Marcophiles: Old cars, mixed memories

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Tom Williams, left, is one of Marco’s favorite writers, a 30-plus year resident of the island. His latest book, Lost and Found, is a thriller with a lot of high tech suspense.

Courtesy oldcarandtruckpictures.com

This 1951 Chevrolet convertible reminds me of one of the first cars I ever drove, but it had a major flaw which made every trip interesting.

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Naples resident Karna Small Bodman’s latest geo-political thriller is now in bookstores nationwide. It’s her third novel drawn from her experiences in the highest levels of the Reagan Administration.

Marco Island is blessed with a lot of people who cherish, collect and drive vintage cars in tip-top condition. Well, they drive them when the temperature is between 64 and 76 degrees, when the sky is cloudless and no rain is forecast for at least a week.

And why not? These old cars are gems, which they often share with the rest of us at arts and craft shows, local market weekends and of course car shows.

But for some of us, the old cars are just memories. We didn’t have the foresight or the money or both to hang on to those old jalopies. Truth is most wouldn’t have lasted this long.

So we want to hear your stories about your favorite cars you drove or lusted to drive way back when. For example, I know one guy who says he had a pickup truck so beat up he could see the road when he looked down through the floorboards.

A radio guy, Tom Griswold, says he had a car that had plastic sheets and duct tape for rear back windows. He was way poor way back then.

In the late 50s, before I owned a car, I rented a well-used 51 Chevy convertible from a college friend on a daily basis to drive to and from my early morning radio job.

Trouble was the ragtop latch didn’t work so if it was very cold or raining or snowing, I had to drive that car with one hand holding the top closed and the other doing the driving. That wasn’t easy, as it was a stick shift. For the owner, that old green Chevy was a chick magnet. For me it was a way to get to work at 5:30 a.m.

Tell us your old car stories via e-mail: don@donfarmer.com or chris@chriscurle.com.

Tom Williams’ and Karna Small Bodman’s big books

Our favorite local authors these days are Marco’s own Tom Williams and Naples-resident and old friend Karna Small Bodman.

Tom’s book “Lost and Found” and Karna’s third novel, “Final Finesse” both are thrillers.

Tom and Karna share a secret of their writing — they both write well and write about what they know.

Tom’s novel by now is well-known to Marco Islanders. Karna’s action adventures should be too. Her previous books, “Checkmate” and “Gambit,” dealt with a national security challenge. So does the new one, “Final Finesse,” which we’re reading as we write.

She has major credentials to write about national security, as well as national politics and media matters. A former TV news reporter and anchor, Karna joined the Reagan administration in the White House press office and moved up quickly, including becoming senior director of the National Security Council. At that time she was the highest-ranking woman in the Reagan White House.

We asked Karna how the subjects of her books resonate with readers here in Collier County.

“I’ve had a great time giving speeches about turning White House experience into political thrillers and have spoken to more than 30 groups here so far. At every event, people have bought copies and seem to enjoy them.”

We also asked whether her pleasure in living part-time in this area might prompt her to set some scenes around here?

“In this latest book, ‘Final Finesse,’ the hero has parents who live in Naples,” Karna says. “I just had to work that in.”

Her book tour is taking her all over the country, but Karna may be available for more local appearances. She has great stories about life in the White House and other tales of power politics at home and abroad.

For more information on Karna, phone 239-430-8540 or on the Web at karna@karnabodman.com.

No ‘Sneak Peek’ photo winner

Nobody got the right answer in the latest sneak peek photo contest. That U.S. flag flies proudly over the Residents’ Beach, visible from Collier Boulevard.

We’ll have another Sneak Peek photo contest next week. Winners get $50 U.S. Savings Bonds, courtesy of Orion Bank on Marco.

E-mail: chris@chriscurle.com and don@donfarmer.com.