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Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
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smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
Sometimes the topic of a Sprite will come up in the most unlikeliest of places and part of a conversation that didn't start that way....today's story:
I took a drive up to the hangar at Fawn Grove where the restoration work continues on the Cessna Bobcat. A gentleman named Bob who works on the plane usually arrives in the afternoon. He warmly welcomed me back, and asked how far I was coming from. I mentioned that I live in Damascus, which is southeast of Frederick, and he tells me that he's going to headed down in that direction as he has a friend in Great Falls. As it turns out, his friend was an old Army buddy who he had not seen or heard from in 50 years. He explained how his friend found him and reached out to him via a letter, and how he originally thought it was junk mail, or perhaps a letter from his neighbor who had a similar name.
After that, he got into the meat of the story: The two of them were stationed in Germany and when they went on leave in, they proceeded to go on a tour of Germany, Italy and France in a Bugeye Sprite. He remembered that it had about 40-something horsepower, the dual carbs that needed to be synchronized, and said him and his friend got around 40 mpg on their trips. For me, just a trip to Fawn Grove in the Sprite, a mere 130 mile round trip, is quite the adventure. I couldn't fathom driving through all of Europe in the BE. (My father did something similar when he was stationed in Germany in 1957, but they toured Europe in a '49 Mercedes). I guess that's one of those thing you do when you're young. When both of them returned from Europe, each one bought a Bugeye, although Bob was unsure if his friend bought the Bugeye or simply had the one he had in Europe shipped back. Naturally, I showed him a picture of my '69. Bob wasn't aware (or maybe didn't remember) that the Sprite also came with a "more modern look" as he described my '69.
Given that most mechanical guys tend to have an affinity for anything else mechanical, even if it isn't their primary interest, I supposed it wasn't too surprising that an "airplane guy" knew all about Sprites. It was surprising, though, that given how the conversation started, how quickly it turned into a talk about Sprites. I really do believe that these little cars are truly timeless and have a way bridging generations.
One of my favorite things is seeing the faces of the younger kids in the neighborhood light up when the see my Sprite. As yet another bridge across generations is built.
I took a drive up to the hangar at Fawn Grove where the restoration work continues on the Cessna Bobcat. A gentleman named Bob who works on the plane usually arrives in the afternoon. He warmly welcomed me back, and asked how far I was coming from. I mentioned that I live in Damascus, which is southeast of Frederick, and he tells me that he's going to headed down in that direction as he has a friend in Great Falls. As it turns out, his friend was an old Army buddy who he had not seen or heard from in 50 years. He explained how his friend found him and reached out to him via a letter, and how he originally thought it was junk mail, or perhaps a letter from his neighbor who had a similar name.
After that, he got into the meat of the story: The two of them were stationed in Germany and when they went on leave in, they proceeded to go on a tour of Germany, Italy and France in a Bugeye Sprite. He remembered that it had about 40-something horsepower, the dual carbs that needed to be synchronized, and said him and his friend got around 40 mpg on their trips. For me, just a trip to Fawn Grove in the Sprite, a mere 130 mile round trip, is quite the adventure. I couldn't fathom driving through all of Europe in the BE. (My father did something similar when he was stationed in Germany in 1957, but they toured Europe in a '49 Mercedes). I guess that's one of those thing you do when you're young. When both of them returned from Europe, each one bought a Bugeye, although Bob was unsure if his friend bought the Bugeye or simply had the one he had in Europe shipped back. Naturally, I showed him a picture of my '69. Bob wasn't aware (or maybe didn't remember) that the Sprite also came with a "more modern look" as he described my '69.
Given that most mechanical guys tend to have an affinity for anything else mechanical, even if it isn't their primary interest, I supposed it wasn't too surprising that an "airplane guy" knew all about Sprites. It was surprising, though, that given how the conversation started, how quickly it turned into a talk about Sprites. I really do believe that these little cars are truly timeless and have a way bridging generations.
One of my favorite things is seeing the faces of the younger kids in the neighborhood light up when the see my Sprite. As yet another bridge across generations is built.
but so long ago, I'm not sure I can actually trust the memory.