Canary yellow car
He painted the car a bright, canary yellow.
Like a regular canary yellow wouldn't be bright enough -- this thing was going to attract attention.
When Danny Karr was 15, something like that, he and his stepfather bought a 1970s Volkswagen Fastback, and he still remembers that paint job.
That was the first one -- the car that turned him into a "Tuner."
It was nine different colors and botched up with bondo when they bought it, but Karr fixed it up, modified it, loved it, and painted it that bold, bright, unavoidable color.
He took it to NOPI, a convention for modified cars, and he was hooked on the whole scene of Tuners. He loved the way each car was different, not just modified, but custom and individual -- unique. He loved the mechanical challenges, the way these men, and boys (and occasionally women and girls), would take their technical skills and do all sorts of things to make cars go faster, perform better, and make them pretty-near perfect.
Eventually, he wrecked the Fastback -- "broke the crankshaft in it, drag racing a Corvette" -- but that didn't damper his new lifestyle.
"It was one car after another, after that," said Karr.
Read the full story @ the Clayton News Daily: Faster than the other guy
"I cranked it up to do a little tuning," he said, "adjust the idle. And of course, what happens with an old car? It jumped the timing. And when it jumps the time, it will bend up valves and stuff. So I don't know what I'm going to do."
ReplyDeleteI thought this was an interesting way to quote him. Nice story.
What struck you as different about it?
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm so used to seeing a period after a "he said" that this rhythm sounded totally different. Usually you pause. "He said." Stop. Rest of the quote.
ReplyDeleteBut with this quote you the attribution is blanketed over a bit...so there is less interruption with his flow.
This is how I read it at least.