So\u2026I`m discovering that, like most proud owners of antique fire apparatus (this can`t be a very large demographic), I\u2019ll accept any excuse to take the old girl out for a run. So it came to pass that I crashed a big local antique car and hotrod show at a beachfront park. Needless to say, they weren\u2019t expecting anything quite as large to pop in, but they seemed to cope well.<\/p>\n
Marshall:\u00a0So\u2026uh\u2026what class should we put you in?<\/em><\/p>\n Me:\u00a0How about the \u2018firetruck\u2019 class?<\/em><\/p>\n Marshall:\u00a0Uh\u2026no. Nothing like that on the list.[long pause] I think you\u2019ll be in the \u2019specialty vehicle\u2019 class.<\/em><\/p>\n He hands me a tag and tells me to follow the guys in the yellow tshirts. They usher me to a distant corner, way beyond the Model Ts, the Mustangs, the \u2018vettes and the heavily modded cars and park me next to a kit car made to look like an old English sports car. The owner complains that my 26\u2032 long, 10 foot high fire engine is blocking the view\u2026I shrug apologetically as I bracket the rear wheels with chocks.\u00a0 As the elephant in the room, I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll matter where exactly I park.<\/p>\n The next 6 hours sees a myriad of squealing young boys and girls, inquisitive French and Russian tourists, retired firefighters and giggly young women climbing on various parts of the pumper to have their photos taken (actually, the retired firefighters didn\u2019t climb on the rig\u2026but I know they wanted to.). More than one young lady mentions replacing her Facebook photo with the one they just snapped in front of my rig.<\/p>\n Yep\u2026I\u2019m feeling pretty cool now. Even though half a dozen people have asked me why an adult would want to own a fire truck, as if owning a 50 year old fire engine is a bit weirder than spending 20K to trick out a 2005 Dodge 300. I dunno\u2026an old car is pretty cool, specially the ones from the 30s or 40s\u2026but an old fire truck? Man\u2026you don\u2019t need to spend a long time in a firehouse to get a feel for the history that a fire truck can witness in half a century.<\/p>\n There were a few hiccups. Since the generator isn\u2019t working, my dual batteries didn\u2019t have the juice to start her up after the 4th time I shut her down. Mind you, I\u00a0did<\/strong>\u00a0turn on the lights and crank up the electro-mechanical siren a few times\u2026 but a quick boost got me home. On the plus side, I won first place in my category. The kit car next to me placed second\u2026but only because there were only 2 vehicles in our category. Poor him. How can you compete against a big red truck?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So\u2026I`m discovering that, like most proud owners of antique fire apparatus (this can`t be a very large demographic), I\u2019ll accept<\/p>\n