When the month of October is here, some of my favorite treasured songs always come to mind: “The Autumn leaves”, Autumn in New York”, and my all-time fav…. “AND WHEN OCTOBER GOES”. I sing the beautiful lyrics to myself “and when October goes, the snow begins to fly, above the smoky roofs, I watch the plans go by”……a beautiful ballad based on a lyric written, but not completed by the incomparable Johnny Mercer and then matched up to a melody and completed and sung by my most favorite artist, Barry Manilow. (Just wanted to throw in a little fun fact for all you Manilow fans out there!!!) LOL!!!!!

Seriously, while October is the true start of fall, and the Autumn leaves are turning colors, it saddens me a bit to know our MGs will soon have to be stored and buttoned up for the winter months ahead. Just a few more driving events are on the calendar for the month of October and November.

Before I talk about this month’s events, I would like to follow up on the last Auto cross, (Miata IV) which was held on Saturday, September 1st, again at Boomers Stadium. Unfortunately, the weather was not so good and the attendance was worse. Jim Compton was the only member from the Chicagoland MG Club, but on a good note, he finally took 1st place!!! Good for you Jim!!!

The 32nd Annual British Car Festival took place on Sunday, September 9th Usually, it is VERY Hot and humid out. This year, it was a little overcast and cool, but very comfortable with a light jacket on. There was a nice turnout from both the CMGC and VMGCC. As always, it was a fun day out!

I must emphasize what a sensational time we all had at the Wine, Cheese, Beer Tour which took place on September 14th, 15th and 16th! Once again, Amy & Russ Mehaffey put together an extraordinary event!!! There was an impressive turnout of 24 cars / 48 people. Unbelievable roads, enjoyable stops and lots of laughs!! I know you will revel in Ralph Arata’s write up in this month’s issue.

I would, however, like to mention a few minor mishaps – one being Jim Evans, who seem to have alternator/battery problems which were temporally fixed so he was able to drive home Sunday morning. As for my Tim, well, maybe we can bring back Tim’s corner after all…..…..

You know the story of “the little engine (train) that could”……all was fine with the little blue midget, until the HOT weather took its toll on the little engine. We were taking a nice leisure ride home, caravanning with Steve & Kate Skegg, Bill & Sally Hendrick and Ralph & Sue Arata, taking a scenic route from Galena IL straight down Route 64 all the way home. All was going well until Steve Skegg cruised at 65+ MPH. As Tim and I were trying to keep pace, the poor little midget kept missing and loosing engine power, not being able to maintain a speed much past 45 MPH.

I’m thinking to myself – OH NO – PLEASE GOD – please don’t’ let us break down on this HOT ride home….so I start chanting to myself – “and the little engine said: YES I CAN, YES I CAN, I KNOW I CAN…..miraculously, the little blue midget came back and was able to sustain 55 MPH back home without breaking down!! I cracked myself up along with easing the intensity for Tim – We both just laughed….. Tim figured out that our little old Midget just can’t take the intense heat and needs to cool down in situations like this.

The All aboard 2 Tour, once again hosted and organized by Jim Compton & Bob Dorley, was held on Saturday September 22nd. 12 cars drove from Elgin down country roads to Union Illinois to the Illinois Railroad Museum where everyone enjoyed a great day touring the grounds and riding the enormous historical Steam Engine Train!! I was not there but heard rave reviews!!

The Fall Car Care Safety Clinic for Seniors is once again hosted by Jim Vondran and is taking place on Saturday, October 13th. Please come out 8:00am to noon in Lisle and help the seniors with a pre –winter vehicle check. Details are in this month’s newsletter.

The last event for the month is The Halloween Rally, organized and hosted by Phil & Sandy Wydra. Mark your calendar for another “spooky” fun filled rally, taking place on Sunday, October 28th. Be as creative as you can to win a special prize for the BEST Halloween Costume!!!! Hope to see many of you there!!

Looking ahead into November… The final driving event to wrap up the 2018 Driving season is the notable Cruise to the Rock, hosted and organized again by Jake & Ann Snyder, on Thursday, Thanksgiving morning, November 22nd. You can read about the details in this month’s issue.

That wraps up ALL the events for the season. Boy…that went FAST!!!!!!
I hate to mention December, but you might as well look at your calendars and reserve Saturday, December 1st for our annual Holiday party and award ceremony!!! I will talk about this in more detail in next month’s Driveline. After all, there will not be much to talk about other than the recaps of October’s events.
You will all be relieved, however….my article will be MUCH shorter!!!! J J

AGAIN: TO ALL ORGANZIERS AND HOSTS when writing up your articles to promote your event, please remember to not only send a copy to Victor L’Heureux -viclheureux@gmail.com but also to Barney Gaylord - webmaster@chicagolandmgclub.com and to Greg Hoeft Ursula_Greg@msn.com – he will put it in the vintage club newsletter.

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