned the cover and
inside cover of issue 14 dated March 1981of Thirty Six Thousand that this
story appeared in so you can get an idea of what the journal looked like.
If you look closely at the table of contents you'll see that Lou had
provided three pages worth of parts for sale.  If anyone is interested I
could scan those for the fun of it, but I think it might make some of us
cry.  For example all the gauges were available for about 2 pounds,  brace
yourselves varitone owners because your rear surround trim was available at
only 2 pounds,  how about an extra set of road wheels for 2 pounds each or a
dash board for 3 pounds, a window regulator (hey I need one of those!) for 2
pounds, and on and on it goes.  

Dick

Dick Sprafke

57 ZB

Providence, RI

PS if the scans look a little "crinkly" it's because a textured paper was
used for the cover.

  _____  

From: jpark at bmts.com
To: zmagnette at autox.team.net
Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2014 18:50:29 -0400
Subject: Re: [Zmagnette] Lou's Story

Thanks for hunting this down. Great story!

From: zmagnette-bounces at autox.team.net
[mailto:zmagnette-bounces at autox.team.net] On Behalf Of franklin sprafke
Sent: Monday, April 28, 2014 8:23 AM
To: zmagnette at autox.team.net
Subject: [Zmagnette] Lou's Story

Hi,

While we all await some good news about Lou's health, I thought it might be
fun to share the attached with you.  Back in the March 1981 issue (#14) of
Thirty Six Thousand, "The Journal of the Z-Magnette Register of the MG Car
Club Ltd", the attached 5 page article about Lou appeared.  The fact that it
was written by Lou makes it all the more interesting. 

I scanned the first 4 pages.  The only bit that appeared on the fifth page
(page 28) was:  

"When this project is completed I hope we can start on another Z"   Lou
Shorten.

I hope the scans are legible and that you enjoy reading Lou's story.  Those
of you that know her will surely recognize her wit and story telling charm
in every word.  

Yours,

Dick

Undoubtedly all the issues of Thirty Six Thousand have been scanned and
posted on the internet somewhere but I haven't found them so I thought it
would be worthwhile to share the above.  I'm guessing most of you haven't
seen it before.  ????

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Shorten.doc>_______________________________________________
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