It always feels good to be opening a fresh page of Spectators and Funny Hats at the start of the new driving season. _Ah, the trees are again green, the flowers are blooming, the smell of fresh-mown grass is in the air and as I chug around the neighborhood, there's that occasional, thoroughly wonderful aroma of barbecuing!

When we started doing the Spectators and Funny Hats page back in 2011, it was just for fun, but then we began asking the folks in the pictures to maybe consider sending a donation to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (link below) in exchange for their series of e-mailed photos. _In this regard, I'm delighted to say that the keen enthusiasm of our spectator-models surprised us and every now and then, we'll get an e-mail telling us that somebody made a sizable donation. _Lemme tell ya, that feels really good! _

For an open antique car owner, getting involved in this kind charitable enterprise involves no more than investing in a few funny hats, stick-on mustaches and costume accessories from Costume Craze (link below). _The car-show spectators enjoy the heck out of the hands-on experience of posing with a century-old automobile and receive photographic mementos of the event. _We use Pixlr Editor and Pixlr-o-matic to retouch and "antique" the cell-phone snap-shots. _Those two are free online at:
https://pixlr.com/editor/
and
https://pixlr.com/o-matic/
.... and I'd be happy to e-mail simple instructions on how it's done to anyone who might like to get into this kind of thing.

So okay; I'm absolutely thrilled to be opening this season's new Spectators and Funny Hats page with a couple of friends from church. _He just preached Sunday's message and she plays keyboard with the music ministry. _I admire his bravery in public speaking and her's in being willing to take an impromptu driving lesson in the Model T Ford. _Though never having handled a manual transmission or clutch before, she did spectacularly well.









The St. Jude Children's Research Hospital:
https://www.stjude.org/?sc_cid=kwp21782&s_kwcid=AL!4519!10!15912579209!79714605375096&ef_id=WSD3JQAAAJnH44kB:20170530165138:s

Costume Craze:
https://www.costumecraze.com/

Always fun to see! You are one of the good ones.
Thank You.

Good to see the photos back again this year!

We met this fun-loving family at the Thursday evening cruise-in at Kings Park.



These folks were really having a great time and it's such a pleasure to meet spectators with such enthusiasm.



And they pledged a nice donation to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital!



So how 'bout a big cheer for this wonderful family?

Here is a wet plate photo that was made showing my car. I was at an event with some period dressed people and the photographer wanted to do my car. Its been reversed back to "correct" in photoshop as the wet plate process always makes a mirror image of reality. Its a neat process with silver nitrate being deposited on an aluminum plate.

here is a larger version

Wow, that is neat!

Here are my niece and her friend, visiting from out of state and really having a silly good time modeling the funny hats and posing with the old Tin Lizzie.

We always meet such wonderful people at the Thursday evening cruise-in. -
In exchange for the pix, a nice donation was pledged to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

Let the 2017 summer fun begin

Really cool Bob! Nice looking '15. I noticed the license plates changed names. Like the latest one!

Yeah, our super-model spectators can have a vanity plate that says anything they like (as long as it's the kind of polite word you can say in church to an elderly, blue-haired, perfume-marinated lady who looks like Aunt Bea).

This time we have a special treat; our very own forumites, Craig and Amy. -They're the proud
new owners of a Canadian, '15 Touring, now being tweaked, fettled and dialed-in to perfection.





Meanwhile, they and their humble photographer got together for a lunch-run of the local Horse-
less Carriage Club chapter. -And of course, there was no escaping the attack of the funny hats.