Car show etiquette

We spent yesterday on our fence project again, so today was an easy 2 miler on the deadmill. No big whoop. I've been doing crosstraining on Sundays, a combination of 30 minutes on the elliptical and 30 minutes walking on the deadmill, but I really hate the whole crosstraining thing. I know, I know-it's good for me, rests the old running muscles, yada yada. I still hate it. So, stubborn person that I am, I'm just not going to do it any more. I'll do short easy runs instead, sometimes on the deadmill, sometimes not. So there.

The car show season is winding down; here in California we'll continue to have an occasional show but for the most part it's a summer thing. I encourage those of you who have never attended a car show to go to one. Look at the cars as a piece of rolling art. Talk to the owners. They're generally a pretty friendly group. However, be aware that while a car show is lots of fun, you need to be careful around vintage cars. Don't touch, lean against, or plant your rear end on a car. Seriously. The last show I had a car in, I watched a woman plant her rather generous rear on the hood of my car to get a cheesecake picture. Fortunately a good friend saw the same thing and asked her to remove her ass from my car. I was too busy trying to get my heart to function again. You have to understand-this particular car has a really nice paint job that I personally hand rubbed, coat by coat (it's a lacquer paint job, done when lacquer was still legal in California). And keep in mind that some cars, like Hubby's Allard, have aluminum body panels; this means they're soft and will dent really easily. And no car owner wants a dent in the hood of their car shaped like your butt.

So along with the rule about not touching the cars, this obviously includes not opening doors so you can get your picture inside the car. You wouldn't walk up to a stranger's house in Beverly Hills that you admire and open the door and just walk in, now would you? At least I hope you wouldn't do that. That would be weird as well as illegal. So don't do it to a car on display at a car show. I'm including this in my post because I have actually seen people do this.

So a little thoughtful respect goes a long way at a car show. The thing is, if you happen to meet the owner of the car, and you're friendly and polite, and show an interest in the car, she just might let you sit in the car and have your picture taken. Hubby and I have done this lots of times. Have fun, enjoy the day, admire the cars. Just don't touch.