21st Century Already?!



The paddock at the Meadowbrook
Historic Races, Waterford Hills, MI

Several months ago I worked up the nerve to change my Facebook account from one identified by only a pseudonym to one that announced my real name, my interests, my cynical views on politics, religion, and ethnic identity, and even the names of my friends...or is it "friends,"...or maybe Friends. Are there Quakers reading this? My niece in Connecticut was kind enough to welcome me into the 21st century. How did I get this far without a PDA, an iPod, or a smartphone?  Time to pen a Luddite screed?  Hardly!

In the early 1990's, I stumbled across the Team.Net world of auto-related mail servers maintained by British car buff Mark Bradakis out of his basement in Salt Lake City. A complete labor of love variously supported by donations from the site's users, Mark had created a virtual hangout for thousands of motorheads with desktop computers and probably too little supervision at work. I started by lurking on the vintage race board, then the MG-T board, and then got immersed in the irreverence-- and often irrelevancy--of the Spridget list. This turned out to be a lot like spending a few hours with 200 of my closest friends.

I soon discovered different lists had different personalities. Some tolerated banter and even stupidity. Others were straight technical business, correcting and even banishing listers who got up on a soapbox too often. All were populated with people who enjoyed their old cars and were occasionally willing to tolerate the whining liberal as well as the self-serving libertarian who happened to also share their interest in a particular marque. And each online community seemed to have at least one village idiot that everyone humored.

The diversity of the Spridget list on Team.Net has kept me engaged over the years, even when talk got bogged down in opinions on gun control, Wisconsin politics, or the value of house cats as wheel chocks. The "room" was frequently filled with the likes of a retired cop from California, a carpenter from New Jersey, a meteorologist from Dodge City, a rocket scientist from Illinois, a punk rock pioneer from L.A. and your usual array of laborers, salesmen, school teachers, locomotive engineers, and college professors. There was even a shrink. Occasional exchanges were acerbic, but for the most part "listers" seemed to tolerate one another's differences. Most notable however was everyone's willingness to answer questions, offer suggestions, and even travel remarkable distances to lend a helping hand on some project.

 

Buster's "virtual " friends flew in to help

Several years ago, based solely on a whimsical posting by one "Spridgeteer," a dozen or more people from around the country flew to southern California in an effort they called the "Buster Cluster." They spent three days finishing a stalled restoration of an older couple's bug eye Sprite which had lain dormant for 20-plus years. When a Brit came to the U.S. to organize America's first "beater rally" limited to cars costing less than $250, a couple of guys decided to build an MG Midget from a parts car and whatever components listers would donate. At the end of the rally, the car was disassembled and the parts returned.

Last year, many of the same people traveled to New Jersey where, in the span of a few days, fueled by cheesesteaks and Yuengling beer, they secretly refurbished a local pastor's Sprite-- a project that became known as "the Holy Sprite."

The "Holy Sprite" on Friday








Father Jack on Saturday



Father Jack, Holy Sprite, Sunday

It is not unknown for a lister who may fall seriously ill to start receiving financial help in the mail. This is not your ordinary virtual community. These are folks who love the Austin HealeySprite/MG Midget (generally known as the "Spridget) and step up to help if they possibly can.

That's what I've seen from this particular rest stop on the side of the "information superhighway." I'm a rather unsophisticated participant, perhaps swept by the currents of our present youth culture into the stream of Internet-- forums, blogsites and "friending" people I barely knew in high school. So far, I've drawn the line this side of Twitter. I really don't need to know that you're headed to the gym right now, that you got stuck with a gray rental car at LAX, or that UR L8 4 wrk agn. But, tomorrow, I might figure out what millions of people seem to have discovered-- then again, maybe I'll just stick with points and condenser technology.   ;-)

The following are a few of the lists I have enjoyed and relied on for advice on cars, stereo components, portable welders, camping in the U.K., barbecue shacks in Kansas, roots rock bands, and slowing our slide toward the welfare state:



The MG Experience    http://www.mgexperience.net/phorum/

MG Enthusiasts' BBS    http://www.mgcars.org.uk/

The British Car Forum   http://www.britishcarforum.com/

Team.Net mailing lists   http://www.team.net/

The MG Vintage Racers' Yahoo group

I must admit, I have made friends by way of this primitive form of social networking. I've benefited from the support and expertise of people, most of whom I have never met face to face. One such acquaintance encouraged me to start this blog. Another suggested I use the power of the Internet to increase donations for my chosen cause, pediatric cancer research.

Please consider supporting CURE Childhood Cancer, an outstanding organization awarded Four Stars for efficiency and putting your dollars to work. You can do so directly by clicking on the link at the top of the right hand column. And thank you to those who have been generous so far.  

Perhaps you found this posting because of an interest in old British cars. Or maybe it was just random surfing. Do read the earlier posts and follow along as I try to get my 1953 MG TD ready for a cross-country adventure that might make a difference for someone. Sixty-seven days and counting...but lots of work left to do.





No, not my garage. But I can dream!