Well it was over 80 degrees today for the first time this year in north east Ohio, so I brought out the summer beater.....had to run to the bank to pick up a check for a car I have been after for about a month now...So I am cruising down the road thinking what a nice day it is.....listening to the flathead purr......all the windows, the back and the windshield open....my kids laughing and having a good time in the rumble seat.....the same seat cushions I used to ride on when I was a youngster in the back of the Lazy 8.......and I am thinking what a great day....having a good old time.....then we are comming up on my older daughter's school and in the park before the school are a young girl and her mother standing by their car with a flat tire....so in a moment of nostalgia I remember the Choppers Hot Rod ***ociation being formed in the early 50's to get the word out about how hot rodders were not hoodlems...and they used to help stranded motorists and give them a club card that said they had just been helped by a Chopper..those were the days, so I pulled into the parking lot and changed the flat tire for them...The mom offered me some money, but I just told her no thanks and explained why her tire was flat and that she should have her front end checked out...My kids whatching the whole time in the rumble seat.....damn, what a good day! More on the new ride when I finally get it home tomorrow......
Funny how stopping to help someone out or even taking the time to stop to chat to someone for a while can make you feel good yet it is so easy to drive on by in our busy (and maybe pointless) lives. Well done. Pete
Send me your address. I'll send you a couple if you don't have any. I got them from Kevin Moore when I bought my Falcon from him. He might have wanted them back, I'm not sure. Norton
I do not own the right to those. Just posting them because the club was mentioned and Don Moyer is a cool dude for helping people out. Printing a couple off won't make them original. The Choppers Hot Rod ***ociation is still around so you could ask them. Norton
I know the feeling. About ten years ago, right before Christmas, during a snow storm, I went to the mall to get a present for my wife. On the way out of the mall parking lot I saw a full size older Chevy up on a snow bank. There was already a guy there trying to help the old lady driver in the car. He only had a small car, I was in my 4X4 and I had ropes, straps and chains in the box. I pulled over to see what I could do. I ended up pulling the lady out of the snow bank but I could see she was pretty upset and it was really snowing hard. She told me she worked part time in the mall to help support herself and disabled husband. I couldn't let her drive in the weather so I told her I would give her a ride home and she could get some one to take her back the next day to pick up her car. I called the police to let them know the situation and to let the old lady know I wasn't going dump her some place, I gave the cops my name and told them to talk to the lady to make sure everything was OK. The lady, who must have have been about 65+, and weighing about 85 pounds asked if I really wanted to drive in her neighborhood because she lived in one of the toughest low income projects in the area. Here's a 65+ years old, 85 pound lady asking me, a 35 year old, 250+ pound man if I was sure I wanted to take her to her home. I told her not to worry. I drove her home, about ten miles in the opposite direction of my home, in a snow storm. She wanted to give me something for my trouble but I refuse and wished her a Merry Christmas. That made my Christmas. To top it off a couple of days before Christmas I received a Christmas card from her thanking me and blessing my family. I didn't give her my address, only my name and general area where I lived so she had to do a little research to find my address. You couldn't have given me a better present. I try to help whenever I see some one stranded. When they offer to pay me I tell them to p*** it along the next time they see some one needing help. It just makes you feel better.
Thats what hot rodding is all about. I was just reading an old car craft today with a choppers club car in it from around 1962. I think it was a deuce three window. I'll see if I can scan it. You need to whip up some cars that say, "You just got your **** straightened out by THE DON!"
That's cool what you did Don Moyer, especially with your kids in the car. It's great to carry it on to the next generation. I have a similar story. I was out w/ the kiddos last weekend when we saw a fellow Hamber on his way back home from the Round Up in a parking lot, hood up. Couldn't really help being I had the little ones w/ me but I hung around in case he needed a ride to a parts store or even the use of my garage/tools if he couldn't get it going. Kids didn't mind they dug the car and his friends were nice to talk to as well. Fortunately he got it running and was on his way. I offered up my number in case he needed help on his journey back home (us HAMBers stick together, right) What made me feel really good was when my kids and I went on our way I heard my son say "that's what hot rodders do pop, help each other" Thumbs up to you as well bobj49f2
Nice story man....Our club also has "***istance Cards" to hand out to the general public when we help them out.
Thats very cool of you to do that. The whole idea of courtesy cards was ingenious. I wish that were the case today. Seems most people don't even pay attention to someone stuck on the side of the road. I stop to help anyone I can. "Today was a good day" <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/c58G3KdJrKo&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/c58G3KdJrKo&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
Don---Thats the way I remember hotrodding back in "The Day". I ran with the Road Angels out of Belleville, Ontario, and we had those cards to. There had been so much adverse publicity with hot rodders and hot rodding in general in the early 1950's that our mandate was to put a cleaner, more community friendly face on the hobby. It makes me quiver all over now to see so many younger rodders embracing and glorifying the "Bad hotrodder image" that we tried so hard to undo in the late fifties and 1960's.----Brian
Yeah the weathers been great. My Buick has been all over in the past 2 days, and the weekend just started Looking forward to hearing about your new ride.
Hi Don Hope you don't mind me ****ing in but I to remember those club cards. Since joining HAMB I've been going thur all my stuff (junk) and I found a card from our Club in Compton California, Also found this old sticker.
Cool story.. A thing called Karma, if you do a good (or bad deed) it will come back to you. Good (or bad) Karma. Happens all the time! No, I'm not a Buddhist or some hippie.
Ddid'nt that whole card thing start with Truck Drivers ?? as I seem to remember reading people did'nt think much of them ( like other subcultures )
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