<VV> Convention numbers--Smitty Says

[kaczmarek at charter.net]

I've been aquainted with Smitty for 22 years. A more dedicated CORSA 
member and Corvair Enthusiast would be hard to find.

It truly goes without saying that in the 8 years we belonged to the same 
CORSA chapter, Smitty and I rarely if ever saw eye to eye on anything. 
Water long passed under the bridge.  As I've gotten older I sometimes 
feel my streaks of curmudgeon-ness are partially from having known him 
for so long.

Smitty retired from the military (Navy), and I'm a 10 year veteran 
myself.  I feel, and he probably does too, that the United States is an 
English speaking country.  Therefore, he probably rankles just as I do 
when I'm asked to "PRESS ONE FOR ENGLISH"---I mean, what the hell for? 
English is "El Idioma Primera en Estados Unidos", after all.  It's 
refreshing when I go to Ft. Jackson, Shaw AFB or Camp Lejuene to shop in 
the stores because there IS NO SPANISH.

That's not to say that military bases are not multi-cultural. You can 
find speakers of Tagalog(Filipinos), Japanese, Korean, German, 
Vietnamese and many other languages on a military base.  But NO SPECIAL 
PROVISIONS ARE MADE----SPEAK ENGLISH OR LEARN HOW.

 From my friend Tim Colson, I get the newsletters from the CORSA 
chapters to read every month.  And the club has many good Chapter 
Newsletters.  SO FAR, they're all in English.  I speak German, as well 
as smatterings of Polish, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese.

Many Americans are upset about the direction this country has taken. 
Especially our "Seasoned Citizens".  Smitty meant no real harm. And if 
anyone was to accuse him differently, in days gone by it would have been 
me.  I guess the numbers speak for themselves, and Smitty was just 
raising a pertinent fact.

Seth chimed in about the people from his chapter who attended.  He 
mentioned the percentage of HIS chapter that attended the convention. 
But if someone gave a count of the number of members in ALL of the 
chapters in CA, Seth's chapter attendance would be one drop in a 
thimble.

If one is getting more seasoned, and didn't want to drive their Corvair 
with no A/C through the mountain passes, well...that's what airplanes 
are for. From North Carolina, I flew to Vegas and drove to Tahoe, and I 
flew to Phoenix and drove to Flagstaff, and I drove my truck to 
Carlisle,  BUT I WAS THERE.  I think that's the point that Smitty was 
trying to make.

Perhaps the other point Smitty was trying to make in his response to the 
"outrage",  is that we live in the "UNITED STATES OF THE OFFENDED".  If 
anything Smitty said offended you, see if your doctor can thicken your 
skin.

Hank