Nine-Eleven
Never forget... I will never forget where I was... I stared at that screen in amazement. I watched it over and over again. It will forever be etched into my memory. No. Not that. I think you think I'm thinking of September 11th, that horrific terrorist attack on the U.S. in 2001. My apologies, I can see where the confusion lies and I take responsibility. My event was roughly 20 years earlier in about 1981 which would make me 5 or 6 years old. The movie was Disney's Condorman, and of course, I'm talking about the Porsche 911, the iconic German sports car that had an almost starring role in the picture.
I'm a car guy. As a kid, I had hundreds of Matchbox cars as toys. My brothers and I would play "Cars" together. Which was basically a game in our living room where the small space under the couch was our garage (which of course made the whole couch our mansion that we lived in). We had a huge sectional so there was plenty of garage space for each of us. We would each have a job, I always made myself the President of AT&T because it seemed like that guy would make a lot of money to be able to afford a house the size of a couch relative to a Matchbox car. I also knew AT&T had commercials on TV which meant whoever that guy was, he was sure to be swimming in $$$$. We'd line up 10-15 cars in our garage and pick one to drive. Then we'd go meet up to do something, or go to someone's house, then drive home. Then we'd park the Lamborgini we had been driving and leave again in the Ferrari. And so on until you drove all your cars. I guess I foreshadowed working in Telecom as a kid. I do wish I had that AT&T salary though... 😀
My dad was a huge car guy. We liked different things though... We were into the high-end exotics where he was more of a muscle car guy, having grown up in that era. He also liked all the goofy weird shit that wasn't as commonplace. Oh how he would have loved watching Barrett-Jackson on TV. I'm certain that he would have wasted an entire weekend watching that. What I wouldn't give to have had him out to Arizona so that I could bring him there in person. He would have lost his mind. He loved watching old car shows on TV. He died just as car networks and shows started coming up, so he missed a lot of the stuff that I know he would have loved. He would love Wayne Carini's "Chasing Classic Cars". He would love Dan Short's "FantomWorks" and would appreciate his curmudgeonous. And "Rate my Classic Car"? I'm certain he would waste hours on that show. It would inspire and annoy him that he didn't have a collection like the people on the screen. I miss that guy.
Friday nights were for Miami Vice when we went to Dad's house. I didn't really understand the storylines, but I understood the cars (and boats) they drove. And Sonny Crockett was cool as shit in that white Ferrari Testarossa... I mean come on, what a gorgeous automobile. But all those Porsche 911 from the Condorman Movie were just tops for me.
I had three framed pictures in my bedroom. One of a white Ferrari like on Miami Vice, a white Lamborghini Countach, and a red Porsche 911. I could never shake that Porsche. I stared at that thing until my eyes drifted off, dreaming of the day I could touch and feel one in person. I never really dreamed of riding in or even owning one myself. I just wanted to see it in person. My mind would have exploded to have ridden in one. I didn't feel worthy. Luckily I grew up in a resort town where wealthy people of Chicago kept their summer estates. The summertime brought out the cars you couldn't drive in the winter. I rode my bike to the beach one day and was stopped dead in my tracks by the coolest car known to man... Someone had parked their red 911 outside the Riveria in front of the beach. My poster was suddenly live in three dimensions right in from of me. I gave that thing the thrice over for a few minutes before the owner came out of the restaurant across the street and left in it. I probably said "Nice car!" to him or something. I don't think he said a word to me. I think he gave me a nod which I actually thought was way cooler than actually talking to me. I wondered who he was and what he did to be so rich to be able to afford such a cool car. I wondered if he had any more cool cars at home. I know that he had no idea how that made my day, week, month, and maybe even year.
That unmistakable design of the 911 hasn't changed much over the years. And I think that's why I love the car so much. They've evolved in their engine design and technological performance, but that basic shape has stood the test of time. Those headlights. That sexy ass. What a beautiful car.
I want one. But they're not very practical. I don't really care though. You only live once. If I can afford it, I'm gonna do it. They're hard to get. The market for them, is as my friend who sells luxury cars says, "Stupid". Because the average owner has like 5 cars and only uses them on the weekends. So most of them have low miles and are garage-kept for most of their lives. And a guy that owns one doesn't "need" to sell his car, so he'll hold out until the price is right. Which means they go for a pretty penny. And you can't just go order a new one from a dealer, there are usually crazy waiting lists for them, which drives the used prices up even more. I get an email anytime one goes on sale on BaT. Someday I'm gonna buy one... So this is me just reminiscing a little bit but more so manifesting it into the world. You better believe I'll be writing about that experience. And if you've got $3.99 burning a hole in your pocket, give Condorman a watch... It's totally worth it.