Hot Rods Quotes to live by...

As a wise man once said, I’m traveling down the road and I’m flirting with disaster,

 

Couple financial related:

You can't spend yourself to prosperity

You cant get out of debt by taking out a loan

 

better to remain silent and be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

 

In the immortal words of my friend Mikes greek construction boss......ready .....he said it.......DONT BE A DUMB !!!

 

Anything good in life is either immoral, illegal or fattening

 

"the truth has no defense against a fool determined to believe a lie"

 

Life is like a roll to toilet paper..... it spins faster near the end!

 

"Never try to teach a pig to sing! You waste your time and annoy the pig"

 

“I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”

Hello,

Our vast history is varied and it is a wonder that we made it this far. As teens, we never thought we would end up as an “old guy” with the maladies of an overused body and joints. (No, not that kind…)

We just thought that as teenagers, our bodies and minds were having fun and would continue in life. Boy, if that were true, wouldn’t it be nice to do the last decade with a great mature mind and a young teenage/20 something version of a body?

We did not think ahead other than what we were going to do at the drags, how we were going to win a race, and what to do afterwards at the local Bixby Knolls drive-in parking lots until late evening. (besides eating a couple servings of French Fries and Gravy…washed down with Cherry Cokes.) Even as high school seniors, the world was getting into some viable historic action and we were just pawns getting ready for the next hot rod cruise/drag race night.

How were we going to be a part of society? If we were spending our time surfing and laying around on the white sandy beaches of So Cal and Baja, Mexico? These days, the memories are still sharp, but the old body has taken its toll and we are learning to adjust to the consequences.

Jnaki

We did not think of much other than a great surfing adventure or the next charbroiled hamburger, so our teenage minds were not doing a lot of future planning. We all thought this current lifestyle was what it was going to be in the future.

Not all of us felt this way, as there were kids planning on a law and/or military career that, luckily, has lasted until the current climate. We have all retired and are living a comfortable as possible life for the next round of challenges. They are still around and possibly are going through the same maladies as all of us.

So, did I do what I wanted to do after high school? Pretty much so, as my wife and I have been together since meeting each other in college. We clicked right away and have worked through some pretty amazing lifestyle changes along the journey. But, why couldn’t we retire after high school with the knowledge we NOW have? That would have been the ultimate.

Life is what you make of it and being able to adjust to the dips and heights as they come along… YRMV

P.S.
Just think of the different lifestyle that would have happened if my parents had said yes to sponsoring the planned world surf spot tour of the whole European Coast, the neighboring islands heading toward Hawaii and enjoying what life had to offer… HA! Yes, I still would have met my wife somewhere along the timeline, as our futures were going to cross at some point in the whole series of adventures.

 

Less is more...

 

“Change will not come if we wait for something to do if for us. We are the change that we seek.”

Hello,

Our teenage lives were really something. When things were getting a little difficult, we made ourselves change our direction to move along in life. Our hot rod/drag race days were still around, with many mechanical things still going on in our heads and in our backyard converted garage. It may not have been another street legal RPU or Altered Coupe for the drags, but we kept our minds on the job(s) at hand. We knew we had to change, but we still liked to doodle with mechanical stuff.

So, after we sold all of our drag racing stuff, including the complete 671 292 c.i. SBC motor, the backyard garage seem a little lonely and empty. But, within a couple of months after his recovery year, my brother rolled a cool 250cc Greeves Desert Racing Motorcycle into the empty space and started to shine the nice aluminum tank and fenders. While he was doing that, I was fixing an old surfboard dings out in the yard area. We both knew it was the next step. It may not be the final step, but at least it was a change and a new challenge for both of us.

Jnaki

Over the next few years, we got another similar 250 cc Greeves Desert Racing Motorcycle and with some modifications, it was faster than the original one with the shiny aluminum gas tank. That new 250 cc was painted dark blue and was a lot lighter in weight. Even though it was a 250cc, the motor was more powerful. So, now, I had an advantage over my brother in our races. HA!

Our ideas meshed, as did our lives. It was a great way to get along, first with each other, which was interesting. But with desert motorcycle racing, long surf trips, winter ski trips, and other things we like to do together, brothers can exist in a friendly, but competitive arena.

We also knew that our teenage years were coming to a close with high school graduation coming up and my brother now recovered enough to go back to his college studies. So, in the back of our minds, change was coming up fast. We were making the transition in our lives and the future was only what we make of it. YRMV

As Davie Bowie mentioned....
"Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don't want to be a richer man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
There's gonna have to be a different man
Time may change me"

 

When dealing with idiots you can’t add their IQ, you divide it.

 

If I had a dollar for every girl who said I wasn’t her type, I’d be her type.

 

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced”
… James Baldwin



Hello,

My wife and I read a quote from author James Baldwin in our college days. It is from a 1962 list, but was part of a reading list during those hectic college days from 1966 to 68.

In a recent post on change, it was similar in ideology. If you don’t try to overcome the fear of facing change, you cannot actually make any change in any situation or idea.

Jnaki

Our ideas from back in those 1966 to 68 college days was to get involved. But, the abrupt showing of those few that went a little too far in their ideals, led us to back off and lead our own lives. We grew up as “thinking” young folks. We absorbed plenty of rhetoric from all sides and filtered out what we liked. Sometimes, making decisions for change is not always fun. So, from that point on, we led a quiet life and mainly stayed away from mainstream or side stream America’s way to deal with change.

Our lives were changed over the long years since high school. The major change was about to start in the college days from 1966 onward. But, early influences did help us make our own way, together, throughout this tough American way of living… We did face change and made the right decisions along the way to cope with differences… YRMV

Who else would drive a 1940 Ford Sedan Delivery powered by a 327 as a daily driver, while others were driving 4 door, road hogs from the factories, as ok family cars? We withstood plenty of comments about what, who and why we had the cool, sedan delivery. Change... endure, cope and adjust…

 

wife said, two things about you bug me : no. 1 You don't listen to me. >> No.2 Ah, I don't recall.

If yer chute doesn't open the first time, maybe skydiving isn't yer thing .....

the difference between a Moth and a Butterfly, is how you perceive it.
Just like live experiences

 

“If you can find even one person you really like, you're lucky. And if that person can also stand you, you're really lucky.”



Hello,

High school was a time of introspection. We looked, enjoyed friendships, cultivated as much happiness as possible and got involved in sports, hot rods and other leisure activities. Afterall, we were teenagers. But, the one thing all of us had in our minds was what was it going to be like in 10 years? What about just 5 years later from graduation? Seeing our own families together for such a long time and being introduced to new families did a number on all of us.

It may have been the locale, the times or just lucky to have met such nice folks, in parents of our friends, plenty of girls in school, and our own friends we grew up with along the way. As we saw couples together wherever we went, it was something eye opening. (A new horizon, so to speak.) the friendships during high school were outstanding. Hanging around the guys was always fun and cool. Even hanging around the girls was also cool, despite the ribbing given out to anyone able to talk to “The Girls.”

Jnaki

So, throughout the whole teenage scene, seeing couples together then and after graduation began to play an important part of our lives then and into the future. But, who looked beyond the next year, let alone next month? There was the worry that we would end up without someone to share our lives into the beyond. One of our friends were a couple during all of the high school years and as of the latest 50 year reunion, are still together.

College sharpened the skills necessary to get along and the opportunities were there. So, I was lucky that I met someone in one of my classes that had similar ideas, looked outstanding and was the nicest person I have ever encountered. In laughing about how we met and started this very long relationship together was interesting for our memories. at the time, both of us were on the brink of a relationship with others and something just clicked, being together.

We were both very lucky we enjoyed a lot of things surrounding the ocean, the coastal living area, while traveling to places for new ideas and encounters. She can still stand me for all of my quirks and being in the old age stage… HA!

15000 miles when we met and 125,000 miles when we sold it 10 years later of going all over the place, together worked well for both of us. The togetherness is still in a “lucky” stage as we continue to cruise around during these limited pandemic times.

 

The world is full of flathead people, if you cant find one, be one!

 

ain't nothing cheap anymore, except me

 

“Strength is also making the decision to change your destiny.”

Hello,

Teenagers have a wonderful life most of the time. The whole world is open to their futures. So, plenty of ideas run through their heads as they approach the senior year month of June. Colleges play a big part in parents’ wishes and also allow the teen to make their first big choice, whether or not it is the right choice.

Back in 1962, we had several choices, military for 4 years + 2 reserve, college for 4 years + graduate studies, getting married with a lifetime job, and what has now become a term called “a gap year” or sabbatical year.

“A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work.”

In 1962, there was no gap year. The military was pushing most boys to make a decision fast or get drafted. Colleges were easy enough to get into with good grades, which left a lot of us wandering what was in the future for our own studies. But, life experiences were to be made and learning to cope with the necessary changes for everyone was mandatory for survival in the future. Parents aren’t going to be here, forever…

Jnaki
1962 senior year school newspaper photo…

After three years of grueling sports, hot rods, drag racing, school activities and various adventures with our so called friends that were girls, it was starting to become serious business, with a chuckle or two. Some of our friends had already planned out their journey and left us standing still. One friend was going to one of the military academies and his future was locked into serving the USA. 60 years later, he is retired like all of us, but he did finish his goals with honor and “ stick-to-itiveness” played an important part. He persevered, college first, military, government and all...

Most others had made a commitment to 4 years of college. Well, what was I going to do? I wanted a lifestyle that was relatively “free and easy.” Traveling the world, enjoying different cultures and people along the way would definitely increase my worldly knowledge. It would also help me make a decision of a great question heard from all parents, grandparents and family friends: “What do you want to do with your life?"

When I heard a variation of that theme about your future life from my mom, I had already made plans to travel after high school. I would surf in various locations with sponsorships from surf industry companies and spread the So Cal coastal surfing lifestyle across the USA/World. Lofty goals for an 18 year old kid.

Jnaki

I was excited at the prospect. I was going into a business relationship with companies, getting paid to do what I really liked and would be my own boss for future contacts. A job made in fantasy land, or so it seemed. When my mom asked me how I would pay for transportation and daily living costs, I said from the money I get from companies and you guys…(meaning parents) She could not get over the fact that I had a straight face when I said that. She laughed until she had tears coming out of her eyes.

Well, that did not go over too well and then I found out the sponsorships were only for wearing T-shirts and specialty clothes from the local surf shops as advertisements. Not a certified weekly salary. So, it looked a little cloudy for the future plans as I wanted them to happen.

Now, I had to make a change in direction and join forces with others to continue on with college and further studies for some kind of job. In other words get in line for an 8 to 5 job in what ever I selected. Not that is what I really wanted to do with my life. But, at the time, it was the best way to continue on with the current activities, throw in some late night studies and try to graduate in 4 years.
foggy future???

The long hours spent on our road trips talking about our lives, helped in so many ways. The future was being paved with being together and making the right decisions along the way.

My direction was changing every year in college and something was leading me to our final two years, when I met my future wife in some classes leading to the best adventure for the future. Daily lunches turned into road trips to see what is around us in the So Cal hot spots. Incorporating late night study sessions in different college libraries, led to visiting local L.A. beaches and piers. Rock concerts locally and then in Northern California, plus hot rod car shows in different areas, opened up a whole new lifestyle choice, etc.

All of the explorations during those last years of college led to the idea of being together for a future that was ours to plan and enjoy. A great change in direction has made us adapt to society’s way to live as responsible people. We are still doing just that during these pandemic times. YRMV

 

IF YOU WALK, RIDE A BIKE OR A TRIKE AT NIGHT !!!
For Pete's Sake, WEAR WHITE AT NIGHT !!!!!!!!

the older I get, the better I was ....?

the difference between a MOTH and a BUTTERFLY, is how you perceive it..

 

"I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it." - Mae West.

 

When you owe the bank three zeros, you’re in trouble.

When you owe the bank five zeros, they’re in trouble.

 

"Son, I don't care how fast you think your car is, it will never out run a police radio" - my dad.

"2 fastest ways to p*ss off a guy in a bar, beat him at pool with money on the table or hit on his old lady" -grandpa

" life is like a box of chocolates except I always end up with the ones with nuts" -me

.

 

“The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.”

Hello,

This sounds like a mantra for all hot rod/drag race guys persona and lifestyle. Although our granddaughter would laugh at the implication of hot rod/drag race guys doing what she likes to do in her free style dance and formal ballet training. In thinking back to our early history in the Westside of Long Beach being influenced by what standards?

Being early teenagers, living near one of the earliest dragstrips in all of So Cal, let alone a 30+ minute drive to an inland OC city of Santa Ana for their label of being the first official dragstrip, locally could have been the influence. But, being mechanical in all things “take apart” and try and put back together has always been at the forefront of explorations. Whether the project actually got put back together was another story. At least, the experience of taking it apart and knowing what does what helped.

Eventually, most “take apart” items got put back together as a learning process. Now, the bigger things were a challenge. My brother got the influence around the same time with his older friends and I was just lucky to start earlier than most of my friends, being a tag along kid as per our mother’s instructions.


Jnaki

How did my brother know to take things apart and know how to put them back together? It had to be early trial and error, like most challenges. The unknown becomes a trial and getting it all back together was a process, but when finished, it was a happy moment. He was the first in the neighborhood to figure out how to make a pull cart with a rope steering for those fast bicycle powered runs down the street and on the playground. Then as he got more mechanical training by experimenting, he raided our mom’s lawnmower and now, had a motor driven cart with a steering wheel.

So, thanks for the early training as a tag along kid and I did learn a lot from all of the experiences… The changes just came as our society adventures challenged us in everything we did. Hot rods, drag racing, desert motorcycle racing, surfing, water skiing, to freezing snow skiing had the excitement and adventure all built in place. I tried, learned how and got better at those things, with great results. Thanks...

I did join the “dance” for the long run and literally speaking, some of the moves were hilarious. (Surfer's Stomp So Cal style) Our granddaughter just could not get that picture out of her head for a long time. Ha!

 

"I'm on the corner of Perception and Reality Streets."

 

“Sadly, the past is often harder to escape, like a ghost, it haunts us. Even with our best efforts, sometimes it is not enough.”

Hello,

Growing up as a teenager was a great time to be in So Cal. Everyone has their own teenage stories from the different areas of the USA. But, for us, those places were part of our learning about the USA through colorful puzzles and no possible future of visiting them in the horizon. Perhaps, that is why we made the most of what we had available to us as little kids and growing teens.

As a little kid, getting involved in sports was the most fun thing. Meeting new kids, learning to get along and playing your heart out with every sport, as if we were mickey mantle and frank gifford. But, as we got involved, there were always those that we left behind as new adventures were on the horizon.

When the kid stage was in play, friends were always stopping over our house to play, eat and run around. Then as we got older, specialty sports took over and the friends that did not play were not as frequent as visitors to our house. Then the Saturday sports teams started and now the field of close by, old neighborhood kids dwindled as more kids were from other areas. Sports are not for everyone to participate. But, it was a draw for us.

As our age group got older and the participation now started involving hot rods and drag racing, the numher of friends increased with those that had similar interests. But the old friends from the neighborhood did not participate, so they started going their own way. It was fun to see them in school, but it was now a casual nod of “Hello and how is it going?” situation. There was very little to associate with since our interests changed and so did our group of friends.

Jnaki

High school friends should have had a long list from way back to elementary school. At least in our neighborhood, people did not move much and funneled into the same schools as a group, all the way to high school graduation. It was sad leaving some old friends in different situations, but things changed.

Sometimes, I wonder if those elementary, junior high school friends would have continued to be friends if not for a change in direction of teenage activity. When surfing came along, the line of friends also increased with friends we met everywhere, but locally, there were only a handful of friends that surfed. By the end of graduation, they left for college and the the whole activity fell on who was left with similar interests that weathered the change in scenery and activities.

It was unfortunate that childhood friends came and went as fast as our society took over our activities. But in looking back, there was nothing we could do to change it. Our lives moved on in our long lineup of different things that led to the last vestiges of friendships and partnerships into the age of being old folks. YRMV

 

So, different from my schooling, back here in small town Oklahoma . My school had 300 people from the first grade to the 12th grade. I had about 18 in my graduating class. So my circle of friends, stayed kinda small ! I still see my old hot rodding buddy I met Oct 17, 1957, we have dinner every few months. About half my class has passed, but I am still in some contact with the few that are left.


Edit: Buried another classmate this week! Bones



Bones

 

I brought a chicken home to make me a great sandwich,

All it did was poop on the floor !!!