Hot Rods Quotes to live by...

brought back memories of my Dad, as I am sure many can relate.

 

"Eat shit and die"

 

NEVER PISS OFF A PERSON THAT HAS ACCESS TO YOUR TOOTHBRUSH !!!!!!

 

Similar to when you are at the drive-thru, 'Remember, they are inside with your food."

 

You’re as young as your girlfriend feels…

 

Not anymore!!

Ben

 

I just drove 1,500 miles in a roadster without a top experiencing 100+ degree temperatures, through both rain and hail storms, bugs of all kinds. Unspeakable road conditions, now they want to know if I want to go on a “Reliability Run!”

 

A boat is a hole surrounded by water into which one pours money

 

B O A T….Break Out Another Thousand.

 

It's not how fast you go,...It's how you go fast,.......Bob Lee. Ft.Lauderdale Fl.

 

And an old car is the equivalent, except a hole in the asphalt!

 

“Are there dragons? Well, no… If there is a word, “Dragon,” wouldn’t there have been a Dragon?”

from the minds of a toddler…

Three generational gap, having a reading time period with Great Grandma visiting from the OKC.


Hello,

Our son turned into a voracious reader since we supplied him with a ton of books in various levels of understanding. He would be able to sit in one place on the couch, in different styles of camouflaged covers so as not to be disturbed. This one photo was of three generations of our family that included a visit from his great grandmother from the OKC around 1978-79. They always had an afternoon “reading” time together. Under that camouflaged blanket, were stacks of little books and our son reading every page over and over.

When we could not afford to buy those topic level (dragon/dinosaur) books for his library, we went every week to the local community library to check out stacks of books for a week’s worth of reading them over and over, until the next short trip to the library. If we could not find enough books at one local library, there were three cities nearby that had their own versions of topic centered level books. We just had to make sure the returns were for the specific library in each city.

Intensity in action from the early days…

Well, we instilled the love of reading in our son and he ended up a top scholar in high school. Then he went on to earn a 4 year college degree in English and finally years later, got his Master’s degree in English Literature. Well, it turned out that it was beyond our expectations.
Stoke the fire !!!

 

“Time is a companion who goes with us on the journey and reminds us to cherish every moment, because it will never come again. What we leave behind is not as important as how we have lived.”


Hello,

As young kids growing up in the Westside of Long Beach, it would have been a miracle to see what was ahead all of these years later. We were tiny kids, ready to explore our first real home and the huge world around us. The house was small and compact with the small kitchen where all of the delicious meals were prepared. Our bedroom was just large enough to hold two twin beds and a narrow walkway path between the beds. The space was perfect to perform our circus acts of leaping across the wide canyon below and not get hurt.

The teenage years came and of course, we learned an awful lot about our selves and how to get along with a ton of new friends. Hot rods/drag racing was just a part of those developing years. No one was going to say it was destined. It just happened to be something we liked and pursue to the best we could at the time with the restrictions we had… like little to no money. But the impetus and desire was there.

Jnaki

As we look into the new age teenagers starting their lives with this month’s high school graduation ceremonies going on all over the world, hopefully, the new information has prepared them for the long road ahead in their futures. Congrats, graduates! (Our granddaughter is a part of this year’s graduating group.) We have done our best to show how we lived, thought about stuff and how we react to the stimulus that surrounds us everyday, from the time of her staying with us 5-6 days a week since being 6 months old.

But with all of the new “stuff” going on in the world, we hope our ideas and preparations by actions and thoughts were enough to get her through the next four years of life to see her goals come to fruition.

We were fortunate to live another set of 18 years as described as: “In Loco Parentis” or as defined,
"in the place of parents."

 

Jnaki, again I find similarities in our lives! As a young man on our ranch in Oklahoma, I ,too read books. We had poor TV reception and it was a several miles to the little town we lived close to. So, as a young man I turned to books for entertainment! I read tons of books!
Then one day my only neighbor , 5 years older that me, rode by on his Alstate Highlander motor scooter. He let me ride it…..at 10 years of age….I had one of my own in about a week!
Not blaming Richard for anything, but after that day, I became a “ biker” or maybe a “ scooter er”lol! Then later he introduced me to hot rod cars and cold beer!
My life was never the same after that first ride on a scooter! I sensed freedom…..and liked it!




Bones

 

Read a Good one : I do nothing, but I do it in the mornings,
So I have the afternoons free...

 

"Tell me something and I will forget. Show me something and I will remember."


Hello,

I was a keen observer from the time I was very little. My brother already had the reputation of being the outgoing, rambunctious toddler growing up very fast. He was so interested in doing new things that the older boys did, as they hung around our trailer court. So, as a little kid, he learned things we all did not learn until much later. Our mom was usually surprised at what came out of my brother’s mouth and conversations with other kids. He got the “riot act” read to him plenty of times as he grew up.

I was a quiet toddler. With all of the attention given to trying to control a rambunctious older toddler in his learning stages, I usually just watched and observed. I went on with my single explorations and quiet play, usually busy, but silent. When we were both together in our trailer or in the neighborhood, there was actually no time to get a word in any conversation or gathering. My brother took over and answered the questions that were out there.

Jnaki

This went on for quite some time until I was able to stay up with all of the older kids activities and adventures, despite getting hurt plenty of times. But, still being a quiet kid. My mom was worried that I was not going to talk or be able to make it in school. So, there was that. Maybe it was that moment that more conversations came my way to make me answer any questions put out there.

I learned by watching older kids interact and adults talking about just anything that related to family and activities.

By the time my brother slowed down his high speed personalities, I began to listen to his ideas for both of us. He started showing me how to do stuff, in drawing, building models, outdoor fort construction, and just about anything in ordinary play. Our dad took an interest in both of our sports activities and taught us various techniques in baseball, football and basketball. I learned by watching. My brother just did the activities, without any progression.

When the hot rod days came, it was eye opening. It was a whole new ball game and my brother rushed head on into changes and modifications. He had skills I did not have and he taught me how to do things the right way. Somehow he was told how to do things correctly the first time, so he would not waste time doing it over again and again through mistakes.

I learned most of his skills in building things and took over the assembly of various small things. When we started to build the 283 SBC motor with carbs, I learned more techniques my brother taught me. By the time we started our rebuild of our SBC motor to the next level, I had learned plenty. I showed the skills necessary to be given the intricate re-assembly of the whole motor from the crank up to the 671 install.


Thanks, J, for the wild ride to the learning stage and to the confidence stage as a teen-20 something.
It was an adventure and learning process I will not forget.

 

"You can't teach style..."

Hello,

As long as time prevails, style is individually acquired by who knows what? There are always many possibilities as to copying style of a certain lifestyle or design parameters. But, it is the individual that acquires or learns style as one progresses in life.

We were always told to be individuals and to create our own personalities. Teachers, administrators, business owners, and the “older” folk in the neighborhoods try and lead us into our own lives. Some are those that a lot of people try to copy, but it is never on the point. That person is not you and you have your own way to see things and decide what is right for you or not. That is on the road to individuality.

Hot rods and customs are a whole field of creative people, however small the field is for the overall population. But, individual style is abundant in the choices that are presented.

There is only one Ala Kart…

And... only one Dream Truck
despite the different colors
But, many ideas came from the designs and style created by those early hot rod/custom car guys.

Jnaki

Growing up in that particular world, while adding in the drag racing world starting in 1957, took us on different paths. We like custom cars/trucks as we saw one daily in our neighborhood. But, as the different styles were shown to us in varying car shows and dragstrip journeys, it brought on a whole new way to look at what we liked. We tried to incorporate what we liked into our current parameters in model cars, art drawings, car modifications, and then movies with photographs to come as we got older.

So, skill has something to do with adding to the creative style learned or inherent in most of us. It is the only way to see something. We can’t be all encompassing in design, builds, and activities. We learn from our mistakes and improve the next time. For us, it was too hard to have someone try to teach us a certain style, it just came to us or it was there all along. We just made it come to the surface in different ways. YRMV

“You Can’t Teach Style” But, you can learn from it and adapt to the different ways to see the melding of that, to your own vision.

 

Guys grow whiskers so they will have something to pull on, in public, while we wait.... and wait.....

teenagers learn in a swimming pool, what they aren't taught in school

 

At a job I had years back, two guys were fighting over the parts girl. The company moved the girl to another loaction and both guys were fired. An older mechanic with more sayings than enough, turned to me and said, "I told both of them... never get your meat where you make your bread". I just shook my head and walked away. Gene.

 

....Classic.

 

“Life is not about how much money you have, how fast you run, or how high you climb, but how well you bounce.”


Hello,

As a young kid, we all wanted to be jet fighter pilots, firemen or sports stars. But, as we developed various skills, the limits were pronounced and a new barrier was put up against our progress. As a teen, I wanted to be a guitar playing lead singer of a rock and roll band. I learned in my own way to plunk a guitar, learned the chords and played some finger picking tunes to sound at least somewhat good.

But, it was not to be. The closest I came to being involved in a band was being the manager/equipment guy to set up everything and make sure everything got put in the correct places. Nothing worse than an electronic guitar player without a powered up amp.

As we grew up, we were going our separate ways with new interests and friends. So, the guitar/singing guy ended up a rugby player, surfer and desert motorcycle racer. Then came photography and a new college student that captivated my life. We both went through a lot of trials and tribulations, by ourselves and together. But, with plenty of ways to adapt to the changes, we came through it fairly OK. We relied on each other's strengths to make the adjustments.

Jnaki

With our ways of coping/adjusting to the invasion of whatever, we were able to see somewhat clearly in the right direction for both of us against the world. It was a blind sided look at he world events and community mores. But, we were able to make way in our own time, place and being together helped us work through every roadblock. We have been doing that for 50+ years…

 

My standard answer to the question "What do you do for a living?"-
"I helps me brother"
"Oh, and what does he do?"
"He helps me!".

 

if it won't go chrome it!

 

I am no gynecologist, but I will have a look ......


After 50, NEVER TRUST a FART !!!

 

never pet a burning dog

 

“The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.”


Hello,

Having not been a prodigy artist from the early days of being a kid, one wonders at the talent that pops up throughout some people’s lives as they move on to the next level. I always struggled with any kinds of art work. My drawings were usually stick figures and even those are still hard to draw these days. With the ability to sustain longer periods of quiet time or as one sees time during lectures in classes from junior high school through high school were the days of experimenting with some developed skills.

In junior high school, those orange Pee Chee notebook covers with various sports figures on them were for all kids in school. They provided places for our work and assignments in one neat, (sort of neat) place that was easy to carry to the next class. On wet grass, the Pee Chee notebooks were the gaskets between us and wet pants. Ha! But, during classes, those lectures droned on and on, so we learned passing notes was a slap on the hands or an office detention.

It took a lot of quiet time and skills to develop the art of drawing on our Pee Chee notebooks between teacher stares and the board pointer with the stares facing another direction. Now, was the time to do some artwork on our provided notebooks. As long as the lined paper was sitting on the same desk and we all looked like we were listening to the chemical properties of gold, etc. We were ok.

Jnaki

So, the vast areas of the Pee Chee notebooks, the empty pages of our lined paper stacks and various other scraps of paper got put to good use.

Our Pee Chee Notebooks looked like a left over from an art school garage sale. Every edge had some form of scallops and as we got older/better, those "swoopy" flames became more refined. As much fun as the simplicity of Pee Chee notebooks provided with their fast access to papers, as high school came around, the blue material covered three ring binders took over for style and looks.

The Pee Chee notebooks got three holes to work as dividers, but in the long run, they disappeared all together. Our flame sources now turned to school lined papers and art folders, as well as returned testing grades plastered on the whole test. Highlighting the great or poor grades we all got from the 7 different classes.
As the years rolled on, the simple scallops turned into fancy flames. I got laughed at with flames drawn on my "tennies" of all kinds. But, at least it made those light colored shoes looked worn and not fresh off of the shelves of the stores.

Note: Much later in our lives, our granddaughter wore white "tennies." But, everyone was always fiddling with cleaning cloths and spray of some kind, to keep the white looking clean and sanitary. I drew some red flames on white "tennies" and our granddaughter loved them. But, her parents did not. We bought new white ones on our next foray to the shopping mall road trips.

After years of mistakes, lessons learned and still trying to be a “flame artist…” everything is fair game for my flames... ha!
Even Halloween Candy art for our crafts projects during those early days of artwork with our young granddaughter. She laughs, even today, as a post high school graduate teenager...YRMV

 

If you don't have holes in the walls of your dyno cell you're not trying hard enough.

 

At my age farts are no longer my friends, in fact they can be down right hostile!

 

Jim