This issue of the newsletters should be full of announcements for upcoming driving events. To help the editors with space, I will keep it short this month.

In the last few issues we already discussed most of the upcoming events in detail but there is just one that I would like to bring to your attention one more time. That is the Car Care Clinic for seniors in the Naperville-Lisle Township. Because it is not a driving event but a community type serving activity, it doesn't get as much publicity as it deserves. The idea is that we help Jim Vondran and make up one or two inspection crews and that we show up with our MG so that the seniors citizens have something to see and enjoy, while their vehicles are undergoing the safety & maintenance check. Emma, our '32 M-Type has a clutch problem and is not able to make it, but I will and I really hope to see some of you too. Please give Jim a call at 630.357.7296 (or vondrangroup@aol.com) if you want to sign up.

Speaking of calling ahead - although it is not a requirement to RSVP for most of the driving events; rallies and

one day tours etc., it is sometimes helpful for the organizers to get an idea of how many participants to expect: how many copies to make or give the restaurant at the finish a heads up. But please note, even if you forget to call, or if you decide to participate last minute, you are always welcome. Nobody is turned away. We try to get announcements for the driving events in the newsletters two times. Sometimes that is not possible because the details are not finalized yet. And with so many events, two clubs, two newsletters, and all the different organizers something may just fall through the cracks. So, if you have any question about an event that is listed on the calendar but can't find the information on the web or in the newsletter, please give us a call. My phone number and email are always at the end of this column. My slogan is there too and the 2013 Driving Events are there to make you smile.

If you have any questions, suggestion, or concerns, please give me a call at 847.342.9804 or email me at reinoutvogt@gmail.com

"The more you drive, the more you smile".

-- Reinout Vogt

I think that we had enough rain this past week to wash away the last of this winter’s salt from the roadways. No excuse now to not get the MG out for a ride. I can’t get too far though; the bridge on my road is still under water. Oh the joys of living next to the river. We did get about three inches of water in our basement, all just seepage through the walls and ground water, no actual flooding. The sump pump ran for 36 hours non-stop, but it just could not keep up. But rest assured that the Club’s library is safe and sound. And the basement needed to be cleaned out anyway. It’s amazing how much junk I had collected down there. And that’s not counting old MG parts.

The Formula One season is now in full swing. The usual teams are on top, but Lotus is making a strong showing. I’m not sure how close of a connection there is to the old Lotus team from the sixties, but it’s nice to see them doing well. This month’s featured books is a dual biography of man and car, Jim Clark and his Lotus 25.

Jim Clark: And his most successful Lotus The twin biographies of a legendary racing driver and his 1963 World Championship winning Lotus 25 R4 Eoin Young, 2004, 158 pages, color and b&w photos, hardbound Jim Clark was one of my boyhood heroes. He dominated Formula 1 during the mid- sixties, as well as winning at Indy and various sporstcar races. This book celebrates the man and his car, the Lotus 25 chassis R4 that won the 1963 championship. Great photographs and a detailed history of the car after it was retired from F1.

~~Bill Mennell