Hot Rods Quotes to live by...

Your’s and Jnaki’s stories remind me of a time…14 years old, .Summer of 1965, I was laying in my bed in my room at the North end of the ranch house , here in Oktaha, Oklahoma! I had a 12 inch oscillation fan blowing on me! I had a 30 foot wire hooked up to my Arvin radio’s external antenna, so I could listen to KELI in Tulsa , Oklahoma , about fifty mikes away! That radio had a four inch speaker! As I layed there , I thought….” It can’t get any better than this!” Things are a bit different, today!






Bones

 

Our complaint person is Helen Waite... So, if you are not happy with the speed of our service, you can go to Helen Waite.

 

Not necessarily a quote to "live by" but sure does make it easier to get into a rumble seat car. Agree?

 

Hello,

Back in 1967, I was selected to play in an all star rugby game in Long Beach. The top team in the league standings were going to go against the visiting all stars, game. I was the last guy in the line leading to the sideline. A wing player or the last guy in the long line.

By the time I got the ball, we were running down field at almost full speed. Then I had to decide to keep running at the opponent, juke him out and keep running, do a small punt over his head to recover a better field position, or cut inside to do a lateral to the guy cutting back behind me for the open field.

Most of the time, I did a juke and could keep running. That was fun when I out ran others to cross the line for the score. But, on the night of the all star game, I had the ball and was coming up to the opponent as the last line of defense. If I could get by the defender, then it was open field to the center goal area.

So, as he came up to me, I “juked” to the left and made a flashing cut to the right and got by him easily. But, as I took the next step, I fell flat on my face. My left knee gave out and I fell, splayed out on the grass. I instantly rolled up and passed the ball back to my team mates and let them run down field. I was struggling to get up and when I did, I fell again as soon as I took a step.

My knee was now the size of a large cantaloupe and needed attention. I had it wrapped up and could still hobble to the after game party. I could barely bend my knee as it was larger and hurting. The next day, I went to the emergency center and they sent me to an orthopedic surgeon’s office. He injected me with some colorful fluid and that showed up in an x-ray, showing a torn cartilage.

So, for the next several weeks, I was doing “after surgery” walking to my college classes.

Jnaki

“Butt first, then the legs”​

Ever since, then, the quote of “Butt first, then the legs” was the lifetime slogan that kept me in line. Getting in the El Camino and driving was not that bad. My left leg was straight and had to fit. But, when I got better and there was no bandages or support frames, I could hardly bend my knee to get it under the dash.

To make matters worse, I had three stick shift cars and one automatic car for our daily drivers over the years. The stick shift cars were an interesting action for the time. Stepping in the pedal was difficult, but the pedal coming back up was a pain in the knee. But, I wanted to drive a stick shift car during those times.

So, I learned to sit in each car, “butt first” and then swing in the legs under the dash. When I sat in the passenger seat, I still sat butt first, but the “no action” after swinging my legs inside was fine.

I had one sporty coupe that was very low to the ground. The bucket seats were lower than normal and it was a long way to sit first, but swinging in the left knee, was still a “pain” in the moment. This was when I was in my late 70s. That was supposed to be the last car purchased and driven. But, now, the seats of our daily driver are higher and it makes the “butt first” motion easier, as if I was going to sit on a bus bench. YRMV

 

Jim

 

“Hateful to me as the gates of Hades is that man who hides one thing in his heart and speaks another.”
—Homer

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

 

“You’re the only woman”
​

Hello,


The 80s were a funky time period in our lifetime, as it was for most everyone at the time. My wife and I did not fall into the trap with funky hair, awful shirts and pants of the 80s. Our style was endless 60s vibe that is also represented by those that were in a similar environment. The brash, awful times were strong but I certainly could not see me wearing a dress shirt with the front three buttons open and a chain necklace, + a white belt…. Gawd… Our cars certainly were not the awful cars that the factories were putting out.

My wife decided that we would look into the sporty cars and sedans of the European models and go from there. That was a good decision as the USA factories have not put out anything good, except for a Ford Raptor high horsepower truck that has caught my wife’s eye recently. Yikes!

So, as usual, we were strong enough to fend off the awful 80s styles and move into the lifestyle we always envisioned for ourselves. YRMV

Jnaki

One of the songs did have some meaning for us during that time period: it was by Ambrosia

“Because you and I've been in love too long
To worry 'bout tomorrow
Here's a place where we both belong
I know you're the only woman that I'm dreamin' of
You're the only woman that I really love…”

Although it was in the 80's, it still had meaning from our time in the college days of the late 6o's hectic times and events. Our dinky apartment was a sanctuary for both of us to be together and get ready to adjust to the outside world...

 

Jim

 

“Was I in here last night, and did I spend a $20 bill?
(I did?) Oh, thank goodness... I thought I'd lost it.”
― W. C. Fields

 

“WE DON'T GROW OLD. WHEN WE CEASE TO GROW, WE BECOME OLD.”

Hello,

When we retired, we had a new road ahead. Our granddaughter was just born and it was our responsibility to take care of her starting at 6 months. Her dad and mom just started new jobs and were caught up in the “moving on up” scene and were a little out of whack. New baby, new jobs, new friends, etc. it was piling up fast. So, two retired folks stepped in to make things work.

And, work it was. We had a son a long time ago, now, it was a cute little granddaughter that looked at us as if we were her parents. “In Loco Parentis” was a great term. We had our granddaughter for a night or two to start off. But, the late night drives for us were tiring and we never knew when both of them would be home. So, we decided to keep our granddaughter at our house and provide all day/night care until her parents could get caught up in their job situations. And, at least get settled in their hectic lives...

Well, one day worked into two and three worked into 5. The most we took care of our granddaughter was 6 days a week including overnight sleep overs and all day care. We loved a new challenge and that gave both of her young parents time to settle down. Plus, it was a whole new ball game with a little granddaughter, this time for us. YRMV

Jnaki

She kept us younger even after retiring and now, we were young parents again. It was a good thing we were fairly in good shape, pushing the stroller up hill on our long walks in our neighborhood and her parents house, too. We spent tons of days walking all around the local beaches that were our favorites. The countless days playing in the garage, doing art projects and listening to music was fun for us old folks.

When it was nap time, we all took a well deserved nap. When driving back home and our granddaughter fell asleep, we found a shady tree area and fell asleep our selves. We never knew when that would happen, so we were learning new things. We were growing and adapting to our rambunctious granddaughter throughout her young life with us 5-6 days a week.
Future dreams...
Our lives changed for the better and knowing our granddaughter’s ways helped us see a whole new way to enjoy life. We may be older in age, now, but we still keep our lives active… now, our granddaughter is in her junior year of college… Yikes.