2012 ALL PETTY'S GARAGE MARKS USED ... - Carlisle Events

A DRIVE IN TO OUR LIFE
“A Drive In To Our Life” is an essay written by local Big Spring
High School student Shannon Hamblin. Her honors English
class teacher, Ms. Courtney Moore, shared it with Carlisle
Events due to its grassroots automotive theme, and in turn,
the staff was so moved that they invited Shannon and her
father to attend the event as celebrity guests and gave her
a complimentary showfi eld registration so that she may be
able to show her car next year.
My family is diff erent from most. This is mostly because
of my crazy father. Most dads like to play
golf or watch football; mine would rather wash and
detail one of his classic cars. My dad’s hobby — excuse
me, obsession — is cars. Actually, it’s really anything
that has a motor. We have 12 cars (nine of them being
classic), three tractors/ lawn mowers, one dirt bike,
two motorcycles and two four-wheelers. I am sure you
are thinking, “Oh, there must be a lot of people in your
family.” Wrong. It is me, my little brother and my dad.
My dad is the only one who can drive in my family! You
know your dad is obsessed with cars when every April
13th he reminds you to go wish his ’79 Dodge Power
Wagon (his fi rst vehicle he bought new) a happy birthday.
I refuse. Did I mention that the car I road home
from the hospital in when I was born was a 1970 AAR
’Cuda. My mom was awfully scared to put her little
baby into something so powerful.
Sometimes I think over and over about how big of a
nut my dad is, but I don’t know what our family would
be like without our cars. Each of the classic cars has
a story to go along with it. It might sound like I am
complaining about my dad having these cars, but if
my dad sold them, I would be very upset. This is not
a midlife crisis thing where my dad bought a bunch
of cars; he has worked throughout his whole life for
them. Ever since he was a kid, he has loved cars. His
fi rst car was a 1969 Road Runner that he worked for
and paid for all by himself. In high school, he would go
to a dead-end street nearby and have burnout competitions
with his buddies. My dad claims he always won.
My dad and mom were high school sweethearts.
After they got out of school, they went to a junkyard
one day and found a 1974 Dart Sport. My dad told my
mom he would restore it for her, and my dad knew
mom was a keeper when she said, “No you won’t, I
will help you”. My mom and dad spent the next two
years restoring the car. It looked like new when they
were all done. Unfortunately, this part does not have
such a happy ending. In 2005 a guy ran a stop sign and
crashed into the driver’s side of my mom’s car. She was
in the very car she and my dad restored. My mom did
not recover from the accident. This was a very tragic
moment in my family’s life.
A few years later, my dad found a 1967 Dart convertible
out in California. He bought it. It was not in
The owner of Olivia’s Corner was
also moved by Shannon’s story and
has provided her with a free manicure,
pedicure and special makeup
for her celebrity guest appearance.
36 2012 CARLISLE CHRYSLER NATIONALS CarlisleEvents.com
www.OliviasCorner.com
717-756-2600
the greatest shape, but my dad bought it like that on
purpose. His plan was to give me the car, but we could
restore it together fi rst, in memory of my mom. I was
all for it. We are still restoring it now. It is being sent
out to get paint this fall, right before I get my license.
I told my dad I was going to do some burnouts in the
school parking lot. He laughed. It was funny, because
I was not kidding.
Practically my dad’s whole life and my whole life,
our family gets very excited for one trip we take every
year. This is our trip to Carlisle, PA, for the Carlisle
All Chrysler Nationals in July. We go every year. Most
teenage girls would never step foot in there, but I get
so excited every year for it. My favorite part was seeing
Miss Carlisle. I got my picture with her every year. I told
my mom I will be Miss Carlisle when I am old enough. I
am not sure if I will fulfi ll my childhood dream, but we
will see! My dad would bring down one or two of his
cars every year, and would always place very well. In
2002, we even had our best show car, our 1972 Dodge
Charger in the Invitational Building. It was really cool.
In 2003 we also had the Charger along with our 1973
’Cuda in the Show Field. They both placed fi rst.
Our trip to Carlisle was also a time to see very close
friends of ours who we only get to see once a year.
When we come down, after the show it was so nice just
to take the back roads of Carlisle to our hotel. Pennsylvania
is beautiful, and my dad and I really like this
area. We love it so much, we moved here! We moved
to Carlisle from Buff alo, NY, in 2008. I was not so happy
at fi rst; just because it was hard to leave a place I lived
my whole life. Now I think moving was the best thing
that’s ever happened to me. I love this area, and it is
very convenient to live only eight miles away from the
Carlisle Fairgrounds, my dad’s home away from home.
Some people will always know him as the “Crazy Car
Guy,” but I know my dad takes pride in his cars. He restores
classic cars for himself and other people, along
with a car dealership, so luckily he knows what to do
exactly if something needs fi xed. It’s also very handy
for me that I will never have to pay for a mechanic! All
in all, I am kind of attached to my dad’s obsession.
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