Victor,
I was away from my computer on Thursday and did not see your post about Mt.
Dora people being rude until today....but I must say, I can't believe that
you would find it appropriate to discuss a personal conversation that I had
with you on the phone with the 300 or so people on this Digest.
First off, I must say that I wasn't in the best of moods when I called you.
The reason I placed the call in the first place, you may remember, was
because I had just received the "Welcome Amphicar" banner back from you
after it was used for the Mt. Dora event. The Amphicar Club pays to ship
that out to folks hosting regional events, but it is my own personal banner
that I was willing to let the Club use. When it arrived back from you, I
found that there were two holes poked in it....no explanation or anything.
Yes, I was quite aggravated that someone who was responsible for the banner
would let it be damaged and not even mention it. When I called, you
basically said that you knew how I felt because someone had stolen a photo
that you had displayed at the event. I don't exactly see the connection
there...because the person who stole the photo was most likely a stranger,
not a fellow club member. Plus, an enlargement of a snapshot isn't worth
the same as the banner is. You said yourself that it was only worth a
dollar or two. Besides, the photo might have just blown away! That led to
the whole discussion of people at the Mt. Dora event being rude. NOT the
Amphicar people...the spectators.
As for your own spin on the conversation about this being the reason why
Rick and Jo Young from TN didn't attend the Mt. Dora event...that isn't true
whatsoever. A year ago during the Mt. Dora event, Jo was 7 months pregnant!
I don't really think that a young couple expecting their first child really
needs an excuse not to attend a Swim In that is over 600 miles away. The
only information I shared with you about Rick and Jo was the fact that
someone reached in their car and was looking through papers. I don't
believe Rick and Jo even saw it....I think they were away from their car at
the time....so I doubt that it was really a reason not to attend, you'd have
to ask them. I only mentioned it to illustrate my own personal opinion that
the spectators at the Mt. Dora event (not the Amphicar people) are generally
rude, and yes, that is the main reason why I haven't attended that past two
years. Read my post on this Digest number 1695 from two years ago.
And for your comment about this rude behavior being a California or Florida
thing as the "consensus of the Amphicar Internet Group". I can't speak for
what the consensus of the group is....but what I did say is that it had been
discussed before. The specific conversations I was referring to started
with post 1692 by Amphipoda just pondering the whole notion of this type of
behavior. All of my own comments about this issue are stated in my post
numbered 1695. Additional people weighed in with these posts.... 1696,
1698, 1700, 1702, 1711. I'm sure there are other posts as well on similar
topics, but this is the thread I was mentioning to you. I'd suggest you
read through these and you'll know what actually was said. Personally, I do
feel it is an EastCoast-WestCost-Florida thing...but I don't have any reason
to believe it is the consensus of this Digest. Read the posts and decide
for yourself. In general, traveling throughout the country (related and
unrelated to Amphicar trips), I was more inclined to have a bad experience
with the general public in those areas than others. Maybe it's just the
fast paced life in these areas..... but it seems different than in the
MidWest. Of course, that isn't everyone....it only takes a couple of people
to give one that impression.
In any case....none of this was related to Amphicar people anyway, as you
can see in my post from over two years ago. I was referring to the general
public.
Basically, the whole conversation, which seems odd that you felt should be
shared along with your "twists", was really out of frustration with dealing
with you in the past couple of months. It all started when you insisted
that the Club pay for copying your Mt. Dora Swim In flyers...and I said that
we never had in the past for others, and I want to be fair to all members.
You indicated that you just wouldn't have time, and that it was inconvenient
for you to travel to the post office and copy center because it was 10 miles
away. You seemed shocked that it would be at least that far for me to go to
the copy center, too....and as for having time, well, I'm not retired...so
there's 40+ hours head start that you have in time over me. But in an
effort to be helpful, after your persistence, I said...okay, send an
original and I'll get copies. Well, believe it or not, you chose to send it
to my old address....an address that has been changed since 2000. My new
address had been in two Club Membership Rosters, and 11 Club newsletters.
It really should have went to the club address anyway, which has been
unchanged since mid-2000 as well. But no, you chose to use an old
Membership Roster....one of Jeffrey Sweet's rosters. That was disappointing
news to hear, because the whole Membership Roster plan had been changed on
your request to me back in 2000. You asked that it come out early in the
year rather than at the end, and include a "state" listing in addition to
the alphabetical listing....both you felt would be improvements over Jeff's
old rosters. Appreciating the comments, I took your suggestions, only to
find that when it came time to send something to me, the first thing you do
is look at one of Jeff's Membership Rosters from at least three years ago.
You didn't even use one of the Rosters that were made based on your own
suggestions! By the way, that's another reason the state listing wasn't
included in the 2003 Roster because you obviously didn't even use it in the
past. As it turns out, so many others enjoyed it, it will hopefully be
back.
So here we are with the original of the flyer not here, and the newsletter
deadline already past. You called, and after I told you that the flyer
hadn't arrived, I said that I really needed you to get the copies made and
sent right away because I was busy printing, folding, etc.. the newsletter.
You asked how many, and I said I needed 350 copies eventhough I was only
going to be mailing 325 or so. (I always like to include the flyer to
members that join late in the year so that they can plan for upcoming
years.) You didn't even send enough for all the current members to get a
flyer! Not everyone received a flyer, and new members haven't received one,
either.
Then here comes the event. By all accounts it was a great success, and the
banner comes home with holes poked in it. No comment from you about it...no
apology....nothing. I had to call YOU to see what happened. If you would
have called or included a note explaining how it happened, I really wouldn't
have cared...accidents happen. But when someone damages something of mine
and doesn't have the courtesy to even mention it, yes, I get aggravated.
Then...when during the discussion I mentioned the Internet Digest, you said
that you were not involved in it, and had only recently even found out about
it. Well, Victor, the "Off the Wire" feature in several of the newsletters
over the past two years has included highlights of some of the topics along
with how to sign up for the Digest. As early as the January/February 2001
issue shared information in the Internet Digest and how to join.
Again...that was one more thing that was frustrating to me when you said you
only recently found out about the Digest. Haven't you even read your
newsletters?
Meanwhile...through these phone conversations and others, you always turn
the topic to wanting me to send you some sort of photo from Celina one year
of the Amphicars in the water. You don't even know where you saw the photo,
or who took it, or what it is, but you want me to find it and send you a
copy of it. I don't even know what it is! From your description, it sounds
like one Elizabeth took from our car during the helicopter photo on the lake
in Celina....a photo like many others took during that event, and gee, if
you had attended, one like you could have taken!
Just one more of the frustrations I've had in conversations with you
recently.
In any case....the whole point to my email is to indicate that I do not
appreciate you sharing a private conversation that you and I had on the
phone with the entire Internet Digest....ESPECIALLY when you don't even have
your facts straight!

Marc.




        
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------
GORDON IMPORTS INC.. The world's largest source of Amphicar parts and accessories. Visit our new website today.