Sunday dawned bright and clear, if a bit chilly after the previous week's near-record temperatures. A crisp fall day. The morning fog was gone by nine am: a good thing. There were precious treasures on Main Street. None of their owners wanted drops of (yuck!) water on their highly-polished surfaces.

In his sermon, the pastor warned against the dangers of idolatry. He pointed out that, while few people in modern western civilisation were prone to worshipping golden calves, there were. . . er, other objects of desire that could possibly deflect one's spiritual focus.

Outside, the street was beginning to look like this:

It was the annual antique car show, part of the town's fall festival. No golden calves were on display. However, there were splendid machines being studied worshipfully, such as this classic gem from the 1950s:

This year, the sound guys got it right. Last year, they caused a brief power outage – right in the middle of the organ prelude. No electrical problems this year, though the deejays' choice in music remains enmired in the Fifties. Nostalgia for someone.

'Approach with caution,' the man warned us, a twinkle in his eye. 'They're trained attack dogs. They might take your arm off.' These tiny Maltese are half-brothers, born a day apart to different mothers, but the same father. 'He likes to spread it around,' claimed the accompanying human. We didn't take him too seriously: after all he was carting the dogs around in a pram. That's one way of getting around the dog ban on Main Street during the festival.

As we got away from the automobiles, the music suddenly got better. We wondered why, until we saw that we'd wandered into what would surely be FWR's favourite part of the show. The bikers seemed to prefer R&B. Their highly polished chrome gleamed in the afternoon sunshine, and they seemed less idolatrous than really, really pleased with themselves.

Next weekend, the townsfolk admire agricultural vehicles. A really large tractor is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

Dmitri Gheorgheni Archive

Dmitri Gheorgheni

23.10.17 Front Page

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