Turning Point

We can all look back on our lives and identify several "turning points" where the direction we turned made a major change in the rest of our life. There were many in my life, some of my own choosing, and some where other people had a part in shaping my life.
The first that comes to mind is the inspiration I had as a 19 year old to get in my 64 Falcon Sprint, and drive hundreds of miles across country to visit my high school girlfriend, who had moved to Phoenix. One thing led to another, and we have been married over 48 years now. Our family now includes about 20 people, counting the kids, their spouses, and grand kids.
Some of the turning points in my life were professional, my military service being the first one. That led to other opportunities through out my life that led to where I am today. One of those was a chance promotion that a supervisor gave me in the late 1980's that shaped the rest of my professional life. I had a long and rewarding professional career.
This last week my turning point was health related. I had open heart surgery to repair a bad heart valve. Time will tell how that turning point will effect the rest of my life. Wish me luck.

Reflecting on where I've been, and where I'm going.

The Red Planet

This summer we have had an exceptional view of Mars. The "Red Planet" has been the closest to us that it has been in many years. For us night time sky watchers, it has put on a brilliant display, bigger and brighter red than it has been in recent memory.
I have owned a pretty nice little telescope for many years, and I go out and look at the planets as often as possible, usually several nights a week. Jupiter and Saturn always steal the show. Four moons are usually visible around Jupiter, and the rings around Saturn are pretty cool to see. But, this summer, the normally lack luster Mars, is really joining the party. It's a bright red-orange color, and appears almost as large as Jupiter through the telescope. On a nice clear night, you can even see some surface detail similar to what we see on the moon.
We may never get to visit Mars, but this summer we get a better than usual look at it. Get out and check it out.

Photo of Mars taken this summer. (Google image)

Technology

Anyone familiar with my blog knows that I have owned and loved modern muscle cars for many years now. I'm pretty comfortable with the technology we live with every day, and how awesome all this "high-tech" stuff can be. But lately, I find that it can sometimes be very overwhelming. I am often amazed at how advanced all this has gotten. The things our phones and cars can do, and the information, and interactions between devices, is now pretty scary smart. "SKYNET" is taking control of our lives.
In recent weeks, we are starting to have some technical issues with some of our home computer programs, and certain software we have been using for years. I spent some time today with a couple of tech guys getting some of these issues ironed out. After some time getting a few things running right, it became obvious that I need to upgrade some other stuff too. I guess that's just life here in the 21st. century.

Some of the technology I enjoy every day, lives in my 2015 Mustang GT.

Early Memories

How far back can you remember? For most people, the things we can remember from when we were very young are few, and usually not very clear. That's the way I am, and I think the things that we do remember from when we were young, probably stand out because they made a significant impression on us at the time.
Some of my early memories had to do with machines, motor vehicles, and places on the South Dakota farm where I grew up. I think most kids who were raised in the country, have some adventures they remember, especially if they were as wild as my brothers and I were.
The memory I am writing about today concerns an old motorcycle that was stored in a dark equipment shed on our farm. When it first came to our attention, it seemed huge, but I was only 7 or 8 years old at the time. It was covered with dust, leaning against the wall, and the dirt floor of the old shed was covered with mouse droppings. To a couple of young adventurers, it looked like the perfect place to play. We dusted it off with an old rag, and we were ready to ride. We climbed on, made all the right sounds, and we were wild motorcycle riders. We would return to ride that motorcycle many times over the next few years.
The motorcycle was a monster. It was a dark red 1941 Indian model 441, with a 4 cylinder engine, and full skirted fenders. My dad had road it all over our part of the country for several years before he was married, but it had been parked in the shed for around 10 years by the time we started playing on it. A few years later, my dad's cousin came and talked him out of it with ideas of getting it running and on the road again. It eventually ended up with a collector in Denver.
As for me, it's one of the early memories I will always cherish. My dad, my brothers, and myself, were all avid motorcycle riders at different times, for many years of our lives. Maybe all because of that same old motorcycle.
For more of my adventures, check out my book at this link; Grab Some Gears

1941 Indian series 441 like the one my dad had. (internet photo)

Local Car Shows

In almost any area around the country, from small towns to big cities, there are local car shows. Many of them are weekly or monthly casual get-to-gathers. Some of them are specific club events, mostly for their members, but many are open to all types of cars, and welcome new-comers. These are the basic enthusiast gatherings that fuel our hobby.
When I was new to this area, 4 years ago, I quickly found the local car clubs, and associations, and was happy to find so many "car people" in the community. There are specific "hot rod" clubs, Camero clubs, etc., and I fit right in to the "Mustang and Ford" association. Most of the events these groups put on are open to all car enthusiasts, no matter what kind of car you drive.
I just went to one of the local gatherings this morning. It's a low-key, "Cars and Coffee" event that happens the first Saturday of every month, in the parking lot of a local coffee shop. I have seen every type of car you can imagine show up there. Everything from "rat rods" to exotic super cars, and everything in between. And, they are all welcomed and appreciated.
If you've never tried it, check it out in your own community. It will be worth it.
Car people who are interested can check out my book by following this link; Grab Some Gears

One of the local car shows in my home town.

Automotive Art

Those of us who proudly admit to being life-long car enthusiasts have always considered that many of the cars we love are a "work of art". We can take our time looking them over, end to end, and top to bottom, taking in all the lines and curves, and appreciating all the styling features that make them the beautiful machine they are.
Many of us read the automotive magazines, study the engineering details, and soak in all the pictures we can find of our favorite models. Some of us follow like-minded enthusiasts on Twitter, Facebook, or other social media, and share our love of cars with thousands of people, from all over the world. We see the beauty that can be appreciated in any language.
As we all know, not everyone agrees. I'm sure we all know some people who just don't get it. They don't see what all the fuss is about. To them, it's just a car. I think they are really missing out on a beautiful aspect of this life.
Some of us enjoy taking our automotive art to another level, adding the images to many forms of artistic expression. The enthusiast posts on social media are full of great examples.

Just a minor example of my own automotive expression.

A Long Hot Summer

The first official day of summer is later this week, but, here in the American Southwest, we have had summer weather for a couple of months now. We have already had many days over 100 degrees, and lots of bright sunshine is pretty much our normal weather around here.
I do enjoy the summer, even though it gets very hot in our part of the country. We just adjust our routine to take advantage of the cooler mornings, and get all our running around done early. I like to be all done with the days chores and just relax indoors by early afternoon.
Where ever you live, I hope everyone can have a great summer. Life is too short. Take advantage of this summer season and enjoy it every chance you get.
You can check out my book at this link: Grab Some Gears

Summer in our part of the world.