By SANDRA THAMES/Community Columnist

On Fulton Springs Road in Alabaster, two large brick buildings hold more than 40 treasures — cars waiting to be refurbished and put back in original condition.

Separate buildings house different parts of the process. There is a section for cleaning, sanding, engine building and the custom making of parts and accessories.

From the ground up, a car is built and customized with much time being given to pre-approved contracts, details and modifications. Nineteen talented employees carry on this work on 15 acres of land and more than 18,000 square feet of building space.

Owners Dennis and Pat Lyons went to Shades Valley High. He attended the University of Alabama and UAB. She attended UAB. Married since 1967, they are parents of adult sons Matthew and Andrew and are proud grandparents of six.

At Hunter Street Baptist Church, they teach a Sunday school class of newly married couples. The Lyons moved from New Orleans back to this area and presently live in Lake Forrest subdivision.

All his life, Lyons has loved fooling with cars, hot rods, racing and the like. He and his sons built a Cobra kit car and started showing it at local car shows. People marveled at the workmanship. Word of mouth is the best advertising and soon Lyons, a former salesman with Honeywell Corp., knew he must step out and claim his dream.

Their first commercial location was on Kent property adjacent to where the right corner of the Publix Shopping Center now stands. Several business transactions later, Impatient Creations is a thriving business for people with luxury-lined pockets. That does not include me, but I loved seeing just a few of his fabulous “ladies in waiting.”

Some of the cars being processed are a 1953 Alvis, 1965 Porsche, 1949 Chevrolet, 1972 TR-6, 1959 Chevrolet pick up, 1966 Impala convertible, 1975 Olds and a 1960 Dodge convertible.

He also has a 1957 Chevrolet convertible from an owner in Denmark, an unbelievable 1958 Cadillac whose owner is in Belgium, a 1959 Chevy panel truck from Japan, and school buses that have been converted into rolling jail cells — for demonstration purposes.

Lyons life seems to revolve around his business. He is very personable and knowledgeable and shows his joy in a job well done. Taking parts and adding beautiful upholstery, custom paint, “magic” sheet metal work, and custom engines are what make Lyons dream of even more technological advances for their business. Wife Pat runs the office. She sticks inside in the air-conditioning while Lyons thrives like a youngster with his head under a hood or in the “paint” room.

Lyons doesn’t “play boss.” He’s a worker.

Community columnist Sandra Thames can be reached by e–mail at bobthames1942@yahoo.com.