|
Good Morning all Imperialists,
I am not sure if I mentioned this or not, but I received a call from the Mayor of Seattle, Greg Nickels himself mind you, not a flunky, and he asked if I still had my ’66 Imperial vert. I replied that yes I did. Mayor Nickels than asked if I would mind being his “Official” parade car for the summer again after a two year hiatus, starting with Seattle’s Pride Parade today. Now, I am not Mayor Nickel’s biggest supporter, but I am not stupid either, so I said yes, I would be happy to. In previous years I have driven the Grand Marshall, or a local celebrity Mark “Mom” Finley, who is a real hoot!
Since this is an election year, Mayor Nickels will not actually ride in the car, but I will follow along behind him as he Glad-hands the crowd with what I was told would be some pretty girls sitting in the back seat top. I mentioned that it may be more appropriate to have at least one handsome fellow in the mix to appeal to both sides of the street, and he agreed. He was going to ask some people on his staff if they would care to do so, as they were out and proud. I also mentioned that I thought that this being an election year was not a sufficient reason to have skipped the parade the last two years. Therefore, if I agreed to drive him, it would be only if he committed himself to support, and participate in the parade EACH year to show his support of the GLBT community, and not treat us as a much needed, sought after, committed, powerful voting block in this city, capable of swinging the election his way, or to his opponent. He was quiet for a moment, than stated, I was pretty blunt, and direct, but he also admired my spirit, and agreed he did in fact need to be there each year, schedule permitting (his out) and thanked me. He then transferred me to a staffer for the details. I will be taking a co-worker as a passenger with me, just for fun, as I do each year invite a different friend, gay, or strait to join me. I usually have people lined up who are eager to do so. My boss was going to join me, but opted to go camping instead as his wife and kids were away for the weekend, and he wanted to have some quiet time to himself, which I totally understand. Craig, my boss, is the best boss I have ever had, and very supportive of me personally, my work, and my career advancement.
Schroeder, my 17 lb Maine Coon cat will be joining me this year as well. This will be Schroeder’s first parade, so I expect some hiding under my legs as I drive. My dearly departed Maine Coon cat, Judah was a regular participant over the years (I have been driving in the parade since ’97 starting with my ’60 Imperial Convertible). Judah would stand on my legs with his front legs on the door arm- rest, and look at the crowd with contempt and on two separate years as I came by the new media we made the news. Car & cat, if not I. One year, the news camera man walked up to the car and got a low angle shot as I drove by, and then as he stood up, he came in to get a close up of Judah. Well, he got a little too close for Judah’s comfort and Judah actually put his ears back, hissed, and took a quick swat at the camera. The crowd laughed their as, err, behinds off, and that year we made the news again. I never did see the clips myself, but learned all about them the next day. When I called the news service, which keeps all footage for archiving for the TV stations, I was told the 10-15 second clip on video would cost me $75.00! At the time, I did not have it, and passed. I wish I had not, and just starved, and did not buy gas for a week to be able to have that clip. Judah passed away at age 18 in May 2002.
Schroeder was born 3 days after Judah passed on, and is very similar in color, which is why I shipped him in from Germany in September 2002. Schroeder just tuned 3 yrs old last month and is quite a spirited young boy. Therefore, I keep him on a harness and leash. He did great at the car show in Florence, OR, and was a huge hit. So maybe he will be fine with all the noise and commotion inherent in any parade. We shall see. He likes the Roadmaster much better then the convertible, as it is much quieter being a closed car. He can get up on my shoulders and rest against the seatback headrest, as if he were a Fox stole, or he likes the rear package shelf to lie on and stretch out. People are amazed and point to him a lot once they realize he is not a stuffed cat on the package shelf! When he is on my shoulders, he gets even more looks of astonishment, and admiration. He is young enough that getting him trained to ride in the cars will allow me to take him on many road trips in the future. One day I will get an old Silver Streak trailer, or the more popular, but more mid level, albeit lighter, easier to tow Air Stream trailer. The Roadmaster is factory equipped with the tow package. That will save wear and tear on Doris, even if it is less fun driving across this great land in and old convertible towing an old trailer.
Anyway, wish me luck, hope it is not to warm so Doris does not get very hot as in past years going so slow for an hour or more at less than 5 mph. Her radiator is ok, and fine, except on the hottest of days when the needle will creep up toward center, or in long parades once got VERY HOT, but did not boil over. Once out of the parade and on the freeway home, she cooled right down to a less worrisome level.
Have a great day everyone!
Wm. R. Ulman Seattle, WA '66 Crown Convertible Coupe - Doris Day '95 Buick Roadmaster (Corvette LT-1 powered) - Rock Hudson
|
Attachment:
image001.gif
Description: Binary data
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network