Where’s “Little Johnny”, did he die ?

He is married with children.

 

My son Kevin loves cars. He begs to go out and work on the shoebox. There are still "little johnny's" around

 

Somebody was reading the Sunday Comic Strips

 

My 28 yo Johnny can indeed read and wants to be a lawyer ( oh good we need more ) too bad the little he did with a wrench showed he was a natural.

 

I don't think little Johnny is extinct. I think its more that young people now are not commonly raised around whats described in the original post. Think about it when driving around neighbourhoods do you see scenes like what was described in that post. Now ask yourself how many cars do you see lined up at the car wash while getting gas.

Infact the term "family car" is a dieing one aswell my dad who is 67 talks about in his day having a car was a big deal a status thing, same as having a colour tv.

Now there are families with multiple cars and multiple tv's.

What was once the norm is not anymore.

 

My "little johnny"is my 10yr ols son he is always helping in the shed and on the cars.He has already put dibs on all the cars at home and already has an impressive bucket list of cars he wants to own(he will need to start soon if he wants to get them all!!!)Also have a 22yr old step daughter who is into cars (she owns a 1967 HR ute with a turbo charged holden 6cylinder with afull manual p/glide and 9inch)So i guess down here i have got it prety good

 

My son's name is actually "John III", I'm a Jr. and of course my dad was John Sr.My son will be 40 yrs. old in June and is still crazy about hot rods. He doesn't get time to work with me much anymore, but we have some great memories of rodding etc. "Cats in the craddle," I guess!

 

Sorry not emplying any bad comments towards your son or future family. But this came to mind, is this the future Johnny? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oH_NWlpI03s

 

My two sons aren't too interested in cars, but the neighbor kids are up and coming 'Johnnys'. When I move my OT car into the driveway they all come running, wanting to help with any little thing I do with it.

It's probably because I let them all climb in and sit in the drivers seat, doing whatever they want. I know that it'll pay off some day

 

I have 3 johnnys 16,22,25 the one thats 22 will some times help out at the shop the other two never.
I have a hot rod shop and drag race 3 cars and not one of them give it a second look ive been in my shop for 15 years and have always had race cars and hot rods here and havent had one kid show a intrest in hanging out or wanting to go to the races its sad i can push my vega funny car out in front of the shop and no intrest at all from any kids
that go by

 

Man, that hit's home. I've been in search of a race car I use to see everyday going to school since I've joined the HAMB. Still have not found it. Maybe there is a kid that goes by but is to afraid to knock on your door and say hello like me almost 40 years ago. You never know.

 

from a 23 year old who grew up doing manual labor on farms....i have a 10 yr old and an 8 year old cousin. Both are brother and sister and both were over the farm for the weekend for Easter. The youngest doesnt so much mind helping uot on the farm; she actually seems to really enjoy it. The older one will not shut up about playing video games and ipods and computers, etc. The only thing he kept saying was "i cant wait to go home and play my video games...." What is this world coming to??

i grew up having video games too but we were still kids who played outdoors and had imaginations. video games were for rainy days or an hour after supper.

nowadays kids are being raised by computers...not parents. they have no imagination. there is zero common sense either.

As for the child labor laws comment....look up the new Farm Bill being proposed in the US government. it's to ban any child under the age of 18 from working with livestock or doign farm chores on the family farm. it's got this nation's farm families in an absolute uproar.

 

I have 5 nephews between the ages of 11 and 17, not a one has interest in cars what so ever. The 17 yr old isn't even interested in driving. Growing up my Dad and Uncles on both sides of the family were into cars, along with my cousins, brother and I.

 

In one understands history then you must know that that things never stay the same. Many of us gearheads learned with a much difference set of inputs. Many of us used that to develop the interests and skill sets we have and use now.
Most kids today have a totally diifferent set of learning inputs. We had maybe 3 channels of black and white mostly boredom on a cathode ray tube bout the size of a microwave. They have hundreds of channels of color and beyond, even 3D excitment with the ability to play along in real time.
We had points that in case you forget needed to be dealt with about every 25 thousand miles..not to metion that leaking prehistoric carb too. They have direct into the combustion chamber sequencial computer driven injection that basically does not fail or leak in most cases...and multi-spark computer driver ignition with platinum plags that tends to last forever.
Take a look around you, this is not Mayberry anymore and these kids are not Opie.
My oldest son 22 is a IT guy and uses the same outside the box thought processes that I use on cars everyday to keep big computer systems rolling along so everybody can get the important E-mail and find the right websites that keep the whole world running and within milliseconds away in communication...kinda like right here on this site. Focus on the good kids they are out there and are making your world and mine a heck of a lot better.

"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for
authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer
rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents,
chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their
legs, and are tyrants over their teachers."
Socrates said this a long time ago...sound familure?
or maybe this?

"The young people of today think of nothing but themselves. They have
no reverence for parents or old age. They are impatient of all
restraint. They talk as if they alone knew everything and what p***es
for wisdom with us is foolishness with them. As for girls, they are
forward, immodest and unwomanly in speech, behaviour and dress."
Socrates again


I say we have plenty of good kids..look around at what they are doing to and for the world. Your kids are not suppose to do what you do or like what you like. It would be real boring if they did.

 

i 've found my li'l Johnny in my apprentice, we're unrelated, but sometimes i forget about that.. everytime i have to do some service on the older customers cars, he's stopping his (often boring) body work on the actual cars to watch over my shoulder for some minutes to see how a distributor works, changing points, cleaning a carb or lubricating some ole joints.. i'm explaining it to him in a few simple words and then he smiles at me.. He has never heard of that grease-gun before!

these are moments that light up the daily routine a lot..

his gf told me today, that he's proud of learning these long-gone-techniques.. and that made ME smile..

and after seeing my Poncho freshly painted he's very impatient to join a little ride with me..

but we also played videogames together several times, always have a good laugh (sorry for this off-topic color-TV-gaming), so i think we both have met in the middle.

that's my little Johnny.

 

Boy! Aint you a bright ray of sunshine! Just 'cause youre right doesnt mean we want to hear it! But, it would be nice to have an extra set of hands in the garage sometimes.

 

A friend of mine sent me this today.

You have to start them young.........

 

My Little Johnny is by my side every day. In fact there are three of them following me around daily. It's a great thing!

 

I lost my little Johnny 4 years ago in a pickup crash. He was into cars as much or more than I was or am. He loved old rides, he****s, rat rods , musclecars, you name it. He wasn't afraid to take anything apart, though it didn't always go back together the same way , sometimes dear old Dad had to help out.

His older brother is a complete opposite. He likes to drive, but doesn't know a radiator cap from a gas cap. All he studies is women. It was drugs and women, but I think 4 + years in jail might have cured him of the drugs, I hope so. And it's not like I didn't treat them the same, he just wasn't interested in cars and still isn't.

If you have kids, show them love every day. You never know when you might lose them.

 

My little Johnny is going on 40 years old and lives 400 miles away.

"Cats in the Cradle" rings true.

Where did it all go ?

 

what if you soap up your dog and have him run around the car a few times. not exactly little johnny but more like little rex!

o and he can help paint the under body of your car too!

 

My "little Johny" is about to turn 47. He is in the process of rebuilding the '69 Z-28 I gave him for his 16th birthday..We spent 2 years rebuilding the car back then and he drove if for the first time on his 18th birthday. I stored if for him for 19 years after he finished college and two years ago he rekindled his interest in redoing it. It will be done more in the style of a "pro touring" as that is where his interests lie today. His "little Johnny" who is 19 is working along side of him helping on the rebirth.
At 67 I could not be more pleased about how the "car" part of my life has turned out.

Frank

 

"Little" Johnny reporting for Car Wash Duty, Sirs !
Story: He NEVER< EVER Growed-UP.................
My Father, and Mentor, and Friend !
Died when I was Sixteen.......Still miss Him, fer Sure.
He ran an ESSO Service (Yes "Service" ! ) Station. Took Exceptional Care of His Auto.
But, When He would Attempt to Wash It........A customer would inevidenty pull IN.
Sooooo, He Never WET tha' Car Down All Over, Wash a panel, Chamois, wash, Chamie,
Etc. Ahter I lost Him, I Washed Cars on Sat/ Sun.'s For Friend of My Dad's .....
Right.....ESSO SER STA., We (US !), washed, By Hand, inside/ Out !....about 100
to 125 cars, every weekend !!!!! Don't remember what I was paid ?, But I got "free"
Used Oil........to Feed my $80.00 '$0 Ford Cee-dan. Good Deal Uhhh ?
Thanks for Listening. +++++++++++++++++++
Re-Quote: "U No, when your gittin' OLD ! Everything, Reminds You of A STORY."
SmokeyII

 

Little Johnny is alive and well. My Grandson is 3, maybe a little too little to be of alot of real use, but he is always right there to help. He hears me comming home and is waiting pounding on the door of the garage or out at the gate. "Mister let me out, I have work to do". I don't remember if my son was like that, I know when he was 19 or 20 he spent about 20 mins with a wire wheel and grinder removing the 40 years of road tar from some inner fenders, and well that was the last real intrest he had in working on an old car.............. I am hopeful that Johnny (Charlie Boy) will keep an intrest, and I will live long enough to p*** some real info on to him. Of course by then "Rice Rockets" will be at an almost cl***ic age................