I remember when I was just a kid. I was only about 11 years old or so
, growing up in a middle class neighborhood in San Jose, California, when
my neighbor Mr. Oliver, first introduced me to car magazines.
He was a very nice man who had become disabled with Multiple Sclerosis
at a fairly young age. His disability forced him to early retirement from
his job as an insurance adjuster with AAA. But he never lost his own enthusiasm
for cars.
He had subscriptions to all the big three car magazines, Motor Trend,
Road & Track, and Car and Driver. He would read them, then hand them
down to me. That was 1980 or so. A few years later, the Oliver's moved.
By this time I was mowing lawns for money to pay for my own subscriptions.
I remember I had a bit of a penchant for Exotic Car posters and "pocket
cars". I had all these great plans about my posters, and how I would
frame them with the actual badges from my favorite cars. Of course after
calling the local dealer, Ferrari of Los Gatos to get prices of Lamborghini
and Ferrari badges, I was more than a little discouraged. There was no chance
I was dropping $125.00 of my hard earned lawn mowing money for an emblem
off a car I figured I would someday own.
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