A Tribute to my Father

If my father were alive, his birthday would be tomorrow (2/24). He passed away in the summer of 1995 at the young age of 58. We were very close and I can honestly say that I owe who I am to him. He was a very interesting man and I have many stories I could tell, a few have watches as the main topic or punchline. I hope you indulge me and let me tell you one of my favorites. I swear it is true.

When I was in my early teens my dad and older brother partnered into a Shell service station in Detroit. I immediately was put to work helping out. As soon as I turned 15 Shell allowed me to pump gas and work out front with customers. (Back in the 70’s Shell Oil was very strict.) At 16 I got my driver license like everybody else. Since my family was into racing cars I needed a fast car. Dad had a 1966 Buick Riveria GS, with a 465 Wildcat w/dual quads. The brother I mentioned above had a Datsun 240Z he raced at SCCA events. My cousin had a 67 GTO with a stroked 400 that ran 13s with street tires and 12s with slicks. Our mechanic had a Chevy K10 Blazer with a 454 that would actually smoke all 4 tires in 4wd. The street racing scene in Detroit was serious back then. I bought a 1968 Buick Gran Sport convertible from my neighbor and went to work on it post haste.

At the time the only watch I had was a Helbros 3 hander. (I don’t remember the model.) My cheering squad (dad, brother, mechanic) told me to get a chronograph or a stopwatch to time my runs before I tried to race for money or I would get my butt kicked. At that time, we had a contract with a flower delivery company. We owned the lot next to the service station so we had plenty of room for the trucks to park. The drivers would leave their cars in the lot and pick up their trucks. We would wash and service the trucks and go into the city (Detroit) to rescue the drivers if they had trouble like a flat tire or overheating etc. It turned out that one of the drivers had a Bulova chronograph. He heard of my situation and offered a trade. My Helbros + $25 for his Bulova. I asked my dad if Bulova was a good watch and he said yes, everything seemed copacetic so we did the deal. Well, the watch lasted about two weeks, after the first rain it fogged up and the reset pusher fell off soon after. I took it to show my dad and he looked at it closely and said “Well, I hoped you learned a lesson.” I didn’t know what he was talking about so I said “you said Bulova was a good brand!” He responded with “Bulova is a good brand, but Bolivia is a country in South America.” Sure enough, when I actually read the name, it said BOLIVIA, not BULOVA, then he shook his head and laughed, in that laugh that I miss so much. The next day the whole crew had a good laugh at my expense. I have no problem being at that end of a silly situation. I’ve bought some pretty shady car parts since then but no counterfeit watches, I’m not sure if I’ve learned my lesson or not. Bulōva (as pronounce by TGV) has been my favorite brand ever since. As soon as I could afford one, I bought an actual functioning chronograph. Not a Bulova Type C like in the picture above but I damn sure have one now. And I still drive fast cars with V-8s.

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Watches + Cars + Dads=A great story. Thanks for sharing. Here’s hoping in the future you’ll show us what you’re driving nowadays.

And Happy Birthday to your Father.

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Thanks for sharing this!

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My dad died the year after yours and he got just one year older than yours...

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I'm a gearhead too. I autocrossed my '76 MGB in college in the mid '80's. The Datsun 240's were tough to beat, even with my Crane World Cam and Weber 45DCOE sidedraft.

After college, from my drag racing days with a heavy Chevy running a Jasper 357 LT1. It was my daily driver:

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I'm as old now as your father was at his passing (may he Rest in Peace) and my drag racing days are over, but I still turn a wrench now and then when necessary. And yeah, still have a fast V8 that I drive too, but it's an English brand. (Nothing against American muscle, still love 'em. 😎)

Thanks for sharing your story - it got me thinking about my past too. I'll raise a glass to you and your father tomorrow, Thomas. 🍻

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Good story

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Nice story. I don't have my dad anymore either. And I have no watch experience in common with him. Peace to their souls. We miss them so much. Have a nice weekend buddy.🤝

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Happy birthday to your father 👏

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Thank you guys. I appreciate your comments, and hats off to all your fathers - we owe them a lot!

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As promised...

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