Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Just The Other Day

In the past few days, I spent time doing some clean-up on many of the photo files on my computer. As I was looking through some of the hundreds of photos, I ran into many I hadn't seen in awhile, and I as looked them over, it kind of took me by surprise, how many years ago they were taken. It felt like "just the other day" when actually it was years ago.
I've noticed that more and more in recent years, as I have gone through hundreds of photos while getting ready to move, and then again as I have tried to get things organized in the new home. We have so many old photos, and I got rid of hundreds of bad, or meaningless ones, in the process, and still have hundreds.
I guess that is just a side effect of getting older anyway, but I have noticed time after time, as I look over these photos of my life, I'm often shocked by how many years have gone by.
That's one of the reasons that I am proud of the effort I put into writing my book, and documenting some of my life experiences for a time when I can't remember so well what it was like to have lived it. My book contains about 40 color photos, and now I think that was a good thing, though, in reality, it wasn't "just the other day".
Anyone who may be interested can check out my book and read sample pages by following this link; Grab Some Gears
My 1999 Mustang GT,  just the other day,  . . . actually,  it was almost 20 years ago.

Saturday, March 17, 2018

The Lucky Car Guy

For almost as far back as I can remember, I have always loved cars. Growing up on a farm and ranch is South Dakota, I started driving all kinds of vehicles at an early age. I had school and farm permits to drive on the roads and highways at age 14. My brother and I had motorcycles, and we got a jeep for Christmas, around this time in our lives. When I was 16, my mom got a new 1966 Mustang, and I was lucky enough to get to drive that, once in awhile.
I had a 64 Falcon Sprint when I got married, and went into the Air Force. A couple years later, we got our first Mustang, a yellow coupe, with a 289 V8. Those were the first in a long list of cool vehicles we have owned over the last 50 years. I truly have been "The Lucky Car Guy".
I have known a lot of car enthusiasts over the years, but many of those people who loved and admired cars, never got to actually own and enjoy driving very many of the cars of their dreams. Some of them had a special car at an early age that they loved and remember, but, had to sell it to make way for the usual life and family concerns. I was lucky enough to have many special cars and trucks, all through the years of raising kids, holding down a job, and living the modest life of the typical working man.
 Over the last 30 or so years, the level of performance cars I have owned has increased, however, many of the best racing experiences I have wrote about in my book, happened while I still had kids at home. My kids are grown and have had families of their own for many years now. The most high performance Mustangs I have owned, happened after all the kids were no longer living at home. I guess that's the way it should be. When it's all said and done, all things considered, I think most enthusiasts would agree, I have been a "Lucky Car Guy". 
Anyone interested can check out my book by following this link: Grab Some Gears
"The Lucky Car Guy" ,  with the 2007 Shelby GT 500 I owned a few years ago.

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

The Road of Life

"The Road of Life" for me was always measured in the cars I have owned along the way. Being a car guy, and writing a book about my racing years, that is usually the way I have most often found to express my ideas of what is meant by life's highway. But, yes, there is a lot more to it than just the cars we drive along the way. It has more to do with the people who share the trip with us.
This being primarily an automotive related blog, I have touched on this subject many times before, and usually centered on the car theme. When the idea crosses my mind, I often associate it with the cars of a certain time in my life. But in recent years, things have happened that put it into a different perspective. We loose people, and that is the end of the road, for their earthly life.
A theme I see repeated by many of my automotive enthusiast friends is "Life is too short to drive boring cars" and I think many of us feel that way. I think of the car enthusiasts among the friends and family that we have lost in recent years, and I know that their enjoyment of the vehicles they loved had a real value, and added to their enjoyment of the years they had in this life. Our cars do play a part in making us who we are, and can add to our happiness in this life.
Anyone interested in knowing more of my story can check out my book, just follow this link; Grab Some Gears 
My 2015 Mustang GT , the car I am currently enjoying on this section of my "Road of Life".