Over the weekend I had planned on participating with the KC boys at a local get-together, but something came up that I thought might be a good way to spend my time in KC. While I regret not getting to meet all the KC owners, I sure feel good about what happened.
My best friend from back in college lives in KC and he participates in the Big Brothers program over there. He got to telling me of his "little brother" from the inner city, and how he was such a huge fan of sports cars (aren't all 15 year old males!). He mentioned that it would make the kid's day (maybe year for that matter) if he were able to ever get a ride in a car like the NSX. So, I decided that we should spend some time with him in educating him about the NSX, and all performance cars for that matter.
We drove over to his house in my friends truck to pick him up, from which we headed directly to Arthur Bryant's for some Q before going back to his house for the NSX intro/education. At lunch it became apparent that the boy had never even heard of an NSX, and that his favorite car was a Corvette; Understandable from his back-ground. In his world things like Ferrari's, and even NSX's, simply don't exist. So, he really had no idea of what he was going to see, let alone ride in.
After lunch we headed back to my friends house, and as we pulled up he sees the car. At that point it was the first time that day that I saw a smile on his face. He looked it over, and just kind of examined it, not asking any questions, most likely because he didn't know what to ask. I told him to get in so we could go for a ride and his smile got even bigger. It was almost as if a wish had been granted that he thought would never, ever be granted in his life-time.
We tooled around the streets for a bit and then returned back to my friends house where I would let "Big Brother" take him for a spin. All the boy could say was "this is really cool." Oh, it's safe to say that he no longer hold the Vette as first in his list of the "cool-car" category. After the drive it was photo-op time. Of course we placed him behind the wheel for some pic's (sorry didn't have my digital), and I'm sure right now he is eagerly waiting for some copy's to prove to his friends that it really did happen.
After the photo-op it was time for NSX 101, and he sucked it all in, at least as much as he could understand. I think he at least understands that spinners are a no-no on an NSX.
He was amazed at the under-carriage being aluminum, and that a 1992 could show no rust or corrosion.
I know it made the kid's day. I never saw the kid without a smile on his face for the rest of the day. In fact, it really made my day too. Makes me fell really good when I can share what I have, or have accomplished, in a positive manner with those not as fortunate as I am. I hope that this experience has provided small incentive to him to succeed in his life. And, as an encouragement to read, I am going to send the boy my copy of the hard-back sales brochure. Anyone have an extra copy they want to un-load to me?!
My best friend from back in college lives in KC and he participates in the Big Brothers program over there. He got to telling me of his "little brother" from the inner city, and how he was such a huge fan of sports cars (aren't all 15 year old males!). He mentioned that it would make the kid's day (maybe year for that matter) if he were able to ever get a ride in a car like the NSX. So, I decided that we should spend some time with him in educating him about the NSX, and all performance cars for that matter.
We drove over to his house in my friends truck to pick him up, from which we headed directly to Arthur Bryant's for some Q before going back to his house for the NSX intro/education. At lunch it became apparent that the boy had never even heard of an NSX, and that his favorite car was a Corvette; Understandable from his back-ground. In his world things like Ferrari's, and even NSX's, simply don't exist. So, he really had no idea of what he was going to see, let alone ride in.
After lunch we headed back to my friends house, and as we pulled up he sees the car. At that point it was the first time that day that I saw a smile on his face. He looked it over, and just kind of examined it, not asking any questions, most likely because he didn't know what to ask. I told him to get in so we could go for a ride and his smile got even bigger. It was almost as if a wish had been granted that he thought would never, ever be granted in his life-time.
We tooled around the streets for a bit and then returned back to my friends house where I would let "Big Brother" take him for a spin. All the boy could say was "this is really cool." Oh, it's safe to say that he no longer hold the Vette as first in his list of the "cool-car" category. After the drive it was photo-op time. Of course we placed him behind the wheel for some pic's (sorry didn't have my digital), and I'm sure right now he is eagerly waiting for some copy's to prove to his friends that it really did happen.
After the photo-op it was time for NSX 101, and he sucked it all in, at least as much as he could understand. I think he at least understands that spinners are a no-no on an NSX.
He was amazed at the under-carriage being aluminum, and that a 1992 could show no rust or corrosion.I know it made the kid's day. I never saw the kid without a smile on his face for the rest of the day. In fact, it really made my day too. Makes me fell really good when I can share what I have, or have accomplished, in a positive manner with those not as fortunate as I am. I hope that this experience has provided small incentive to him to succeed in his life. And, as an encouragement to read, I am going to send the boy my copy of the hard-back sales brochure. Anyone have an extra copy they want to un-load to me?!
Hope to see you next time. ( that being sometime in Oct.) Gary.
