Page 14 - Boca ViewPointe - January '21

Page 14, Viewpointe January 2021
Cars

By William A. Gralnick of these questions, it’s best to examine the long, tortuous and when new, they would soon begin to age and crack and look
yes, actually interesting history of the automobile hubcap. pretty lousy. You could always hear from a distance a car
Other than sports, was there anything that occupied our Car enthusiasts have had a running love affair with hubcaps with aging wooden spoke wheels creaking down the road.”
minds as teens more than cars? They were like sports teams. for decades. Some say that the art deco styling of the famous (Thanks to, believe it or not, “Hubcap Mike” the go-to guy
There were more models than there are now. Ahhhhh poor Chrysler Building in New York is a tribute to the hubcap. (At for information like this).
American Motors/Studebaker and its line of cars. Gone is the the very top of the building there is a series of giant overlapping The bottom line is that some of you reading this had
Oldsmobile and Pontiac and Dodge and Packard along with wheel covers. And at the 61st floor below the ornamental your bedroom walls decorated with hubcaps. Some of you
the subsets of each. And they were something to look at: 57 eagles, there are bands of ornamental automobiles that have had one or two that were centerpieces to whatever else you
Chevy, Cadillac Eldorado, Lincoln Town Car, Jaguar XKE— shiny hubcaps). had hung—movie posters, pictures of ballplayers from Sport
WOWZER! And if style made a car a queen or princess, “But how did hubcaps come about in the first place? Magazine, maybe even a favorite bat, yours or one nabbed at
horsepower made for kingship. Originally there was a functional necessity for the cap. Early the ballpark.
Remember the movie Avalon where on the Jewish High on, autos were made with wooden spokes like a buggy or There were those of you with more chutzpah and nimbler
Holy Days the guys would leave services to catch the new wagon wheel. The wooden spokes connected the outer steel fingers who had enough ‘caps on your wall that you could
models being rolled into the showrooms? No long car trip rim to the center hub which contained the wheel bearing. have gone into business. Walking into your bedroom was like
with two boys in the car was completed without a game of The wheel bearing was packed with grease. Something was walking into the hall of mirrors.
“can you spot this?” A make, model, even color of a car was needed to cover the center hub which could keep the dust out The fascination with hubcaps seems to have faded.
chosen and like hawks hunting mice our eyes would scan the and the grease in. What was needed was a “hub” “cap.” So, Pity.
lanes of cars until we could find our target. this hub cap (which could have also been called a dust cover)
Some guys would collect hubcaps. Sometimes one would came into existence strictly for functional reasons, but it was Columnist and author Bill Gralnick was born and
just be lying there by the curb like it was waiting for a ride. a small center cap designed to go over the center hub leaving raised in Brooklyn. His latest book, titled “The War of
Everyone knew where the worst potholes were. The worse the the wooden spokes exposed. Unfortunately, the wooden spoke the Itchy Balls and Other Tales from Brooklyn,” offers
hole the more likely the street was to produce a hubcap. You wheels were not long for this world. Although they were more memories. His writings can be found at https://www.
could buy them at junk yards; some stores sold them new. But varnished and sometimes even decorated with pin-striping williamgralnickauthor.com/. 
then there was the “Brooklyn way” of collecting hubcaps. You
stole them. It only took a knife or flat blade screwdriver and
the Pontiac cap that was shiny as a mirror or the one that had Nutrition For Seniors
about 3 seconds. Some were ordinary; some were iconic like
the Indian logo on it; and, some were spectacular like the ones
with wire spokes, spokes in many patterns, or the ones with free Submitted by Stratford Court and E to defend against cell damage linked to cancer
floating pieces to them so when the car was going forward the and a variety of diseases. They should also be sure get
hubcaps looks like the were turning in the opposite direction. As people get older, maintaining good nutrition enough Vitamin D and calcium to keep bones strong
You stole one of those and someone was gonna come after you. can bring new challenges. Recognizing this, the and folic acid to retain mental acuity and reduce
For those whose interest doesn’t extend below the steering U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Human Nutrition the risk of stroke and heart disease. The researchers
wheel, a hubcap is a decorative disk on the car’s wheel that covers Research Center on Aging has adapted its famous recommend such nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables
at least a central portion of it, called the hub. Hence the name. food pyramid for older adults. The modified pyramid as spinach and romaine lettuce, sweet potatoes and
An automobile hubcap is used to cover the wheel hub and the can help make sure that you are getting enough of the squash, strawberries and peaches.
wheel fasteners (lug nuts to us) to reduce the accumulation of nutrients that are essential for healthy living. The last major difference in customizing the food
dirt and moisture. It also has the function of decorating the car. At the base of the food pyramid for seniors is eight, pyramid for seniors is the additional focus on fiber.
Thanks to Wikipedia for some information fill. 8-ounce glasses of fluid a day. That’s because seniors’ High-fiber diets not only reduce bowel troubles, but are
There was also the wheel cover. Wait a minute...are they reduced sense of thirst can lead to dehydration. You associated with lower cholesterol levels and reduced
called hubcaps or wheel covers? Is there a difference between can meet your two-quart daily quota with juices, milk, risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Common
the two? And while we’re at it, why did they start using hubcaps and noncaffeinated beverages as well as water. Alcohol sources of fiber are whole grain products, whole fruits
to begin with? These and similar questions have baffled the and drinks with caffeine can actually cause the body and vegetables, and beans and lentils.
great minds of the world for many years. To get to the bottom to lose fluids and become dehydrated, so drink them Get Your Copy of the Modified Food Pyramid for
sparingly. Older Adults
The Department of Agriculture researchers also Get more information about the Modified Food
emphasize the need for seniors to eat foods rich in Pyramid for Older Adults and the foods you can eat
vitamins and minerals. Seniors should be careful to when following it. Download your copy of the guide
maintain their intake of antioxidants like Vitamin C at http://nutrition.tufts.edu/consumer/pyramid.html. 

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