[s-cars] Confessions of an //S-Fest WEST Guest

[Eric Phillips]

> From: <pkrasusky at ups.com>
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] Confessions of an //S-Fest WEST Guest
> To: <stevevoit at comcast.net>,    <s-car-list at audifans.com>
>
> Ah, gotchya Steve - sometimes humor is lost electronically.  Gots to
> realize this has grown to be like one of me kiddies - heck - Jen was
> pregnant with Tyler for the inaugural!  Consequently I tend to be a bit
> protective / proud.
>
> I lumped my response to you in with other 'issues' floating around out
> there that had nothing to do with you.
>
> So, amen to all that!  Enjoy every moment...

Reading it as humor did help my attitude a little.  A lot of fun was
had by everyone, and a little too much fun was had by a couple of
folks.  But not so much the family crowd was offended.

About 15 years ago, I was a member of NWARC - NW Alfa Romeo Club.  I
had a Spider, and the club was based in Seattle.  At the time, I lived
in Olympia, about 45 miles south on I-5.  Every couple of months,
there'd be some sort of themed GTG:  a dinner, a tech session, a
winery driving tour, something.  In reality, all it was about was a
bunch of guys (dragging their wives behind) hanging out and shooting
the bull about cars.  Any cars.  While only serpent and cross cars
ever showed up, I was told that folks would show up in any old car
just to hang out with the Alfisti.

Two events happened every year - the Alfa Club picnic, and the Alfa
Club Christmas party.  The Christmas thing was a semi-formal do, and
there'd be music and food and a secret santa sort of deal - a really
nice gathering.

The Picnic was a whole different gig.  Barbeque, beer, bocce ball...a
fun day for everyone.  We'd go and hang at a summer place of one of
the members, on a huge piece of land overlooking the Puget Sound in
Island County, WA.  At the end of the day, there'd be a gift give-away
of Alfa-related stuff, donated by members and Alfa part dealers (like
Alfa Ricambi in CA).

This event was like those Alfa events, only the guys who came to this
event are a lot closer.  I think part of that is the fact that we all
do at least some of our own wrenching, which really changes your
perspective on a particular car.  I mean, when Alex mentioned the
moisture trap, everyone was nodding.  We're just tighter-knit than the
Alfa group I was part of.

I'm not sure how much bigger this event could get at that location.
Surely we could have had double the number of participants and still
have been OK, but not much more than that.  Carl's place just isn't
big enough for the huge gatherings the east-coasters have been having
the last couple of years.  It sort of stops being a GTG when there are
100 cars.  It's an *event* then, for sure!

This thing was in no way anything about trying to give the finger to
the east-coast-boyz, or trying to out-JNR the uber-JNRers.  It was
about gathering a group of like-minded folks for some fun, some food
and some suds.  I think if ever we held the thing in a place closer to
civilization, inviting the P-car crowd, the B5 S-headz and the Alfa
club (whose members also own other Eyetalian iron) might be fun.  But
that's a monster event - one I'm not sure I'd want to help organize.
K.I.S.S. - that's the way I roll.  :)

Eric