Thumper
06-25-2015, 08:29 AM
... well, for ME anyway.
I've been contacted and asked for my autograph. Yeah, I know ... but SOME people respect the Thump! :D
Seriously, I was contacted by a big car collector in California a few weeks ago who bought an old Cadillac pick-up "truck" that I helped build with my dad back in the 70's. He first emailed me, then we started talking by phone. He asked all sorts of questions about parts and building processes to aid with his restoration as he wants to show the car and wants it 100% correct. He got so hyped about our cars, he later called and said he'd located one of our station wagons for sale (in Kansas?), purchased it, sight unseen, and is having it shipped to California. He now wants to restore the pair and show both of them! I've heard of others on the show circuits, but I've never had any direct contact with their owners.
Anyway, during our conversations, I informed him that I still have some of the old sales brochures and company letter head around here someplace and promised to send him a few once I locate them. He was elated and plans to have them framed and integrate them into a display when he shows the cars. Well, yesterday I dug around and located the items, then contacted him to let him know I'd be mailing them today. Man-o-man, he was as excited as a kid on Christmas day! These are rare as hen's teeth and I guess he realizes that.
The "weird dilemma"? My "signature" is total garbage and the thought of having it displayed in public is starting to embarrass me. I'll explain ... back about 35 years ago, I moved into management on the dealership level. EVERY morning, I would arrive to find a mile-high stack of papers on my desk awaiting my signature. In time, my "signature" simply became my initials (less time-consuming). On down the road, those initials became no more than an unidentifiable scribble! I mean it's TERRIBLE and to this day, whenever I'm asked to sign anything ... even a simple credit card receipt at the grocery store ... well, I can't count the times I've been asked if I'm a doctor! People explain my "signature" looks like a doctor's hand-writing on a prescription! It's absolutely terrible and right now, for the first time ever, it's an embarrassment to me!
Last night I actually sat at my desk practicing ... errr, attempting to sign my name like I did 35-40 years ago where it actually LOOKED like a signature and you could half-way figure out what it said. I'm finding out, that's not so easy. The signature looks forced and deliberate ... more like a 3rd grader learning how to write in cursive. After all these years, I've just now learned I do not really HAVE a signature! Well, I've always known it's a mess, it just never really mattered before. I'm sure the general consensus here will be ... don't try to fake it, just do it ... or who cares(?), your signature is your signature, etc. etc. Then I'm SURE one of youse bozos will suggest I just sign it with an "X", but this is seriously bugging me. I'm almost to the point of having Lynn sign it for me!
I know there's nothing youse dufes can do about it ... but Bucky always says he's the only one here who writes about stupidity like this ... so I wanted to prove him wrong. :D
I've been contacted and asked for my autograph. Yeah, I know ... but SOME people respect the Thump! :D
Seriously, I was contacted by a big car collector in California a few weeks ago who bought an old Cadillac pick-up "truck" that I helped build with my dad back in the 70's. He first emailed me, then we started talking by phone. He asked all sorts of questions about parts and building processes to aid with his restoration as he wants to show the car and wants it 100% correct. He got so hyped about our cars, he later called and said he'd located one of our station wagons for sale (in Kansas?), purchased it, sight unseen, and is having it shipped to California. He now wants to restore the pair and show both of them! I've heard of others on the show circuits, but I've never had any direct contact with their owners.
Anyway, during our conversations, I informed him that I still have some of the old sales brochures and company letter head around here someplace and promised to send him a few once I locate them. He was elated and plans to have them framed and integrate them into a display when he shows the cars. Well, yesterday I dug around and located the items, then contacted him to let him know I'd be mailing them today. Man-o-man, he was as excited as a kid on Christmas day! These are rare as hen's teeth and I guess he realizes that.
The "weird dilemma"? My "signature" is total garbage and the thought of having it displayed in public is starting to embarrass me. I'll explain ... back about 35 years ago, I moved into management on the dealership level. EVERY morning, I would arrive to find a mile-high stack of papers on my desk awaiting my signature. In time, my "signature" simply became my initials (less time-consuming). On down the road, those initials became no more than an unidentifiable scribble! I mean it's TERRIBLE and to this day, whenever I'm asked to sign anything ... even a simple credit card receipt at the grocery store ... well, I can't count the times I've been asked if I'm a doctor! People explain my "signature" looks like a doctor's hand-writing on a prescription! It's absolutely terrible and right now, for the first time ever, it's an embarrassment to me!
Last night I actually sat at my desk practicing ... errr, attempting to sign my name like I did 35-40 years ago where it actually LOOKED like a signature and you could half-way figure out what it said. I'm finding out, that's not so easy. The signature looks forced and deliberate ... more like a 3rd grader learning how to write in cursive. After all these years, I've just now learned I do not really HAVE a signature! Well, I've always known it's a mess, it just never really mattered before. I'm sure the general consensus here will be ... don't try to fake it, just do it ... or who cares(?), your signature is your signature, etc. etc. Then I'm SURE one of youse bozos will suggest I just sign it with an "X", but this is seriously bugging me. I'm almost to the point of having Lynn sign it for me!
I know there's nothing youse dufes can do about it ... but Bucky always says he's the only one here who writes about stupidity like this ... so I wanted to prove him wrong. :D