der Bayerische July/August 2020 - 29

S E L F - R E F L E C T I O N - A
Sport wagon (yeah, of course it had
to be a wagon). A year later I flew to
Atlanta, GA, bought a 1991 318is,
and drove it home to Virginia.
Shortly thereafter I became a member
of the National Capital Chapter
(NCC) of BMW CCA. It was clear
that I was hooked on BMWs.
Avery is now six years old and
my son, Carter, is three. I've found
that with small children my time for
personal projects and activities is
scarce. As a result, for a few years I
stopped participating in autocross,
HPDE, and attending other carrelated events. Though it took me a
while to figure it out, the solution to
continue my hobby was simple include my family as participants in
my hobby. What a concept!
I remember the first time I asked
Avery if she wanted to come help me
in the garage. She was four at the
time and I planned to replace the
brake pads and rotors on my 318is.
When she said "yes", I fully expected
she would lose interest after a few
minutes, but I still wanted to give her
the opportunity to decide if she liked
it or not. To my surprise she stuck
with me for a full 2 hours until the
job was completed. Along the way I
explained things like why it's
important to use jack stands (not just
a jack), how calipers, pads and rotors
work, and various other automotive
tidbits I've picked up over the years.
I broke bolts loose and she enjoyed
ratcheting them off the rest of the way.
We made a great team (and still do)!
Since then she has helped with
oil changes, spark plugs, coil packs,
exhausts, headlights, wheel and tire
swaps, detailing, and more. As Carter
becomes more trust-worthy to hold
tools around the cars (without
scratching any paint), I've brought
him to help as well. After helping
wash the cars, both kids get a kick out
of sitting in the front passenger seat
while I pull the car back into the
garage. Additionally, I'm astounded
by how much automotive information
they retain and regurgitate later. I've
probably said "eat over your plate" at
the dinner table ten-thousand times

July I August

C A R

E N T H U S I A S T ' S

(Above) My 2015 328xi Sport Wagon on a wet Shenandoah Circuit.
Photo by Dan Hurwitz.
over the past few years (without
success), but they'll both remind me
to use jack stands if I'm lifting the car.
In addition to being great
helpers in the garage, both Avery and
Carter like to come to Cars & Coffee
events and NCC events such as
the Deutsche Marque Concours.
Though sometimes a trip to Cars &
Coffee may be short-lived after the
donuts have been finished, it's still
good fun. It's a ways off, but when
they get their driver's licenses I'm
very much looking forward to getting
them signed up for a program like
Street Survival. Hopefully Street
Survival will rid them of all the bad
habits they've picked up from
watching me drive, though nothing

diffuses the emotions of being cut-off
in traffic quite like a 3 year old
repeating, "DUDE! What are YOU
doing?!?", from the back seat. Ok,
maybe he has heard that more than a
few times; it could have been worse.
Being an involved member of
NCC BMW CCA has been a gamechanger. Before last September I had
never submitted an article to a
publication, let alone dreamt of
having something I'd written
published. I've only been a member
of NCC for a few years, but within that
time I've already met a lot of great
people, I've made a lot of great
friends, I've learned a lot, and I have
been introduced to new and exciting
experiences within the NCC

J O U R N E Y
community; it's a real testament to
our board, our event organizers, our
volunteers, our members, and
everyone's outgoing and positive
attitudes. In fact, my wife and I will be
taking our first trip to The Vintage in
North Carolina later this year with
a caravan of NCC Vintage veterans
(super-excited about that)! Until
recently I've felt as if my car hobby
had stalled, but NCC has started a
new chapter in my automotive
enthusiast journey that I'm enjoying
immensely.
While time for self-reflection
has been beneficial, I am again
looking towards the future. What's
next? Perhaps an additional project.
Perhaps I'll find new, interesting
locations for photos, such as the CIT
building in Herndon, VA where I
captured both my own reflection and
that of my 318is in the building's
windows, which serves as the
backdrop for this article's title image
and the inspiration for this article's
title. As I stated in this issue's
Steering Column, our current
problems will eventually pass. Stay
safe, stay healthy, and remain
positive! Thanks for reading.
(Below) Avery and Carter posing for
BMW CCA Garage Goals.

29
der Bayerische July/August 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of der Bayerische July/August 2020
