09/04/2007
Kustom Kar Weekend (photos)
In a change from my usual political shrieking and harangues about copyright, I have an assortment of funky photographs taken at this past weekend's Lead East party, not far from our house.
Billed as "The World's Largest 50's Party," it's held at a Hilton with parking lots full of custom cars from all over; 1400 vehicles, so the promoters say.
Since these are the cars that first enthralled me as a pre-teenager, the wife and I have atttended this shindig for the past two years, marveling at the craftsmanship and imagination of the autos, and rather turned off by the sight of fat women in poodle skirts and fat men with greased back hair. My wife is a marvel of patience and understanding; this is the equivalent of other women attending strip clubs with their husbands.
My personal preference is for the cars, and never mind the celebration of the 50's as "the best times of our lives"; the blaring PA system has nonstop doo-wop played by someone trying hard to sound like Wolfman Jack. In terms of recreating a true 1950's ambience, white people are so much in the majority that it wouldn't have surprised me to see signs for "colored" drinking fountains.
However, as my snapshots show (I hope), the iron rolling around more than made up for the retro surrealism. I wish the photos were better, but you get the idea.
We only stayed a few hours; the bright sun was brutally hot, and we were both afflicted with some sort of respiratory ailment that had us barking like seals and occasionally hawking on to the blacktop in a very authentic 50's manner.