"Grab Some Gears"

My book "Grab Some Gears - 40 Years of Street Racing" was completed in 2006. Here is a sample story from Chapter 2;
"When you participate in clandestine activities such as street racing, you always know that sooner or later you are going to get into trouble. Sometimes that trouble comes when you least expect it. If you are lining up in the middle of the highway for a race at eleven o'clock at night, you always fear that the Highway Patrol may pop over the next hill, or the Deputy Sheriff might be waiting in the darkness just up the road. But when you're just on your way to school, minding your own business, you don't expect to get into any trouble. Such was the situation one morning as I slowed the “59” Galaxie for the stop sign where our dirt road meets the paved highway. I spotted a car approaching, still some distance down the highway, so I turned onto the pavement and started accelerating toward town. When I had almost reached the 70 MPH speed limit, the other car came around me at a considerably higher speed. As the car moved back over in front of me, the thought crossed my mind; “I can't let that Plymouth pass me like that”. I hit the gas, kicked it down into passing gear, and went around the unsuspecting motorist at about 90 MPH. As I continued on toward town, now only a couple miles down the road, I noticed in the rear view mirror that he also had accelerated and seemed to be catching me. Now this was a race. I got the “59” Galaxie up to about 105 or so, and managed to stay a little distance ahead of him. As we approached town, the guy was not letting off. I figured he must be pretty mad and was trying to catch me. I maintained as high a speed as I could until reaching the first few side streets of town, then braked hard and turned down a side street. He followed, so I did my best movie chase scene impression, and managed to loose him after a few turns. Satisfied that the adventure was over, I proceeded to the school parking lot, then went in to my first class. My first class that semester was driver's ed., and before the class got started, I sat in the back of the class recounting my adventure to my buddies. We all had a good laugh, and class got underway. About a half hour into the period, there came a knock on the door and the teacher answered. He turned and looked straight at me and said someone wanted to speak to me in the hall. As I left the room and stepped into the hall, I met the local Deputy Sheriff, and he was not smiling. “This can't be good”, I thought, “not my lucky day”. I got a chewing out that I would not soon forget. It seems that the motorist that I had been racing with was a State Highway Patrol supervisor in his personal car. He had taken down my license number and description of my car, and turned it into the local Sheriff's office. The deputy knew exactly who to come looking for. (We had met on previous occasions). If the state official had not been in a hurry to get to a meeting, he would have stayed around to see me prosecuted, the deputy informed me. This was not a fun day, but for some reason I didn't get a ticket out of that deal. Looking back, maybe it was my lucky day after all."
Anyone wanting to check out more can find it at: Grab Some Gears

Summer Road Trip

As the summer season approaches, many of us start to think about where we might go for a summer get-away. Some are planning a big family vacation, maybe to some far off destination. Others may be thinking more about several different day trip excursions closer to home. Most of us have numerous options to choose from.
For me, in recent years, it usually revolves around some family event that we want to attend. It vary rarely has been a purely optional destination, just to get away for a relaxing day or two, of site seeing or casual recreation. I would like to get back to that.
I have wrote before in this blog about trips that I have thought about for years, but have never been able to work into our schedule. Monument Valley is one that I think about every once in awhile, but have never been able to accomplish. Maybe this will be the year.
Many of us have those family obligations that often cut into our free time, and make it difficult to work in some of those activities that are in the back of our mind for a summer get away. Family is important, and we do enjoy doing things with them, but a little stress free trip would be nice too. Here's to hoping that day dreams aren't the only get away we will get this summer.

The open road to somewhere fun, . . . . or,  is it just a day dream?

King of the Hill

Being a life-long car guy had to start somewhere. I can trace my inspirations back to many small moments, back from a pretty young age. Small things that planted the seeds, and the many joys I discovered as a kid growing up on a farm. I was always around, and learned how to operate, many kinds of motorized vehicles.
As a young teenager, with two types of driving permits at age 14, I soon discovered the fun of driving on the roads and highways, away from the farm. With a school permit, and a work permit for farm business, I had many excuses to drive into town, about 7 miles away. At school, I soon learned that the girls noticed the boys who drove to school. And, I also noticed that the type of car you drove made an even stronger impression.
My teenage years were also the same time that that muscle cars, and pony cars, were being introduced to the American public. They made a big impression on me, along with the rest of the world. I was hooked. A "life-long car guy" was born.
I have wrote before in this blog about those cars that had a big influence on me at that time in my life. My Mom getting a 66 Mustang when I was 16 years old was one. I even got to drive it once in awhile. And, when I was 17, I saw my first 67 Shelby GT 500, the car that has become my all-time favorite Mustang. But, when it comes to the car that has made the biggest lasting impression on me, over the last 50+ years, that would have to be the awesome 427 Cobra roadster that Carroll Shelby introduced to the world in those days. In my eyes, it is still the "King of the Hill" of cars.
If you want more of my automotive story, check out my book, just follow this link: Grab Some Gears

"King of the Hill"  The always awesome Shelby 427 Cobra. (internet photo)

Southern Utah

I've done a lot of traveling around over the years, drove many highways, and seen a lot of different country. Just this week, we returned from our first trip to Hawaii, and now I have that to add to my list of places I've seen. Of all the different places I been, Southern Utah is still my favorite.
I guess that it's a pretty good thing when you get to live in the place you want to be. Our climate here is a drastic contrast to what we just experienced in Hawaii. The humidity over there suits some people just fine, and the less temperature variation from night to day, and season to season, is ideal for many people. As for me, this climate here in the American Southwest, is more to my liking. I like the dry climate and sunny days. A perfect place to be a "car guy".
The beaches of Oahu were very nice, and everything is so green over there. Here in Southern Utah, the red rock canyons and desert vistas are spectacular. Different people prefer different things. I am very happy to live where I do.  Thank you mother nature.
Anyone interested can check out my book on amazon, and even read sample pages,  just follow this link; Grab Some Gears

My 2015 Mustang GT , in the beautiful red rock country of Southern Utah.

April 17 th.

I have mentioned before that I like things that include the number 7, and especially the number 17. So, today is pretty special for me, for several reasons.
As most of my readers know, I am a huge Mustang fan,  and April 17 is National Mustang Day. This is the day the first Mustang was introduced to the world in 1964, a date most Mustang enthusiasts are well aware of.
On a more personal level, Jackie and I made our first trip to Hawaii today, April 17, and we flew from Las Vegas on Hawaiian Airlines flight 17. How’s that for fate?
I’m loving this.  Also, I like to make my blog posts on dates that end in 7, so this is perfect, April 17 th. is a pretty good day in my book.

Darwin and Jackie in Hawaii on April 17, 2018

Flying

For many people, flying is a routine mode of travel. Whether for work, or vacation, many people fly all the time. But for me, it doesn't happen very often. In fact, I haven't been on an airliner in the last 20 years.  Actually, it has probably been more like 30 years.
I haven't been on a plane since the increased security checks have gone into practice, so I haven't had that experience yet. And, the having to arrive at the airport two hours early to accomplish all that is something new to me.
I am used to traveling by car. I'm pretty good at that. I know how to pack my luggage for a car trip, and how to get everything packed into the car just right, so all the stuff we need is along for the trip, and easy to find when we need it. Not quite the same as traveling by plane.
We are in the process of getting ready for a trip to Hawaii in a couple weeks. Jackie and I have never been there, and we're really looking forward to the trip. All the plane reservations, and rental car reservations, were a new experience for me. But, now that all that is completed, it turned out to be not near as hard as I imagined. All the good advice from our family made it pretty easy. I think it's going to be great. I'm a long way from being an expert, but I'm working on it.

North shore of Oahu. (internet photo)  I'm looking forward to checking it out. 

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.