Sorry –
I hit ‘send’ long before I was finished with my thoughts. The
rest was:
The ’57 Plymouth
was chosen as a symbol of the era by the Tulsarama committee way back when, in an
attempt to have people look back at 1957, Tulsa
and Oklahoma.
It was an age so optimistic that they honestly thought we would not have
gasoline and oil 50 years in the future -- and they wanted to share their time,
their city, and their lives with us.
That was Miss Belvedere’s destiny,
and it has been fulfilled in every way, by a car martyred to, ravaged by, and
forever frozen in, time.
The world DID look back at time and Tulsa that day, and I’m
still proud of what they saw in that car, rust and all. It’s not
the car’s fault that the vault leaked, and her current condition only
reinforces the fleeting nature of time and man’s creations – and that’s
what a time capsule is truly about. The perfect condition of the boiler
tank capsule versus the sad condition of the Plymouth just made each other more remarkable
and wonderful by comparison.
The people of Tulsa were not embarrassed either
– rather they were (and still are) extremely PROUD of that car –
proud of the simple fact that they put a car in a time capsule 50 years ago,
and dug it up later. What a unique and wonderful thing to try! For
a day the world all looked at their little town in Oklahoma, and they saw great joy. They, like
we, celebrated the EVENT, not the outcome. It was true human emotions, reminiscences,
and celebration.
I know you were a believer that it was a ‘showbiz’
event (reference your “SHOW BUSINESS VS THE REAL WORLD” email of
June 9th), but after having met, worked with, and consoled crying
event organizers upon finding a vault filled with water, I can tell you only
that they did their absolute damnedest to put on a good show for the folks who
came to see it, but it was in no way ‘showbiz’. This was
about Tulsa, the people of Tulsa, and a look back at a simpler time.
The thought of swapping in a ‘ringer car’ in place of an honest
piece of their history would have been total blasphemy to them.
No, I’m not embarrassed, not at
all. And no, I honestly don’t think people will be faux-rusting
their cars to match Miss Belvedere.
For those of us who were there, and those
of us who were there in spirit, I think they’d all agree with the above.
I know there are folks like your cousin who probably will never “get it”
about why we feel this way, but hey, some of us do. Some of us just do.
-Dave
From: Forward Look
Mopar Discussion List [mailto:L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Dave Stragand
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2007 4:08
PM
To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [FWDLK] THE NEGATIVE
SIDE OF "MISS BELVEDERE".
In answer to your questions, no, I totally
disagree with you. That’s my two cents.
-Dave
From: Forward Look
Mopar Discussion List [mailto:L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Ron Allyn Swartley
Sent: Thursday, June 21, 2007
11:37 AM
To: L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [FWDLK] THE NEGATIVE SIDE
OF "MISS BELVEDERE".
The negative side
of "Miss Belvedere is with some saying she is the most beautiful 57
Plymouth they have ever saw and that she is a work of art, that they think
she is worth $300.000 dollars, etc, they are inspiring a lot of guys to NOT restore
their Plymouths, that they were going to restore. My cousin Rick who
is a General Motors fan and I were discussing the Tulsa Plymouth, and
he asked me " If glorifying the destruction of a brand new 57
Plymouth is considered to be great, and a work of art, and the most beautiful
car some Plymouth guys have ever seen-----I am sure all my Chevy
buddies would agree with them". What would have been a failure for you Plymouth fans he asked me?
He said I'll bet if it was a two foot pile of rust you Plymouth guys would
say it was the most beautiful pile of rust, and you guys would have taken
thousands of photos of the pile of rust and probably all tried to buy the pile
of rust and put it on display.You and your Plymouth buddies are sick puppies
Ron.!!!!!!
Hey
guys, I disagreed with my cousin Rick, but he did make me think a little
more on the subject.!!!!!?????!!!!! If we make this failure a milestone in Plymouth history, aren't
we going in the wrong direction? Aren't we glorifying the hundreds and
hundreds of Plymouth
rusting in garages, barns, sheds, backyards? Aren't we encouraging the guy who
will not sell his rusty deteriorating Plymouth to someone who will restore it, and
making him think it is worth a fortune!!!!!!! This thinking could work
against us in the future?????
Don't
get upset----------------just think about it for a minute or two.!!!!!!!!??????
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