The Steering Column
From your Co-chairmen

Jim Evans'
Left Hand Drive

Forty-some years ago Bob Dylan made this offer in one of his songs: “You can be in my dream if I can be in yours”. Bob was speculating on the aftermath of a nuclear war in that song, a circumstance that has never yet come to pass. But the offer is still intriguing in a world with many things we would like to change. We all have some dreams of what we would like to see happen; here are some of mine.
I picked up the latest copy of Autoweek sometime in the future and see the headline story: “Toyota Posts Record Loss For Third Straight Year”. Subtitle: “10,000s laid off in Japan, economy crumbles”. A related story: “Honda in receivership, unable to help”. Another related story: “Big Three Break Ground on New Factories”. Yippee!
I check the Wall Street Journal, front page center column: “OPEC Teeters On Brink Of Dissolution”. Subtitle: “Pro Western Members Hold Fast in 50% Price Reduction Demand”. Second subtitle: “Oil Minister Says ‘We should be ashamed of our greed”. A related story inside: “British Concern Buys Back MG Patents and Rights”. Wow! This dream is getting to be fun! Let’s continue, I don’t want to wake up! I turn on the TV, the newscaster reports: “South American Politicians Jailed For Encouraging Drug Based Economy - Bank Accounts Confiscated, Families and Relatives Forced to Work For a Living”. Yeahh!! Then comes the Sports Guy: “NFL Discharges Large Number of Players on Moral Grounds” with this explanation: “Official Says Good Example to Youth More Important Than Running and Jumping Skills”. Second story: “NBA Seeking Offers to Buyout After Closed Door Management Session”. And next the Human Interest Guy: “Actor’s Guild Abandons Copyright Infringement Harassment Program”; and an interview with an anonymous spokesman: “We were paid once for our work – that should be enough for anybody”. Cowabunga!!
OK, it’s fun to dream but I guess that none of these seem likely at this time. But, then again, how many people were shopping for Toyota’s and Honda’s when Bob wrote that song? What was the price of gas before OPEC? Weren’t sports teams expected to terminate criminals back then? Did anyone know the meaning of “download” in a world before the transistor was invented? So times change, and some things change that we can’t really do much about, and some things change that we would never think to predict. And so, maybe, we can only focus on things that we can control.
This year, I’m pleased to report, the club has implemented a program to standardize membership management, and we are close to doing the same for the club newsletter production activity. A third area, financial planning and management, is still being addressed at this time. The result of these efforts will be to ensure a stable continuity of club programs in the future as leadership changes. Also, the club project car has been rescued from the crusher and will soon be on the road and available to an MG enthusiast somewhere.
So, we haven’t been able to save the world from corruption and incompetence, but we have done a few good things. And I would offer to let you into my dream but only if I knew what yours were ahead of time. After all, I have witnessed a lot of surprises since I first heard Bob’s offer.
Safety Fast, - Jim Evans