My meeting today with Garrett

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: My meeting today with Garrett
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 09:53 pm:

To start with, and to lay to rest some of the concerns expressed here when Garrett first posted, Garrett is a real person. He is exactly who he said he was when he first showed up. He is an almost 13-year-old middle school student who lives in Boonville MO with his parents, and he is thoroughly fascinated with Model Ts. He is a perfectly normal, personable, bright young man.

Okay, today. Garrett and his dad Terry and I were going to meet at Kent Gilbane's shop in Columbia MO. We had talked about 10:30-11:00, so I stopped for breakfast on the way to Columbia. That meant I got to Kent's ten minutes after Garrett and Terry did. Kent had already begun showing them around his cars. By the time I got there, he was getting ready to get the '11 Touring out to take us all for a spin. Once he got it started and outside, Garrett and Kent sat in front and Terry and I in back. We drove from the shop to one end of the service road, then back to the other end, then back to the shop. My guess is 8-10 miles total. Once we got back, Kent started getting the '24 Coupe ready so Garrett could experience the difference between an open car and a closed car. Didn't happen. The coupe had run beautifully two days earlier but refused to start today.

Garrett, Terry, Kent and I talked for quite a while after the ride. Kent gave Garrett a framed Model T photo (the classic accident one with the splayed front wheels) and a fuel gauge stick. I gave him a copy of Bruce's book that forum member John Berch sent me to give him back when I first said I was going to meet with him, plus a handful of old Vintage Ford magazines.

On the ride:



Garrett and Kent in the '11:





The three of us: me, Garrett and Terry:



I have heard several times from Garrett this evening. Excerpt from his e-mails (with permission):

"I think today's Model T Ride was awesome.
I think I'll be back sometime this summer to visit. I didn't talk much because I was amazed.
I think I'm hooked on Model T's!"

On the ride in the '11, I thought Garrett was taking some photos with his phone. I need to become more firmly accustomed to the 21st century!

Garrett's YouTube:

http://youtu.be/jNY6E9ABIb0

I feel very good about today's visit. Kent told Garrett and Terry that they are welcome to drop by any time if they call a day ahead so he can be sure his schedule works out. He also told Terry that he can drop Garrett for a few hours if he has stuff to do in Columbia. Garrett can either ride in a Model T or help Kent work on one and learn about how they tick. I think we have a young enthusiast whose enthusiasm should be cultivated.

Health issues have made his whole thing take longer than I would have wanted, but I thank those who supported my efforts.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George_Cherry Hill NJ on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 09:58 pm:

Mr. Lodge...you are a Saint and a credit to the human race!

Tough call going in, yet you believed from the beginning.

A tip of the hat to you sir.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Randall Strickland on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 10:03 pm:

Good deal mighty nice of you fellows!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Terry Woods, Katy, Texas on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 10:08 pm:

Too bad some members were so nasty and distrusting of him. I'll admit, Garrett was a little too bold and might have approached members, a little too hastily (about issues such as starting his own website and "club"), but I think this young man has his heart in the right place. I hope he wasn't totally turned off by the response of some club members, and will, when finances allow, continue to pursue his dream.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Craig Anderson, central Wisconsin on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 10:35 pm:

The highest complement that can be given is when a man is known as "A man of his word".
That's YOU, Mr. Lodge, and thanks!

Glad you're finally back to getting around too....... :-)
You and Kent gave Garrett a gift he'll treasure forever........as you will I'm sure.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Sanders-Auburn Al on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 10:39 pm:

Bless you Dick Lodge, you sir are a true ambassador to the Model T hobby as well as Kent and John. There is plenty of egg to go around but lets keep this as positive as you all have intended. I hope your efforts have nurtured a future Model T enthusiast. Perhaps some will be helping Garrett with his first build in the next few years.
Bob


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 10:42 pm:

Terry, my take is that Garrett came into this forum with the mindset of a 12-year-old online-forum participant, i.e. the way he is accustomed to communicating with his contemporaries on line. Middle-aged Model T guys have a different online mindset. There was some dissonance. I can't help but think that the people who were so hard on him here in the electronic environment would have been far different if they were a bunch of Model T guys standing around on a parking lot and a 12-year-old came up to talk to them.

Yeah, his heart is where it needs to be for a Model T guy. All he has to do is get older and get some money.... :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 10:45 pm:

P.S. "All he has to do is get older and get some money.... :-) "

On second thought, that's all I have to do....


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Dallas TX on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 10:47 pm:

I am glad Garrett is here with us. He will someday replace one of us in the hobby and hopefully will own a lot of our Model T's.

Please folks be patient with Garrett! We all have to start some place don't we.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mack Cole ---- Earth on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 10:48 pm:

Well,Mr, Lodge,you kept your word to the boy and you proved to us beyond a shadow of a doubt that he is real.
Lessons to be learned by all.
Being I dont get on Face book and other social mediums I dont reckon I was as able to confirm his being real as well and as easy as you did.
If he is serious about it,he will hang in there above all the bad things folkes said.includeing myself.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Chris Brancaccio - Calgary Alberta on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 10:48 pm:

I have been in constant contact with Dick on this from the beginning. We need to congratulate Dick and Kent for doing this for US AND THE HOBBY.

Garrett as I told you before you need to listen more and talk less. Use the search function on the forum before you post a question. You need to approach us older folks quietly.

Chris

PS you don't need to mention your forum any more either.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve in Tennessee on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 11:07 pm:

Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.

I'm glad you guys salvaged a future T'er!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Keith Townsend ; ^ ) Gresham, Orygun on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 11:27 pm:

Dick-

Bravo!!!

: ^ )

Keith


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By HARRY A DAW on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 11:30 pm:

Outstanding job Dick and Kent. Glad the two of you found what appears to be a very interested young person. I had many his age in class during my 30 years of teaching and those his age, I just tried to point in the right direction and get the heck out of the way so they would not run over me.
It would be nice if He could get up to Mt. Pleasant, Iowa to Old Threshers during Labor Day weekend. It is not that far from him and would really further his education.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Lovejoy, So Cal on Saturday, May 05, 2012 - 11:35 pm:

Well done Dick and Kent, well done.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve McClelland on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 12:44 am:

Thanks Mr. Lodge, for putting this to bed.
Again to Garrett: I told you to hang in there and things would get better.
Keep your head up some of these old geezers have tough skin, and some don't I suggest you seek the ones that don't they are the group you will learn from.
Best wishes Garrett...... Sorry for your bad experience !


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Clipner-Los Angeles on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 01:14 am:

Dick & Kent, did I say you guys rocked.
You guys rock BIG TIME !!!
This is how you plant the seed.
Well done sirs .
George n L.A.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob Coiro on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 02:11 am:

Dick and Kent, ain't nobody deserves a bigger "Well Done!" than you guys. Wow.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dane Hawley Near Melbourne Australia on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 05:42 am:

Thanks Dick. You have done Garrett and the T hobby a great service!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Warren Johnstone on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 11:19 am:

Apology Needed!!
This young man needs an Apology from the Negative and ruthless people on this site. Good job Dick and kent


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Danuser on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 11:30 am:

I just sent last week thr Nov-Dec Vintage Ford Up To Garrett via conversations with him and his father via computer, it was an extra that were brought to Chickasha Ok swap meet by one of the board members. So he will have a fairly up to date info on the MTFCA publication. As President of the Kingdom of Callaway MTFCA I realize we need younger bloodcoming into our FUN . as I'm the last surviving founders of my club the other 5 are deceased and I'm 71 plus, we need to pass our ways and knowledge on to others. Thanks Dick and Kent.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mike Walker, NW AR on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 11:33 am:

Thanks for following through on this, Dick, and for sharing the outcome with us. Ya done good! :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Erich Bruckner, Vancouver, WA on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 11:40 am:

Dick and Kent, home run, and worth the effort. I do believe the above observation that the first reception would have been better if it had taken place in person. That should tell us something about ourselves. A lesson for all of us here.

One of the best parts of having a T is in the times we get to share it with others. That is how I got hooked. I had to see, smell, hear, and touch a real T before the bug got me.

Garrett, So glad you got this chance. These cars are such a history lesson and still influence almost everyone they meet.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 11:52 am:

Thanks, Dick.

Does anybody remember the poster last year making strange and derogatory posts from "Lake Forest, Calif"? When I started pinning him down about location, he disappeared. I think he was really in NE Canada.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Button III (Chip), Lake Clear, NY on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 11:55 am:

Kudos to both of you!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 11:59 am:

I knew Saturday was going to be the day, so while I was at the auction I wondered how the visit was going. I'm delighted to see it turned out about as I expected. I recently commented to Garrett that there are certain people on the forum that we should all emulate when we're posting online or dealing with folks in person. This is another case of some grownups setting a good example for the rest of us.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Charlie B actually in Toms River N.J. on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 12:01 pm:

As Sherlock said "photo's don't lie". As one among the group that thought this was a scam I'm glad to say 1: I was wrong and 2: I'm happy it worked out. However I remain ever the skeptic but I am happy at the outcome.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Mack Cole ---- Earth on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 12:46 pm:

It aint fun admiting yer wrong. But if yer any kind of a decent man at all, or ever have any intentions of trying to be 1 in the future,thats something you have to learn how to do.So I admit,I was wrong.
With so many things "not quite right" it was very easy for me to think "scam".But that aint no scam smileing in the seat of that T.So perhaps things will roll along differently now.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Harrison,Norco Ca on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 02:14 pm:

Dick Lodge,good for you for following thru on this.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By J Berch on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 02:38 pm:

Dick, Good for you and Kent Gilbane for introducing Garrett and his dad to a great hobby!

What Dick failed to mention was, he's 150 miles from this little rendezvous and probably isn't 100% from his recent surgery.

To repeat what has been said, You guys are the real ambassadors of this hobby.

Thanks, John


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By john kuehn on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 04:06 pm:

Thanks Garrett for being patient. And thanks to the guys that demonstrated that T folks really can be decent people.
For me I am really glad that there a few (to bad) younger guys taking up the T hobby.
This is a good lesson for all of us.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Patrick on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 04:21 pm:

It is very unusual for a 13 year old kid to be so focused on a goal so early of owning a Model T but Garret is that type of kid. He is to be commended for wanting to do more than sit in his room playing video games like the majority of his 13 year old contemporaries. I was alot like Garret when I was his age, and were I 13 today, would probably not fit in with the average 13 year old video game geek, choosing instead, like Garret, to seek out older, more mature friends, in my quest for knowledge and advice on how to obtain my goal. As a 13 year old, he did get off to a bad start, but now that we know he is the real deal, perhaps we can take that into consideration and help him, not only in answering his Model T questions, but help him to become a man by relating to him as the mentors he seems to be seeking. Jim Patrick


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Garnet on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 05:18 pm:

... or helping him become a Model T owner ... can you imagine how his friends would be pestering him for a ride in a few short years ... (even the girls)!!

Garnet


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman T. Kling on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 05:27 pm:

As a young teen, I liked to listen to the old 78 RPM records on the wind up phonograph. Our grandfather built a cabin in the mountains where there was no electricity, and the only way to make music was to play an instrument, sing, or the phonograph. I spent a lot of time there growing up, and that was my music. Others were listening to the new 45 RPM. I was focused on the old time music.

Now my children are grown up and they say, "Dad you can get a CD with "oldies". They don't have scratches and the fidelity is much better. I said, I learned to listen to the scratches and the distortions. That's the way I like it!

Same goes for the Model T. Some people just like it that way! They like the bumps, the whines and the knocks and the vibrations.
Norm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 08:02 pm:

John and all, thanks for your comments. As I said, I did it because I wanted to and I feel very good about having done it. John, it was more like 110 miles each way and yes, I am still well aware of the surgery (13 days ago, but who's counting? :-) ) On the other hand, sitting in the car behind the wheel is actually pretty comfortable - some CDs on the player and the miles went by pretty painlessly and effortlessly.

After Garrett and Terry left for home, I went over to Kent and Kathy's place for lunch and to catch up (we don't see them as much as we'd like these days). Kent started reminiscing about himself at Garrett's age. He would bug his mom like crazy every year to take him to the Easter Car Show in Forest Park, where he would walk around and drool over all the cars. Kent is a true old car - and specifically Model T - fanatic. Garrett has indicated to me in several e-mails since we met that he wants to spend time at Kent's. He is also practical enough to realize that he will have a much easier time of it in three years when he can drive himself.

Expanding the Model T hobby - one fanatic at a time.... :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dick Lodge - St Louis MO on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 08:47 pm:

Mack, there is no doubt in my mind that you are a decent man. I appreciate your posts in this thread. You are living proof that decency and the ability to spell don't always go hand in hand.... :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jerome Hoffman, Hays KS on Sunday, May 06, 2012 - 10:52 pm:

Dick, great job, all around. I too started at about 13 getting into Model T Fords. A thank you to Garrett's parents is necessary here also because with out them extending some trust to us(forum community) and their son, this would not have ever happened. One big thing that happened to me was getting a chance to drive a my Fathers Model T. This may be hard for Garrett as no one is a family member and he is still under age. I think with his interest level being high he can survive. With some kind understanding here, he will get any help he asks for in the form of information and opinions. Being 13 he need not feel that he needs to rush it. Plenty of time yet.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Hap Tucker on Monday, May 07, 2012 - 06:52 am:

For Dick -- Thanks so much for going the extra mile!

For Garrett -- Glad that got straightened out -- welcome back!

Respectfully submitted,

Hap l9l5 cut off


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bob McDaniel(Indiana Trucks)Star City In on Monday, May 07, 2012 - 10:47 pm:

Garret did something I would still love to do, ride in a 100 year old car! I am glad we have people like Dick on here. We could all learn something from this.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Wayne Sheldon, Grass Valley, CA on Tuesday, May 08, 2012 - 02:06 am:

I have not met Dick Lodge in person yet, but I sure hope to. I have known for a couple years now that he is the kind of person I would like to know well and see often.
A truckload of kudos to Dick and Kent! True representations of what all humanity should aspire to be.
Wayne Sheldon


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gabriel Tamarit - Argentina on Tuesday, May 08, 2012 - 07:29 am:

Congrats Dick, well done. You´ll be welcome anytime if you want to get a ride in argentinian T´s.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Billy Rose-Garland Texas on Tuesday, May 08, 2012 - 10:04 am:

MATTHEW 7:12


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jerry VanOoteghem on Tuesday, May 08, 2012 - 12:37 pm:

Dick & Kent, I'm proud to share this hobby with you. You both did a very kind and decent thing. What a great day!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Danuser on Tuesday, May 08, 2012 - 04:50 pm:

Billy is that really you!!!!


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