Stardate 200806.22

Walden Humane Society Car Show

Montgomery, NY

There are car shows within a couple hours driving distance every weekend throughout the summer. Sometimes more than one in a weekend. Even with only one per weekend I to choose, since I do not want to do car shows every weekend. With the experience of the last year, I have tried to be more selective. At this point, the criteria include things like being within and hour of home. A site, such as a shopping mall or county fair where there is likely to be a lot of viewers who are not necessarily show car enthusiasts. I have tended to stay away from "classic" car shows, where mainly older cars are the interest (I am still having trouble wrapping my mind around the idea that cars from the 1980s are now "classics"). A high ratio of trophies is a plus, as well as a worthy cause that is being supported.

I spotted a show scheduled for July 14th that had relatively few of these characteristics, but was close not only to home, a couple miles from where our friends Tom Marks and helen Ullrich lived. So the plan was to do the car show and go out to dinner with them afterward. I went to the show, but it rained in the middle of the show. The organizers were in the middle of the judging, and postponed and finally cancelled the giving out of awards, iwth people leaving all the time (some of the owners of these prized vehicles leave at the first drop of rain). They didn't handle it well, and a lot of owners left rather miffed.

I had planned to take the following week off from car shows, but I felt unsatisfied with putting in all that preparation for nothing. So I found another car show taking place in the same area the following week. I had a little trouble figuring out exactly where it would be, since the flyer said "Orange County Park" and Google only brought up the Orange County Parks Department. I stopped by Tom and Helen's again to pick up something I had left the week before, and see if they knew where this place was. Also, they have oodles of beautiful flowers in their garden, and they gave me some for the vase that I keep in the car. We figured out which park was most likely the place, they gave me directions and I headed off.

Just as I got to the park it started raining. The park was a big place with a golf course, riding stables, lake, etc. But no sign of a car show. Nada. Zip. And the rain was coming down pretty heavy. I had noticed a sign on the way about a car show on Route 17K, and that was the place that was my second likely choice for where this show was, so I went there. I arrived as the rain slowed and found a car show, but it was a different one: a classic car show. I had already decided not to go to this one, but there I was, and I still had no idea where the other one was. They had categories for new cars, imports, and "special interest vehicle," so I entered in that category. Good choice as there were far fewer competitors in that category than in the imports one.

This show was different in that it was peer judged. Each entrant got a ballot with all the categories listed: Pick one in each category, and turn it in by 12:30. I walked around, picked my favorites, but saw only one other in the Special Interest category, a 1974 Monaco New York State Police car. This thing was huge, with equally huge red gumball-machine lights on the top, and painted in the garish yellow-orange and blue that they used in those days. So I voted for that.

They posponed collecting the ballots a couple of times because of the rain and late comers. At 2 PM the weather started looking threatening again, then some distant lightning and a few rain drops. I quickly got everything put inside the car following my pre-arranged plan.

At 2:30 they started announcing the winners. They got to Special Interest, and I got Second Place. First place went to - the police car. Beat by a frakkin' ugly police car !!

Voted by my peers. Oh well. After announcing all the category winners, they announced the special awards: Best Engine, Best Paint Job, etc. Best Display went to -- ME !! Well, if that ain't the bullet the choked Billy Patterson !! All my work into perfecting my presentation finally paid off.

So, I went to the WRONG car show, I came home with TWO trophies. Can't complain.