WALKING MY WAYS

WALKING MY WAYS. During Car Week, Carmel-by-the-Sea becomes a combination of fancy vehicles. Speed bumps. And Eager Spectators. I drive a 5’ high Subaru Impreza. Which is low. But it is a skyscraper, compared to most sports cars, which are only 4’ high. And lower. Saturday morning, I was standing in front of the Post Office, when a shiny black Corvette drove by. With a loud scraping noise, as its front end engaged with the crosswalk. Its bumper far too low.

And, there is the noise. Although whether the cars produce purrs or growls can be subjective. Until the police decide, with their decibel-reading tools. I asked GOOGLE, how expensive a ticket was, for excessive noise. Its answer was “from $193, for first-time infractions, up to $1,105. “ Which isn’t cheap.

And one feature that sports and vintage cars have in common, are aficionados. On Saturday there were simply hordes of devotees. I mean HORDES. Looking. Ogling. And seizing the opportunity to take photos of the many fancy cars lining the curbs. And hundreds of spectators, waiting for their favorite vehicles, to drive by. Especially up and down Ocean Ave. Most seemed to be young men. And boys. Although, all ages and sexes were represented. Everyone mesmerized by the parade of cars. All wishing to see and be seen. Including seeing everything from my lowly Impreza to a sparkling Rolls Royce.

And on Saturday night, I was at a lively Concours party in downtown Carmel. Where most of the guests were car enthusiasts. And the host owned a spiffy 1963 VW cabriolet, red, with appropriate license plates. But at 9:00 P.M., when I went home, I realized the entire area was in a totally defensive mode. Which was absolutely new to me. As many streets were barricaded, including Ocean Avenue. Because there were so many pedestrians, still walking, singing, ogling the few parked cars. A picture I had never seen before. But one that suited me fine, before falling into bed. Content. Finis.