Published: May 28, 2009 in the Jacksonville Progress (Texas)
Cleaver's love of the Edsel brings British couple to J'ville
By Kelly Young kyoung@...

Jacksonville's own Shelley "Shamrock" Cleaver's 50-year passion for the
erstwhile Edsel car line has allowed him to make a lot of friends over the
decades, but few have traveled as far to visit with him as David and Susan
Watson — who left their home in Twickenham, England, to tour a few of America's
southern states, making Jacksonville one of their stops along the way.

David Watson and Cleaver met in the 1970s when, thinking Cleaver was the
national representative for the Edsel Owners Club, Watson joined the North Texas
chapter of the club — despite living half a world way from the Lone Star State.
Later, in 1977, while taking three months to travel across the county and back,
Watson showed up in town and spent a while with Cleaver and his family.

"That was back 32 years ago, back when we were both young and handsome and had
hair. I can't say we have always kept in touch since then, but we have been in
touch more in the last four or five years," David Watson said. "We are currently
touring the south, driving from Louisiana to San Antonio as part of our
vacation, and we just dropping by here for a couple of days."

Avid travelers, the Watsons have recently begun indulging a life-long
fascination with America by making four trips to the states in four years, and
are on a quest to visit all 48 states — they say Hawaii and Alaska don't really
count.

"As far as I am concerned, they are different countries; the mainland is the
real United States. I might go to Hawaii some day, but I have no interest in
going to Alaska. We live in a cold country, what do I need to go to that one
for?" David Watson joked. "The rate of visiting new states is slowing down, but
I have been able to add Louisiana to the list and there are about 35 states that
I have been to now."

This year's holiday started in Dallas, then continued on to Gibsland, La.,
before stopping in Jacksonville. From here they will travel to San Antonio, to
Odessa, to Lubbock, to Clovis, N.M., to Roswell, N.M., and finally to Mesquite.

Susan Watson said they are also going to be taking a brief detour into Oklahoma
just so they can say they have been there.

"Before we go home we are going to see a rodeo. We saw one last year and it was
such fun that we decided we must go to another. That is something you simply
don't get to see in England — it is very American," she said.

The Watsons ventured to Gibsland in order to attend the annual Bonnie and Clyde
Festival held there. This year marks the 75th anniversary of the notorious
bandits' historic deaths.

They are also passing through Roswell for the purpose of visiting the alien
museum and through Clovis so they can patronize the Norman Petty Recording
Studio.

"I don't know why, but I've always been interested in Bonnie and Clyde. I read a
book called `The Dillenger Days,' and have had a reasonably big interest in the
topic since," David Watson said. "We've never been to Roswell before and are
going there out of curiosity, but I don't really know what to expect. And I'm
quite looking forward to seeing the Norman Petty Recording Studio in Clovis
because Buddy Holly curiously was very big in England — probably as big as he
was here."

As they have done in years past, the Watsons are planning next year's American
vacation around the annual Edsel convention. The 2010 convention will be held in
Salem, Mass., and the couple plans to use that opportunity to tour New England.
While Susan said she has visited that corner of the country before, it will be a
new experience for David and will present him with several chances to cross new
states off his list.

"When we sit down at a restaurant and we start talking to people, especially if
they are young, people always tell us that they love our accents," Susan Watson
said. "But we always tell them, `We don't have the accent; you're the ones with
the accent.'"