…Amos is interviewing the late Bill Lawton about the Mystery 8 Mustang. I interviewed Lawton years ago for Petersen’s old Drag Racing mag; he always seemed like a nice guy…

Will the world ever be the same, like the bumper sticker I’m seeing out the highway says – ‘we survived Bush, you’ll survive Obama.’ I wish I knew. It is a lot easier to enjoy the past, to see the Ramchargers Dodge forever launching into the afternoon light on a great 1966 weekend in Bayview, Maryland. I’ve realized one thing as the election season emotion has a hit a fever pitch in 2012 - hating goes nowhere. And it’s everywhere. This is not just disagreement; there is no recovery from some of the vitriol and bitterness that is pouring out of both sides of the spectrum, a Matthew 12:25ish direction is becoming reality before our eyes.

…Grrrr! Now here’s Al Greaber’s ’66 fastback Charger in a spectacular shot from down low and behind, its loose rear decklid flapping in the wind as the ‘hard as Superman’s kneecaps’ tires of the era struggle for grip. Sideways and hanging on as the car in the other lane does likewise. Wow…

You may have already decided who to vote for, or you may not give a crap about politics. That’s not my point. We all seem to be spending a lot of time in simple ‘survival’ mode these days; spending an afternoon numbing the present with echoes from the past may be therapeutic, but eventually the tape is over and we're back in real time. I run an antique mall booth stuffed full of old toy trains, Hot Wheels cars, various artwork, and piles of old magazines. A look at any copy of LIFE, LOOK, or the Saturday Evening Post from the 1960s shows that the song remains the same, affirms Billy Joel singing, “we didn’t start the fire.’

And, in the end, what we do with our frustation and anger (mainly manipulated by the media from both perspectives) is up to us. Think about that when you're talking with others who may have a divergent view, try a little kindness like Glen Campbell once said, and ‘…get on your knees and pray... that we don’t get fooled again.’ I’m doing it on most Friday afternoons at a prayer meeting I host with a guy who leads the worship at the church I’m involved in. We are 180 degrees apart politically, and we are giving peace a chance. We are all in this together; there aren’t always good guys and bad guys, just guys, trying to do what they think is right.

Amos and the guys he interviews tell us all these racers were still buddies when the racing was over. Now is a stormy season; let’s hope all of us can do likewise when the gales of November come early…

To get your own tranquilizing copy of ‘Cecil County –Run Whatcha Brung,’ which you will enjoy even with the ‘can’t we all get just along’ Ford and Chevy content, contact Jim and the BeeOn video crew at www.beeonvideo.com.