Iowa Photo: Roadside attraction

I can’t seem to pass by a classic car when I’m on the highway. On this particular Sunday I noticed this ’57 sitting out front of a shop on my way to photograph softball at the Walker Memorial Ballpark.

One of my dad’s first cars was a ’57, and I couldn’t even begin to count how many stories I’ve heard of countless rebuilds of one poor small block V8 that found its fate with my then-teenage dad. I’ve seen plenty throughout the years, but I’d never seen one in yellow. I knew there was no way I could just drive past it on the way out of town.

When I stopped, Bob and Karen Stevens happened to be there working in the shop and were more than happy to chat. Classic cars are their hobby as well as the automotive-related antiques that surround Bob in his shop — the interior stone work of which he’s kept original since its construction in the 1940s.

Bob couldn’t keep back a smile as he told me how often he sees folks stop to park in front of his antique gas pumps and ask if they can take a photo. That may be the best part about the car world to me — that shared joy and appreciation.