Slipstream - October 2017

Maverick Region 55th Anniversary
By Jim Hirsch
Anniversary graphics by Kurt Scaggs
W
6 October
here were you 55 years ago? I asked that
question in last month’s issue and here
are three responses I received for your trip
down memory lane - looking back to 1962.
Linda Bambina
I turned 15 the summer of ’62. At that time in Texas,
you could get your learner’s permit at 14 and driver’s
license at 15. I think I started practicing driving (in our
oversized semi-circle driveway) when I was probably 12.
I loved cars. I loved driving the long, long roads of West
Texas. I practiced most of my early driving in a borrowed
Ford Falcon with a column shift.
I had a BLAST going from 1st to 2nd gear….! YES!
I remember pushing that gear shift knob up toward the
windshield at 15 miles an hour! All Right!
Then slam on the brakes and STOP because I was at the
end of the driveway!
When I finally had my birthday, I took my driving
test in my family’s ’56 Cadillac. That was like driving
a tank! Parallel parking was so hard in that car! Then
my dad bought me my OWN CAR. Long story associated
with this choice, but I got a 1927 Model T Ford.
The planetary gears and throttle and spark advance
and starter were ALL totally different than either of
the above-named vehicles, but I was thrilled beyond
description.
That thrill was not truly duplicated until my (then)
boyfriend, Alan Bambina, pulled into a huge empty
parking lot and invited me to drive his 1975 911 S.
OMG. Being a passenger is nothing compared to being
the driver of such a piece of engineering. Talk about a
“BLAST” going from gear to gear!
Carey Spreen
I was still a wee lad in 1962, but that was my first
experience with an odd little rear-engined German car.
No, not a Porsche or VW – even smaller: a BMW Isetta.
A neighbor had one that he used to drive around the
neighborhood, and my dad and I dropped by one afternoon
to check it out. My mouth dropped open in
amazement when he pulled the whole front of the car
open to reveal the plain padded
bench seat inside. The
steering wheel swung up out
of the way to allow us to get
inside, and as he closed the
door, we were fully enclosed
in a tiny bubble car.
He started it up and putted
around the block, returning
to his driveway in just a
minute or so, but I was hooked! I knew at that moment
that I was going to have to have a little tiny car like that
someday. As it turned out, my first car wasn’t quite that
small (a 1974 VW Thing), but it put me on the path
that eventually led me to Porsches, PCA, and Maverick
Region. Happy 55th Anniversary!
Charlie Davis
I was in the army in 1962 (more to come in a future
story involving rolling 911s at Rattlesnake Raceway)!
Motoring Mav’s for 55 Years
1 day, 3 events, 2600 members
Celebrating our Region Founding in 1962
To commemorate the 55th anniversary of the
Maverick Region, we have planned multiple events
during our Founders’ Day Celebration. More
information will be available online and in the
November issue of Slipstream, so be sure to save
December 2 on your calendar to participate in
these member activities.
The tentative schedule of events includes:
8:30 a.m. Mavs & Mochas, Highland Park Village,
Dallas
11:00 a.m. Mavs Toy Parade, Plano
7:00 p.m. 55th Anniversary Founders’ Day
Celebration, Texas Harley-Davidson,
Bedford