what's up?

so close...

dear gary,

i haven't seen you since last year. i was out in chino this morning, in what turned out to be a wasted trip. i thought of you for some reason.

different cities, different car shows, different people get associated.

though i only know you by acquaintance, and you always saying hello, at least to me, (not so much to my better half whom you had never met, but gave a huge stink eye to last year), and dropping a joke once in a while, you are the one that comes to mind when i pass through riverside or chino.

i haven't been out toward your part of town much this past year. i haven't been out much at all. life gets in the way, and all else falls to the wayside.

i was not far from the main drag where the corn feed run will be soon enough. wondering if you are well, and if you will bring the ford or the chevy out this year. the last couple of times it has been the ford, which is nice, but much too perfect and electric green.

hoping the chevy is up and running. maybe you finally sold it. i much prefer a chevy anytime. here's an impala, that was just down the street from your car. nice, no?

it was threatening to rain that day, same as today—maybe it is always cloudy in chino? and probably reminded me of last year's show.

i briefly thought of taking the fifteen minute drive out to belatedly shoot some pictures at the pomona swapmeet. had my bag and tripod with me, in case there was time after my appointment. when that went south, i looked toward the sky and seeing the airplanes, heading toward lax, flying so low they might as well have landed on the freeway, i took that as a sign of impending rain, and headed home.

only rained for about an hour here in whittier, so i don't know how it went out there, but of course, i now regret not going. well, maybe next month—oh wait, shit—i'll be on an airplane then. fine. june fourth.

looking at my calendar, i see i still have time off from work scheduled, ending the first week of april. so if i travel anywhere, i'd be coming home the day of the corn feed run. what to do, what to do. already going to miss the chicano park show because of another trip.

well, things are spinning every which way around me at work and at home, so until we meet again, take care old man.

kathy

donuts

no car shows for me today. got my taxes done instead. looks like i can either take a small vacation or put new flooring in my place, maybe new kitchen cabinets. decisions, decisions.

changing my work hours starting tomorrow too. hoping my drive home will get closer to an hour more consistently, instead of more than two. i can't take it anymore.

saw this pink caddie last week. pepto-bismol pink. or rather, donut box pink. helped that they happened to have a donut box next to it, to confirm.

am i right?

1958 cadillac coupe de ville

had this posted on flickr and instagram for a few days, before someone commented that i'd tagged it as a fifty-nine instead of a fifty-eight. i really do appreciate the corrections. makes it easier to search for what you're looking for, when it is correctly identified, especially when you want to see a picture of your own car.

i like the color of the car with the color of those flowery trees back there. i'd drive this, even if it is purple.

hoping to work from home tomorrow. only a few people in the office. was supposed to rain, but i think they've changed their minds and it will rain friday and saturday, but still. traffic will suck in the afternoon, because it just does.

carnitas craving

1958 chevy impala

took me two and a half hours to get to whittier today. yay friday. at least it was payday. missing q-vo trunk n treat tonight...just done driving for the day.

better half worked a few hours overtime, and apparently just got home. i just walked uptown to the mexican cafe, which is suprisinly busy just now. so i've just ordered a couple of carnitas plates and drinks--i do hope he shows up. he just sent a text that he's on his way, and he walks fast, maybe he's timed it just right and food will be served when he arrives.

several car shows tomorrow. hoping to get to at least two, and that depends on whether the first one is worth staying for, after the sun comes up. thinking old memories pancake bfast to start. i think i went to this show a couple of years ago. was pretty good then, but hot--and its all asphalt parking lot. i do expect some exceptional cars to show, at least according to the instagram chatter.

the other would be the veteranos, over at the elks club. not far between the two, so that helps. too bad there is only one sunrise a day. i suspect after those, i'll have no energy for trunk n treat shows. i should take my car in for repair estimates too...already got a few tips on places to go.

beautiful impala. deep chocolate paint job. this model year is good from the back end, but this little detail also makes it easy to identify, even for me.

better half just got here, so i'll stop.

spur of the moment

1958 chevy impala

it was going to rain today, so slept in. thought i'd just be sitting around the house today.

when it still wasn't raining at eight-thirty, asked my better half if he wanted to just drive over to legg lake, to see if any cars were there for the boulevardos show. thought it was close enough to home, if there was nothing or if it started raining, we could just go to the mall, or turn around.

better half said they wouldn't be there, since they were going to cruise in from los angeles. he kinda wanted to drive out there and watch, but mostly he just wanted to hang out with me, and i wanted to take pictures.

drove past the lake, and saw no show cars there. got on the freeway, and i said, what the hell, let's just drive out to chino and see if anyone showed up for that show. flyers said rain or shine. we were already half way there anyway.

racing the clouds, and it was slightly sprinkling, we went anyway. even thought about just driving out to cucamonga, checking into a hotel, buying a change of clothes, and kicking back in a jacuzzi. well, they didn't have any of those rooms available, so we skipped that idea. better half was on call for work anyway.

took a different route to the chino show than i usually take, and ended up at the end of the town, near the railroad tracks.

figured, we could just make a quick walk through, if the rain started, we could dash under a roof, or cover the camera with a plastic bag until we could find somewhere to pack everything back in the camera bag.

i'd been before, and it's usually very hot, and very busy and crowded. lots of cars, up and down the streets, on the lawn in front of city hall, and through side lots. cars can cruise along the street route.

well, the rain did scare a lot of cars away. but there were still a lot of cars i like to shoot anyway. better half didn't seem to see anything he wanted to shoot, until we came to a mostly empty lot, with some of the veteranos cars in it. he took some pictures, and set up a time lapse, to catch the movement of the clouds. actually, turned out really interesting, and he's having fun editing it. maybe he'll post it for a change.

while he shot that video, i quickly went and walked the rest of the show.

found this impala near the city hall. thought it looked pretty awesome with the clouds overhead. turned around pretty quickly, to head back to fetch my better half. the rain was coming. this car and the one on far side of it drove away soon after.

made it back to my car, just as sprinkles started to fall...

reality bites

this show is coming up in february. hillco's supercruise, for people that need a car show fix just before the big game on superbowl sunday. usually, there is an interesting assortment of cars that show up—classic cars, hot rods, muscle cars, semi-trucks...—cruising through, screaming past, or just parking throughout the industrial complex.

my better half has gone with me two out of three years that i have gone. he takes off, and shoots what he wants, and i go my way. he usually takes an assortment of lenses to experiment with, and runs into and talks to way more people than i ever do.

i'm not sure if he saw this one or not, but i'm thinking he wouldn't have passed up a shiny black car like this. had to get down low, to try and avoid the majority of lens flares, for a change.

for the past couple of years, there have been little red bumps randomly popping up on my skin.

first one showed up on my leg. doctor said maybe it's just an infected hair follicle, from shaving. it's not very big, maybe an eighth of an inch in diameter, it bothers me more than the scar on my knee from a childhood bike crash (don't pedal without hands on the handlebars while riding over gravel covered pavement).

while it's not red anymore, i prefer not to wear shorts unless it's insanely hot outside because of it.

then another showed up on my thigh a few months later. doc said the same thing, but i don't shave my legs that far up, so nah.

i did get a really nasty sunburn on my legs one fourth of july, not so long ago...i thought hmmm, too much sun, growing little moles, since they weren't going away, sun damage.

then, the other day, while playing with the baby niece on the floor, i felt a sharp sting on my finger. didn't see anything, but fairly quickly there was a little blister there, and it itched like crazy and hurt like a son of a bitch if you touched it.

when i was a kid, growing up back east, i was a mosquito magnet. every summer, i'd get plenty of bug bites, and my mom would practically be painting me pink with calamine lotion. she always said it was because i was so sweet...but that's what mothers are supposed to say.

anyway, i didn't see any spider or mosquito, or other bug, and the kid seemed unaffected.

so, here's my thinking: it's either the zuni fetish doll from the film, "trilogy of terror" or the troll from "cat's eye." they both carry little swords or sharp pointed sticks, and both move hella quick, so it's no wonder i didn't spot it.

zuni doll from "trilogy of terror"troll from "cat's eye"well, maybe it's not one of them, but i'm also guessing there's a family of spiders, or mites or fleas from the neighbor's cats, roaming the house. some critter with strangley poisonous, infectious spit.

those poor, little flea bag cats, that are left outside to freeze in the winter, and cook in the summer. the ones the crazy cat lady comes around to feed everyday—yet when you confront her, with the food falling from her hand to the plate on the ground, she screeches that she isn't feeding them...she doesn't even live near here—maybe the bugs are so cold or hot, they jump off the cats, and crawl under the door and into the house.

fuck the neighbors. they gave us roaches when they moved in too.

i prefer to think it's the doll. i gotta find a gold chain.

glory days

i was shooting the woodie next to this impala, early in the day. the impala's owner was still polishing the car, so, when i turned to consider his car, i just walked by, and said i'd come back when he was done.

spent another hour or so, walking around the now crowded park, and had circled back toward the side closest to where i parked my car. i think i was shooting the back end of a '59 buick, when the guy found me, and smiling, said, "i'm done with the car."

i said i would, so i did soon enough. took a few angles; liked this one best. some other guy walked up and got in the passenger side...i hope he was friends with the owner.

another guy came over to ask if i'd shot his car, and pointed out into the fray, talking loudly, but i couldn't quite make out for sure which car he meant. the impala was parked near the stage, and the band was playing loudly. i didn't give him a card, so how would he see the picture anyway? i probably shot it, if the hood was down, and i liked the location. i think it was a packard he was talking about...i shot one...not sure if it was his.

sat down in the shade right in front of the group for a bit to watch old guys rocking. i think they said they were there every year. they played ok; and i took a few shots from where i sat. maybe i'll add a couple of them here.

time to get back to the office...

needle in the haystack

saw this impala on my way out of the swap meet. i was wading my way through the sale stuff, the junkers, the beaters, the project recyclers, so many odds and ends. frequently find the occasional gem in this lot. i figure they got there too late or otherwise didn't want to pay the show price, but still wanted to be part of the pomona experience.

spotted this one from two rows away. got over to it and set up, and waited to get my shots in between other admirers of the car. it was next to a pop up, so it somewhat limited the angle--to try to not show it.

did not realize the owner was waiting to leave, until i'd already taken a few sets. so thanks for that. totally forgot to shoot the front; no matter, it's the back end of these that i like best anyway. and pinstriping was pretty cool too.

candy

lifestyle cars are all extraordinary. i think its a requirement. meticulous, fantasmic airbrush, pinstriping and details. candy colors and multiple layers of clear coat paint.

they're also usually surrounded by admirers, and i can't get a clean shot edgewise, so i mostly have to pass them by. unfortunate.

caught this one from the back, where one can often find some pretty spectacular airbrush portraits. ok, this one is more fantasy-like. dream on, big boy.

niner fan

this impala was wonderful to look at, with it's high polish. spotted it driving through the lot and followed it over here by the grandstand. sun hadn't gotten up too high at that point, light was still golden.

of course, the owner was almost instantly pulling stuff from the trunk. i took a couple of shots of it before he got set up with whatever he was pulling out of the back. didn't like those shots, with the trunk up and his butt/back peeking through just a tad.

ended up stopping by again later. still intrigued by the shine of the hood, and took a few more in spite of the damn pop-up parked right up against the back. so i only have shots of the front and the side. none of the back end. oh well. at least the pop up is something other than blue.