What a great business trip.

I went to Illinois for the national convention of instrument repair technicians. Turns out Brian (Russe11) and I have known each other for years. We did not know each of us were Fiat owners until he purchased a right hand mirror and glass from me earlier this year. I carried the parts on the plane with no issues and delivered them to Brian at the convention.
As a perk, I got my first vintage Fiat ride of the year. :thumbsup:

Cool!

Nice car and a great color. Glad you had a change to get a ride!

I saw that he was going there. Glad he made it :thumbsup:

Nice Trip

Thanks for posting the picture, Jon. It was great to visit with you, and share some stories. I'm looking forward to getting the mirror installed!:dance:

The car behaved itself well, winding through the Kettle-Moraine for a little bit on the way down, and keeping up with traffic on the Interstate. Altogether, about 700 miles on the trip, and a little over 1000 for the year, so far.

Brian

Ahhhh... So Russe11 is Brian and Fiatpwr is Jon...

And he is from Wisconsin and you are from Vermont and you both went to Illinois... and you didn't know you knew each other or owned Fiats...

Did I get some (most?) of this right?

He drove his car but you didn't drive yours 'cause you sent him your RH window and mirror which he hasn't installed yet.

OK... What a coincidence... but this kinda stuff happens all the time in the Northeast I hear...

(hahaha)

Got it

Yup, Tony, you got it.:thumbsup:

Neither of us made it particularly difficult to figure out, but neither of us were expecting to find someone we knew from our professional association on a forum about Fiats. It's a totally different context. It seems like an even less likely coincidence given that they are both such a small niche. But that's the way it works, sometimes.

Brian

Hey Brian... on a serious note...

I currently have an estranged son that might be 48 this year... as I haven't seen him in about 10 years.

He was in trouble as a kid as well, "worked for the County" several times over the years and managed to do well in that structured environment, even a Hot Shot Team Leader knocking down brush fires...

I digress... We have a relatively small community here now reaching 250,000, and a few years back I happened to notice that not only did I appear to be hanging with old folks, that WE were the old folks and current "founders" and hanged with the upper crust of the area. Not bragging, and its all relative... but just sayin'. (Big fish, small pond.)

My wife became a Docent working with and for a Curator at our local Museum and Park that an old Cowboy and Shakespearean Actor, W.S. Hart left to the County. I had met Andre the curator many times over the years and was finally introduced to her husband, Carl. Carl was a real Cowboy and I don't use the term loosely. As sophisticated as Andre was, Carl was as, let us say REAL... as anyone would want. He dressed in the era of a '40s Cowboy with flap-front britches tucked into his boots with spurs and held up by suspenders with leather accompaniments... a blouse-y shirt with a long silk neckerchief and a front dimpled tall and wide brimmed hat... A huge foo-man-chu mustache all in grey and a ruddy complected round face completed the look... and if he chewed "tabacky"... that would been over the top.

Hopefully you get the picture... and this was NOT a costume, this is how he WAS and dressed everyday...

I also found out that his daughter and her boyfriend knew our daughter from high school and we also ran into that couple many times at occasions all over the area...

So Carl and I are talking mano-a-mano and he says... "Natoli... Natoli, I've seen that name before..." and I thought that was interesting! Its not a common name. So we start sharing thoughts of WHY my name sounds familiar... places we've been, other issues around the city, where we lived before, schools and jobs and I said... "Well, I travel a lot for work with Pacific Bell... and have been for many years..."

Carl said no, he's been a local Deputy Sheriff here for most of his career... HA!

I said, well, I have had a few tickets and the like, some issues over the years with the City and some neighbors... but never any criminal stuff, and he now corrects my thoughts saying... "Naw, I don't do that, I've been a Jailer for the County Honor Ranch for most of my career..."

"Ahhhhh, I said, embarrassed as all hell... "Then you must know my son..."

(The Good Lord has blessed me in many ways and seems to have exposed me to people of all inclinations, as well as those in my immediate family. I believe for the most part that my wife and I have been regular upstanding people working our way up from the bottom to the middle in our respective careers as well as being blessed with three children... all of which are professionals as well. One I just told you about, the other end of the (law) spectrum is my daughter who is one fine Attorney and now a full partner with her firm... and then there is the worst... the proverbial middle child! Not only is he left handed but he's an ARTIST!)