A British Sports Car

       So all those many years ago in San Jose , for a time we lived in a nice home in a neighborhood called Willow Glen. It was a large corner house with a three car garage and a persimmon tree in the backyard. The house was located so that I could walk to the local park or going in the other direction I could walk to the little shopping area that had the movie theater where I could watch the monster movies or science fiction films that I loved . The elementary school was also close by so I never took the bus, always walked.
       One day my Dad comes home from work and says "We're moving to Tahoe". Now we had been vacationing at the lake since I was born, in fact my Mom and Dad honeymooned here in '53. I'm all excited about moving to the lake and then my dad brings in a pair of skiis he bought at Mel Cottons, an old sporting good store in San Jose. Now this was a long time ago and ski technology was still really lagging. I had bamboo poles, skiis with cable bindings and black paint for the base and top it all off with rubber ski boots. I'm ecstatic and immediately lace up my rubber boots, clamp myself to the wooden skiis and start shuffling across the living room carpet while poking holes in the rug with my bamboo poles with the metal tips.
       Well learning to ski on snow, not carpet, is another story. What I wanted to tell you was about this same time my Dad buys this used Triumph TR3 little sports car . This thing is tiny. A red two seater convertible, wire spoke wheels with low slung doors. This car is powered by a small four cylinder engine but what it lacks in power it makes up for in handling. It was like a go cart with a red metal body.
        My Dad , back then ,always liked to show off his driving expertise and maybe give his passengers a bit of a scare. He'd leave the driveway going through the gears , winding out that little four cylinder for all it was worth. Waaarrmm, pphh, a quick shift then waaarrmm pop pop..This went on until he got the car to the proper speed and then the fun began.
        When "the coast was clear", He'd crank the wheel into a hard turn ,breaking the rear tires lose and slide the rear end around and then accelerate and do it all over again.Now this car was so low to the street you could put your arm out the low doors and touch the pavement so it made for a pretty exciting ride. There was a small grab handle mounted just above the minuscule glove compartment. That little chrome handle was used alot as this car had no seat belts and there was the constant threat of being thrown over board.
        The little red Triumph was sold before we moved to the lake as it was not exactly what you'd call a "snow car". You don't see too many of these cars on the road anymore, probably rusting away somewhere or in private collections and rarely driven.
                                           .        .        .
        So another storm on the way and it looks to be a mixture of snow and rain and lasting several days.Our driveway is clear now and we're okay with food and the car and truck are full of gas plus I've got extra fuel for the snow blower. I'll report later as to the severity of the precipitation.
        Take care, Bob of the boat