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ruined

1964 chevy impala

1964 chevy impala

here’s an old impala, with the morning sun hitting it just so. there was a line up of an impala club, just under ther coronado overpass, waiting for their turn to get into the show at chicano park. i think this car was near the end of the line, so his back end was hanging out in the sun—-lucky for me, i saw it.

———

today is my son’s birthday. i’m sitting down in san clemente, outside some random restaurant his wife selected, waiting for them to show up. got here early to avoid the worst of friday southbound traffic.  

almost tempted to keep on going to san diego, but the uptown show is tomorrow, and my better half would miss me, so i’ll head home tonight.  

for my kid, i have a small gift, as well as some cash—what the kids always ask for—not enough to help them move out of my condo, but enough to go to get him into disneyland for one day...so not really that much. 

i’d stayed up late last night, making him some pan de elate, a sweet bread thing, his tia used to make him when he was a kid. it’s sort of like a yellow cake, cut into squares,and drowned/soaked in sweetened condensed milk and brandy. i used to make it for him often, but now he tries to keep in shape and so hasn’t had it for a few years.  

i was at my parents’ house. my daughter is currently living there with her dog, waiting for her brother to move out of my place. sort of musical chairs, where i probably will never live in my own place again. 

like i said, i was up late baking. left the pan of bread on the counter to cool. my mom said she’d cover it before she went up to bed, so up i went to sleep.  

this morning, i go to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal before work, and the pan has been covered with foil. atop that is a post-it note warning that is not to be eaten, it’s for my kid—this pointedly directed at my dad, who will help himself to anything in the kitchen.

knowing my boy will not want to eat the whole thing, and likely to take it to work or relatives to share, i added to the note, that it was ok to have some pieces. i left it there and headed to work. figured i’d pick it up on the way to dinner, placing some chunks into a gift box of some sort, that i’d buy at lunch.

got a call today frm my daughter around eight a.m.  she seemed distraught, as she said something terrible had happened. 

being that both of my parents have fallen recently, and have health issues, i began to worry instantly. you know, the adrenaline build up kind? 

she began to tell me how she had awakened and realized she needed to go buy some dog food or something for the beast’s hungry belly. she assumed my mom and dad were still sound asleep. 

she locked the dog in her room and left for the store. she got back about a half hour later, and the dog was waiting inside, by the front door. my mom was not home, so she figured she had gone to run errands.

in the kitchen, she put the food in the dog’s bowl, on the floor. 

he’s usually like a vacuum, always famished, and inhales food in minutes. this time, however, he seemed uninterested. weird.  

then, she noticed that the foil was slightly warped up at the corner on the bread dish. she hadn’t thought much of it before, as foil is bendy and the bread was still covered. 

as she pulled the aluminum back, she realized why the beast wasn’t hungry. the mofo had helped himself to the bread! 

i’ve mentioned before this dobie is tall enough he can just rest his chin on the counters, but he’s never done anything to stuff on the counters before.  

and it turns out my mom had been out all morning, so the little bastard had also figured out a way to open the bedroom door. is he some sort of velociraptor from jurassic park? did he learn? 

we are guessing he just stood on his back legs and helped himself to breakfast. no paw prints or things knocked on the floor. and he hadn’t knocked the glass pyrex bread dish on the floor, so there’s that.  

he conveniently had only eaten most of the soft center of the bread, leaving the crusty edge pieces behind. no one is going to eat that—he probably still licked it. 

anyway, my daughter was distressed and had cried before calling me, knowing that i’d stayed up making it for her brother’s birthday.  

i just kept laughing, picturing that dog doing his thing. she kept saying sorry, and not understanding why i wad laughing. what was i supposed to do? i couldn’t fix it, couldn’t go home and make more at the moment. it is/was going to make a good story tonight at the dinner table. 

happy birthday, kid

happy birthday, kid

few hours at the park

1962 chevy impala

1962 chevy impala

cinco de mayo 2-2870.jpg

better half got up around six. wanted to hit the market before his mom woke up again. i'd wanted to go to legg lake early, but that could wait...they'd be there all day. he wanted to get stuff done before it got too hot.

he got back around eight-thirty. he was going to go to costco, but they didn't open until ten. i mentioned a couple of car shows today. he told me to just go, he'd send me a list and i'd pick up whatever he needed.

chose to go to legg lake, as it was closer than the other show. expected the usual one or two lots of cars.

happily, i was wrong. there were so many cars showing up for the barbeque/picnic, they had them in the two park areas on the other side of the freeway from the usual spot. i had to drive almost the whole way around the park to just find a spot to park my stupid car. 

the sun was already up, light i hate, but i went out and about anyway. exercise. 

this is one of the cars that was parked near me. posting it, since they sent over a little girl to inquire if i had an instagram or whatever. she was polite, gave her a card, thanks for your interest.

i lasted about three hours in the heat. nice in the shade, glad there were lots of trees, but not every car was parked under them.

bought a t-shirt from some vendor up at the front, who, didn't have any water, but threw in a kool-aid, so that gave me enough energy to drag my stuff all the way back to my car on the other side of the park.

saw there were so many more cars in the park on the other side of the street, but i had places to go, and things to do, so, next time...

distract me

1934 plymouth

1934 plymouth

my brother is being rolled into surgery right now, two-thousand miles away. giving birth to a large kidney stone or something. usually these things pass, painfully, on their own. but this time, it’s too big, and just blocking the waterworks.

his wife and kids are in town (fortunately/for a change), and with him at the hospital. 

she reports that the drugs must be pretty good; pre-op he said, “they need to operate to remove the stone, or it will continue to rub on my uterus.” 

so, i’m going about my typical day, but my head isn’t in it. guess i will be like this until i hear he’s out and ok. 


chicano park. i heard the owner of this car telling someone else that this was a pretty rare car. it was also very popular, so i really had to wait it out to get my shots. 


follow up: bro is out of surgery, stone free, but totally stoned. can't wait to hear what he said while still under the influence...

looking forward

1950 chevy deluxe

1950 chevy deluxe

a shot from last year's whittier car show. been seeing the flyers posted uptown for june second...on my calendar...on my street. i think the owner of this car stopped polishing it long enough for me to get a picture.

always up and out early, before the crowds. later in the day, it just gets packed, and typically really hot, so i'm done by ten. head home, download pics, then head back, with the macro lens, looking for hood ornaments and detail shots—at least no need to bring the tripod.


planning out my weekend, assuming all the elderly peeps in the family stay healthy and out of the emergency room. my dad has been there several times in the last month; patch him up, send him home, not really solving the problem. really frustrating.

mom just sits there, quietly supportive, not really challenging the doctors with questions. i usually don't pipe up, but it's getting kind of ridiculous, so i'm asking for second opinions, other options, tests. 

my dad has his own theories, and it's interesting to hear him telling the doctor about anatomy and how things work, the cause of his issue, and how they could fix it quick. doctors really have a lot of patience for their patients...don't know how he kept a straight face.

but anyway, hoping to get out to the chino cornfeed run on saturday, and if i have any energy left, up early on sunday to pomona swap meet. we'll see.

leafy

1954 chevy bel air

1954 chevy bel air

back in whittier after a week. haven't decided if i'll go to a show tomorrow or not. my arm would probably be ok. i don't think it will rain either, and probably there will still be some kick ass clouds.

i think the first time i used a camera to shoot classic cars seven or eight years ago, it was a cloudy, march day. those are still some of my favorite pictures.

pomona swap meet is tomorrow. hmm. hmm. maybe.


all those leaves on the ground, i should have checked inside the car, to see if it was full of leaves too. 

out for a walk

1948 chevy fleetmaster convertible

1948 chevy fleetmaster convertible

walked uptown for breakfast/lunch. the last bunch of times that i'd been home and gone uptown, i'd get dizzy, because, ya, i was sick, and an inner ear thing probably didn't help.

today, i just got overheated, but that's because it's in the seventies weather-wise and i was wearing a hoodie. found it funny, when a sixty-plus year old woman drove past blasting usher's "yeah" song out her windows, so very loud. she just didn't look the type. then i don't look the type to be hanging out at car shows either, right?

noticing that my eyes seem to be more sensitive to the sunlight, and seem a bit blurry. that is a problem for someone who likes to be at car shows for several sunny hours, taking pics. hoping that clears up, and getting some new glasses too. doc says my vision is actually a little better, so the lenses may be the issue.

meanwhile, i guess if i do go out, i'll just go really early, as usual, or go in the evenings. it's been so long, i'll have to try to remember what i was doing with a camera. starting all over again.


still going through recent photos. here's a beauty from a blessing of the cars show out at the san gabriel mission. didn't know what to expect, as i'd never been there. inner courtyard/parking lot filled quickly with lovely cars, so i made quick use of my limited time that day. had to meet up with someone that day, who had bought one of my framed pics from the fair. should have gone back to the show, but had other places to be.

alls good

my dad's surgery went well yesterday. currently getting a pacemaker. they say he can go home tomorrow most likely. good news, right?

missing some good little shows while taking care of business, but enjoying other photographers' pictures from them. 

loved this tovars' car. it drew a crowd when they drove up. family and friends took time to pose by it for pics. had to wait a while to catch it alone. shooting into the sun...screw the rules...screw the sensor on the camera. just take the picture already! 

1948 chevy fleetmaster

1948 chevy fleetmaster

countdown

1939 lincoln zephyr

world series, game seven, playing in the background. my sister-in-law is a serious fan of the dodgers, and she's been terribly silent and avoiding the tv a lot this game. previous games have been a roller coaster, with her screaming and moaning, depending on which way the scoring was going.

fifth inning now. was uptown a little bit ago, and all the bars with any sense and tvs are packed—one bbq place uptown is absolutely empty...don't know if it's the food, the booze, the mangagement, or lack of a tv being the reason...i've never actually set foot in there. and they really are never busy...how do they stay open?


also now the countdown has begun for dad's date with destiny and a surgeon. got his first set of tests done yesterday, and a date for the first procedure coming up in a couple of weeks. after that, heart surgery of one sort or another.

my younger brother has been in town for almost a month, as he was here for his anniversary, then stayed on, expecting things to have gotten rolling much sooner. he's anxious to get home and see his kids, but now his wife is coming back to town next week, and is talking him into staying for at least another couple of weeks. basically, he's bored, and would rather be bored in his own house, with his kids and his dog.

told him i'm rearranging my schedule, so i can get dad where he needs to go for the next part.

i may need to get my gall bladder out, but that can wait...that doc wasn't seriously concerned about it. i'll see about that when i can't just ignore that ache any longer. more important stuff going on, and ain't nobody got time for dat.

 

seventy-sixers

veteranos 1-8645And9morehdr.jpg

antenna balls. could say he's got balls for the post title, but i've probably already used it before.

this car belongs to tj friends car club. they pretty much fill up this section of the elks lodge parking lot for these past couple of years. mostly convertibles, they were booked for last year's whittier uptown xmas parade, chauffering all the pretty, pretty princesses and bigwig city butts down greenleaf. 

not sure if this car was there for the parade, but i probably already told the story about that day in another post. 

owner of this car stopped for a quick chat at this show. asked me to shoot his car. i liked the back end the best, of course. so, there you go... 

a surprise

1962 chevy impala

1962 chevy impala

so got my better half away for a night. didn't go very far away, but he got the rest he so much needed.

we were out in fullerton, picking up some breakfast/lunch at a northgate market before heading home. this particular location doesn't really have a dining area, and it was way too hot to sit in the car under a blazing sun.

so i suggested we stop over at the sonic around the corner, order drinks and just eat under the overhang. that, or go to a local park, or we wait to eat until we get home. we pull into the first spot, roll down the windows, and just order drinks.

roller girl waitress brings the drinks and goes away. we start eating our carnitas, listening to the music in the background. then better half notes that they don't seem to be able to select a song to play.

i'm looking in the rearview mirror, and note that there are two lowriders back there. figure that the sonic employees are playing more appropriate music for their customers, or are taking requests.

then i note that there are pop up tents, and i see a guy in a club shirt seeming to be setting up traffic cones in the lot, and carrying caution tape. i joke with the better half that i believe a car show has found us, and i don't have my cameras with me.

from my window, i ask the club guy if there is a car show today, and he explains, yes, he's the club president, he actually works at the establishment (he didn't use that word), and they're just setting up. hoping to get it to be a more regular show. maybe start with a flyer?

then a couple of viejitos cars pulls up. my better half is finding this all very humorous, as he starts thinking i'd planned it this way. come on, if i had, i would have brought the cameras! lol.

anyway, we get out and walk around. say hey to the viejito that i have met before. he said other guys were going to show up. the club president hosting the show said they expected up to seventy cars. i think that should always be taken with a grain of salt...it's more of a hope.

anyway, we tell them we are going home to fetch our gear, and we will be back.

i don't think they believed us, and better half said they seemed surprised to see us again when we showed up a couple hours later.

hmm. not so many cars as mentioned. no additional viejitos, or either of the other two clubs that had been mentioned. 

oh well. we're there. we take some pictures.

found this one on the other side of the building. told the owner i'd post it. i want to say we've shot other cars from this club elsewhere. i think i may have even shot this one before...go look on my search page, type in 'one family'...i think it's the first one that pops up.