Triptych

If one reflection is good, then three - or more!- is even better. Right?

And then there was this mascot, a cobra with 

blood-tipped fangs, poised to strike anything that

got in its way. Ooooh, scary.

In Flight

This fine little mascot, frozen forever in flight, 

accompanies its namesake, a 1930 Swallow, 

on display at the 2014 Celebration of the Automobile, 

held last weekend at the 

Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

The Swallow Sidecar Company was established in 1922 

in Blackpool, England to produce sidecars for motorcycles. 

In 1926, the business evolved to include automobiles 

and became the Swallow Sidecar & Coachworks Company. 

Their first car, produced in 1928, was a conscious

re-creation of larger cars of the time, for a price that was

affordable to more of the populace.

The little Swallows proved popular and the company

became increasingly successful as it responded 

to the needs of the marketplace, 

adapting its name as necessary. It's last name change,

to S.S. Cars, Ltd. in 1934, was changed after

World War II due to the unfortunate association of 

the "SS" with Nazi Germany. In 1945, the company

became Jaguar Cars, Ltd., and the little swallows in flight 

became the sleek, leaping cats we know today.

Reflections

Damn. I did not get the identification for this car.

It was just one of the many beautiful displays brought 

to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway 

by their proud owners for the 4th Annual

Celebration of the Automobile. 

Spectators were drawn to the exhibits like bees 

to flowers; they were seriously appreciative 

of the beauty and craftsmanship

that went into the production of these cars.

I believe the owners were from the Indianapolis area. 

The car was kitted out with folding chairs, picnic supplies 

and a portable phonograph player, everything

needed for a polite alfresco occasion 

some eighty years ago. Party down, peeps!

The kind lady in the period outfit told me

she haunts thrift shops and found everything 

she is wearing at various stores.

It seemed a tad ironic that, for a comparative

few dollars, she found a period appropriate

ensemble to wear with a car the restoration of which

could easily have cost well into six figures.