Ferrari Mailing List: Where in the world/Memories

[George P . (ygpz4re]

Hi all,
 
Matt Boyd first introduced me to the Ferrari List.  He's still in Fredericksburg, but I'm now in the sticks some 25 miles south (got tired of all that "big city" traffic!).
 
It wasn't too long after joining that I bought the ex-Joe Martz/ex-Steve Cook 308GTB.  Loved the car, but due to many intersecting and conflicting life requirements, it was sold to a guy in Winnipeg.  He did a banzai road trip - Winnipeg to Fredericksburg and back in about 3 days to pick up the car.  In fact, he had to make two stops - one at my house to do the paperwork and pick up "extras", and one at Dan Ramos' (anyone heard from him lately?) to get the car.  Dan was doing some minor work for me to help with the sale.  After a quick "test drive", he loaded the car up in his trailer (he was a racer and an ex-rock'n'roller, so road trips like this were second nature to him) and left Dan's around midnight on a Friday night.  Was back in Winnipeg by Sunday afternoon, having just missed a major winter storm (this was late December '01).
 
For a while, I was known by Charles Perry as "Lashdeep's imaginary friend" - we never seemed to be in the same place at the same time.  Charles knows better now, and, true to his word, he let me take my wife's granddaughter for a spin in his 355.  Now, *that* was fun!  This might have been a repayment of sorts for.....
 
At Indy in 2000, my wife (hospitality hostess for FoW's race team) befriended the gate guards (with coffee and hot chocolate) where we entered Gasoline Alley for our garage spaces.  So they let us bring friends in, as long as they weren't walking in.  So we used FoW's flat top pit cart and piled about 20 people on - pretty sure Charles and his Dad were among them.  Y'all will have to tell me who the rest were!  Also enjoyed the list party that weekend at the winery.  Believe that was a Steve J doing...  And I still have the group pic somewhere, too!
 
That was just one of many, MANY races that were memorable.  But relative to list activities, Matt and I were also part of the "Mini-Mike" relay.  Pics of all the cars in front of Carl's Ice Cream stand in Fredericksburg....  Dave Divins tossing me the keys to his new TR after I had only asked if I could sit in it....
 
At the FCA National in '06, "Big Head" Dennis not only let me drive his 355CH around the track, he also let my wife's son drive it!  A memory neither of us will forget.
 
I've rambled long enough.  Echoing other sentiments many, many thanks not only to Steve for keeping this going, but to all the terrific folks who've contributed to these great memories.
 
gp