Not Just a Car

So many years have passed, from the time I
was a Manager. I had several Supervisors and
they were taking me out to lunch for my birthday.
I like sports cars and had a beautiful framed
photograph of a Porsche 911 hanging on a wall
in my office.
We had a very enjoyable lunch at a place I do not
recall. Then they surprised me with a multi day
rental of a Porsche 911, Cabriolet. I was speechless.
It was December and I asked if I could delay using
the rental until the weather warmed, in June or July.
They said I could. The Agency was in Pioneer Square.

At last it was time and the Rental Agency said that the
Porsche Cabriolet had been involved in an accident
in Yakima but they could offer me the use of a
Porsche 911 Targa. I signed the paperwork and
the Agent took me to the car.
He asked me if I had ever driven a Porsche? I said no.
Do you know how to use a stick? I said that I did and
said I had owned a Fiat 124 Spyder, that had stick
shift. He also told me that it was same shift pattern
as a 1956 Chevrolet.
I opened the door and got in to this "dream car", hooked
the seat belt and started the engine. The sound of the exhaust
accompanied by the cam drive chain sent a chill up my
spine. Porsche engine noise is like adrenaline to me.
I drove up 1st Ave only killing the engine a few times at
stop lights. The clutch mechanism is stiffer than the clutch
on the Fiat. So I was trying to get use to that function.
I reached work and parked in the Garage.
When the day was over I drove to my Son's work place
and parked on a hill. Oh, oh.

With a stick shift, parked on a hill you must put it in gear, with
foot on the gas and a hand on the parking brake. The trick
is to rev the engine and "pop" the clutch at the same time that
you release the parking brake. I did that, but not perfectly and
laid a strip of rubber, for a few feet, up the hill. I live on the
Eastside and only killed the engine a couple of times as the
traffic was stop and go. I drove the car over the weekend
and took a trip with my wife to Ellensburg, with the Targa Top
stored in the trunk.
The memories of this event lives on and will always have a
special place in my heart for the generosity of my friends.