Tough Call

Spoke with ChopTop this evening, and he says I do not "play fair". I must admit that he is probably correct about that, at least when it comes to fighting for honesty and fair play at shows. That is important to many folks, and frankly, I am out to help them make it happen.

I like him - he has a good sense of humor and is plenty nice enough. But I think he is a bit set in the old ways that have not been beneficial to what we are striving for. He is comfortable with the old ways. I can understand that - I would prefer that America never left the 50's. I was comfortable with that age, and it was simpler. And I was popular with the chicks.

But the fact remains that times change, and we must change with them, or end up miserable. I am hoping that he, and others, will take a cold, hard look at the "old ways" being used, and ask themselves if they would feel differently about them if instead of being the beneficiary of those tactics, if they were instead the victims of them. I really hope that at least some will consider that, because that is the flip side.

Whenever you vote for a friend, or club member even though there may be better vehicles in the class, you may see it as helping a friend. But try seeing the other side - that by helping a friend to win an undeserved trophy, you are hurting someone else who does deserve it. Two sides to the coin. No matter which choice you make, someone loses. The difference lies in whether the most deserving VEHICLE wins. Shows are not supposed to be a popularity contest among the owners, to see who has the most friends at the show. Car shows are supposed to be a competition among the vehicles, not the people.

I fully understand the desire to vote for friends, even when they do not have the best in the class. I, too, am tempted. But we should at least try to remember what the Good Book says about such temptation, and giving in to it is not a good thing. When we give in to that, we not only hurt deserving people, but we hurt ourselves, as well.

ChopTop, if you are reading this, I hope you will take a few moments to think about this. You are a great guy, and I would like to see you on the side of bringing better shows to the folks. You would be one heck of an asset.

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