The Steering Column
Left Hand Drive from our President

Well for Jana and me it has been a summer to attend our 50 year high school reunions, Jana's was in Indianapolis during July and mine in Oklahoma in mid-August. There’s nothing like hearing old stories and remembering those high school days. One of the most amazing things was that the grass was green in Oklahoma and it was not 100 degrees outside. I cannot remember seeing this in mid-August. Usually the grass was brown by then and the temps were well into the 100s.

We started the trip to Oklahoma by taking the Great Mississippi River Road from Berlington, Iowa down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For those of you that want to make this drive, you should note that the river south of St Louis is lined by 20 to 30 foot or higher levies, so that part of the drive is all about visiting cities and some Native American sites along the route. Lots of history to enjoy. A couple of times we drove up on top of the levy and that was also interesting.

There are still several MG drives coming up that Jana and I are looking forward to. If you have not signed up yet for one of the events, it is not too late to participate. I am very glad that Victor was able to run the August meeting while we were out of town. This is my second year as your president and I will not be running for reelection for next year. I am saying this now, because we start the nomination process in October, so there is plenty of time for someone to consider running for office. Ralph has also said that he will not be running for Treasurer next year. If you are interested, please let us know.

As I have said several times in this column, I am a big Tony Stewart fan. It was a real tragedy what happened on the sprint car track in upstate New York and I have nothing but prayers for all those involved. It is a very tough time for those involved and on a larger scale for the sport of car racing.use.

For our September meeting, we will have a tech session on car storage hosted by our club Technical Coordinator, Steve Skegg. Actually any question can be asked, and Steve will address it, he would just like to know about it before the meeting so that he can prepare props, if appropriate. It should make for a lot of discussion and make for a good meeting. For October, Ralph Arata will be giving a talk on lubrication. He also will be bringing some props for us to see and learn about their use. So there are lots of reasons to set aside time in your schedules to attend these meeting. Also, Jana and I hope to see you on the road in your MG.

Happy motoring and Safety Fast!

-- George Phariss

	The Steering Column
	Right Hand Drive from our Vice-President

With most schools in session and the sounds of football practice in the air it is a sure thing that summer is almost over. Along with summer is our car driving season. Soon we will no longer feel comfortable driving with the ‘top down’; rather our passenger/navigator will be huddled under a lap blanket for our road trips. And maybe the heater will be engaged and the air vents shut. A hot coffee or chocolate will replace our cold drink in the cup holder. Of course this assumes all the mechanical devices I mentioned are in working order.

Now I know there are plenty of driving events to go before we think about putting away our cars for the winter, so I don’t want to sound to despondent about the coming months’ climate. I for one rather enjoy the crisp air blowing through my hair (okay, across my smooth skull) and the warmth of the engine drifting in through the firewall (or maybe the air flow is through the drafty floorboards). I do have a tonneau cover for when I am riding solo and so far I have been quite cozy up until the full winter months. Of course a knit hat works wonders for those cold drives.

Even though I won’t be driving the MG in the coming weeks I will be on-the-road traveling East and South. I start off by visiting my brother on the east coast for the Labor Day weekend. He has a 4-bedroom rental home on Cape Cod near Eastham, MA and he occupies this residence for a few weeks in the summer. This will be my first time to his house since he bought it some 5 years ago. Penny & I will be driving round trip and staying for a few days over the holiday weekend. When we return, we will repack our stuff and travel with my son and his wife via car to Gatlinburg, TN area. Actually we will be staying in a resort in Pigeon Forge for a week and traveling the area – day hiking, golf, and visiting a few distilleries. It should be fun.

Unfortunately I will miss out on a number of CMGC events –Westmont Crusin’ Night and British Car Festival. I was looking forward to the Westmont event, but the timing was not in my favor. Of course the BCU festival is an event to take part in. Not only is our club co-coordinators for this event, it is a great way to see ALL the British car makes & models in one place.

But I will be back for the Wine, Cheese and Beer Tour. I wouldn’t want to miss that. Maybe I’ll bring my knit hat.

-- ~~ Victor L’Heureux