Hot Rods Quotes to live by...

“Are there dragons?" Well, no… "If there is a word dragon, wouldn’t there have been a dragon?” from the minds of a toddler…



Hello,

This was a hard one to swallow and then figure out a way to explain the idea. Our little toddler son was very inquisitive about everything. We had little money and so for his reading books, besides the ones we were able to buy, we were regulars of the public library system.

They allowed us to check out up to 10 books on one subject for a week’s worth of reading. When our toddler son chose his books, he had one dragon book and several dinosaur books to read. He also had his “normal” Frog and Toad books and other popular mini novels for kids.

So, when the dinosaur books were sitting next to his toy dinosaurs and the memory of the most recent viewing of dinosaurs on display in a Los Angeles museum, he was in 7th heaven. But, what happened to the dragon book (singular) sitting there?

He equated his dinosaur books to the recent visit to the Los Angeles museum and figured out they were real. But, since he did not see any dragons, there was a mystery to his thinking. Add the idea of dinosaurs and the above quote, we can all see where this topic of conversation is going.

Jnaki

So, as young parents, we tried to equate several stories to try and answer his question. Dragsters are real and the word dragster was in the dictionary. But, since he had never seen one in person, were they real? Then he jumped on the hot rod version and although he had never sat in one or saw a roadster on the street, was a hot rod real? He knew of our old photos, yet, that was too long ago to visualize for a young toddler.

To answer his dragon question, he was satisfied at our attempt to equate the flying (actually gliding) dinosaur group of Pterodactyls that look like dragons. Those were compared to the “cloudy” versions of the authors that wrote about land locked dinosaurs and flying ones. Whew, he was satisfied…

Note:

For his next school project, he had moved on from me making a Dinosaur or Dragon to Killer Whales he had seen at Sea World. So, they were real and my working hand held puppet, Killer Whale had an opening jaw. It could be moved by a hand stuck up into his belly. He chased everyone all over the place with his working jaw, Killer Whale… no more Dragons… ha!

 

“Husbands are the best people to share secrets with… They will never tell anyone, because they aren’t even listening…”


Hello,

Over the 50+ years of interaction with my wife, through thick and thin, a method to always listening to absolutely everything she has said rings true. I knew from the start of our college days that I had to hear everything, otherwise I would miss something important and suffer for it later. At the time, it was one thing I could not afford to screw up. This has to last… and last it has…

From 1966 onward to 10 years and 125k miles of a tight space inside of the El Camino gave us plenty of times to get used to each other to solve the “road ahead” for our future.

It was difficult to sit across from her in a quiet restaurant or a bench overlooking a ocean front surf view to not listen to what she was saying. That view overcame any other view as I was intent on not messing up. We were a great couple and it was going to stay that way, through thick and thin…

We have had our run ins with various situations in our lifestyle. We adapted to those situations together and it turned out that we did make the right decisions. So, we have been living a low key, quiet life together through all of the normal family trials and actions. We usually see “eye to eye” on the decisions we have to make. Our son growing up, was confused as if a situation arose and he wanted justification for his actions, my wife would say to “go ask your dad…”

He normally gave up due to his knowledge of both of us having the same reaction and answer to his actions. So, again, it was a coordinated effort we learned along the way. When our granddaughter came on the scene. we had our own way to look at things as seasoned veterans of child raising and life experiences. The mantra of “do this, do that” was heard from her parents, we listened and did what we thought was the right approach to “those” situations. Our granddaughter was much better for it in the long run. Creativity was never stifled or hindered in any way...

Jnaki

Over time, we both laughed together and grew up as a tight knit couple of old folks that still had tons of 20-30 something memories as we grew older. My wife was the one that said the original quote at the top of the story. What??? We both looked at each other and had a very long laugh. One in a million laughs we have enjoyed as a couple of old/young kids… Ha!

But, I had better continue to listen, even in these “old folks” days… YRMV

 

“The struggles we endure today will be the ‘good old days’ we laugh about tomorrow.”

Hello,

Ever since I was a little kid wandering around the massive field of tall grass, playing to my hearts content, I imagined a nice future of flying planes we saw over head, the local red fire truck that commanded attention and the happy guy dispensing cold Cokes on a hot summer day at the local gas station. What did they do that garnered my thoughts?
1948
I liked where I was in that tall grassy field. It was a place we could have fun, create adventures and have the outcome that we liked, usually a win or destroying the opposite forts a few steps away. But to look up and see someone else moving something in the air like a bird heading to adventures unknown was something to me. I wanted that adventure, but knew it was out of reach.

That scenario was played over and over during our little kid days while growing up in the Westside of Long Beach. As we grew up, the world got a little larger and there were more things that interested me. But, in looking up, now those airplanes had increased and we knew where they came from locally. I could see my self steering one of those planes going from one place to another.

Jnaki

As those thoughts came and stayed for a while every time I saw a plane in the sky was laughable. Those were the days I created as we sat in a jet flying to Mexico or the Eastcoast for a vacation. Chuckles as I watched out of the window, the coastline from 20000+ feet knowing the coast going South was the same one we used to drive and have our own adventures, as teens.

The memories from those times were in fact, stories for the future. When we were caretakers of our toddler granddaughter, she would ask about the white streaks in the deep blue sky. (While we were walking on the sand, playing in the park or just out for a nice walk in the neighborhood.) So, my answer was, "they going to Mexico for a vacation" like we did many times. Those were memorable times for our adult adventures.

The chuckle was after the first explanation was out of the blue, from her secure toddler car seat, she would say with a loud voice, “a streak of a jet going to Mexico, again” and pointing upwards out of the window. Funny, and we all chuckled..

15 years later, as a college student, she still has those memories and laughs at what she learned from the minds and care of her “in loco parentis” alternates. YRMV

 

It's a dog eat dog world and I'm wearing milk bone underwear.

 

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off…

Hello,

It is February 2024 and fairly cold, but those sunny days in between the cloudy days makes it worth while while we drive up or down the coastline of our So Cal area. We never get tired of what we see. We have driven the PCH roadway a million times, but each time, memories and the current views are what keeps us “moving on down the highway…”

The days go by fast for us. Our granddaughter is in her final semester of her freshman year. Just the other day, my wife and I had a moment, taking us back to when our granddaughter was a toddler, staying with us for several days every week, growing up. Her parents were a mess with new jobs, a new condo and 30 something worries about doing the right thing… Our motto was, “been there---done that” in a good way. But as older folks, we now had a different approach to raising a granddaughter.

For the time of 6 months to junior high school days, we were the primary providers for our granddaughter. It was sad to see her evolve into the high school teenage years, but it was inevitable. So, we took the time with her to have fun in being a big part of her growing up in So Cal.

Jnaki

We had thought about getting a hot rod project, so, she could continue to be influenced by the sound she used to hear every time her neighbor drove down the street in his powerful engine sound in a 1964 Comet Convertible hot rod cruiser. She was always enjoying those sounds, so my wife and I thought about getting a hot rod set up as a reliable cruiser to all of the places we took her during those early days. By the time we were ready to buy, it was now hectic high school and time went by too fast.

"Going her own way..."
All of the stories written down, the photos taken, the films shown how strong of a character she was becoming is/was all worth it for the valuable time spent with her. High school was a flash and now, she was a moving fast into the real world…

A WHAT? An apartment near the college? NOW? But, wait, not too fast… Ha!

 

When I came out of ICU after my heart attack, 19 years ago, they had me parked outside Ward 2B while they figured out where I was supposed to be.

I said to the nurse, "I'm not going to say it." She didn't get it.

 

I very seldom cross thread a bolt, But when I do, I get my impact wrench and run that bitch in as far as I want it to go ......



My wife claims there is only two things about me she hates:
ONE, I don't listen to her,,
I can't recall the other one .........

 

When I say I am going to do something, I will do it. You don’t need to remind me every 6 months.

 

“You have to make your own fate…”


Hello,

Creating your own destiny, then, means taking control of your life and shaping it into something that you want it to be, rather than letting it just happen with no guidance from you…

That doesn't mean that you can control the events that will happen in your life, but you can control how you envision those events.

Early on, I wanted to be a jet fighter pilot. But, did not want to join the Army or Navy. So, I had that in mind until as a late teen, I blew out my eardrum in a surfing accident. That in itself, was a turning point. No up in the air upside down altitude actions for me… Before that, I wanted to own a speed shop, but our history with hot rods helped make that decision, but I did not want to be locked into a 8-5 pm job, 5-7 days a week.


Jnaki

During my first few years of college, I was a wandering student, interested in sports and learning how to get along with the new folks I met in Northern California. I was leading myself into becoming a traveler in new places and that appealed to me. But, what permanent job does that allow as a career?

So, I plodded along in various classes until I found something I liked to do. Travel and take photographs. It was something we could all do until getting on in age… the direction of that pursuit took on many phases and sometimes it was good, and other times, “frus…traaa…ting” as heard on a British streaming show.

Note:
Finding someone to commiserate with during our last couple of years of college explorations and the whole world going a little crazy at the time was an interesting way to see how to get along in life… It was comforting to know there was someone else that could help make the world a little better in the long run.

Note 2:
It has been a very long time together to adjust our ways to fit in and be happy in the whole "living" process. (since 1966 to this day with ourselves and family...) Everyone has/had their own way to see the world act towards them and adjust accordingly… YRMV

 

“A person who doesn’t make mistakes usually does not make anything”
Dan

 

It's probably already here somewhere, but my "Aunt Cherry " said quote...Don't give your ass away. Good advice

 

The word is "deed"
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Definition, Meaning, and Origin (usdictionary.com)

 

"I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

 

"Well if the Queen had balls she would've been king"

 

Jim

 

“You can't change the past, but you can change what happens next...”



Hello,

As I look back in our own family history, the past is the past. There is nothing to change or make a different path. The saying… “It is what it is,” in the slang term, today, rings true all the way back to the early days of everyone’s past. It is/was fun growing up in So Cal. My wife grew up in OKC and various places in So Cal for the short and long stays, but always went back to the OKC area to be with their extended family.

But, as we both grew up from our elementary school days in So Cal to the time we met in a college class, it has been a wonderful life. Through the carefree times of 20 something days traveling all over So Cal and into Baja, Mexico to the forced attendance at family functions. It was all a part of knowing what is right at the time. Getting along with family first, then getting along with others we meet along the way.

Perhaps, it was the small cab of the red 65 El Camino that made us get along together. We drove up/down the coast into Northern California, experienced the inland desert areas, drove into the higher elevation mountains as we came to those natural formation. We also followed the highway into unknown spots in Baja, Mexico to name a few spots in our adventures. There was no where to go sitting side by side and talk is what we did to explore that area of being together.

Jnaki

It is always fun to go back to those years and see how we developed and how we made the effort to see the other side of things. Hot rod days, projects, long road trips, our easy going lifestyle…it was all part of the long run we envisioned when we were together.

We did not always agree on everything, but at least we were a united front against anything that infringed on our rights and ways we chose to live with each other. Low key, coastal So Cal lifestyle fit right into our easy going way to live.

Sometime ago, I found photo I took a zillion years ago, surprised both of us when we chuckled at the action on the water. Of all the times together, we both wanted to be individuals and have our own ways to see things. Mechanical hot rod days were interesting to say the least. But, they were some of the most fun times.

So, one day, she jumped into a small skiff and started the pull start outboard to take off for a few minutes of smooth water cruising. To where? Who knows, it was just one of those days and moments in time. We were in a small marina with connections to the larger Marine Stadium nearby. Maybe she liked those drag boats we watched and wanted to see what it was like to go flat out on smooth waters! Ha!

Small things help when it is time for the big things and then it all comes together to move to the next adventure. For the past 50 + years, it has been “quite an adventure.” And…change/adapt is what we learned to do along the way… YRMV

 

“Optimism is the one quality more associated with success and happiness than any other.”



Hello,

In looking at where I was as a teenager, nothing could have been more appropriate. Living within a few miles of the ocean in coastal So Cal, mild climate for allowing those “outdoor” activities since childhood all played a part in being satisfied with life to that point. But, being a teenager was a trying time. Having an older brother helped, but watching his life as close as I was, gave me hope for the future.


We had no idea what we were going to be. He wanted to be a businessman, owning his own shop for a variety of things. A hot rod/speed shop for parts and supplies, a surfboard shop and custom engine building/and design business, were things we discussed for his future that was coming up faster then mine.

I wanted to be a jet plane pilot, a fireman and own my own surfboard business on the Orange County coastline and live on a cliff. Nothing that $$$ wouldn’t or couldn’t buy. The future for me was wide open and a variety of skills was necessary. Junior high school and high school tried their hardest to prepare me and a million others, but it was all geared to go to college and not a training for practical things. Jet plane pilot not in the military was practical?

Jnaki
Our 1940 Willys Coupe 671/SBC in the background (left)

So, with the hope of participation in hot rods and drag racing helped me get a focus on what I liked. It took time, patience and creativity to be successful in anything. It was going to be up to me to be happy in what ever I decided to pursue.

Well, in college, where most of my friends ended up, narrowed down the topics. Then I met my future girlfriend and wife. It was now geared to do stuff to keep that flame alive for the future and let the chips fall where they may.


With some guidance from both of us together in our point of view of the coming future together, we ended up happy and content in these old folks days… YRMV

 

“… cinema forms memories… memories form history…” heard at the last Oscars presentation in an acceptance speech from one of the award winners.


Hello,

What a nice comment about the power of cinema for all of us as the general public. We are the ones awed by the creative genius + tons of money/people involved in making some fantastic written story come to life. If one has ever sat through the ending credits, it is a wonder that someone has coordinated all of the folks involved from each studio, writers offices, to the cafeteria caterers that it takes to create and finish a movie. Especially if some of the offices and studio spaces are located in different countries across the world.

One time in our history back in our Westside of Long Beach neighborhood, we were pre teens going to community events and gatherings. But, our adult driver had this 57 Ford 2 door hardtop sedan and we all piled into it to go to the community event. It was a cool cruiser and one of the only two door hardtop Fords in a community of Chevy sedans. At the time, we did not care what kind of car it was, it(they) took us to where we wanted to go as we did not drive at the time.

Sometimes those community events were a little crazy and we used to excuse our selves to go outside to sit and wait in the Ford sedan for the event to end. But, while we were in the Ford sedan, of course, pretend city was just up our alley, so to speak. Trying all of the controls, pretending to drive around sitting in various positions and turning the wheel as if we were in the middle of cruising to a teen gathering was constantly in our minds. Plus, rolling down the windows to create an open car for all of us sitting in the seat positions.

So, what do inquiring minds do to pass the time away? We all chewed gum and had become experts at separating the waxy paper from the shiny, silver backing. It was some sort of metal that we were told by some older teens that it could do wonders for us. What? come to find out, it was used, after separating the foil from the waxy gum wrapping for nefarious uses.

One being “hot wiring” of any car to start it and drive away. One just had to know how to do it. But, when the story was told to us, it was exciting as we knew about cars, but not this side of the equation. Why use the shiny foil to start a car when a perfectly good key was available? Young minds wanted to know.

Jnaki

We would leave the pre teen event where the 1957 Ford hardtop sedan’s owner was running a group gathering. As those days, are a blur in history, no one locked their cars when in a community event’s parking lot, as it was near to the building and publicly viewed by all.

But, it was a drawing card for us as it had a radio and sitting in the hardtop was like “cruising around” that the older teens did in their spare time. only, we envisioned moving around the neighborhood like other car owners did, not sit in a parking space and wonder…

Our experiment with the silver wrapping led to finding the ignition (key) wires under the dash. Once traced back to the switch, it was easy to reach up and insert the little glob of shiny foil in place. But, one had to wonder how to keep the foil in place. At first, the chewed gum was used to press it in place, once it made the wire connections and the car started. Otherwise, someone had to reach up and hold it in place while one of us would be able to move the car down the block.

Note:

So, how does the recent Oscar awards ceremony play into this story? Our older friend with the 57 Ford hardtop 2 door sedan was a first of our friends to move on in life. We were growing up and he was moving on into college and his future.

He had several interim jobs we knew about, but later as we got older, he disappeared from our area and no one heard about him. Many years later, his mom had information about what happened to her son. He had gone to film school in Hollywood and ended up as a film editor. He now lived in the Hollywood area and we lost contact with him. But, his mom told us that he was involved in the editing section of a studio and made some connections in several films.

So, we watched the movies she told us about. Low and behold, he was on the super long credits at the end of the movies and his name was front in center, even though his section was so tiny it was hard to see. Plus, there were no DVDs until much later and we could actually stop the scrolling credits to see his name on the screen.

Now, every time we see a movie, the credits still roll by and we think of our old friend with his direction in life that we remember in our own history in So Cal. He was the only one of our friends that moved into that industry. Thanks for the memories and history…K.

 

words of wisdom from Butt Face If ya ain't breakin nothin ya ain't maken no power. don't meet your hero's you'll be disappointed there a bunch of divorced broke guys with problems worse than yours. I'll be the old fat bald guy wait that's everyone here. why are you called Butt Face ? becuase my face looks like a butt. I don't like that car its gotta roof on it. before you build a bonniville car get a rule book read it several times. all the rules ain't in the book & the ones that are don't apply to everyone but it's the best place to start

 

Legend tells us that Alexander the Great gave his generals three final commands as he lay dying. #1 Only the best doctors should carry his coffin. #2 All of his wealth should be scattered during the funeral procession. #3 His arm and hand should remain unwrapped, hanging from his coffin and highly visible.

When questioned about those instructions the 33-year-old King of Macedonia and conqueror of Achaemenid Persia explained his three reasons. First, every soul should know that even the best doctors of Kings cannot defeat death. Second, the riches we accumulate mean nothing, they remain of no value as we leave. Third, and most importantly, our hands leave this life as empty they came in, and the truest treasure here on earth is time.

Alexander’s final orders are an apt reminder to live our best life.

The moments we create with our time are the value of life….
Dan

 

Jealousy is so tiring, but expected when you are on the top of the heap! It is a real shame that those folks who are so insanely jealous of success don't expend the same amount of effort making themselves better, so they can be looked upon in the same light.



God Bless
Bill
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...ar-transport-hauling-open-or-enclosed.614419/

 

So true - jealousy is wasteful , it accomplishes nothing except unbalance and upheaval in the jealous persons mind , when we celebrate our brothers or sisters success and accomplishments we experience joy and gratitude. I know sometimes I’m as happy or happier when I see a friend or family member do something extraordinary than they are.
Jealousy and hate are only destructive.
Dan

 

Yeah - it was about time for
another Public Service Announcement



Jim

 

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world…”

Hello,

My wife and I were simple, life loving, college students that accidently met on campus 58 years ago. It has been a wonderful life and we are happy with how it all turned out in these modern times. Back then, the world was going through some radical changes from peace/love to protesting implications from the various camps across the USA.

So, how were we to cope with the ever changing scenery? We had to decide what to do at every blockade we came across from local city neighborhoods to traveling areas we were not so familiar with and stayed to gain some knowledge. After continuing trips to those likeable areas of California, getting along with different sources of ideology and young people, we saw how we were going to cope.

We became even more remote in that we could be together and still be involved if we chose. Our families were a far distance in location and ideology, so that was a mellow situation that we adjusted to every time something came up. We applied our changes to those and as the situation completed the full adjustment and things were moving on, we figured out that the same thing could be applied to most everything we came across in our travels and situations in So Cal.


Jnaki

Adjusting to things depends on what kind of person you are. If changes are to be done, one has to have a plan to go along with that change. Being married was an eye opener. If it is the right situation, then working as hard as we could, we had to change to fit each other. And adjust we did… from basic hot rods, surfing adventures, motorcycles, family matters and of course, daily life in the different communities…YRMV

 

After the first of the year, my neighbors were stumbling by my house, We said "Hi's and they said they were trying to get in shape for their daughter's up coming wedding.

Silly me: I said "Hey, Round is a "shape."
We were never close, But now, when they trudge by, "they don't even wave." '.

 

“Some people don’t have a sense of humor”

 

Many don’t!

 

Fast foward...... its the end of March,..... neighbors gave up traveling, Or changed course....

 

I was going to comment on Bill’s post, but you said exactly what I was going to say! So I will just say “ Ditto”!




Bones

 

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” Einstein



Hello,


When my brother came up with a modified conversation about making a new hot rod to move to the next level of drag racing from the A/Stock class, we chuckled. He was finished with his steady improvement in winning in the A/Stock class and now, looked for something at the next level. He also wanted a car to drive to school and be super fast. So, the search began.

Who would have thought that by the time he was ready for college and I was still in high school, we would have a rolling Willys Coupe with an SBC motor with carbs, then the much faster, larger, SBC with a 671 supercharger blower spec motor in the B/Gas and C/Gas classes.

I could say it was me, but everything points to my brother as the key to our success in building specs and procedures. From the start, he knew what he wanted and did not have to show me much in the way of “how to do” stuff. He was vocal in doing things the correct way and provided all of the instructions to finish the portions of the build, step by step.

That in itself, allowed me to burn in my brain, the correct way to do most things in life, later on. At the time, it was new experience and by doing it his way, I felt our results were the best around. Slow and steady wins the race… but we were slow and specifically detailed oriented to get to the finish line… yes!

Jnaki

Two brothers together in later times when I was getting better at surfing.
Brotherly competition at its finest…
It was officially "my wave," but, I allowed him to drop down into the wave, so both of us could ride it together. "A moment in time..."

He took “tips” from his younger brother during this phase. Our last day together in the water was a cold morning at Rincon Point in Santa Barbara. We were visiting and he wanted to go out due to the fact that I told him it was 6 feet and "pumping..." He instantly grabbed his surfing gear and we headed to the point break.

It was one of those "moments" that will live on in memories. he caught some waves and had a great time. but, he got our early to watch. he watched me surfing some great overhead waves for the next hour or so until the cold just froze everything for us. When I came in, he said that... "my surfing was pretty outstanding and it was very stylish, as well as powerful." That comment has stayed with me ever since...


When he was gone, it left a big hole in our family. But, what he was able to do, was going to last in my skills and future opportunities in our way of living. We were enjoying things we liked to do together.

My wife opened my eyes in college. Then, together, we both have been using our collective thoughts in how we see things and how we did/do things … on the “same page.” Continuing along with the ideas and directions we have learned along the way as teens and young adults. All the while, we had tons of fun and continued to this “old folks” stage… YRMV

Note:
One of the only 1940 Willys Coupes with a 671 GMC Superchargers on an SBC motor in 1960, running in B/Gas and then C/Gas Class at Lion's Dragstrip + in all of So Cal.