Rocky Mountain 356 Porsche Club
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A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum
By Dusty Johnson
(Author’s
Note: Got a whimsical story to tell
about one of your cars? Drop me a
line at DustyJohnson@aol.com so that I
can pass it along. Of course, I’ll
give you credit.)
One of my favorite stories has to do with my first Jaguar XK120s. We were
living in Phoenix and had just gotten out of college.
Restoring the Jag was almost the center of my attention (Okay, not the
center; I had just married Sharon).
It was “arrest me red”, always attracting a fair amount of attention.
A six-year-old race car was pretty exotic back then.
Plenty of young ladies (of all ages) would frequently stop and ask
questions and on occasion ask for a ride…always good for stroking a young man’s
ego.
I stopped at a convenience store about 10 pm one Saturday night to pick
up the early Sunday paper. When I
was about to depart, a big, very white, Rolls Royce glides up beside me. What
pops out of the back seat but a Liberace look-alike in a white sequined jump
suit with a white fur boa, blond hair like a professional wrestler or a TV
evangelist, and more jewelry than Mr. T on a bad day.
He just loved my car, he proclaimed, wanted to know all about it, where I
got it, and would I take him for a ride?
I am not certain whether he was talking about the car or not!
I haven’t stopped at
a convenience store since…and I check my ego at the door before I leave the
house.
A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum By Dusty Johnson
Back in my
early days of 356 ownership, my car had several small oil leaks all over the
place. Particularly embarrassing
was the one by the muffler. I
pulled into a Diamond Shamrock one day and parked it.
When I came out, a good citizen parked nearby told me he had already
called 911 because my car was on fire.
Okay, a small haze of smoke was indeed wafting out from under; I had seen
it before. Well, I heard a siren
coming in the distance, but I was in a hurry.
I decided I wasn’t really responsible for the other fellow’s actions, so
I got in and drove away rather quickly, while he looked agitated and upset.
I felt really guilty for some time.
Perhaps that is why I got to work eliminating all the leaks.
A couple of
years ago, we were taking a trip to Sheridan, Wyoming, in our 911 Carrera.
Wyoming highways are often very enticing with their wide open spaces.
I decided to open her up and fly along at 100 mph for a while, though the
speed limit was 70. Suddenly I
noticed a black dot in my rear view mirror, and it was rapidly gaining ground.
My first thought was, “Oh, oh, it has to be the police.”
I slowed down to about 65 mph, and, sure enough, a police cruiser pulled
up beside me. Sharon gave me one of
her famous ‘I told you so, you idiot’
looks. I expected to get the ‘pull
over’ signal from the officer.
Instead, over his loudspeaker, he said, “Nice car…I used to own one.” Then he floored the cruiser and disappeared over the horizon.
I just looked at my wife and laughed…only in a Porsche!
A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum By Dusty Johnson(Author’s Note—One of
my favorite musicals is A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum starring Zero
Mostel. In this play, the hero is
faced with Roman crime, corruption, disaster, and unforeseen problems.
He faces all and shows that there can be humor in any situation when
viewed with a whimsical eye. That
is the way I feel about many things that happen with my cars, in particular with
my 356. With each newsletter, I hope to bring you a smile while
telling of things that have happened to me.
I am sure that many of you have had similar circumstances and I strongly
encourage you to drop me a line at
DustyJohn@aol.com
with your story so that I can pass it on to the membership.
Of course, I will give you credit for it.)
One breezy day
last spring, I was running errands around town, thoroughly enjoying the sound
and feel of my “German used car,” when I noticed a car which I thought was
following me. I made a few odd
turns and circled a block. Sure
enough—he was still there. I pulled
into a parking lot, and this guy pulls right up next to me.
I’m thinking that this is rather odd, and I really don’t have time to get
out and chat about he car and answer his questions right now, even though I do
bask in the attention the car gets.
This fellow hops out of his car, quickly walks over, and says, “Hey, can I ask
you a question?” (“Here we go,” I think). He says, “That’s a really cool watch
you’re wearing. Where did you get
it?” So, in my quietest
356-ego-deflated voice, I told him where I bought the watch.
As he thanked me and walked away, he looked back and said, “Cool car.”
The day the
red B coupe was delivered to me, one of the first things I did was to drive it
the Quickmart for gas. Of course it
needed fuel, but I also wanted to get it out in public so others could see the
object of my pride. As it was
filling, I lovingly dusted off fingerprints and cleaned spots that I thought
were on the windows. I noticed the
whole time I was there that a pair of eyes was staring from inside the store.
I went inside to pay, and the young lady behind the counter was still
staring glassy-eyed at my car. I
got her attention; she turned to me and asked, “Is that YOUR car?”
I simply said yes. She
paused, looked at me for a long moment and said, “Will you marry me?”
(Author’s note…I hesitate to tell Sharon about this event for fear of
never being allowed near that gas station again!) A Funny Thing
Happened on the Way to the Forum…
By Dusty Johnson
(Author’s Note—One
of my favorite musicals is “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
starring Zero Mostel. In this play
the hero is faced with Roman crime, corruption, disaster and unforeseen
problems. He faces all and shows that there can be humor in any
situation when viewed with a whimsical eye.
That is the way I feel about many things that happen with my cars, in
particular with my 356. With each
newsletter, I hope to bring you a smile while telling of things that have
happened to me. I am sure many of
you have had similar circumstances, and I strongly encourage you to drop me a
line at DustyJohn@aol.com with your story
so that I can pass it on to the membership.
Of course, I will give you credit for it.)
One warm afternoon in Loveland, I was sitting in my Speedster waiting for
Sharon to come out of the grocery store.
The top was down and I was enjoying the nice weather and thinking how
terrific life can be when all is well in your own little world.
Parked nearby was an older van where a young mother was loading sacks of
groceries into the back. Her little
girl (about five years old, pigtails with bows, knee socks and a plastic
princess tiara) looked over and saw my car.
She squealed with delight and ran across the parking lot directly to me.
After circling the car twice, loudly exclaiming “Wow! Wow!” she ran up to
my door and put her little chin on the edge.
With wide eyes, she said, “Mister, can I have your car when you die?”…
Her mother nearly passed out, and I couldn’t talk I was laughing so hard!
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