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Jay Raskin, Director Tony D’Agostino, Board Member

Jeff Montgomery, Assistant Director Bob Losco, Board Member Bob Crimmins, Secretary Ralph, Messina, Board Member

Joe Puleo, Treasurer Andrew Monahan, Board Member

Webmaster, Pat Caruso Rosemary Spicuzza, Board Member Lynn D’Agostino, Editor, Caddy Corner Monthly Ray Koziol, Editor, Caddy Corner Quarterly

Joe Manna, Events Coordinator

My Father Never Drove a Car

By Michael Gartner*

Submitted For Your Reading Pleasure by Region Member Larry Miloscia

My father never drove a car. Well, that's not quite right. I should

say I never saw him drive a car. He quit driving in 1927, when he

was 25 years old, and the last car he drove was a 1926 Whippet.

"In those days," he told me when he was in his 90s, "to drive a car

you had to do things with your hands, and do things with your feet,

and look every which way, and I decided you could walk through life and enjoy it or drive

through life and miss it." At which point my mother, a sometimes salty Irishwoman, chimed in: "Oh, bull----!" she

said. "He hit a horse." "Well," my father said, "there was that, too."

So my brother and I grew up in a household without a car. The neighbors all had cars -- the Kollingses next door

had a green 1941 Dodge, the VanLaninghams across the street a gray 1936 Plymouth, the Hopsons two doors down

a black 1941 Ford -- but we had none.

My father, a newspaperman in Des Moines, would take the streetcar to work and, often as not, walk the 3 miles

home. If he took the streetcar home, my mother and brother and I would walk the three blocks to the streetcar stop,

meet him and walk home together.

My brother, David, was born in 1935, and I was born in 1938, and sometimes, at dinner, we'd ask how come all the

neighbors had cars but we had none.

"No one in the family drives," my mother would explain, and that was that. But, sometimes, my father would say,

"But as soon as one of you boys turns 16, we'll get one."

It was as if he wasn't sure which one of us would turn 16 first.

But, sure enough, my brother turned 16 before I did, so in 1951 my parents bought a used 1950 Chevrolet from a

friend who ran the parts department at a Chevy dealership downtown. It was a four-door, white model, stick shift,

fender skirts, loaded with everything, and, since my parents didn't drive, it more or less became my brother's car.

Having a car but not being able to drive didn't bother my father, but it didn't make sense to my mother. So in 1952,

when she was 43 years old, she asked a friend to teach her to drive. She learned in a nearby cemetery, the place

where I learned to drive the following year and where, and a generation later, I took my two sons to practice

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driving. The cemetery probably was my father's idea. "Who can your mother hurt in the cemetery?" I remember

him saying once.

For the next 45 years or so, until she was 90, my mother was the driver in the family. Neither she nor my father

had any sense of direction, but he loaded up on maps -- though they seldom left the city limits -- and appointed

himself navigator. It seemed to work.

Still, they both continued to walk a lot. My mother was a devout Catholic, and my father an equally devout

agnostic, an arrangement that didn't seem to bother either of them through their 75 years of marriage. (Yes, 75

years, and they were deeply in love the entire time.)

He retired when he was 70, and nearly every morning for the next 20 years or so, he would walk with her the mile

to St. Augustin's Church.

She would walk down and sit in the front pew, and he would wait in the back until he saw which of the parish's two

priests was on duty that morning. If it was the pastor, my father then would go out and take a 2-mile walk, meeting

my mother at the end of the service and walking her home. If it was the assistant pastor, he'd take just a 1-mile

walk and then head back to the church. He called the priests "Father Fast" and "Father Slow."

After he retired, my father almost always accompanied my mother whenever she drove anywhere, even if he had no

reason to go along. If she were going to the beauty parlor, he'd sit in the car and read, or go take a stroll or, if it was

summer, have her keep the engine running so he could listen to the Cubs game on the radio.

In the evening, then, when I'd stop by, he'd explain: "The Cubs lost again. The millionaire on second base made a

bad throw to the millionaire on first base, so the multimillionaire on third base scored"

If she were going to the grocery store, he would go along to carry the bags out -- and to make sure she loaded up on

ice cream.

As I said, he was always the navigator, and once, when he was 95 and she was 88 and still driving, he said to me,

"Do you want to know the secret of long life?" "I guess so," I said, knowing it probably would be something

bizarre.

"No left turns," he said. "What?" I asked "No left turns," he repeated. "Several years ago, your mother and I read

an article that said most accidents that old people are in happen when they turn left in front of oncoming traffic. As

you get older, your eyesight worsens, and you can lose your depth perception, it said. So your mother and I decided

never again to make a left turn." "What?" I said again. "No left turns," he said. "Think about it. Three rights are

the same as a left, and that's a lot safer. So we always make three rights." "You're kidding!" I said, and I turned to

my mother for support. "No," she said, "your father is right. We make three rights. It works." But then she added:

"Except when your father loses count." I was driving at the time, and I almost drove off the road as I started

laughing. "Loses count?" I asked. "Yes," my father admitted, "that sometimes happens. But it's not a problem.

You just make seven rights, and you're okay again." I couldn't resist. "Do you ever go for 11?" I asked.

"No," he said. "If we miss it at seven, we just come home and call it a bad day. Besides, nothing in life is so

important it can't be put off another day or another week."

My mother was never in an accident, but one evening she handed me her car keys and said she had decided to quit

driving. That was in 1999, when she was 90. She lived four more years, until 2003. My father died the next year,

at 102. They both died in the bungalow they had moved into in 1937 and bought a few years later for $3,000 (Sixty

years later, my brother and I paid $8,000 to have a shower put in the tiny bathroom -- the house had never had one.

My father would have died then and there if he knew the shower cost nearly three times what he paid for the

house.)

He continued to walk daily -- he had me get him a treadmill when he was 101 because he was afraid he'd fall on the

icy sidewalks but wanted to keep exercising -- and he was of sound mind and sound body until the moment he died.

One September afternoon in 2004, he and my son went with me when I had to give a talk in a neighboring town,

and it was clear to all three of us that he was wearing out, though we had the usual wide-ranging conversation about

politics and newspapers and things in the news. A few weeks earlier, he had told my son, "You know, Mike, the

first hundred years are a lot easier than the second hundred."

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At one point in our drive that Saturday, he said, "You know, I'm probably not going to live much longer."

"You're probably right," I said. "Why would you say that?" He countered, somewhat irritated. "Because you're 102

years old," I said. "Yes," he said, "you're right." He stayed in bed all the next day.

That night, I suggested to my son and daughter that we sit up with him through the night. He appreciated it, he

said, though at one point, apparently seeing us look gloomy, he said: "I would like to make an announcement. No

one in this room is dead yet."

An hour or so later, he spoke his last words: "I want you to know," he said, clearly and lucidly, "that I am in no

pain. I am very comfortable. And I have had as happy a life as anyone on this earth could ever have." A short time

later, he died.

I miss him a lot, and I think about him a lot. I've wondered now and then how it was that my family and I were so

lucky that he lived so long. I can't figure out if it was because he walked through life or because he quit taking left

turns.

* Michael Gartner, born in Des Moines, Iowa on 10/25/38 is a graduate of Carleton College and New York University School of Law. He began his journalism career at the age of 15 while working in the sports department of the Des Moines Register. He would in later years (1974-1985) become editor and president of that paper. He served as president of NBC News from 1988 through 1993. From 1993 through 1999 he became editor and chairman of the Daily Tribune in Ames Iowa. It was during his tenure at the Daily Tribune that he won a Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing for his editorials on community issues.

MINUTES/REPORTS

RARITAN RIVER REGION-CLC MEETING MINUTES - THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2012

Director-Jay Raskin called the meeting to order at 7:40 p.m., and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

There were 18 members present including 8 Board Members.

A round of applause was give to our returning Webmaster Pat Caruso after his long absence due to many health

issues - WELCOME BACK PAT-WE MISSED YOU!

The Secretary's meeting minutes from November were accepted by the attending members.

Treasurer Joe Puleo gave us his financial report and it was accepted by the members.

Editor Report-No Report

Membership Report - Ray advised we have 117 paid members.

Webmaster Pat Caruso advised 534,781 hits to our website. Pat further advised the site is now up to date with the

exception of the gallery. Also, our web hosting domain is covered for the next 3 years. Another round of applause

was given to Pat for the time spent in updating our website.

Jay mentioned that the Suncoast Region is looking for volunteers for this year's upcoming Grand National in St.

Augustine and passed out a flyer regarding who to contact if they are interested in assisting them.

A discussion was held regarding the change of Thursdays for the monthly meeting and after much discussion with

the attending members, it was decided to return to the original 3rd Thursday of the month for the meeting. Due to

the sudden change and in order to give Pat time to revise the calendar, the February meeting will be held on the 2nd

Thursday.

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Ralph Messina advised that RRR elections are coming up in July and 3 members terms will expire-Bob Losco, Bob

Crimmins and Joe Puleo. Also, the Secretary and Treasurer position. A new slate must be in to Ralph by March

and those interested should contact Ralph immediately.

Bernie Cooney spoke regarding the RRR Constitution. He feels we should review it again and revise it if necessary.

He asked for 2 volunteers to assist and Rosemary and Jay offered to do so.

Jay advised we need to start thinking about the Royal and Gold Coast shows for 2012 and Joe Manna advised he

will be contacting both dealers shortly.

Looking for things to do, it was suggested perhaps asking guest speakers to come to our meetings and give a short

speech on interesting subjects.

Joe Manna discussed a possible tour of the P L Custom Emergency Vehicles factory in Manasquan that produces

ambulances and other emergency vehicles.

For Sale-Nothing

Wanted-Nothing

There being no further items to discuss, the meeting was abjured at 8:40 p.m.

The next scheduled meeting will be held on Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 7:30 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Bob Crimmins

Secretary

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Based on a vote of the membership at our January meeting it has been

decided to revert back to our 3nd

Thursday of the month meeting schedule

This will begin with the March, 2012 meeting. Due to the short notification

time the February meeting will be held on the 2nd

week of February, 2/9/12.

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Our corrected schedule is as follows:

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Do you have an idea for a Raritan River meet or know of an event we could participate in? Contact our

Region’s Events Coordinator, Joe Manna, 908-964-0766 e-mail: JoeM@rrrclc.org with the details!

A full activities schedule is critical to the success of our region! Jan 19 - Monthly Meeting

Feb 09- Monthly Meeting

Feb 24 - 26 - Atlantic City Classic Car Auction - Atlantic City Convention Center

Mar 15 - Monthly Meeting

Mar 18 - Dust Off Brunch, Old Country Buffet, Watchung, NJ - See Page -7- for details.

Apr 19 - Monthly Meeting

Apr 06 - Apr 15 - New York International Car Show -Jacob Javits Convention Center, NYC

May 06 - NJ Region AACA Spring Show at Automatic Switch, Florham Park, NJ - Further details to follow.

May 17 - Monthly Meeting

Jun 13 - Jun 17 - CLC Grand National, Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village, St. Augustine, Florida

Jun 21 - Monthly Meeting

Jul 19 - Monthly Meeting

Jul 13 – Save the date – Somerville Cruise, Somerville, NJ in celebration of Collector Car Appreciation Day Aug 16 - Monthly Meeting

Aug 13 – Cadillac Night At Five Points, Galloping Hill, Union, NJ (alternate date 8/20)

Aug 29 - Sep 02 - Lead East, Parsippany Hilton Hotel, Parsippany, NJ

Sep 08 – Somerset County Library Nursing Home Runs w/ NJ Region AACA–Chelsea Assisted Living, Routes 202/206 Bridgewater, 9 am to approx 11 am. Followed by Avalon Assisted Living, NJ Highway 28, Bridgewater, 11:30 am to approx 3 pm

Sep 09 - Warren Township Classic Car Show, Warren Township Municipal Grounds - Details To Follow.

Sep 15 - Somerset County Library Nursing Home Runs w/ NJ Region AACA-Brandywine Assisted Living at Middle brook Crossing, US Highway 22, Bridgewater, 9 am to approx 11 am, followed by Eastern Star, Finderene Avenue, Bridgewater, 11:30 am to approx 3 pm.

Sep 20 - Monthly Meeting

Oct 10 - 13 - H E R S H E Y !

Oct 18 - Monthly Meeting

Nov 15 - Monthly Meeting

Dec - Holiday Party, Date & Location To Be Announced

NOTE: Beginning with the March meeting we are reverting back to our original schedule of meeting on the THIRD Thursday of the month. For the month of February we will meet on the second Thursday, 2/2/9/12, thereafter we will follow the THIRD Thursday meeting schedule. We will continue to meet at Spring Meadows Summit Assisted Living, 41 Springfield Ave., Summit, NJ ~ (908) 522-8852, unless otherwise noted. Meetings begin at 7:30 pm.

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Ads are FREE to Region Members, sorry no photo’s. Each ad will run for 3 consecutive issues and then be

automatically withdrawn. Advertisers are asked to immediately notify me upon the sale of an advertised item.

To place an ad e-mail Ray Koziol @ RayK@rrrclc.org

AAAdddsss mmmuuusssttt bbbeee rrreeeccceeeiiivvveeeddd nnnooo lllaaattteeerrr ttthhhaaannn ttthhheee 222555ttt hhh

ooofff ttthhheee mmmooonnnttthhh fffooorrr iiinnncccllluuusssiiiooonnn iiinnn ttthhheee fffooollllllooowwwiiinnnggg mmmooonnnttthhh’’’sss nnneeewwwsssllleeettt ttteeerrr...

FOR SALE - 1949 Cadillac 75 7-pass sedan- formerly owned by Mr Rogers of Mr. Rogers Neighborhood- Only

69,000 miles on it today. Never damaged- Full cosmetic restoration several years ago, but car is just a beautiful and

wonderful car to see and drive. You can see photos of it online by going to www.hirschauto.com/49cad If interested

in this black beauty, call me at 973 642-4093 (weekdays only) or contact me at my e-mail address which is

hirschbill@aol.com.- Bill Hirsch (2)

WANTED - 1955 Cadillac Working Horn #766. Please call Bob Rankin at (732) 560-1497 (2)

WANTED - A tire jack for my '85 Seville. This is a scissors type jack that fits behind the space save spare tire.

Thanks! Contact: Bernie Cooney Berniec@rrrclc.org (732) 563-2755 (3)

Garage Space Available - The owner of a three car garage in the non-flood section of Bound Brook called me to

let me know his three car garage is now available. He is a podiatrist, and the garage is behind his office on a side

street. Dr. Henderson would like $250.00 per month for the three car garage. More info? Give me a call, or send

an email:

Contact information: Bernie Cooney, (732) 629-7544, BernieC@rrrclc.org (3)

PARTS CARS FOR SALE – Ford, Chevrolet, Dodge, 7-8 parts cars from the 50’s & 60’s available. All located

in Linden, NJ. For further info contact Bill Kurgman, 908-578-7626 or e-mail KurgmanAuto@yahoo.com (3)

PARTS FOR SALE - CA Car Cover which will fit a 2007 DTS and possible similar sized cars. Contact Roe

Spicuzza 732-416-0038 (2)

PARTS FOR SALE- Garage Sale! Getting rid of some excess '61 Cadillac parts, including an almost pristine

grille, exquisite 1961 hub cap centers, clock, radio. Lots of great stuff, no reasonable offer refused. Also featuring

some Buick and Ford items. Unreasonable offers may be accepted without warning. Contact Bernie,

berniec@rrrclc.org or call (732)563-2755. (1)

PARTS FOR SALE- Genuine NOS AC Delco PF30 Oil Filters. These rare and long out of production oil filters

are being made available exclusively to CLC members. Last produced in 1983 and superseded by the now also out

of production PF24 Filter, these new in the box genuine AC Delco NOS oil filters are being made available to CLC

members for $20.00 each or six for $100.00 plus s/h. These are the correct filters for all 1960-1976 Cadillacs and

cannot be beaten for quality and dependability. Take advantage of this rare opportunity to treat your 'Pride and Joy'

to these correct show quality filters today. Contact Thomas Murray at 609-671-0142/609-751-6662 by phone or

by email at: chuke62@hotmail.com

PARTS FOR SALE- Halogen Bulbs & Sealed Beams- See and be seen with our great new halogen bulbs. Almost

TWICE the light as conventional bulbs - Will fit your exiting socket - Hardly any additional drain on the battery -

For all 6 & 12 volt cars from 1920 onward. Please call Bill Hirsch at 1 800 828 2061 and ask for Eric or e-mail:

info@hirschauto.com

PRODUCTS FOR SALE- CUSTOM LEATHER KEY CASES – From the late 1930’s to the early 1970’s, many

car dealers gave small leather key cases to both new and used car buyers. I have produced a line of replica key

cases which are modeled after those giveaways and which are appropriate for any classic car. Each key case can be

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customized with the owner’s initials. Contact Hugh Dyer at hugh_rpm@msn.com or (908) 359-7122 for a product

flyer and order form.

SERVICES AVAILABLE: Immortalize your car with an eye-catching Laminated Poster. These are made to

order by a professional Graphic Artist. You have a choice of background colors, fonts and logos. These impressive

posters are 24” X 18” and are offered to our members at a discounted price starting at $150, copies can be had for a

mere $60. View a sample at: http://www.rrrclc.org/images/76_Stas%20(6).jpg

For further information contact Jennifer at 908 284-1660 or email: jennifer.stas@gmail.com

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