Euro Upping

It's funny. Back in the late 70's I was a Smoky and the Bandit fan. So much in fact, that it hurt. Burt Reynolds with that 78-79 Trans Am, one baddass ride. A bunch of friends of mine had cars like that but I couldn't afford one until much later in life and by the time I plopped down five grand on my 1980 turbo T, it was already over.


I had a cowboy hat that I wore most all the time, a couple pair of boots purchased from Newt Riley shoe store on Ninth Steet, the local boot guy. Newt's daughter was a good girl, cheerleader theater type. She wound up making the Mizzou Golden Girl squad, the Football Cardinals Big Red Line and eventually crowned Miss Missouri. I remember having to choose between going out with Robin Riley, the major hot dancing, singing smart girl, or staying true with my ultra cool badboy redneck wannabe attitude. I left her crying in the hallway, at Rockbridge High School on a Thursday afternoon in between classes. I did her a favor and stand by it to this day. She was still a beauty and a great person the last time I saw her 5-6 years ago at a reunion. Then she was playing Lucy Arnez in a theater production of the life and times of Lucy and Dezi Arnez. She is still an actor and performer, last I heard.

Nights were spent cruising up and down business loop 70 looking for the occasional drag race with the "real rednecks". You see, my group of friends were redneck wannabees, the only way to describe it. It was the time of the Urban Cowboy crap (disco had already withered). John Travolta was the schnizzle and had recently made the genre move to Gilly's from that Disco Inferno place in New Jersey. The movies dominated the style and music genre at the time. Like the mechanical bulls of country bars, music, style and attitude were herded into the"it's hip to be Texas" state of mind. Wannabees.

When I say I was a redneck wannabe, I mean that most of my good friends were aware of the fact that, while we grew up in a smaller town, influenced by the underbelly of rural values, the lack of activities for young people, etc., we knew that it would have to be short lived, and that we would have to conform in order to find true intellectualism. To be honest, I don't know whether anyone thought that but me but I was the one with the bad grades. In fact, I was likely the only one thinking that way. I have always worried about stuff like that.

I didn't know it then, but I would later toss the Texas look of the late 70's for the God awful 80's wedding singer statement.

But that is not what this story is about, clothes and music, and what could have or would have been with the women. It's about where we evolve, by nature of the forking path concept, the feelings of what is temporary and what is not. It is about evolving in to what is real.

Look what I have here, (or did have, I lost one of them) a couple nice photos of some cars. One, The Smartest Man in The World's (Thrasher's) 911. Two, a meager 98 528 (E39) with a low licence plate of 205, which is garaged now. Both standards apart from the norm. The 911 certainly of greater value (stylepointwise). The 528i just a classic look of euro goodness.

My point? Let it fly when you're young. Wear your hats, your skinny red leather ties, your platform shoes, bell bottom, surfer, mullet, rat tail, bow tie, Mister Guy, converse, taum sauk, punk rock, Gatsby ensemble with pride. I recommend dating all the super models you can, by the way. Just go with me on this...

Remember, you will evolve, find your inner style, that which is the mountain top, and that which is competitive, through subtle one upping, such as this.