Visit to the Vineyard

 

By Morris Garagian

  For this early summer outing the VBAC had tandem tag team leaders Dan (aka Nigel Flopstalk) and Bro Jim. Nigel organized the Saturday meeting and Jim lead us to our destination - the Vineyard California Armenian Home, an assisted living/retirement community in southeastern Fresno. Many of these folks are real car enthusiasts, but are unable to go to the various car shows in the area, so the management decided to bring cars to the home and the VBAC was privileged to be invited.

  Upon arrival, we found that our LBCs had been segregated from the Detroit Iron entrees. We had no complaints, however, in that our small group were placed under some large shade trees; not a small blessing during a San Joaquin Valley summer’s day. After parking, we soon were able to interact with the residents. Most folks mentioned how glad they were able to see some variation away from the domestic vehicles.

  One lady in her wheelchair was being accompanied by her caretaker and she was casually taking in the sights of the Porsche Speedster, then the E-type, the 420, and the XJR. Finally, she came to the lowly MGA at the end and her whole demeanor changed. She had to stop and tell her story. She related that her long departed husband had owned a 1956 Dove Grey MGA with a red interior. During the long, hot summers, they would drive the MG to the banks of the Kings River and swim until the late evening. She asked if she could touch the front wing and, of course, there was no saying no. As she gently touched the Goblin, the years seemed to fade from her face as she remembered past adventures.

  All too soon, it was time for us to depart. As we left, we noticed that most folks had retreated to their a/c habitats. The members of the VBAC that attended will not soon forget the time we were able to brighten their day. 

Many thanks to Dan and Jim for putting this visit together.

Til next time,

Safety Fast!