what's up?

wet

1950 chevy truck

1950 chevy truck

just out of the shower, and waiting for my hair to dry. better half has already drifted off to sleep. windows are open, and chilly air is wafting into the room…much preferred over the summer heat. it will feel so good to slip in under the winter blankets, knowing i don’t have to get up early tomorrow.

flipping through some older pics, and this one is so shiny, it looks as wet as my hair feels.

older pic from twenty-nineteen, from a random barbeque at legg lake. doesn’t appear to be very busy—either because of the pandemic at the time, or possibly some other car show going on the same afternoon. i’d have to dig up my archives to see what else was there, but i’m too tired right now.

i guess i’ll look through pics from a few shows we went to recently…so many to choose from…saved up for the rainy days coming soon. :)

tis the season

1941 cadillac

2024 dia de los muertos in whittier. went out of our way, and planned to be there. fortunately, the weather played nice for me, and we were able to stay until around noon, before it got too hot, and crowded with people.

early in the morning, while cars were still rolling in, we found many outstanding cars. we were able to shoot a bunch before too many observers gathered around, or before the altars got set up. some we shot, then found them later in a different spot, so we shot again.

this really nice caddy stayed put, out front of the old folks’ home.

added bonus, there’s the “mayor” of whittier there, probably preaching to a friend. he’s a nice guy. sounded like he’s had a tough few months since i’d last chatted with him. same, brother, same.


i used to be all about halloween. i’ve got a big box of costumes from years’ past. my daughter typically has rifled through it by now, and pulled out some favs. now the box is somewhere in storage, and the memories are in tatters or rotting away in the heat. that might make some of them even better…

tonight i’ll be tossing candy at what few kids come by at my mom’s house. never can tell if there will be a lot or no costumed visitors, but at least this year, she got candy i like. tootsie rolls will probably pull out my fillings, and the chocolate will probably go straight to my waistline. oh well.

aware

1947 chevy fleetmaster

i think i’m trying to block the sadness i’m feeling from losing my brother with something that makes me happy—going to cars shows and posting pictures again. it’s a nice distraction. i’ve missed it. i don’t miss the heat.

i am supposed to be scanning old family slide carousels to digital, but the little scanner my older brother loaned to my mom sort of sucks. fifty slides in, i decided to check the quality. i’m not liking the color. i guess i’ll reset the little scanner to the defaults, and just be done with it. but i’d rather work on my cars…

this week, better half and i decided to go to the latin gents’ cancer awareness cruise. forgot to bring my hat, but i did smear sunblock on before we left the house. i am aware that my pale skin and genetics will predispose me to a lovely sunburn, at the very least.

better half had to be out until about one in the morning, so we both slept in a bit later than we otherwise would have liked. we didn’t arrive until after ten, and the sun was cooking already.

we spent about an hour, shooting just two aisles of cars, before i needed a break from the sun. we went into carl’s jr for about another hour, having a burger and chugging some water. figured the light wasn’t going to change much in the middle of the day to make a difference in the pictures anyway.

only spent another hour and a half after that, and i’d had enough sun for the time being.

this is one of the latin gents’ club’s cars. i don’t remember a red fleetmaster from anywhere, but i haven’t been going out much the last couple of years, so that doesn’t mean anything.

silly us, after this show, we decided we’d drive out to legg lake, and check out the bbq show going on there. another forty minute drive, we could cool off in the air conditioned car, and be ready to take more pics.

well, we drove to the gate on rosemead boulevard, which was closed, but had a sign to take the freeway one exit to another gate. this allowed us to pass by where the cars should’ve been. well, by about two pm, there really wasn’t too much there to justify paying the entrance fee, so we skipped it. headed back to our old hood in uptown whittier, and better half picked up some overly zealously garliced chicken and some sides at the chicken koop. it’s currently stinking up the refrigerator. he says it’s very good, but i haven’t ever tried it. maybe another day.

headed home after, and we both took naps for a few hours.

thinking about hitting up huffarama next weekend, if the fires in the area are out…

easy rider

harley davidson deluxe

been busy with work all week, and exhausted by evening. but it’s friday, and my better half is out doing some work. home to myself, so not bothering him with my movies playing in the background, while i sit in the dark in front of a very bright monitor, playing with a picture.

we’re thinking about going out to a show or two tomorrow. maybe flip a coin, as i can’t stay out in the heat too late in the day. or i could just keep fiddling with last week’s pictures. there’s never enough time.


here’s one of the few bikes that showed up last week. at least the only one i bothered to take a picture of.

my favorite point of view is down low, for bikes like this. they just seem more grand. just a typical motorcycle, but lots of chrome to catch the light.

back to it

1963 chevy impala

we decided to get of the house today. try to get happy again, after the terrible stuff earlier in the month.

got up early, and headed out to the southeast classics fundraiser at pico park. i figured it would have enough cars to keep me happy, while i figure out how to use my camera again. better half came with me, he’d never been to a meet up at that park, and he wanted to play with some of his lenses that he’d never really had a chance to test out.

we started around the side of the building, after finding a bench to pull the cameras out of the bags. better half thought we should have left earlier, once he saw the cars already there. official roll-in was at eleven am, but here we were at just past eight.

this was the first car i took shots of. i liked the color. i took some pics of the back end, but didn’t like them so much, with a couple of modern vehicles in the background.

the owner enquired where he might see a picture of his car, as i was waiting for my better half to finish taking pictures, for a change. the sun came out after ten, so i was overheating, as usual, and was ready to go.

overall, it was a good turnout. more cars were showing up as we were leaving, but we were done.

wake me up when september ends

my younger brother died, in the middle of the night, in the middle of the week. was a beautiful clear sky, with a full moon.

two loved ones gone, and a fire, in the last three weeks; i just want to hide under the covers for a while, but life goes on…

here’s an old pic of my brother with my better half, on the tarmac at LAX, both airplane nerds. good times.

he was the touchstone of our childhood; had a memory for all the tiny details, and i can only remember things here and there, so i guess that’s all i have left.

he was a navy helicopter pilot, and an fbi agent, but his proudest accomplishment was as a loving father to two kids, who have faced adversity together, and made a name for themselves in spite of it, and we will all miss him terribly.

life sucks sometimes.

death becomes her

1937 packard convertible

i find myself spending at least one day each weekend in san diego lately. so, a quick revisit to last year’s chicano park show is in order.

get there early. less people. sunrise shots. no interruptions.

viejitos always seem to park at this end of the street, near the basketball court. no doubt i’ve taken pics of these cars in previous years. just liking the sunrays behind the hood ornament on this lovely packard.


drove my mother, sister, and older brother down very early this morning to visit my younger brother in the hospital. was a beautiful sunrise over the waterways down towards del mar. the bluish cloud layer in the sky gave way to a bright orange sun and some unusual orange rays…not the typical god rays…but somehow nicer.

found out the other day, that they will be sending him to hospice in the next couple of days.

i had visited last week, in the afternoon, and he was already sedated, so i mostly did what older sisters do to little brothers—poked him, flicked his leg, called his name, trying to get some flicker of recognition from him. he half opened an eye, but that was about it. left after a couple of quiet hours.

we went first thing this morning, hoping to catch him awake and/or before they knocked him out. success. had an lovely, and emotional visit for a couple of hours. he was unable to do much, but we did get him talking a bit, cracked some jokes, got him to smile a little. dredged up old memories from childhood and his days in the navy. got some sips of juice into him. he started drifting off to sleep, so we said our goodbyes, promising to be back.

at the same time we were entertaining my brother, my better half was up in northern california, with his sister, in a hospital.

unfortunately, she passed away, soon after he arrived to her room this morning, almost as if she had waited for him. she was surrounded by family, and went peacefully.

perhaps he will write about it on his own blog. perhaps he’ll ask me to edit my post.

she was well-loved, and will be missed by many.

get on with it

1964 chevy impala

went to the azalea festival show last year. i think we are done with that one, the attendance is low compared to past years, and the people at the gate, while friendly, just won’t let me in before it gets too hot.

here’s the back end of an impala. the front is pretty plain, so i always prefer the tail lights on impalas of any year.

kinda wished they’d closed the trunk, but can’t have everything.


whoa, it’s been a while since i posted. so much going on.

last post found me temporarily in chicago. later that day, i was in washington, d.c., where i spent a week at a conference. it was so hot outside, i did actually attend the classes. i had scheduled a free day to get out to the museums, but i so could not tolerate the humidity, i only managed the national archives, since the metro station was very nearby.

about half-way into the week, i found myself feeling so very sick, that i stayed in my hotel room and watched the video feed of the conference, and otherwise slept.

better half was unable to join me, so i was on my own, and had to stumble out for meals, and ultimately in search of some cough drops, nyquil, and tylenol.

standing by the metro tracks, i found i got really dizzy if i watched a train pull in to the station, passing me quickly. turns out i was running a fever over 101.

last couple of days there, mostly just coughed a lot.

flew home, to find i was positive for covid, though i mostly felt fine by then. locked in the bedroom, better half would fetch me food, and i didn’t see my mother until i went negative.

was very busy at work, with a big tradeshow in process, and another coming up.

lately, my brother got sick, and he’s been in the hospital for about a month now, and probably for some time to come.

better half’s sister is also in the hospital, and he’s gone north to sit at her bedside.

my daughter was here for a month with her dog, while she worked at the oc fair. i mostly watched the dog at my mom’s. at least a big barky doberman keeps the salesmen away from the door. no, we have no interest in bug exterminators or solar panels, thanks. they really are very pushy, and don’t understand no.

i’m doing some physical therapy, to help with the dizziness i’m still experiencing since i fell.

hoping to get back to swimming in the morning, before work, now that the dog is back at home, but my sleep schedule is all screwed up, so have been unsuccessful getting back to that.

i’m still rotating between visits to my brother, then working from my house or my mother’s.

not a lot of free time, but this past weekend, because of circumstances, i was able to sit in my home; in silence; in the dark; turn the tv to whatever i wanted to watch, as loud as i wanted; got to see a movie—wolverine and deadpool—which the better half would never want to see; and go clean my mom’s carpets.

i need to head over to see her shortly, but i’m delaying. got the ac going here; she keeps hers turned up to at least seventy-six.

expecting another busy week at work, though my boss is out of town, the show must go on.

layover

1948 chevy fleetline

i liked this car. i think i entered this picture in the fair last year, but they didn’t select it for judging. maybe they’ve had enough of my pics, and let someone else use the wall space.

it rained off and on that day, only it was chilly. had to cover the cameras once in a while.

————

i find myself sitting here in chicago, at o’hare airport. weather outside is sunny and about eighty. in here, it’s very cold, and i like it.

i have three hours to kill, until i board to my next destination. the city is so close, yet just far enough there is no point in leaving the airport.

would love to get a pizza at lou manalti’s or any number of smaller, out of the way pizza slinger shops.

wouldn’t mind visiting a certain piece of sidewalk on dearborn street, and spitting on it. didn’t bring my camera, so i wouldn’t be able to take the sunset picture by the river better half had been looking for.

didn’t have a chance when we were here in may. i think my better half would rather not revisit it anyway.

now i’m here on my own, which isn’t as much fun as when he’s with me. better half doesn’t fit in airplane seats; the rows are too tight for his long legs, and he refuses to fold into a birthing position.

watched a quiet place 2 on the plane. interesting. room to continue in another movie, if they choose to do it. at least the little kid nearby was busy watching cartoons, and laughing as only kids can. the monsters would have scared him.

better half would have watched a pixar movie.

i guess i’ll take a walk for a bit, before i sit some more, and sit some more.

where i’m headed will be a hot, humid place, and the rain that is expected will make it even more yuck. is that better than a hot and dry yuck at home?

i like air conditioning. it’s my favorite.