What is it that makes FABO the best MoPar site?
I agree that its all of the above, but above all I think its the people here that make the site the best there is! They bring the cars, the passion, the knowledge and the comraderie, and they SHARE!!! Seldom is the time when a question is asked by a member, or a new member starts their welcom wagon thread, that you don't get answers or welcomes immediately!! Heck, Memike posted a Happy Birthday to someone at 11:59 just to beat Keith to the punch!! That's the kind of caring members we have here!! And the characters??? I don't think we could do without them!!!
The peoples!!!! That's y'all, that make this site the best!!
Yes, the people.
The "older members" that have been around here that we have become friends. How you can post a problem and get help from others. Some of the members even get my twisted sense of humor (Steve LOL!).
And the local members. 70Demonmike, Sedanman, and others I've PM'ed near the south side of Chicago. There are more near me that I haven't met yet, but would love to meet more.
Then there are my "Michigan Crew" that I meet on exits off of I-94 for parts deals on my way to Detroit to visit family (Beatnick, Dodge33, and Cosgig).
rustyratrod drove over 45 minutes to help me load up Bruce's old 65 wagon when I bought it. I couldn't have done it as well without him.
Meeting Waggs on my way to Orlando, Fl for vacation. He's a great guy, and I enjoyed having lunch with him and taking pictures of the "Waggin".
I met some great people on my "world tours" a few years back while gathering my parts together. I loved meeting with them and buying parts. (physixx, bbrown, and davescuda) and many others that I can't remember off the top of my head.
All the help threads for those who truly needed it. Like when slant 6 Matt's axle was failing and we sent some money for him, then someone near him donated an axle for him and he just had to drive within an hour to pick it up. He then wanted to return some of the donated money, and we told him to keep it and have a nice birthday party bash with his family and he posted pictures.
When they built the ramp for Bruce when he was in the wheel chair. Waggs pulls out a red scooter for him from nowhere... WTF? I still don't know how he pulled that off and where he got the funds for it, but it was very cool of him to do for Bruce. And the 8-10 members who showed up to help build teh ramp, got it done in one day!
Then when 65loveaffair and mommacat posted about the injured kitten that they found and had trouble with their local emergency vets. I have 3 - 4 of them up here to choose from, so I helped out. We were able to save her (the kitten now known as "FABO the 340 Demon Kitty". We got so much support, I had less than $700 out of my own pocket to cover the vet bills. We had members from 3 countries help with donations! Thanks to my regular vet, Dr. Loxtercamp, we were able to save her and not amputate her broken and infected leg or even the tip of her tail! The antibiotics were able to kill the infection so he didn't have to amputate anything, we caught it just in time to save her. It was amazing to see how her body healed through the x-rays. We had grown adults posting up how they were in tears reading that thread!
Angie (mommacat) looked so worried when I first picked up the kitten (she was about 2-3 months old at the time), I could see the concern and worry in her. Then when I handed FABO kitty back, I could see the relief in her face, the worry went away. She unzipped her jacket half way and put the kitten in the jacket with her to keep it warm. It reminded me of the nature shows where a lion or tiger cub gets separated from its mother and then the mother finds it. The name "mommacat" fits her perfectly, she is a mom for her cats. You can just see the love and concern that she has for them.
Going to MMW in Indy and hanging out with the FABO members. Tony Fields, Cheryl, Bob, Kegan B, Wildcat, Memike, and all the others. There is usually someone sitting by the cars and will watch your stuff while you run off to the swap area or watch racing or look at all of the nice cars. I had a great time going through the swap area with them. Cheryl got me a great deal on a space saver spare tire, and Kegan found a new luggage rack that I needed for my Challenger convertible (I never expected to find a new one). He has so much knowledge about the cars and parts for his age. I was amazed at how much he knows and how he can spot the parts so well.
Then, I'm happy to pick up a few bags of Bob's favorite hot bbq potato chips that he can't get in AZ. For my second trip, I called Cheryl the night before and asked if Bob needed some chips, so I could pick them up before I left. Cheryl is asking "Who is this?", while I hear Bob in the background saying, "It's Karl, just say yes"... (I forgot to say who I was when she answered). Bob reminded me of the scene in the first Ghostbusters where they say, "If anyone asks if you are a god, say yes.." Bob was like, "If anyone asks if I need potato chips, say yes..." (I don't think he cares who brings them, as long as he gets his favorite chips - LOL!) But he knew right away that it was me asking if he wanted the chips. (Those are his "crack" - LOL!).
And I will never forget going to Tulsa, OK for the "Catoosa Cookout". Hanging out with Cliff, Asa, Mary, Marteen, Bill, Chuck and the rest of their families. Mary and I did the cooking and we fed about 20 people that night with ribs, chicken, burgers, asparagus, and some other veggies. We made a great team, I couldn't have done it all by myself. If it wasn't for her, the burgers and chicken would have been burnt while I was taking care of the ribs. Everybody was full and we had plenty of leftovers for the next day.
Then going back a month later and building the 360 with Cliff and Asa during the week while the summer Olympics were going on. The "coldest day" was 108° F and there were a couple at 114° F. We had to keep going in to the air conditioning and cooling off and drinking water. Then going back to my hotel room around midnight and catching up with the Olympic highlights for an hour or two before falling asleep. We all had a great time.
Yep, I've met alot of great people and had many good times with them. All because of FABO. It's like family here, sometimes a dysfunctional one, but it is like family.
