Bravo Jason, I think they took the right path too.
John
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jason Rogers" <jasonrogers@xxxxxxxxxx>
To: <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 5:36 AM
Subject: Re: [FWDLK] Miss Belvedere News
With all due respect to those who have done so, I am surprised at the high
level of criticism being lobbed at the "stabilization"/restoration
(whatever it can be called) project underway for Miss Belvedere.
Is it YOUR car? No!
I see such criticism being much the same as the perpetual conflict between
"original restorers" and "rodders." An original restorer says, "How dare
you make that change and take away from the originality of that car...it
would've never been made that way from the factory...Walter or Virgil
would turn over in their graves if they saw you doing that...."
A rodder says, "Hey, I like what I have but I want to do something
different with it...for the same or less money (or the parts are simply
not available or are too expensive to remake), I can tailor it to my
preferences...I can make it more economical to operate and maintain...I
can make it safer - for me, my passengers, and other motorists - to drive
on the highway..."
Back to the relic/museum context, when archaeologists find artifacts that
are ultimately put on display in a museum, are those artifacts displayed
"as found" - or are they carefully (and "respectfully") cleaned and
"stabilized" - looking almost as good as they did before they got buried,
and looking closer to how the ancients viewed them than we moderns view
them right out of the dirt?
If the current owner wanted to "desecrate" Miss Belvedere via a full
restoration, it could've easily been completed by now. But no, he opted
to subject the car to a more "respectful" cleaning process, and the plan
is to only replace whatever parts are absolutely necessary to allow the
car to be safely rolled around - or, God forbid, driven.
It doesn't change the fact that it is still Miss Belvedere. There is an
abundance of video and photos that have documented how she looked coming
out of the grave - and that's fantastic for historical reference. But to
see that same car "cleaned up" - getting the rust and mud and other crap
off - that's even better. It may be a bit rickety in spots, but it
survived!
It is no different than a man getting out of bed, shaving, showering,
combing his hair, and putting on clean clothes before he emerges into the
world for his daily activities. He's still the same man when he got out
of bed and was "nasty," he's just more pleasant to be around when he's
cleaned up - and he can be an inspiration to others who see him and are
encouraged by his presence.
Oh, and yes, I was in Tulsa. I couldn't be at the exhumation site, but I
watched the parade from there to the convention center. I saw Boyd and
his belle checking out the car and sneaking peaks. I was there that night
it was "unveiled" to the public. I attended the car show and saw Miss
Belvedere up close in her muddy/mildewy/rusty "bed clothes." The entire
experience was fascinating.
I have no problem with the rightful owner doing what he's attempting to do
to Miss Belvedere. At least he's doing something with her! And of course
we have the unalienable right to express our opinions - right or wrong.
But in the end, it doesn't matter if any of us agrees or disagrees because
IT'S NOT OUR CAR! Let's remember the PERSON who owns the car and minister
encouragingly to him! That's what this hobby is supposed to be about!
Jason.
*************************************************************
To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1
*************************************************************
To unsubscribe or set your subscription options, please go to
http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?SUBED1=l-forwardlook&A=1
|
|
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network