Oh, what a feeling!

This has been one heck of a year so far. Like many of you, I've had financial, work and personal issues. Add on to that the turmoil in the automobile industry (Saturn just got its pink slip!).

Except for one Regional show and the Grand National, I have been conspicuously absent from car events this year. I had planned to attend the D.C. National Driving Tour, but other obligations extinguished that idea.

Two weeks ago, I was finally around for a weekend with no other obligations, and able to attend a local show at which Cadillacs and LaSalles were featured. As many know, my drivable collector cars are stored a distance from my house, so I had to go get one. I decided I would take the '65 Eldorado rather than the Fleetwood.

It was supposed to be a nice day and the Eldorado is a drop top. This created a bit of apprehension as the last time I wanted to use it, it unilaterally decided that it didn't want to leave its comfortable storage berth.

This time, I was ready. I had all my tools in the trunk of the Impala Super Sport (the VW has been in the shop for five of the last six weeks-a familiar pattern here lately). I pulled up to the Eldorado and said, "Hello!" You talk to your car, too, don't you? I uncovered it, checked the battery connections, made sure the choke was properly set, got in preparation for troubleshooting and hit the key. The Grey Ghost fired right up, like I just parked it.

Surprised, but happy, I pulled it out and parked the Impala in its place. I went over to the Ghost, commenting to myself how good it looked, put the car cover in the trunk, got in and drove out.

As I exited the garage and came into the sunlight, I realized that I had a Cheshire Cat grin on my face. I dropped the top, put on the boot and just forgot the cares of the world. It was as though the weight of the world were stuffed in the trunk with the car cover.

Since it hadn't been driven in a while, I spent some time detailing it. It was kind of a pain to clean as it was last driven in the rain. As I was washing it in front of the house, my early-rising neighbors walked by, admiring the car and commenting on how nice it looked. Compliments always seem to make that effort less like work and more like fun.

Finally ready, I headed out to the car show and spent a pleasant day in fellowship with other Cadillac and LaSalle aficionados. I had a great time, got to see some cars I hadn't seen before and catch up with people I hadn't seen in quite a while.

I extended the day by using the car to take Valerie to a dinner party to share the Cadi-ambiance.

What a feeling! I've got to get to work on that Brougham!

-Glenn