10273 12th Road, Argos, Indiana 46501
The governor is mentioned and you think of engine speed, not
politics.
Your kids’ ‘back-to-school wardrobe’ consists of tee
shirts from every engine show you attended that summer.
The GEM Show Directory and Collector’s Network have replaced
the Mobil Travel Guide on family vacations.
You never plan ANYTHING for the day the latest issue of GEM is
due.
While studying the Industrial Revolution in school, your kids
can explain steam power firsthand.
Your family reunion is held at Portland, Indiana.
Your niece announces she is getting married the last weekend of
May. You tell her the only way you can attend is if the wedding is
being held in Waukee, Iowa.
Your son’s grades really improve when the week’s
spelling list includes the words: economy, sandwich, monitor and
famous.
Forget Louis the XIV and the depression glass! You scout antique
stores for real collectibles like: grease cups, feedsacks, and hog
oilers.
Next to the Bible, Wendel’s American Gasoline Engines is the
most read book in your home.
You drive 1200 miles to Texas to pick up an engine but a 500
mile trip to see the folks is too far.
You see your ‘best friends’ only once or twice a year at
annual shows.
You read every household hint about removing grease, oil and
rust stains.
Your husband ‘misses’ the 200 foot sign marking the new
shopping center, but he can spot a flywheel behind a barn a half
mile away.
The new ‘fixture’ in your family room is part of an
engine that your hubby has brought in for you to letter.
‘Honey, will you come out here a minute,’ can be
translated to mean he needs help lifting an engine onto trucks,
sliding an engine off trucks, or finding some rusty part that was
flung aside in frustration.
The summer calendar is not marked with picnics and holidays but
with engine shows and swap meets.
The man you married doesn’t say a half dozen words at any
social gathering, yet his long distance calls to engine collectors
all over the U.S. and Canada are outrageous.
The car payment may be a week late but the GEM renewal is always
sent in a month in advance.
The sleepyhead who sleeps through the alarm on a weekday will be
bright-eyed and ready to go to any engine show at 4:00 a.m. on
Saturday.
Your neighbors complain about how dirty their kids look after a
Little League game until they see how your kids come home from an
engine show!
You are married to a true adventurer who never loses the joy of
the hunt. You never know what treasure lurks in an old barn or
dingy basement.
The logistics of moving the space shuttle from California to
Florida can’t compare with your husband’s plans to bring
home a newly acquired engine from a neighboring state.
Come September, you can’t believe the summer has flown by
already. And you can’t wait ’til spring when the fun starts
all over again!