Opera Boy used to annoy the hell out of me at the gym. Of course, he wasn’t Opera Boy yet…. we just called him Ron. His ability to trap you on the treadmill was legendary… talk you right through your allotted time. Over the course of a few years, I got kind of used to him. His topics were fairly varied and he talked to everyone so I didn’t mind so much after a while.
One of his favorite topics was, and still is cars. He made some points early on because little foreign cars, old sexy sports cars were his thing. Now, you may need to know that my only car since 1979 has been a 1973 MGB-GT and you may need to know that my dad and I used to run rallies and autocross when I was in high school. Dad and his father used to race his ’46 MG-TC and Grandpa had a big yellow Jag when he lived in Japan. Ron has a 1973 Alfa Romeo Spyder and a 1976 TR-7/8…. garaged and in project mode. So, naturally, Ron and I had some common ground there.
The other thing he liked to talk about was photography. What a coincidence… I do, too.
Since we became a couple in late 2005, many of our weekend outings have involved cameras and cars.
This beautiful 1941 Packard was one of about 7 period cars at the Oregon Ballet Gala in the Spring of 2007….not a sports car per se but very voluptuous in a Mae West sort of way.
We have made a habit of the All British Field Meets at PIR, Portland Swap Meet, and one fabulous trip to the Concours d’Elegance at Pebble Beach.
When my time frees up a little there will be a gallery on my new web site dedicated to those sleek, sexy machines.
I’ll tell you more about Opera Boy later.
