I've been running around practicing the mini-truckin' lifestyle for quite some time. Until now, I've known that mini-truckers aren't always respected as a group, but didn't necessarily realize why. We as a group tend to catch hell from the general public because of a small portion of those involved with our pastime who can't seem to make a behavioral transition when they're in public places.
When you're isolated at a remote campground in the desert, you may think that you're in a place where you can revert to this sort of behavior, but in actuality, you've turned into the type of person who gives us all the label that has been handed to mini-truckers. It gets even worse when you're conducting yourself this way on Main Street, USA. I'm one of those people who will usually just sit back and watch while others ham it up for a few laughs. For the most part, this is a good thing because it helps distinguish us from each other. It takes all kinds of people to make the whole of what we are as an enthusiastic group of mini-truckers. Usually, it's all in the name of fun and that's just fine. Sometimes, however, it just gets out of control.
It's only after I've seen that others begin to treat the whole group poorly that I realized that it's because of this behavior that we're looked down upon. And because of this, I feel that someone should speak up about it. I've noticed, as I'm sure many of you have, that because of the moronic acts of the few, mini-truckers in general are being labeled as trouble-making nuisances. What city would want us around them, much less cater to our needs by opening one of their parks to us so that we can act the fool and make even more problems? This is a huge reason for concern by all of us who enjoy assembling at shows to kick back and get to know one another.
Over the past two years, the number of events open to mini-truckers has dwindled. Most custom car and truck shows are held with restrictions expressly meant to keep us out of their events. For the most part, mini-truckers are a great bunch of people who I love to spend time with. Unfortunately, because of the attitudes and actions of a fraction of our own, we've lost much of the freedom we once enjoyed.
This past weekend I attended a local show. Since I spend most of the year traveling to national events around the country, I seldom get the chance to interact with mini-truckers in California other than when I'm at my office or shooting trucks locally for features. I can count on both hands the number of shows I've attended in here in California over the past two years. To me, that's the nature of my job, but still I'd like to see some of the people here in my own backyard who live the mini-truckin' dream.
Inasmuch as I rarely get to go to local shows, I was extremely excited to attend the recent local event. After spending only two hours at the show, I realized quickly that Southern California's smaller shows aren't what they used to be. While pulling into the show vicinity, I was cut off at least twice by others driving custom vehicles. Once I got into the show area, I noticed that there were enthusiasts drinking and acting as if they were on private property. Afterward, there were others who began acting as though they were in their own homes by shedding clothing and acting like they were anything but civilized. It wasn't until I'd heard about a guy dropping his pants and running through the parking lot that I was glad I had left when I did. A little over a year ago I became a stepdad. If I'd seen, or even worse, if my daughter had seen this person acting in this manner, I would have been offended beyond belief. This wasn't a show tucked away at some distant fairgrounds. It was not even nighttime or late in the day, for that matter. It was a business center whose occupants had agreed to allow the host club the use of its parking lot for a Sunday show.
I've never been the sort of person who enjoys being preached at, and I know that most people feel the same. I'm not trying to make excuses for mini-truckers anymore. We have made our choices in the past and they've been good ones for the most part. I've said time and again that mini-truckers are the street rodders of the 21st century. Apparently, we have a long way to go before we can be such a group. If you've ever been to a street rod event, then you know that the sort of behavior I've spoken about just doesn't exist. How many of our parents were, or are, involved with street rodding? They have no problems with their local cities, police, or neighbors. They've been around longer as an enthusiast group than all of us combined because they've learned to interact with one another on a higher level. A level that only serves to propagate in a positive way the pastime they love so much. I've always admired that group of enthusiasts and hoped that we as a group can manage to become similar. The only way that I see mini-truck enthusiasts surviving is to conduct ourselves in a manner that befits the talent and creative minds that mini-truckers have inherited from our custom forefathers. Until next month, please take a look at yourself and those around you in an attempt to make ourselves better than we were and as respectable a group as we could be. L8R