“If you waste your time a talking
To the people who don’t listen
To the things that you are saying
Who do you thinks gonna hear?
And if you should die explaining how
The things that they complain about
Are things they could be changing
Who do you thinks gonna care?”

It’s been a while since I have listened to Kris Kristofferson’s first album, Kristofferson, in its entirety, probably about a decade for that matter.  At the first listen, there were a few good songs, but others seemed like throwaways to my young ears.

This summer, Spotify advertised three months of Spotify premium for 99 cents, allowing me to download, onto my phone, a large variety of music to enjoy on the go.  My plan was to use my phone to play music in my radio-less Mustang by streaming it through a Klipsch Bluetooth speaker.  As many of you probably already know, I use an unreliable and antiquated Windows Phone for most of my communication with the world.  One day a few weeks ago, my phone crashed, deleting the Spotify and all of its associated music.  Slowly, I rebuilt my music library and decided to throw a couple of Kris Kristofferson’s albums into the mix, I’m not sure why.

Apparently, Kristofferson was one of the only albums which had made its way onto my phone.  So, I listened.

His words made me reflect on a quite a few things.  Suddenly, I met my own thoughts with a laugh, or perhaps it was a chortle.  Either way, the laugh was a two part sort of thing; firstly my own interest in the tiny marvels called Bantams and secondly this website you are reading right now.

For the better part of the last 20 years, I have been amazed by these little cars and have waxed on about them, all too frequently to uninterested ears.  However, that never completely stopped me from sharing the joy I have found in this hobby and continuing my pursuit.  Although, at one point, I realized I had soaked everyone I knew in a deluge of Bantam talk and was almost on the brink of silence.  I considered keeping the micro cars to myself and focusing my attention to other things.  After a couple of weeks without Bantams, I realized I got too much joy out of these little cars to keep them locked in some dark recess of my mind.

So, I decided to take to the internet and share my enjoyment of Bantams with the world.  I began blogging about these cars, parts, my projects, and apparently now my own thoughts.  The year this site was introduced, 967 visitors found it.  Eight months into this year, 6,145 visitors have found it.  User engagement is up and people from around the world have reached out to talk about these little cars.  We take turns talking and listening, letting a conversation grow.  Sometimes people end up finding a Bantam in their garage, other times they only take home the warmth of a good conversation.  Quite a few people around this globe have apparently been inspired by this site, and that makes me happy.

With that, I am reminded why I started this website.  I’m not here to change the world, but to share with it something that interests me.  Out of a world of billions, 6,145 people have stopped in for a listen this year, those numbers are pretty good to me.  Hopefully I’ll hook you on Bantams, if I haven’t already, and get you into the club to help carry the torch.  If not, that’s fine too.  I’m glad you’re here, reading, and hopefully enjoying.

Remember why you do what you do, maybe it’ll make your pursuit the easier to undertake and enjoy.

“And you still can hear me singing
To the people who don’t listen
To the things that I am saying
Praying someone’s gonna hear
And I guess I’ll die explaining how
The things that they complain about
Are things they could be changing
Hoping someone’s gonna care”