Story by Jon Stalnaker AKA The Studebaker Dude
When I heard that Tulsa was going to make a Guinness record attempt for the longest Classic Car Cruise, my younger self got all excited. I used to dream about setting a record, just to see my name in print. But those days are around 50 to 60 years ago on my clock.
Seeing my name, or my Studebakers, or my thoughts in print have been accomplished long long ago. But being part of something like this still kinda appealed to me. I agonized about whether or not I should participate. As the number of people signing up for it surpassed the number they needed, I began to realistically think about what it would be like to be part of it.
I am not a stranger to parades as I have participated in many of them, be it marching or driving a cool car. I already experienced what it is like to be at the back end of the parade on a hot day, just waiting to get started. That was when the parades I was in had as many as 300-400 participants. It kinda took the fun out of it after it was no longer a new experience for me. Long ago that was scratched off my bucket list, so add that to the fact that they were talking about participants in the five THOUSAND range, It just didn’t pass the “fun or miserable” factor for me.
Nevertheless, I suspected that I would be a little bit sorry when I watched it on TV, and I was a little bit. It was a hot day, and I was delighted that I decided not to go as I watched from my air conditioned TV room. I have certainly had plenty of parade fun in my lifetime. My reasonable sense soon kicked the sorrowful thoughts out of my head.
I was surprised when they announced the number of cars that the Guinness judge counted. It was plenty to get the new record, but it wasn’t even near the number of cars that showed up. It didn’t take long for the internet to light up as news of the large number of cars that were backed up on Tulsa City streets were exposed to the media. Apparently they didn’t even get a chance to join the parade as they shut it down before these poor people even made it to the fairgrounds to start.
Now I do not intend to fuss about the situation, that is not why I write stories. To me, the whole mess made my decision not to participate in this event a genius decision. And genius decisions are not typically in my wheelhouse. I’m not one of those “if you are not there 30 minutes before you are supposed to be, you are late” group. They used to call me the “one minute manager” because I would get there one minute before I was scheduled. That being said, I would probably have been one of the unlucky ones that never even got to be in it. I feel sorry for them because many of them drove long distances to do it. Giving me my money back wouldn’t have been enough for me.
I compare this mess to the Route 66 cruise I just tried to organize for the Studebaker Club a couple of weeks ago. Did it turn out the way I had envisioned it? No, but under the circumstances, it wasn’t so bad. And my little event was nothing like what happened in Tulsa. It was fun for a few. We got some exposure for our cars. And we got to experience a drive-in movie in Studebakers. At least the tornadoes were only on the big screen. Our weather was fine, the community made me proud, and we didn’t have to watch the movie in kayaks. It’s all good…
