Please Touch My Car

[sconnors]

Please Touch My Collector Car…by Scott Connors

Recently I was at a Hemming’s Cruise In in Bennington Vermont. My 1930 Ford Model A pickup sat in the lot amongst other cars and trucks, many bearing the warning Please Do Not Touch on their windows and windshields. My truck is a driver, complete with dings, scratches and a less than perfect body but it’s still precious to me.

A man and his wife approached me, the man being assisted by a guide dog. His wife held his hand out and prior to placing it on the fender of my truck asked if it was okay if she put his hand on my fender. I told absolutely and then assured the man that he was free to let his hands roam anywhere he wished on my truck and he couldn’t possibly hurt anything.

I watched in absolute amazement as this man began to “see” my truck with his hands. Running his hands over the headlights and then measuring the distance between headlights, next the radiator and grill, his hands found their way to the spoked wheels as he visualized how big they were. Next he felt his way down the side of the truck feeling the door handles, spare tire and up over the roof where he was amazed at the “leather” texture of the roof. Working his way back towards the rear of the truck he “saw” his way over the bed and ran his fingers over the Ford script of the tailgate a huge smile on his face.

He told me that he remembered what these trucks looked like when he was able to see but it was a long time ago and he hadn’t remembered them being “so big” he said how amazed he was at discovering the headlights and how he had forgotten how big and round they were. I watched with joy as he continued to “see” my truck from many different angles all with his fingertips and hands. His comments made me smile and it made me realize the many things we all take for granted.

It made me wish he could “see” all of those other cars with signs on them reading Please Do Not Touch and how awesome it would have been for him. After a half an hour of having him feel his way around my truck he told me he thought my truck was the “prettiest one” he’d “seen” all night. It brought tears to my eyes as he shook my hand and said “don’t squeeze my eyes too hard” and thanked me for a delightful time for allowing him to touch and feel my truck.

While I get the Please Do Not Touch signs and the intent behind them, I also gained a new appreciation of being able to touch a collector or antique car. One of the things I love about taking my truck to shows is to allow people to touch it and get inside it and take a picture behind the wheel or just to be able to sit behind the wheel and ask me questions. It gives me a wild thrill to share my car with others. To allow someone to touch my truck and have my truck in some way touch them back is an incredible experience and a great feeling.

So if you’re ever at a car show and see my truck sitting there and you want to touch it, please do!