Surprise!

"Surprise" is not really the right word to describe Telstar. Disappointment, shock & disgust would be more appropriate.

There were three good points:

1) The donuts were homemade, hot and delicious
2) Food was very reasonably priced, and
3) The school students who ran the concession booth were absolutely stupendous

As for the show, itself...

First, let me say that when Fred approached me at Oxford, he led me to believe he was one of the organizers, and he solicited me to attend "his" show and critique it so they could discover any short-comings and fix them.

That, in itself, was a bad joke. Fred was not an organizer of the show - only a parking volunteer. And the organizers have no interest in fixing any of the huge errors at today's "show". And here is where everything went wrong - and stayed wrong.

First thing, several folks complained to the organizer, Grayson, that many were jumping class - there were Sport Compacts in Imports, and Street Rods and pickup trucks in Special interest, and a street rod in Trucks, to name just a few. There were others. But it seems the organizer just was not interested, as long as he had everyone's $5.00. So, six of those folks came to me to ask "what's up with this crap?" Others asked why they should have to compete with the sponsor of the class, or the vehicles of the organizers.

I then went to speak with Grayson (and several others did the same). I asked point blank if they had any intention of fixing the problems. He said, flatly, "NO!" I then asked why not - doesn't he care about the integrity of his show? The honesty? His response was, "We're not concerned with that. We don't care. We just like cars." In other words, "We got everyone's $5.00, and that's all that matters."

I then asked if he even knew the definition of a Street Rod, or a Custom, or any other class. Nope. Didn't care about that, either.

According to the organizer, anyone could register anywhere. A 4x4 Custom truck could register with Mustangs, and take the trophy for all he cared.

Now, for most of us, that attitude, alone, is a huge transgression deserving of taking our money elsewhere next year. But as I was soon to discover, it got worse - MUCH worse!

The sponsors of classes were allowed to enter into the very classes they sponsored! Talk about being rigged! And it came as no surprise when sponsors walked away with trophies.

No, that was not the worst, either. It gets even worse...

The organizers, themselves, entered their vehicles, and walked away with trophies.

And then there were the vehicles of Alumni, highlighted by balloons, and entitled to an additional trophy. It seems alumni are more special than non-alumni, and deserve more shots at a trophy.

So, if you were fortunate enough to be in a class that did not include a sponsor, alumni or an organizer, the voting was likely legitimate. Otherwise, you could kiss any semblance of an honest vote goodbye, as the multitude of organizers all voted for each others vehicles, ensuring easy wins. And, of course, Grayson, the chief organizer, took first place. Will wonders never cease? The rest of us threw our money away just to watch them give themselves trophies.

And no, I am not talking about the $5.00 entry fee, although that was lost, too. Most of us came from a distance. Gas & oil, our time, the entry fee, and some even came the night before and paid for a motel. All that was forfeited for those unfortunate enough to be caught between sponsors, alumni and organizers.

As a side note, I spoke with several of the class jumpers and let them know they were out of class. Every single one admitted they knew that, but they did not care, as long as they had a better chance of winning. It never ceases to amaze me that some people are so OK with being dishonest, and do not even think there is anything wrong with cheating. It reminds me of politicians.

Folks, it you want honesty in your shows; if you want only Mustangs in the Mustang class; if you want to not have to compete with the people putting on the show, then you need to take a stand and refuse to vote for any clown that is either out of class, or is connected with the show (unless their vehicles are in a separate class of their own, as they should be).

Fortunately, the word is getting around - the street rod and pickup truck in Special Interest received almost no votes - both would have fared much better in their own classes.

As for Telstar, since they seem to encourage cheating in order to rake in the bucks, or simply "do not care", as the organizer so bluntly put it, I will not waste a drop of gas or a minute of my time returning to their pathetic excuse for a show. And from what I heard from about two dozen others, they won't, either. And it was because of the obvious cheating that HotKarz declined to have the BEST OF THE BEST line-up at this show. Although many winners deserved their wins, others did not, and HotKarz was not going to reward cheats.

Don't misunderstand - we won a trophy, so this is not "sour grapes". It's simply how things were.

As screwed up as the Sanford Elks show was last year, at least they were not blatantly dishonest.

If you screw the folks, don't expect a second chance at screwing them again.

On the other hand, I am very pleased to hear how well the show at the East Auburn Baptist Church went. For their first ever, it sounds like a winner.

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