Underground Car Guy

I made it to church 10 minutes early this morning and took my normal seat about 4 or 5 rolls from the front on the left.  The President of the Elders Quorum, Kevin Elsworth, came up to me and ask if I would  help pass the Sacrament.  Sacrament is like Holy Commune.  On the fifth Sunday, the Elders take over for the Deacons and Priest.  Sacrament  is offered to the all the members. I was a little reluctant at first.  I had a good seat, and I was sitting by myself and did want to lose it.  But Sister Freeman said she would save if for me, so I agreed. I think it as been a few years since I have helped out in this.  I sit there and watch the young men bless and pass it every Sunday, as I set there trying to find something spiritual to look up on my phone.  But it was fun to be on the other side.  To watch Fathers and Mothers help there children take the Sacrament.  To get to the back of the church, and see if everyone who want t...

OK, so people who have been reading my blog are say, didn't you already do this one two months ago?  Well, yes, but that was What will the Future hold.    Well I think this is a little different.  A Facebook friend a few days ago, said that I should write down what I think the future would look like.  I find this question a kin to being asked this in school, what do you want to be when you grow up?  So here I set almost 44 years old.  Marriage is going, going, almost gone.  Career is a struggling Internet sales business.  And my faith in God is still there by hanging on there by a thread.  One friend says it is time for a reboot. When I finished High School the only goals that I had, was go on a mission, go to college, get  marriage, have a family and a house.  Well as most of you have read, you know how the first two ended up.  And as a week ago, I found out the marriage, is beyond repair.  I leave 21 years with ou...

So my dad final got one of his cars on the cover of a magazine.  That is my dad's blue 1974 Alfa Romeo Spider.  He has had this car since 1989 or 1990, the longest he has kept any car.  It is a wonderful car to drive.  The other car is  a 1974 TR 4 Triumph, owned by Kieth Davis. 

As I watch as the lotteries these days reach into the 100 of millions of dollars from time to time , me and my friend Del Mar ask ourselves what we would do if we won the lottery.  These days the minimum drawing for the Powerball a each week starts out at $20 million.  So if you were to take the money and run that is still over $10 million.  So for this, I ask what would you do with $10 million? Here is my list. First off, it would be to pay off the debt.  I have two credit card debts that I would love to pay off.  It all started with college, but when I lost my job and before starting up Eaglegate, I used the credit cards to pay the bills and for food.  Next would to pay off the house.  Then to fix the pool, paint the house, and the electrical, and finally the landscaping for the front yard that I always wanted. Next would be to take care of Kim.  Even thou are marriage is almost to the end, I would get her a new car.  Maybe even send h...

So September 10, 2000, I am ready for racing.  We had two cars, Mazda RX-7's.  Our numbers were 86 (Alex) and 87(Me).  The First year we raced at Firebird International Raceway.  I do not remember my first race but I know that I finished just a head of Alex.  Our next race was May 5, 2001.  I remember it being very hot and that there was about 6 cars in our ITA (Improved Touring A) class.  We made it through practice and qualifying with no incidents.  I had qualified about 2 second faster than Alex that day, and I was starting a row ahead. The race started, and I got a pretty good start.  I was a head of Alex, but he was nipping at my heals.  By about the 5 or 6 lap, I missed a shift point coming out of the tower turn and this allowed Alex to get around me.  It took me a lap or two to get back into a good rhythm, and to get Alex in my sights again.  As I was going do the front straight I noticed that I had been giving the fas...

Show here we sit at 20 post.  What do you think so far?  Since I started blogging I have had 918 views to my blogs.  The most popular one has been: "Life on my own", with 68 views.  736 of all views have come from the United States, followed by Russia with 52, and Germany with 31.  Is what I am writing readable?   Let me know.

Here I sit at 1 in the morning and can not sleep.  I have had a hard time sleeping the past year.  With going through my wife of 21 years leaving, I have been through a meany a  restless night.  The funny thing is that here I am in what I have called the computer room, and the only way out is through the hallway.  And the walls are full of 21 years of memories.  I call it the Hallway of Tears. The picture to the right is of the Close family sometime before 2000.  I look at this picture now and it is missing three people from it.  My mom, who died of cancer just bearly two years ago.  My Brother-in-law, in which there marriage fell apart just right after my moms death and them moving to Texas.  And the final piece of the puzzle, my wife.  This was way before my mom was sick.  We would have family dinners together, and sometimes family vacation.  My, my sister, and my dad were together for his wedding on March 22.  ...

Watching T.V., I saw a commercial  for the circus.  This brought back memorials of work.  From 1992 to 2009, I worked for General Plumbing, in the warehouse.  Around 1995 or 1996, I moved over and did all the companies prefabrication of there values that they installed in the houses.  These move, moved me into a big tin roof warehouse.  One of the ways to get air into the building was this big huge window, which looked over the lot.  Through that window I could see a lot until we moved in 2000, to the new building. General Plumbing was located at the time at the corner of 8th Street and Center.  Right next to center was the train tracks that ran from Phoenix to the rest of the country.  So I would be working and I could watch the trains go by.  Most of the time it was just a single diesel train moving around empty box cars.  But we would get trains that would be carrying cars from back east.  One day we saw a whole Army Armor...

Fall came and I was back out with a repaired car.  We were still working on Alex's car so he was my crew until we got his built.  It turned out that again we were the last race off the day.  Practice and qualifying went good.  But as we broke for lunch, the clouds started rolling in.  By the third race of the day it was raining.  Dad had brought some wheels and tires that he was going to try to sale that day and we put those tires on.  Windshield wipers who needs them on a race car right, well we needed some now.  Well we settled for some rain-x.  Why we are trying to prepare the car for wet running, I am watching this guy across from us with a Porsche 914, who had slicks on do nothing to prepare his car.  I was in a different class by in the same race with me. Our race came up and had stopped rain, but was still sprinkling.  The rain-x was doing it job.  We went out and took our warm up lap, and prepared for th...

In high school I started taking Photography classes.  Since then I have loved to take pictures of the landscape of our country.  This Video Slide show is of South Eastern Utah.  You will see pictures taken from the Moab  area down to Monument Valley.  There is still more area I would like to explore.  I have taken most of them with the help of Kimberly Close, who took the sunset pictures.  I hope that you enjoy.

So September 10, 2000, I am ready for racing.  We had two cars, Mazda RX-7's.  Our numbers were 86 (Alex) and 87(Me).  The First year we raced at Firebird International Raceway.  I do not remember my first race but I know that I finished just a head of Alex.  Our next race was May 5, 2001.  I remember it being very hot and that there was about 6 cars in our ITA (Improved Touring A) class.  We made it through practice and qualifying with no incidents.  I had qualified about 2 second faster than Alex that day, and I was starting a row ahead. The race started, and I got a pretty good start.  I was a head of Alex, but he was nipping at my heals.  By about the 5 or 6 lap, I missed a shift point coming out of the tower turn and this allowed Alex to get around me.  It took me a lap or two to get back into a good rhythm, and to get Alex in my sights again.  As I was going do the front straight I noticed that I had been...

At 11, we saw this group running go carts around a church parking lot.  We went over and talked to them and found out that is was two brother and there kids that race locally.  When in the next few weeks were were out at the dirt track watching go carts race around the track.  And a few weeks later we had our own carts. We finally got all the gear and the cart ready for racing, and we headed out to the track.  We got there and found out that for what I was running, they did not have a youth class for, so I was to run with the adults.  I went out and practiced and the track was a mess.  Really muddy and hard to get a grip.  We found out for the race that I would be starting 2nd.  I was excited, but scared, because this was my first race.  we got on the track and it was madding.  Starting 2nd, meant that I was starting on the top of the track.  The top is not where you want to be on a dirt track.  So from the start I was shuff...

In 2008 I received a degree in Political Science from Arizona State University.  When I was think back in high school what I would major in, it was down to history and political science.  I did not see very many career opportunities.  With political science, I could see myself serving in the Government.   I really want to work for the State Department, hopefully in an embassy some where around the world.  Plus I always had been interesting in politics. In 1976 I wrote then, new elected Jimmy Carter a letter, saying so much congratulating him for becoming the President.  OK,  I was seven, and I thought it was great that a guy from Georgia, at that time the state next door to Tennessee, was President.  I got a note back from him, thanking me writing.  OK, so the signature probably was done by auto pin, and some how a chocolate stain got on it, probably from a fudge bar, this is still one of my priced pieces. All through school, I wante...

 Blogger Note:  I will be breaking this up into a few blogs.  Do not want you to get board! My dad with Ferry Porsche circa earlier 1970's My dad likes to tell the story that I was born the day of the German Grand Prix, and he had to miss it.  My first ride in a car was a 356 Porsche that my dad had. A few months later our little family was back in the states, living in a little town called East Ridge, Tennessee.  I remember grow up there around a number of cars.  A lot of Porsche's from 356, to 550 spiders.  I can remember the cat having kittens in one of the 356 convertibles.   There was also Jaguars, and Sunbeam Tigers.  And there was a C Sports racer.   I know at one time that my dad did gets his licence at Road Atlanta. But racing was in my blood.  I can remember getting into the family El Cameo and driving down to the drag strip in Georgia and watch from the back of the truck.  Or going to a local dirt track....

So my computer burned up about an month ago.  I took it to my friend Del Mar and we found the power supply and the hard drive burned up.  It was a pretty hot week last month, and my tower was kept in a cabinet style desk.  So no way to cool things down.  I got loan of one of his laptops and it died on me last week.  So I have been with out a computer for about 4 days.  Del Mar found me a power supply and a new and improved hard drive, so I am back up and running. I was working on a few blogs before the laptop died, so I should have something new in a few days.