Folks Of Interest A cluture lesson for me, maybe you also.

Saturday last after playing with my Avitar Car I closed the shop door at dinner time and left the keys in the ignition of the Avitar Car. No problem, the spares hang on the hook in the pantry. Ya think Lar,...................................... Nope.
the Next day when the lock smith arrived, and says," I gotta charge you a service fee of at least one fifty".......................well anyway here the real story begins.
I Should say here that Jan & daughter were at her Dr. that morning. Mr. Locksmith was in the shop in a Flash, turns on the light and almost fainted when saw the Avitar Car. As we became acquainted (visited for more than two and a half hours and I learned a great deal about him and his life in Europe (Spain) growing up and making his way to America, his love of American Automobiles, especially hot rods of all types, and much more.
As the lights came up, he was flipping out, asking if this was mine, question after question about it, walking circles around it and asking if he could touch it. I had not seen anything quite like it in in my shop/garage in the 25+ years it has been out there.
He is From Spain, 40 years old, has worked for the lock shop the last 10 years is not married has rented in the most exclusive suburb, (Kirkland) on the east side of Seattle for years. Came to the USA though NYC in the early 80's and came directly to Seattle.
We talked how he grew up (very poor) and how it affected his love of cars vs how American kids and now American men his age perceived when they grew up our cars at the time, and a lot more, Well eventually of course the girls came in, ruined, a great man thing, and he had to get on to other jobs which he had badly neglected, he is the mobile boss though so no biggie. And here is where all this got to me. When we shook hands on the Porch, and I took his had to shake it I told him to call me on a nice weekend and come take a ride in the 34 with me. ................ He seemed stunned! Really, you mean it? he said, tears in his eyes, he speaks with a Spanish accent. He actually said, "you make cry Larry"."
That struck me hard.
Here A Spanish man of 40, who grew up on the poor soil of Spain very under privileged,
who knew of American Hot Rods and longed for and loved them and never thought of owning one was now going to ride in one any time he wanted to do so.
Now I do not mean to make myself out to be some kind of nice super guy, I like this guy a lot and just wanted to give him a thrill he has dreamed for a long time and will do many times over as long as I'm able. Why not?

 

Good on you for offering to do that for the gentleman.

 

All about the love..heck i love people i cant stand....made a new friend..thats a good day..

 

Larry,
You’ve won my heart in just one short post.
I’m glad you’re on the hamb with us.

 

THAT's what life is really all about...keep it up!!

 

Thanks CF55 Thats
Federal Way Locksmith Services

 

And you wanted to deny us hearing stories like this a few weeks ago. Good for you!

 

Well shoot...
Where are my tissues?

 

Great that you made a new friend. We need more people like you in the world.

 

I've always thought of Larry as a "stand-up" kinda guy...this just puts the icing on the cake.

 

What a great thing to do.

 

Thanks to my Avitar I've had a few similar experiences. One that stands out was a young Girl about 10 waring a nice spring Green dress and a White blowse. It was in a Burger joint parking lot when she and her Dad came out. The little girl was just stunned and was saying look Daddy, it's so beautiful and it's all White inside. I had never seen a Child react like this or anybody for that fact to my driver. Dad, maybe all of 35 maybe, telling her not to touch and step back. I kinda laughed a little but cautiously. His accent told me this was unfamiliar territory for both of them and he started apologizing. I assured them it was just fine and it's just my Car though a bit special to me. I invited them both to look and before it was all over they both were sitting inside with amazement. He kept saying "Tuck-n-Woll, Tuck-n-Woll. He's sitting behind the wheel and I'm in the doorway, the caps are off the plugs and I reach for the key and fired it up. He just about Shit with excitement. The stereo was at almost full tilt instantly. He was laughing saying O-my-God, then I shut it down. He climbs out shaking my hand saying America is such a wonderful place, thank you thank you thank you. I didn't think it was that big a deal really. It did make there day and probably several days after. Still don't know what nationality they were, didn't matter. Sometimes we forget just how good we have it. I pretty much Smiled the rest of the day. That's not normal for me but I knew I had done something good.
It's out their Guys, just gotta let it happen.

 

Well it's against most people I hang with but we let kids sit in the cars. Makes our day as much as theirs.

 

Ditto fastcarl, just no ice cream, candy gum etc. Back a years ago or so I let the mayors kids
sit in my 34, pretend like they were driving, they had a ball. I know the mayor any way nd it sure didn't hurt a damned thing and the kids he said laer just ate it up.

 

More HAMB goodness, Thanks !!

 

Great story @34Larry . Certainly made my day. All too often we forget just how fortunate we are to live in this great country.

 

Great story
I believe many Americans forget that someone in their ancestry came to this land as an immigrant.
My grandfather came here when he was 11 years old, he came in through New York in 1887
I also find first generation Americans to be some of the hardest workers
When he left did you hear the bells?

 

Similar story here. I’ve had adults and kids ask to sit in my coupe and sedan. I always oblige. Makes there day and mine. Snowman ⛄️

 

Arent we all just big kids , playing with our hotwheels? Its a lot more fun when we can play with other kids. Sharing the hobby will help keep it alive.

 

THE Lap of Luxury, we had it.
( now I get what Sharpone was speaking of last night )
That gentleman from Spain grew up with admiration for the snarl and freedom of a two stroke dirtbike.
I was there in '71 and long into the night you could hear them exercising their gears.
Solo, Doubles and Gang style, they would play their buzzy sport.
Had the camp set on both coasts over a 20 day period.
Used to get a kick when confronted with the question of what my career was, by responding with Mechanico. They'd stare in disbelief.

 

This.

 

Kudos Larry. A little emotion each day is a blessing. Thanks for the story; it's a keeper.
I find that new Americans, the ones who emigrate here are the most thankful, the most patriotic and the least likely to "...forget just how good we have it."
A client who is in her 30's, a UCLA graduate, a high achiever of Vietnamese heritage says her Dad is over the top. He flies the flag, he is way into it on the 4th of July, Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. Well, her Dad was a sympathizer during the Viet Nam war, he loved the Americans, their sacrifices and their efforts. He was evacuated by the US government and he loves America. His daughter, my client is as American as my kids. She doesn't have a clue what her Dad when through. How could she?

 

^^^^^^
34 5W Paul you are so right, emigrants came and come here to make a better life, they escaped poverty or tyranny and are very grateful. We whose families have been here for a while often times take everything for granted. I believe everyone should visit and maybe work in a third world country I don’t mean go to the tourist resorts get out in the country and visit with the locals. I guarantee it will give you a whole new perspective on the USA.
Dan

 

My Granpa, on my dad's side also came through NYC from England in mid 1800's
but under different circumstances,
his parents abandoned him on the streets of NYC.
as did countless many other emigrants. (Ten dollars to one, you don't know about this chapter of our history because our illustrious leaders choose to never tell us the real story, in my educational time anyway, where is Paul Harvey? It became a huge problem very fast and orphanages in NYC were severely overcrowded. Meanwhile the Midwest was being settled, farms being started, help was needed badly so it was decided to send the older kids by train to those farms to help. These trains were known as the orphan trains. That was my grandfathers beginning in our land of the free. He ran away from the farm at 16 to get away from the beatings he took for the wrongs the family kids did, joined the Navy, was discharged when caught, got a job shoveling coal on the Illinois Central RR, met my grandma, along came my Dad, and that is that. Bet ya all learned something taday huh ?

Over a 75-year period, up to 200,000 indigent children went from city to farm.

 

Awesome