Classics

A couple of weeks ago, I traveled with the family down south to Pigeon Forge, Tenn. There was this huge car show. I am not kiding, there were easily more than 100,000 folks there. The last time we went down for this car show (several years ago) my dad backed our van into a pole, because he was too busy starring at some car (it was more than likely a '63 Chevy Impala SS). As soon as we got there this time my mom was constantly telling him to pay attention to the road, but I'm sure he didn't even hear her. He just kept saying, "Look at that one!" "Man, look at that engine!" "Beck, did you see that Chevy?" "There's a GTO, how much is it?" (Knowing there was no way he was buying one.)

I was amazed at how many people showed up to look at these classic cars. The majority of them were probably reliving the "good old days." That's all my folks kept saying: "Remember when I had that GTO?" or "That was just like the Chevy I had, only mine was red." My dad keep saying "Man I wishy I would have kept my Chevy."

It's funny how we never really know what we've got til it's gone. My parents said when they were younger a '63 Chevy was just a car, but now it's a classic. That just blows my mind. How something that was just a mean of transportation is now something you rarely want to drive. Then I began to think about life, my life, what are the things that I am possibly taking advantage of now that I could regret later? What or who is it in my life that I am not enjoying enough now?

I don't ever want to think of my life or the people in it as classics. Just like great friends and family, classics are cool to look at and to be around but expensive to repair and rebuild. Classics are just a more expensive version of what used to be and of what we wish could still be.

(If I did own a classic car, it would be the one in this picture.)