{"id":68232,"url":"https://www.kudos365.com/news/68232-not-just-a-car","short_url":"https://www.kudos365.com/news/68232","headline":"Not Just a Car","content":"So many years have passed, from the time I\r\nwas a Manager. I had several Supervisors and\r\nthey were taking me out to lunch for my birthday.\r\nI like sports cars and had a beautiful framed\r\nphotograph of a Porsche 911 hanging on a wall\r\nin my office.\r\nWe had a very enjoyable lunch at a place I do not\r\nrecall. Then they surprised me with a multi day \r\nrental of a Porsche 911, Cabriolet. I was speechless.\r\nIt was December and I asked if I could delay using\r\nthe rental until the weather warmed, in June or July.\r\nThey said I could. The Agency  was in Pioneer Square.\r\n\r\nAt last it was time and the Rental Agency said that the\r\nPorsche Cabriolet had been involved in an accident\r\nin Yakima but they could offer me the use of a\r\nPorsche 911 Targa. I signed the paperwork and\r\nthe Agent took me to the car.\r\nHe asked me if I had ever driven a Porsche? I said no.\r\nDo you know how to use a stick? I said that I did and \r\nsaid I had owned a Fiat 124 Spyder, that had stick\r\nshift. He also told me that it was same shift pattern\r\nas a 1956 Chevrolet. \r\nI opened the door and got in to this \"dream car\", hooked\r\nthe seat belt and started the engine. The sound of the exhaust\r\naccompanied by the cam drive chain sent a chill up my\r\nspine. Porsche engine noise is like adrenaline to me.\r\nI drove up 1st Ave only killing the engine a  few times at\r\nstop lights. The clutch mechanism is stiffer than the clutch \r\non the Fiat. So I was trying to get use to that function.\r\nI reached work and parked in the Garage.\r\nWhen the day was over I drove to my Son's work place \r\nand parked on a hill. Oh, oh.\r\n\r\nWith a stick shift, parked on a hill you must put it in gear, with\r\nfoot on the gas and a hand on the parking brake. The trick\r\nis to rev the engine and \"pop\" the clutch at the same time that \r\nyou release the parking brake. I did that, but not perfectly and \r\nlaid a strip of rubber, for a few feet, up the hill. I live on the \r\nEastside and only killed the engine a couple of times as the\r\ntraffic was stop and go. I drove the car over the weekend \r\nand took a trip with my wife to Ellensburg, with the Targa Top\r\nstored in the trunk.\r\nThe memories of this event lives on and will always have a\r\nspecial place in my heart for the generosity of my friends.","content_plain":"So many years have passed, from the time I\r\nwas a Manager. I had several Supervisors and\r\nthey were taking me out to lunch for my birthday.\r\nI like sports cars and had a beautiful framed\r\nphotograph of a Porsche 911 hanging on a wall\r\nin my office.\r\nWe had a very enjoyable lunch at a place I do not\r\nrecall. Then they surprised me with a multi day \r\nrental of a Porsche 911, Cabriolet. I was speechless.\r\nIt was December and I asked if I could delay using\r\nthe rental until the weather warmed, in June or July.\r\nThey said I could. The Agency  was in Pioneer Square.\r\n\r\nAt last it was time and the Rental Agency said that the\r\nPorsche Cabriolet had been involved in an accident\r\nin Yakima but they could offer me the use of a\r\nPorsche 911 Targa. I signed the paperwork and\r\nthe Agent took me to the car.\r\nHe asked me if I had ever driven a Porsche? I said no.\r\nDo you know how to use a stick? I said that I did and \r\nsaid I had owned a Fiat 124 Spyder, that had stick\r\nshift. He also told me that it was same shift pattern\r\nas a 1956 Chevrolet. \r\nI opened the door and got in to this \"dream car\", hooked\r\nthe seat belt and started the engine. The sound of the exhaust\r\naccompanied by the cam drive chain sent a chill up my\r\nspine. Porsche engine noise is like adrenaline to me.\r\nI drove up 1st Ave only killing the engine a  few times at\r\nstop lights. The clutch mechanism is stiffer than the clutch \r\non the Fiat. So I was trying to get use to that function.\r\nI reached work and parked in the Garage.\r\nWhen the day was over I drove to my Son's work place \r\nand parked on a hill. Oh, oh.\r\n\r\nWith a stick shift, parked on a hill you must put it in gear, with\r\nfoot on the gas and a hand on the parking brake. The trick\r\nis to rev the engine and \"pop\" the clutch at the same time that \r\nyou release the parking brake. I did that, but not perfectly and \r\nlaid a strip of rubber, for a few feet, up the hill. I live on the \r\nEastside and only killed the engine a couple of times as the\r\ntraffic was stop and go. I drove the car over the weekend \r\nand took a trip with my wife to Ellensburg, with the Targa Top\r\nstored in the trunk.\r\nThe memories of this event lives on and will always have a\r\nspecial place in my heart for the generosity of my friends.","published_at":"2020-06-23T13:38:44-07:00","updated_at":"2022-06-02T15:12:21-07:00","author":{"type":"Person","name":"MFish","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/profiles/297670-mfish"},"description":"Stay up-to-date with MFish on Kudos 365. View their post published Jun/23/2020 on Life Stories - Memories. Browse your favorite topics and share your expertise, too.","type":"post","image":"https://k365pi.imgix.net/site/square-kudos-share-image-300.jpg?fm=jpg\u0026auto=format,compress","likes_count":22,"comments_count":3,"categories":[{"name":"Life Stories - Memories","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/categories/1002-life-stories-memories"}],"schema":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"CreativeWork","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/news/68232-not-just-a-car","headline":"Not Just a Car","image":"https://k365pi.imgix.net/site/square-kudos-share-image-300.jpg?fm=jpg\u0026auto=format,compress","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"MFish","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/profiles/297670-mfish"},"datePublished":"2020-06-23T13:38:44-07:00","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":"https://schema.org/LikeAction","userInteractionCount":22},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":"https://schema.org/CommentAction","userInteractionCount":2}],"subjectOf":[{"@type":"Thing","name":"Life Stories - Memories","url":"https://www.kudos365.com/categories/1002-life-stories-memories"}]}}