Happiness Is The Key

I have a depressed friend.

The other night we started talking about what makes us happy. Not just happy, but when we are at our happiest.

Sitting – as I did just last night – at a pokey little jazz club in my beloved Melbourne, surrounded by friends, amazingly talented musicians, and complimented with a good glass of red was high on the list.

Curled up on the couch with a warm girl (yes, girl) under a blanket, watching DVDs next to a roaring open fire as the rain washes against the window – again, this was pretty high up there.

Also on my list was something that I’ve been lucky enough to experience more than once in my life. A beautifully bright, sunny day, coupled with a fast car (convertible or open sunroof, please) and a winding road next to the sea. Add to that a CD of some shameless house music or happy drum & bass, and life couldn’t be better.

There are some other things on the list that I’ll spare you, as I’m sure you can imagine what most guys my age want.


Everyone seems to be searching for happiness in this life. And I think they’re missing the point.

Of course you should be striving for happiness, but the problem is most wouldn’t know how to define it. For me, happiness is freedom and happiness is friends. And a good soundtrack to go with whatever we’re doing.

A good friend of mine, Pinstripe, has a similar outlook on life. Despite his strange fetish with French cars (francautomania), we spend most of our time together discussing what cars we should give a home to.

He’s a bit of a traditionalist. For him, a car must handle like it’s about to go compete at the Mt Buller Sprint. It must be powerful enough to eat almost anything at the Dandy drags. And it has to make a statement.

His list of cars reads like the contents page of Fast Fours, with a few turbo sixes and a V8 thrown in for good measure. Like many of our loyal readers, stepping out of the elevator and walking to his car fills him with joy. And like those same readers, nothing can compare with driving that car on a mountain road in the dead of the night.

Luckily for us, Pinstripe is the latest contributor to Track Shun. I hope you enjoy his love of all things fast as much as I do.