I was driving my car last week, and I found myself singing "Let the sun shine, Let
the sunshine in." That's because here in the Northeast, spring has finally embraced us.
How does one actually know when spring arrives? You could point to spring by a specific
point in our elliptical orbit around the sun, but who needs science class. Some folks
just stare patiently at frozen bird feeders for a glimpse of the season's first Robin.
And of course, there is Punxsutawney Phil's predication of when spring will arrive. I
have my own method of determining the arrival of spring. My method is not nearly as
recognized as Phil's, but it is dead on balls accurate. Spring officially arrives with
the emergence of classic cars from their winter-garaged hibernation.
The first Saturday you spot vintage cars either at the auto parts, car washes or driving
down Main Street is the undisputed start of the spring season. In past columns, we have
catalogued our experiences with driving old cars during the winter, so we won't beat a
dead mastodon. However, all winter long I have been daily driving my car around town
and all of a sudden, with the arrival of spring, folks notice. Drive up to the same
watering hole you've been haunting for months and the bartender who knows you by name
says, "You just get that car?" No, there's an oil spot out there with my name on it.
I try to keep my old car as clean as possible during the arctic season, so it's not as
though my car had been camouflaged with salt residue. I guess spring rips the blinders
off of folks; they are no longer running for their lives between one area of warmth to
another.
continued...
|
|
Daily Drives is a monthly column relating experiences driving these old cars.
|
"Spring officially arrives with the emergence of classic cars
from their winter-garaged hibernation."
|
|
