Last Friday, my wife and I were spending our last evening in Paris at a table-for-two at Willi’s Wine Bar, the iconic bistro in the 16th Arrondissement. Hearing an American accent from the couple at the next table, I begin a conversation:
“Hi, where are you from?”
“Massachusetts.”
“Oh, may I ask where?”
“Marblehead — do you know it?”
“I’ve not been there, but it’s on my list for next time I’m in New England.”
“How come?”
“Well, I’ve got an old Mercedes and Alex Dearborn there has a great reputation for working with their classics. I thought I’d try to look him up. Have you heard the name?”
“Well, I bought my first Mercedes from Alex Dearborn; he helped me maintain it, and we’ve been acquaintances since. He’s retired now.”
“Really? What model Mercedes did Alex source for you?”
“280 SL.“
“You’re kidding! That’s exactly the car I’ve got!”
As our spouses scrambled through their cellphones for snapshots — George’s original ’71 Euro white/red ZF 5-speed (sold in recent years) and my U.S spec’d ’71 Tobacco 4-speed — we compared ownership minutiae, quirks, preferences and prejudices for the better part of an hour.
It was only after we’d parted into the foggy evening that I realized we’d shared over 100 cumulative years of owning a Pagoda. That’s a Century.
And pretty sweet when you think about it.
