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Until then, have fun.                                 

__Bill & Doris

How I See It

Hello Everyone; It has been a while since I have written a report and there are a few reasons for that. Hopefully the cold weather that aggravates my asthma and allergies is gone for another year. This year they were worse than in years past and it forced me to stay out of the cold. Thank you to everyone who expressed concern for the well being of my son Gregg Jr. He is doing well but he did scare us. The doctor said that he had punctured a lung and it is not uncommon for that to happen to young men that are very tall, very slim, and athletic. The doctor said it could happen again,  but probably would not.   

Friday Night I was out to Old Town for the Friday Night Cruise and a few changes have occurred in my absence. The first changes I noticed beside the rumors were the absence of sponsors. It seems that both Valvoline and Central Auto Parts have chosen not to sponsor our cruises any longer. It is a shame because Valvoline has been a sponsor for almost as long as the cruise has existed. I also don't recall hearing any ads concerning Tags With Class. I hope it is a case of my not being in the right place at the right time to hear the ad and not the loss of another sponsor because Dennis and his business have done good things for our cruise.  

Now for the rumors. As soon as I drove in the gate I started to hear that Mike T. was going to quit the cruise. I asked around and was not able to verify or prove wrong the rumors until just after the cruise when I spoke to Mike and got the story from the horses mouth. To dispel the rumors I will print the latest update and this is the truth as told by Mike T. Mike T. has sold his real estate business as well as his rental properties. He has also sold his home and has built a new home in Tennessee. Mike has plans to stay in the Kissimmee area and run our cruise until the anniversary cruises in June. After that cruise, Mike will hand over the reigns of the management to the weekly cruises over to an unknown successor. It is evident that there are going to be changes to our favorite cruising hangout.

 With this information I would like to submit two suggestions. The first is that with the changes that are coming, whatever they may happen to be, is that we all act like responsible adults and roll with the changes and make this transition as smooth as possible for our next cruise master. That should help to insure that the transition should be successful and the cruise will continue.

 The second suggestion is that because this is going to be a transition of change, that this would be a good time to put pen to paper and write to the Old Town staff and inform them of any changes you might like to see happen to our cruises. The only changes that I think need to happen is a realignment of the year ranges of the cruises. The Saturday Night Cruise At Old Town no longer draws an average of four to five hundred cars as it once did. It does seem to draw between 250 to 300 cars week in and week out. I think that it is time to lift the barrier of 1972 being the last year eligible to cruise on Saturday. I would suggest that the barrier be lifted to include up to 1975 for six months and keep track of the cruise numbers. If the numbers don't swell beyond what is manageable in those six months then lift the cutoff to 1978 or 1980. The other suggestion might be to use the 25 or 30 year old rule as to judging eligibility to the Saturday Night cruise.

 The Friday Night cruise seems to have fewer and fewer of the 1973 to 1987 cars showing up to cruise and more of the late model customs and that seems to be the way that this cruise is headed. It is not a bad thing but the cars that are twenty years old and older should be together.  

If you agree with my opinion, then let the decision makers at Old Town know that is how we would like our cruise to go. Now that I have dealt with the changes that I know about, dispelled the rumors and put them to bed, made excuses for my absence, and reported on Gregg Jr’s health, it is time to report on the Friday Night Cruise.

 We had a total of 107 cruisers that registered for the cruise to enjoy the warm evening. The 3D band was on the stage and they sounded very good belting out the tunes. As a side note the stage is under construction because it was too close to a property line and needed to be moved 18 inches. It has now been moved and should be looking good again soon. We again had four checker flag winners who did not receive a case of Valvoline but did get the 25.00 cash and the drink from The Tropical Breeze Family Restaurant and the checker flag. The first winner was a gray with red accents 2005 Ford Mustang GT fastback. This car really looked retro with its rear window louvers, louvers on the rear quarter windows, the mag wheels that were styled similar to the old chrome Cragar SS wheels that were a common sight on the sixties and seventies Mustangs. This pony was also fitted with the sequential taillights that were common on the sixties and seventies Thunderbirds and Cougars. This GT was sharp and the owner promised we would see it again. The next flag went to a red 1973 Chevrolet Corvette convertible. This beauty had a 454 and a four speed under the hood. The third flag went to a gold 2001 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. The fourth Flag went to Tony and Maryann  who have returned from New York with their 1985 brown Chevrolet Monte Carlo. This concludes my report for this week, so until next week cruise safely and have fun.

On to the flag winners

Tonight's random drawing winners that and received the coveted "Old Town Checkered Flag" along with $25 cash, a case of Valvoline 20W50 Racing Oil and a drink from the Tropical Breeze.

Congratulations to the Checkered Flag Winners!

Click here for the complete listing to date for 2006

Tom Higgneins
2005 Mustang
Albert Palmieri
2001 Pontiac Trans Am
Alan Doeringer
1973 Corvette
Tony DeGennaro
1987 Monte Carlo