My Thoughts

My Thoughts
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So the Cruisers hit town again this week and the old guy, for one, will throw open all of his windows to listen to the beautiful drone of the classic cars from his younger days.

You see, some complain about the noise and the burnouts and the traffic, but for Insider, it’s all music to his ears. He might even polish up the DeSoto and take a few laps up and down the strip. He’ll fit right in and be welcome by the motorheads because he was once one of them and they can sense that.

Old guys like Insider are supposed to get cranky and call Silly Hall or write letters to the editors of the local papers when his routine is disrupted and the morning calm with his coffee is interrupted by the roar of engines, but Insider can live with it for a few days. By Monday morning, he’ll be back to his morning coffee and first cigarette of the day, the only deviation from the routine will be the playful antics of the birds outside his window.

As the old guy watches and listens to the classic old cars roaring up and down the highway- the Studebakers of the 1930s, the big Hudsons and Packards of the 40s, of course the famous Chevy’s of the 50s and even the Mustangs, Corvettes and Camaros of the 60s- he is reminded of a simpler era.

Most of all, the old guy wonders what cars of today will be riding up and down Coastal Highway on Cruisin’ week 20 or 30 or 50 years from now. Do they even make cars anymore? On Classic Car weekend in Ocean City in 2058, will big gas-guzzling SUVs from 2008 be barreling up and down the highway to the oohs and aahs of the adoring public lining the sidewalks? Just a thought.

I guess the same thing can be said about a lot of things today. Take our Presidents, for example. What modern heads of state will be on money one day and who will be the next president to have monument built on the Mall in D.C. next to Lincoln and Jefferson. George W. or Billy Clinton? Will we ever celebrate their birthdays with a government holiday in the middle of winter?

I guess the same thing can be said of our sports heroes. Who will be this generation’s Johnny U. or Brooksie? Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?

Anyway, the old guy will sit back and enjoy the classic cars this weekend and pine for the days of his youth. To come full circle, this week’s big storm reminded Insider of another time in his life when he built the old Coronado on the beach in Ocean City only to have it wiped out by the big storm of 1962.

After a big battle with the insurance guys about whether the wind destroyed his hotel or the flood waters resulted in its demise, Insider prevailed and got a nice settlement check and moved on with his life, but not before buying a brand-new Cadillac convertible and taking off for Florida with a buddy for a few weeks. Not bad for a disaster. If the old guy still had that big Caddie, he would hit the streets this weekend in style.