Wee Hawwwww. Our good friend farmallcub49 of Oso Handy Restorations just called me as I was finishing up my last post and said he had already found me a replacement brake drum and that he'd bring it to our Great Northern Model T Club meeting tomorrow. I can't begin to say how great that makes me feel.
It's this type of thing that becomes a testament for the benefits of belonging to a local club. I've already become aware that Model T owners are a special type of person. They travel at a little more comfortable pace and I think that eliminates a lot of the anxiety that other people feel and display on a daily basis. And it's that ability to make sure cooler heads prevail in moments of anxiety that makes them nicer people in the long run. Though I've always been anxious and a lot of times I become too emotionally involved when things don't go according to plans, I only need to bring up what's going on to one of my model t friends and it seems the issues iron themselves out in a matter of seconds.
And I'd also like to speak to the fact that there are a lot of other benefits to belonging to a local club. First and foremost is the friendships that are forged between people who have a common interest. Second is the amount of knowledge and resources that become available through the club. Third is the social activities that give me, a single person, the opportunities to go once a month and be with other club members. The meetings are fun and the food is always excellent. Fourth are the opportunities to take our model ts out as a group and see the world at that slower pace that seems so welcome when everything else in life moves so fast and can be so hectic. A person sees a lot of country at 65 mph but gets to see the details much better at 30 mph. And 5th is the acceptance and interest that is shown by non-model t owners. There's nothing in the world like talking to people about our hobby and explaining how we drive something with 3 pedals, 2 levers on the steering column, 1 lever that comes through the floor, a knob that comes through the dash that adjusts the carburetor and a piece of wire that sticks through the firewall that we choke the engine with when were starting the vehicle. Couple all that with a crank, a fuel cutoff valve and a choke that also comes out of the front of the hood by the side of the radiator and you've got a vehicle that obviously takes talent and skill to operate and requires dedication to the model t hobby. Thank you Henry Ford.
