“Well, We Made It!”

I made it back home. In one piece. In time for Mother’s Day. My wife (the Mother of my children) is happy.

Life is good.

In these two thousand plus miles of travel, we saw it all, did it all, and lived to tell about it. Aside from a few loose nuts (the ones under the hood, not in the car) the trip was pretty much trouble free. While there wasn’t much sleep, the thrill of living the Power Tour once more, and writing about it on a daily basis, made it all worthwhile.

On Friday night, our good friend Todd Garthshore of Baer Brakes was up on the stage in San Bernardino, reminiscing about Jeff Moses and the other great folks from Auto Custom Carpets who lost their lives in that plane crash back in February. Todd was right, the Tour was different without Jeff’s smiling face and enthusiasm. But, we’ll go on. Jeff would have wanted it that way. They even gave out an award to the vehicle that most symbolized ACC’s outlook on life — how fitting it was that the award went to a ’56 Chevy pickup that the owner said should have never been built, but was.

The award was the Auto Custom Carpets Magic Carpet Ride.

I’ll bet Jeff’s on one right now.

The high for me was the town of Ripley, Oklahoma, and that amazing collection of significant Ford racing stuff. The low? Having to put the ’59 in Jack Trepanier’s trailer for one short day until we could sort out the strange noise.

The vast expanse of these United States is filled with untold good, caring folks who are often overlooked by those who look for the bad in our world. If they’d spend a week plus driving across the country, they’d find lots of these folks, help if needed, and show a genuine concern for their fellow man.

Maybe then they’d see life like I do.

It wouldn’t have been possible without the folks from:

• emap, who toiled non-stop at all hours of the day and night, keeping sponsors, registrants and visitors happy;
• our friends from previous Power Tours who stopped in to say hi, and related how the Power Tour has become a part of their life now;
• and our industry cohorts who, in addition to their daily work requirements, participate in the Power Tour for the good of the consumer — to talk to talk to the consumer face-to-face and ultimately help make a better product.

Families suffer from extended trips like this, too. Maybe next year it’ll be scheduled for June — like last year (hint, hint), so folks can bring their families along.

The Internet is a wonderful thing — you can read today where we went and what we did yesterday. Even Phil, our sixth grade traveler from Dupli-Color, learned the power of the Internet when during our May 9 Tour coverage I asked for help with his math. We received over 28 answers the first day, and I’m STILL getting responses to that problem (and no, I haven’t figured it out myself). Some have even gone to great widths to explain it to a simpleton like me. Here’s one solution (the free Adobe Acrobat Reader plug-in is required to view it). But you get the idea.

A lot has changed in the world since we left Pontiac, Michigan. We lost one of the most creative automotive guys around, Smokey Yunick, and the world lost a performer of my parent’s generation (and of the generation of a lot of the rodders on the Tour) — Perry Como.

I’m sure lots of other stuff happened that I didn’t realize since I never watched television or read the paper while on the road.

Is the world a better place because of the Power Tour? In a word, no. Are the folks who participated in it better off today? From a financial sense, probably not. But, from a mental standpoint, they were living large and loving life. I often describe the Power Tour as a labor of love. I’m convinced it adds a year to my life every time I do it.

I hope you’ll come along next year. From the hundreds of e-mails I’ve received, and the words of encouragement from Tour participants and visitors, I know lots of folks have followed our trip. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. If I described a ’63 as a ’64, forgive me. I tried. Just let me know, and I’ll get it corrected.

I think I’ll go outside and wash and wax one of my cool cars. You should, too.

Until next year.

Your humble and obedient servant and correspondent,

Forrest.

Story and photos by,

Forrest Tosie
Mothers® Polishes•Waxes•Cleaners