CBR-ACR
Viper Owner
I had to play catch up in the office yesterday (Saturday) and as I was driving home in the early afternoon, it was sunny with a few clouds, an unseasonable but perfect 70 degrees, and as I arrived home and pulled into the garage, looking to my left at a car under the cover, the temptation was too strong to avoid. Though there were others things I needed to do, it has been several weeks since I had the car out so I grabbed the keys, uncovered the car, slid in and as I hit the ignition button, the sound of a cold V-10 was like music to my ears.
No destination in mind, a ride to nowhere, but as I traveled the hilly and curvy back roads of North Carolina (by the way, I live in a great place to have such a car, it’s a mecca of speed, cars, engineering and great roads), past old farms, gas stations and remnants of small towns of the past, it was like rehabilitation for me. As I fueled up at a busy gas station the numerous people coming over politely asking to take photos of the car, and I even offered a few if they would like to sit in it for their picture which made their day, this first 30 minutes in my Viper reminded me of something. The real reason I purchased the car was not to squabble over a missed issue of Viper Magazine, or that I didn’t see the VCA 990 form, or not to critique a single word on a posting of someone trying to answer a question, or how many regions are left in the VCA, where do the any remaining funds reside, or that Canada doesn’t have one single member left, etc, etc, etc……. Nope, NONE of that matters, and I hope I never get to the point in my life that I am consumed by such small things in life……. The feel of the power, the sound of the exhaust and the way the car handles on those back roads was all I needed to recalibrate myself to focus on the things in life that is more important, and from the prism that I look through, it’s definitely not about being a member of a car club, whichever club that may be.
So what is more important is the friendships formed and I want to personally wish Holiday Greetings to my friends in the Carolina Viper Club and the VCA. Here we are at the end of another year and though I am still not sure how it got here so quickly, it was a great year for the CVC. My wish for all of you in the coming year is to find richness in happiness with family and friends. Let us remember what the season is truly for. Take time to reflect on our blessings and spread the joy of the season to those less fortunate. Merry Christmas and a Happy, Safe, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to all of you!
It’s amazing how therapeutic a Saturday afternoon drive in my ACR was……… and I could not think of a better post to move my last thread off the front page (I was tired of looking at it), we just need to enjoy our cars more!
Chuck
No destination in mind, a ride to nowhere, but as I traveled the hilly and curvy back roads of North Carolina (by the way, I live in a great place to have such a car, it’s a mecca of speed, cars, engineering and great roads), past old farms, gas stations and remnants of small towns of the past, it was like rehabilitation for me. As I fueled up at a busy gas station the numerous people coming over politely asking to take photos of the car, and I even offered a few if they would like to sit in it for their picture which made their day, this first 30 minutes in my Viper reminded me of something. The real reason I purchased the car was not to squabble over a missed issue of Viper Magazine, or that I didn’t see the VCA 990 form, or not to critique a single word on a posting of someone trying to answer a question, or how many regions are left in the VCA, where do the any remaining funds reside, or that Canada doesn’t have one single member left, etc, etc, etc……. Nope, NONE of that matters, and I hope I never get to the point in my life that I am consumed by such small things in life……. The feel of the power, the sound of the exhaust and the way the car handles on those back roads was all I needed to recalibrate myself to focus on the things in life that is more important, and from the prism that I look through, it’s definitely not about being a member of a car club, whichever club that may be.
So what is more important is the friendships formed and I want to personally wish Holiday Greetings to my friends in the Carolina Viper Club and the VCA. Here we are at the end of another year and though I am still not sure how it got here so quickly, it was a great year for the CVC. My wish for all of you in the coming year is to find richness in happiness with family and friends. Let us remember what the season is truly for. Take time to reflect on our blessings and spread the joy of the season to those less fortunate. Merry Christmas and a Happy, Safe, Healthy and Prosperous New Year to all of you!
It’s amazing how therapeutic a Saturday afternoon drive in my ACR was……… and I could not think of a better post to move my last thread off the front page (I was tired of looking at it), we just need to enjoy our cars more!
Chuck
