Made a trip to the VA Hospital today.
Usually, pics of events or get togethers involving cars are loaded with pics of the cars that showed up. Today, it was about the spectators. As I'm sure everyone knows, there is a direct relationship between our hobby and the veterans who served our country. I'm not a writer, so I'll post part of something I found on the net. It reads as follows:
"The activity increased in popularity after
World War II, particularly in
California, due to returning soldiers, many of whom had been given technical training in the service."
Today, a small group of us Houston HAMBers payed a visit to the Micheal E. DeBakey Veterans Hospital in Houston, Tx. I had wanted to just try and break up the boredom for these men, women and their families when they visit the hospital. I think I speak for all involved when I say it was a great success. Lots of questions were asked, ideas shared and talk of times gone by. There is nothing better than looking at the smile on a persons face, when they tell you stories about what they had and drove back in the day. I'm glad that I did this and hope that something like this can be done more often. These men and women are a treasure.
At the time I contacted the VA about doing this, I was told that we would have room for only two cars due to space limitations and we would have to work out a rotation system to display our cars. Upon arrival, this had been changed and the VA security allowed us space on a wide sidewalk that proved ideal. The cars could park, there was shade from the sun and plenty of room for people to walk around and be comfortable. I want to thank Ms. Nikki Verbeck in the VA Volunteers office for all her help in getting this to work.
So, here are the pics. Once again, it's not the cars you should concentrate on, it's the people who enjoyed our time there.
As I had parked this was the first gentleman to walk up. He told me a great story about a car he had. It was a '40 Ford coupe and he had dropped an Olds motor in it. In his words, "We used to really kick some ass in that car." He then told me that he stopped driving it in 1970 and it had been parked in his garage ever since!
The hospital Chaplin checks out the fit. He asked me how did it feel to sit in a car that had the tires hanging out. So, I told him to try it out.
Just after I took this pic, he asked how loud it was. I told him it's not too loud, but there is a guy who has one that is REALLY loud. It was then that this beast showed up!
Next, Matt from CMX ( a local shop here in Houston) showed up with a customers '48 Chevy. I just may have to build one of these one day. Stunning!
Also in attendance was a member (I'm very bad with names) of The Los Cochinos Car Club, representing in grand fashion.
Now, the people.
The highlight of my day was having a chat with the gentleman in the background. He was a WWII vet and was at Saipan and Iwo Jima. He joined when he was 17 after first being denyed. He was in his early 80's and still kickin' it!
Another cool moment was over hearing the conversation between these two gentlemen. One said, "Man, doesn't this bring back memories!?". The guy in the suit told of how he had owned one sorta like it with a rumble seat. Classic.
that I was only trying to educate him, when I spanked his butt last weekend. Ricers... geez.:rofl:
