*_* </3

I guess it was partially the thought of dealing with crowds that might have scared me off, plus normally those events start at 9am - I don't wake up until about 10:30 at the earliest (night owl job), so if I do go, I'm usually cranky from lack of sleep & overdosing on caffeine hardcore. Still, when I was able to go, I had lots of fun checking out the cars, chatting with their owners, & taking a shitton of pics.

I think the last one I went to was a halloween themed event in Huntington - I wore my old high school uniform, & got "jumped" by Michael Myers as I was looking under the hood of a vintage Challenger - yikes!!! It was run by NYAutoFest & a really sweet old guy named Leo - he would show up with his El Camino & 2 little dogs in tow.

I has noticed more than a few months ago no activity on his instagram or FakeBook pages - & NYAutoFest's website was also gone. I've been looking for info on him ever since, because he runs some really decent events (mostly in Nassau County) in some really awesome places - I bailed work one night to join up at a cruise night in Bayville on the water, & it was amazing. Not to mention he is a great fundraiser, with events like getting flags into classrooms & lifesaving gear for pets that firefighters carry on their trucks. I would have joined up myself if not for the fact that my car needs a lot of cosmetic work in order to be show worthy (22 years old).

A few days ago, I finally found out what had happened to Leo: he passed away in April of 2020 from coronavirus. I was crushed. I searched the article I found online, & sure enough there was a photo of Leo on his scooter as he made the rounds at one of his shows.

I did not know a lot about him, except that he was very friendly & he loved cars. I had asked him a lot of questions once about joining up, & he insisted it didn't matter how my poor girl looked, she was welcome to join the ranks & I would probably get some connections with regard to fixing her up. I should have listened to him...if I knew then what I know now...

Leo, I hope you didn't suffer too much from that horrible covid, & I hope you have lots of cars & dogs running around with you up in Heaven. Take care, friend - I wish I could have hung out with you & the crew one last time.

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