One of my favorite car T Shirts is the one that reads "He who dies
with the most toys, still dies." This shirt then follows with a Bible
verse, "And again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the
kingdom of God." Matt. 19:24.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning when I was considering wearing that
shirt. The ARC was going to tour The Harold E LeMay Car Collection in
Tacoma WA. (You can see the website at:
http://www.lemaymuseum.org/lemay/). This was going to be a great day
because I had always wanted to tour this famous car collection, but
until now was never able to do so. But this year the ARC was invited,
along with some other car clubs, to a private showing on this Sunday.
(Your can see photos of the ARC tour at
http://users.techline.com/leiske/arclemay01.html).

Years before I had been able to tour the Harras car collection in
Reno, then the largest car collection in the world. But when Harras,
the great casino owner, died, the car collection was sold off piece
by piece.

Harold LeMay bought an number of vehicles from this collection. LeMay
was the owner of a large garbage truck business, and when he first
started the company with a small few trucks, he would get paid $20 to
haul away old cars. He never liked to throw anything way so he would
keep many of the cars and items of interest.

Now the LeMay garbage business and car collection had outgrown any
early dreams. Harold now had the world's largest collection of
automotive vehicles and related items. Touring this collection is a
real "once in a lifetime experience."

As I grabbed the T shirt, I realized that it would not be very kind
for me to wear that particular shirt to this particular event. You
see, Harold LeMay had now died. The funeral (about a year prior to
this ARC tour) had been complete with a caravan of LeMay garbage
trucks, vintage cars and Harold's casket transported on the back of a
autohauler truck.

So I did not wear the shirt, not because it was not true, but that is
would be rude.

The tour was awesome, lasting for hours on several locations. The
weather was perfect, the cars were great, complete with doll
collections, toys and kitchen items from days gone by. But Harold
LeMay was gone too. I was very glad to hear the tour guide explain
how "Harold LeMay was the most generous man I ever knew." How Harold
would stop his vehicle at a beggar on the road, and when he found he
did not have any money to give, he went home, got some money, and
returned to give the money to the poor man.

But as the Bible text so clearly states, this kind of Christian
generosity is rare among us, especially the wealthy. I must say that
even though we were taken back by the amass of classic Rolls and
Deusenburgs, the LeMays apparently still lived in the same humble
little house that they always did, right across from the parking lot
of garbage trucks.

So it appears that Harold LeMay was a kind and generous man, in spite
of his worldly goods.

But the T shirt's message still rang true. For you see Harold, like
all of us, eventually end this life. And, yes, he didn't take it with
him.

There will be a new museum in the city of Tacoma in his name,
showcasing various collections of his cars on a rotating basis, and
apparently his legacy of generosity is known past the end of his life.

But it is sobering for each of us to review the values we place on
these bunches of steel we all enjoy. For you see it is still
true..."He who dies with the most toys, still dies."

RETURN to Adventist Rodders Club homepage