Page 53 - Porsche Club Central Magazine Oct 2020

PORSCHE CLUB SOUTH AFRICA - CENTRAL
coffee. No toasted sandwich to accompany that imaginary cup of coffee. Masked people everywhere. If you even saw other people. I wondered if normal would ever return.
The mandatory lockdown took away our restaurants, our trips near and far. But it also brought a chance to discover treasures. The ones that are sometimes right under our eyes. The properties of life that bring true quality. Such as spending time with our only grandchild.
The timeless machine bred from that famous 1963 design proved to be as versatile as promised. Four seats and all. Even though the back-seat occupants need to leave their legs at home, as the ageless joke would have it. Our little Elaina, at age one year was content in the back of the 911, with her child-seat position offering a clear view of the surrounds. No leg-space problems. Legally visiting family, with baby-sitting our calling for the weekend.
Driving to our destination, holding the sports steering wheel,
I was well aware of my duty to keep our priceless travel companion safe. I warily confirmed the intention of every driver that might intersect our path. And I kept a close eye on the central pod of that famous five-pod instrument configuration. The only analogue instrument. The one showing the velocity of your 911. The speed at which the four-wheeled missile was travelling.
No Ricky Bobby of Talladega Nights fame that whispered in my
ear, “I want to go fast.” Just responsible driving in a safe sports car. Yet, amazingly, with none of the pleasure lost in driving this special car. It was good going slow. It will be good going really fast.
Normality will return to earth and to us. We will enjoy our new freedom, even though it will be in a different paradigm. Our new standards will have a greater degree of appreciation for small blessings that are taken for granted, such as toasted sandwiches. And appreciation for the priceless treasures in our lives. The ones we should never take for granted.
I love my 911. I look forward to the life that awaits us after the virus. I dream of open roads
ahead. Of the raw and furious
snarl of a twin-turbo six-
cylinder engine, of high revs, and low gears, one bend on a deserted road followed by the next. Trailing a lengthy line of Porsche Club members. Driving is the true pleasure, the destination merely a pause long enough to reset the driver.
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