[Tommy]

The weather was unexpectedly good yesterday in central Alabama so I went to two cruise ins. As there were no Cobras at either event, my Cheetah story will have to do. The highlights of my day were when I let selected kids sit in my car. I can say without exaggeration that due to its color and rarity, my car was the one most popular with kids. The first kid I invited to sit in my car was Tim, a three year old who was seeing the show from his perch on his dad's shoulders. As i talked with his dad I noticed Tim's fascination with my car, and I noticed that his dad was carrying him because he appeared to have dwarfism. Tim was all smiles as his dad lowered him down into the seat and I closed the door for a picture. The second kid was Norrie, a five year old boy who was with his grandfather. He started toward my car in a rush as soon as he saw it and his grandfather held him back with a reminder about not touching the cars. Norrie obeyed and with grandpa's approval I guided him into the driver's seat. Grandpa had to go back to his car to get his phone, but they both left with a picture neither one expected when they arrived. A few minutes later I saw a middle aged woman with her eight year old daughter approach with big eyes. We were in a very small town and their clothes signaled a blue collar life with few luxuries. I introduced myself and invited the girl, Melissa, to sit in the car. Her excitement at seeing the car turned to joy as she slid in behind the wheel so mom could take a picture. She was still looking back over her shoulder at the car when they finally walked away.

I met some nice and some interesting car guys and enjoyed most of those conversations too. But seeing kids faces when they got to do something they never imagined they could was my favorite part.