Cars and Coca Cola

Sorry about the delay, but various commitments and ailments have kept me away - and right as I was promising more posts. Sigh. One way to guarantee you won't write is to promise you will. As Yoda would say, do or do not. There is no try.

Here's a couple cheapies, but goodies, for you.

A while back, Kim and I visited the Nethercutt Museum, which has an amazing collection of vintage cars. The Nethercutt, located in Sylmar, has two buildings - the museum and the collection, which has very limited days and hours and can only be seen through a guided tour. We're saving the collection for another day.

According the Nethercutt's website, the museum showcases more than 130 of the world’s greatest antique, vintage, classic and special interest automobiles including many top winners of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

Among the treasures spanning four floors in the collection’s original facility is one of the world’s most outstanding assortments of beautifully restored antique, classic automobiles. They are showcased in an exquisite re-creation of an opulent automotive grand salon of the 1920's and 1930's. An amazing collection of automobile mascots, antique furniture, clocks and watches, and one of the world's finest collections of Mechanical Musical Instruments are displayed in our music room.

A 1955 Austin Healey

The collection was created by J.B Nethercutt, who made his fortune working with his aunt, the founder of Merle Norman Cosmetics.

The collection began in 1956 with the purchase of two cars: a 1936 Duesenberg Convertible Roadster for $5,000, and a 1930 DuPont Town Car for $500, both needing total refurbishing. According to the collection website, Nethercutt ending up taking 18 months and spending over $65,000 to restore the DuPont Town Car. The car would claim the "Best of Show" award at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.

The Duesenberg and the DuPont are still part of The Nethercutt Collection.

I wonder if this MG ran better than my wife's car.

Nethercutt opened the museum in 1971, which has been free to the public since its opening. Nethercutt died in 2004 at age 91. The collection website quotes Nethercutt as having said: “The recognition and preservation of beauty has been a major focus of my life. It would suit me well if what people remembered about me was, ‘Where he went, he left beauty behind.’”

I'm no gear head, but I can appreciate beauty and elegance in design. Many of these vehicles are simply stunning. There is also a collection of hood ornaments.

 The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The museum does have reduced holiday hours. It will be closed from Nov. 28 through Dec. 2 and again from Dec. 22 to Jan. 6.

The collection will also be closed on those dates. The viewing of the collection is available Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 10 am. or 1:30 p.m. They recommend make reservations well in advance.

The museum is located at 15151 Bledsoe Street in Slymar. The collection building is right across the street. Visit their website or call (818) 364-6464 for more information.

El Grande de Coca Cola

Not long ago, Kim was telling about a date she had in the 1970s when she saw a comedy called El Grande de Coca Cola at the Roxy. The date was less than satisfying, but the show was fantastic, she said. Almost by magic, a couple of days later I saw discount tickets for a new production of that show by the Ruskin Group Theatre at the Santa Monica Airport.

I snagged a couple of comp tickets ($14 with service charge. Really, Goldstar? $7 a ticket service charge on comps?). With a glass of wine each at the show, our date came to $25.

Set somewhere south of the border, El Grande is about a family putting on an "international" variety show. It features Senor Don Pepe Hernandez (Ron House, who actually appeared in the original run in 1973), in a hairpiece that looks like a small mammal, as the emcee. The troupe is comprised of his family - two man-seeking daughters (Lila Dupree and Nina Brissey) and his two nephews (Aaron Jackson, a rubber-faced actor who reminded me of a young Peter Lorre, and David Lago, an Emmy winner from the soap The Young and the Restless).

The show is a fast-paced, broad slapstick comedy conducted in cognate Spanish. If you don't like physical comedy, stay away. It is 75 minutes of absolute silliness. Afterward, my cheeks hurt from laughing so much.

Hopefully, that date was much more satisfying than her first at that show.

As of this writing, Goldstar has discount tickets ranging from comp to $12.50 for shows on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7.