Bob Palma's Letter...

[paintim613]

...on page 28 of latest Hemmings Classic Car. Well written, Bob!

Tim-53 Custom Starlight aka The Studebird in Yuma, AZ

[Studedude1961]

Yes it was! I was going to mention it but Tim beat me to it!

Studedude1961
--1963 Cruiser

[lstude]

I just received my copy yesterday and just read his letter.

That is a Hell of a good letter! Cool Beans, Bob!

Leonard Shepherd

http://leonardshepherd.com/

[S2DSteve]

How 'bout a copy for those of us who don't subscribe?


Steve Hudson
The Dalles, Oregon
1937 Dictator Flatback sedan (for sale)
1949 "GMOBaker" 1-T Dually (workhorse)
1953 Commander Convertible (show & go)
1953 Champion Starliner (custom/rod project)
1954 Champion Coupe (daily driver)
1960 Hawk (future project?)

[mbstude]

What Steve said.

Matthew Burnette

[lstude]

quote: How 'bout a copy for those of us who don't subscribe?


Steve Hudson

I have been warned about posting magazine articles on the forum since they are copyrighted.

Leonard Shepherd

http://leonardshepherd.com/

[41 Frank]

Well said indeed Bob.

Frank van Doorn
1962 GT Hawk 4 speed
1963 Daytona Conv
1941 Champion R-2 Rod

[Mark57]

Appreciate you cannot reproduce the article verbatim, but how about a broad hint?

<h5>Mark
'57 Transtar Deluxe
Vancouver Island </h5>

[BobPalma]

Thanks, guys. (Steve: It's my letter, so I can reprint it from the original form, as sent to Richard Lentinello in late December. Folks reading it in the June Hemmings Classic Car will note their slight editing, but nothing of any consequence.) Here is the exact letter as sent to Richard, referenced in this thread:

*********************************************************************

Hi, Richard;

Thank you, thank you, thank you...oh, hell, I could wear out this keyboard typing "thank you" as many times as I'd like to, for your outstanding Page 6 Editorial in the February 2008 Hemmings Classic Car. How refreshing to read such passionate common sense. You are firmly on the money!

You'll likely get some heat -but I'll bet not much- from a few clueless readers who cannot fully comprehend the intangible benefits of our hobby, especially its ability to work across generations, giving young people something worthwhile to do simply by working on a collector car...and in the bargain, relating to one or more significant persons from preceding generations.

To your point, there are too many loose cannons in our society so hell-bent on saving the planet that they completely ignore the need for the meaningful relationships that can accrue from constructive hobby activities among generations. (Of course, the looniest of them consider mankind a curse on Mother Earth, but it is doubtful any of them read Hemmings publications!)

My own son Joe, now 27 years old, is a premium-level chef in one of the very best restaurants in New York City: Le Bernardin. (Hold onto your wallet if you check their website for meal prices and arrangements!) Joe hasn't even owned a motor vehicle in three years, living in New York City. But he has fond memories of he and I "restoring" his first car, a 1974 Javelin six/automatic we bought when he was 16. We did a quickie all-over on it so he could drive it to high school in 1997 and 1998. It was "just a car," but the distinctive shape garnered many compliments. He even entered it in our little Brownsburg IN car show a couple times, with a plaque he proudly made: Restored by Joe Palma.

Sure, we used a couple gallons of bondo and rattle-can primer here at home to get it ready for paint...and while it was painted in a commercial shop, it was an old shop without the high-tech VOC collection equipment your "friend" Ms. Lancey at the EPA apparently deems mandatory for our well-being, even though we used simple, old-style acrylic enamel with hardener. The "painter" was a long-time friend, an amateur paying me a favor in advance for later hauling one of his dead Hudsons across Indiana on my car trailer...another point of instruction for my son about how the wheels turn in the real world.

Ms. Lancey would readily deprive me and my son of the good memories we have of working together on that Javelin. He got awfully tired of spreading and sanding bondo, but he learned a ton of good habits about sticking with a job to completion; habits that have served him well eight years later in the intense kitchen of a high-dollar New York City restaurant. I wonder if Ms. Lancey, should she have children, would be as proud of how they turned out if they were raised in the painless, sterile cocoon in which she thinks we should all live?

Again, thanks a million for your great editorial, Richard. I don't believe I've ever read anything so right on, as we said in the prehistoric sixties. Keep up the good work.

Cheers.

Bob Palma
Technical Editor
The Studebaker Drivers Club's
Turning Wheels

[barnlark]

Well put, Bob, read it this morning. Did Al Gore respond yet and suggest making memories without involving our cars?!

[Dick Steinkamp]

quote:Originally posted by barnlark
Did Al Gore respond yet...

Is it really fair to Bob Palma to risk getting this thread locked or deleted by turning it into a political rant?

I have fond memories of building cars with my Dad and later with my son (actually I still play cars with my adult son). I'd love to hear more stories like Bob's. Please don't take the politics any further.

[barnlark]

Political? whoa.. lighten up. I loved the article and it got right to the point concerning those whom are against our hobby for what is perceived as an environmental problem without considering any other effects. It was an attempted joke because he is the butt of jokes of that thinking nationally. Just a reference for perspective. I am sure folks will write into Hemmings from the other side and they will take some heat for it. I can hear them now. If you misunderstood that, I'm sorry, just a dry sense of humor. I know the rules and I didn't mention any politics. Opinions are just that, please. No offense meant at all and I've posted pictures of my children helping me with my stude as well.

[S2DSteve]

OK, NOW I'll have to dig up the original editorial!


Steve Hudson
The Dalles, Oregon
1937 Dictator Flatback sedan (for sale)
1949 "GMOBaker" 1-T Dually (workhorse)
1953 Commander Convertible (show & go)
1953 Champion Starliner (custom/rod project)
1954 Champion Coupe (daily driver)
1960 Hawk (future project?)

[BobPalma]

quote:Originally posted by S2DSteve

OK, NOW I'll have to dig up the original editorial!


Steve Hudson

Well, we can't reprint that here, Steve! I do remember thinking and commenting to myself, "Boy, this is so strong I can't believe they allowed it to go to press!" Richard was thoroughly P.O'd and left you wanting to make that old remark, "Now don't hold back, Richard; tell us how you [u]really </u> feel!" That was one reason I felt compelled to respond accordingly, supporting him.

You might check to see if the February 2008 Hemmings Classic Car can be viewed on line and if so, we could let folks know.

For those of you reading the June 2008 Hemmings Classic Car in which this letter appears, don't miss Jim Donnelly's editorial, "It's Fundamental," three pages later, on Page 33. Jim well speaks to the importance of involving sons (and daughters!) in the hobby as worthwhile alternatives to what kids normally do. If you can't read Jim's whole article (hey, it's only one page!), at least read the next-to-the-last paragraph...it's good! (Although I do support high school sports as valuable for character development.) BP

[bams50]

C'mon, Dick, with all respect I say, lighten up a little, buddy! Barnlark didn't appear to be starting a fight or anything like that, just connecting to the spirit of Bob's letter about how far from reality this environmental stuff and it's out-of-balance proponents are getting; and it's getting worse every day, to the point it's starting to do REAL damage to my business- for no real reason![}]

Bob and Mr. Lentinello made the point that those like Ms. Lancey are attacking not just business and commerce, but even the hobbyists, without any thought towards common sense- the concept of unintended consequences. And Gore has become the poster child of this. I am a car guy through and through; I drive them, sell them, restore them, and love most all aspects of the automotive world; so who I am is beng attacked from all angles- including through senselessness like what Bob's referring to. As I've outlined to you before, I probably do more to protect the planet and preserve resources in my life than most people do. But just as the Earth deserves defending, so do our lives! And allowing the constant assault on common sense, at the cost of our well-being, has to be addressed!

NO ONE wants a polluted planet- we ALL want to preserve the Earth; but in ways that stand up to logic, NOT through policies that make no sense. If we can't stand up for ourselves, no one else will.





Robert (Bob) Andrews Owner- Studebakeracres- on the IoMT (Island of Misfit Toys!)
Parish, central NY 13131

"Some people live for the rules, I live for exceptions"- 311

"With your Lark you're on your own, free as a bird, alive as a Lark. You've suddenly discovered that happiness is a thing called Larking!"