Let’s make a few comparisons here…

You abandon a perfectly fine bed too early in the morning, drink one too many cups of instant coffee on your way out the door, scrape your windshield and sit in a cold car, staring blankly at the windshield as the circle of vision slowly grows enough to navigate your way out the driveway. You make it to the show to idle in line with everyone else who left their warm beds behind, only now you wish you were at home so you could use the bathroom. The parking lot guy directs you to the far corner of the frozen lot, where you forget your wallet as soon as you step into the lobby. Wallet reclaimed, you can now start checking out some cars.

You wake up to the sound of a percolator purring away from down the hall. Do I even have a percolator? No matter, it’s purring and you’re going to have fresh coffee. After your second cup, you strut to the bathroom just because you can. You’re home. Snow is falling outside, and you ponder that sentence… keywords: snow, outside. You faintly see your neighbor huddled in his car, staring at the windshield, and you wonder what on God’s white Michigan he’s doing outside. You briefly consider dressing, but on a Saturday, you don’t want to give anyone the impression that you are here to do anything that requires clothing. Today is a day for comfort. Today, you will sit. Today, you will look at car show pictures on the Internet.

It’s a little bit crazy how many pictures there are to browse. www.hotrodhotline.com alone has a few dozen million. I think. You can see pictures from a show in Arizona, then jump over to Cobo Hall, then go to the washroom, then check out some cars in Eastern Canada. Granted, there are a few things missing from the online experience… namely smell, touch, taste, and feeling. It’s getting better though- there are lots of car show videos available online too. If you can’t make it in person, make it not in person. That’s what I always say. That’s what the Internet is for, isn’t it?