Twenty-five years ago we were all breathing a sigh of relief because Y2K came and went and the world didn’t end.  All that stress and worry for nothing.  Now we’re entering the Chinese Year of the Snake.  No telling what adventures that will bring.  However, I want to point out that we are still in the Age of Aquarius.

♬Golden living dreams of visions♬
♫Mystic crystal revelation♫
♬And the mind’s true liberation♬

Ahhh, you have to love a good flashback.  OK, that’s enough rambling, there’s lots to get through.

First event of the year is the January Dinner hosted by Sean and Amiee Herilla.  The dinner will be at 5:30, Thursday, January 16th at The Silver Skillet at the corner of 61st and Memorial.

The February event is our Annual Planning Meeting which will be held at 5:30, Saturday, February 15th at Castle Keep Hanson.  The address is 2825 E 33rd St. Tulsa.  The club will be providing the entrée, which I think will be lasagna. (If it’s not, I’ll let you know.) [Jan 6 Update- lasagna is out, sliders are in.]

This brings us to the Sides v Desserts allocations to appease Karma.  This has worked well in the past and at the last Christmas Party.  If you wish to bring edibles for the Planning Meeting, please follow these guidelines.  If your last name begins with A thru H (35 members) bring a Dessert, if your last name begins with I thru Z (33 members) bring a Side Dish.  This small offering helps the club run smoothly and keeps Karma focused on the Jag club.

Besides the food and fellowship, the purpose of the Planning Meeting is planning.  We will need hosts for the dinners / breakfasts throughout the year.  We also need people to put on Tech Sessions.  If you have a talent or skill you’d like to share OR if there is something, hopefully MG related, that you’d like to know more about, bring it up at the meeting.

Which leads us to the activities that we’re not doing.  If you have an idea, suggestion, or thought about something that we could or should be doing as a club, please bring it up at the meeting.  Side note:  Most people have an idea about something we could be doing, but don’t bring it up because they don’t want to get stuck doing it.  If that’s the case use the attached Activity Questions sheet.  Note your ideas and give it to Brian at the meeting.  We can discuss the idea and find a person to make it happen.

Not only do we want your ideas, we want your money.  The Planning Meeting is the perfect opportunity to pay your dues.  Here I have a little bad, but not unexpected, news.  Club dues are going up.  First time membership is now $30/ year and includes two nametags, subsequent dues are now $20/ year.  The increase will help pay for the entrees and drinks provided at the Christmas Party, the Planning Meeting and the pizzas at the Tech Sessions.  After a few moments of internal grumbling I think you’ll agree that the club is worth the few extra bucks.  Any additional comments can be entered on the Activity Questions sheet and given to Brian.

At the Planning Meeting we will give out a copy of the Membership Roster.  The roster includes name, address, email address, phone numbers and what MGs you have.  If you do not want any of that information included, let me know.  Send me an email to [email protected], put GCMGR in the subject line and indicate which bits of information you want excluded.  I will need your response no later than February 2nd. 
 
The last item is that Bill Watkins of British Iron fame has a Jaguar sedan for sale.  I’ll have more info on the website over the weekend.
 
That’s everything I know about at the moment.  If there is anything I’ve missed, let me know.  More later.
 
GCMGR
Lann
 
PS
Some things are so ubiquitous that you can’t imagine a time when they weren’t there.  But, if you stop and think about it, someone had to be first.

Let’s go back to the early 1900’s when automobiles, or horseless carriages, were just becoming popular.  Paved roads were a thing of the future and driving was always an adventure.  You didn’t drive on the left or the right, you drove where ever the ruts took you.  Getting out of the ruts and going in a different direction sometimes took herculean effort.  As a curtesy to other automobilists you would tell them that you were going to make a turn by waving and pointing.  The problem was that whilst wrestling with the un-powered steering, the throttle and the brakes your pointing at your intended direction may be missed by the following motorist who is fighting his own steering battles and hasn’t noticed that you are also slowing down to complete your turn.

Events could get very exciting very quickly.  A rear-ender, even at the slow speeds of the time could result in, at the least, bent fenders and bruised bodies and at worst broken bones.  Seat belts and air bags were in the far distant future.  Basic things like a padded dash or safety glass would come sooner but still not in time.  I imagine that these incidents could lead to serious oaths, fisticuffs and other ungentlemanly conduct.  And that was the first case of road rage. 

Road rage is not the subject here, read on.

In the 1920’s there was a young actor, Florence Lawrence, who was the first to have her name listed in the film’s credits; some consider her the “first movie star”.  (That’s still not the first we’re concerned with.)  She was successful and made good money.  As much as $500 a week in 1920’s money when a quarter bought you a slice of pie, a cup of coffee and a local phone call. 

Florence was also an automobile enthusiast and dove right in.  She is quoted saying “A car to me is something that is almost human, something that responds to kindness and understanding and care, just as people do.”  She was also known to do her own maintenance and modifications.  “The average women does her own repairing.  She is curious enough to investigate every little creak and squawk of her car, and to remedy it” she said.  She may have been an optimist on that point.

Just as an aside, MG was just getting started in the 1920’s and weren’t available in Hollywood, but, if they were I’m sure that Florence would have driven one.

This love of automobiles and tinkering, added to her experiences on the mean streets of Los Angeles, both as a driver and a pedestrian, and a degree of inventiveness led to, not one, but two automotive firsts.

Florence created the “auto signaling arm” which was a device mounted on the rear bumper.  There was a flag at each corner, controlled by the driver.  As needed, a flag would pop up on either the left or right side to indicate the drivers intended upcoming maneuver.  That was the first turn signal indicator. 

One good idea was not enough for Florence

Working with what she already knew, she devised another rear bumper improvement.  When the driver used the brake pedal a sign would pop up that had “STOP” big letters on it.  The first braking indicator.

Other people came along and added improvements, lights, flashers, waving arms etc., but these were all variations on a theme.  That spark of genius was all Florence Lawrence.
 
I could stop the narrative right here and end on an upbeat note.  But, in real life the hero doesn’t always win.  Unfortunately, this story does not have a happy ending.  Florence never patented either idea and never saw a dime from them.  While trying save a fellow actor from a fire, Florence was badly burned.  This ended her acting career and her source of income.  She died in 1938, by her own hand, penniless and alone.

The next time you signal a turn or step on the brakes, give Florence a silent thanks for her contributions to the automotive world.
 
PPS
I’ll leave you with this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQMbXvn2RNI
 
CLUB MEMBER CARS