Underground Car Guy

Do not remember which race this is, but it is at Firebird Main. February 14, 2004, found us out at Firebird Raceway, the Main track.  We had two bad outing before this.  Back in October, we were on  Firebird East when I lost 1st, and 2nd gears before the race.  But I almost got a first from that, but had to rebuild the transmission.  In December, we were at PIR (Phoenix International Raceway), qualifying well and a my class, go out and  find myself and spinning in a rain storm at NASCAR turn 4, and coming close to hitting the wall.  Another 2nd for that weekend. We got the car off the trail and went out to practice.  Did about 5 laps and brought the car in.  Everything felt fine.  Then came qualifying went out and did a few more laps and did not do bad in qualifying.  (If you look at #40 in the picture, that is a Sports Racer Ford.  A some what fast car and I qualified behind the group of 5 or 6 cars that day.) So we g...

Over the past month I have been to two baptisms, two farewells and a home coming.  It reminds me of what I do not have in my life, children.  I also have had my 44th birthday, which I spent on my own.  My marriage of 22 years is gone, and I really have nothing to show that I am here. But I have been living some what an oddity in the Mormon Church.  Having been married for so long, with no kids, you just don't get the feeling that you are part of the church family.  I have set in many a Priesthood Class, hearing the teacher tell how special it is to be a father, and how closer to God you are.  I really have not made a lot of friends in these wards, because I have no  kids that are in the same Primary Class, Sunday School Class, or Mutual. It even feels like the newly married couple, when they do get pregnant, that they are now one up on me. A few years ago, our Ward did away with the Family Camp Out.  But what stayed were the father/daughter a...

In 1999, I wanted to do something special for Kim for her birthday.   So I had planned a vacation the weekend after her birthday.  I had made all the plans a few weeks in advance.  The Thursday before, I went and order some flowers and put on the card, "Hurry home after work because we have to pack and get on a plane."  And had them delivered to her work.  So she got home and packed and headed to the airport to catch a plane to Los Angles.  Kim now knew we were going to California, and LA, but not really where we were going.  We land in LA and pick up our rental car.  And I start my drive down the freeway.  Kim still not having a clue were we were going.  I get off the freeway and turn into the Disneyland Hotel.  Where we are going to stay for two night.  Before we left, I went to the Disney Store and bought tickets for the park those days.  The added bonus in staying at the Hotel, was that we got to get in early...

So last Saturday I was flipping through the channels and came across Used Cars.  This movie has a special place in my heart because I remember when it was filmed here in Mesa, in 1979.  Most everyone went down to get into the movie some how, and they had a lot of large crowd scenes.  But one night they needs some people to play certain roles in the file.  That might my dad was chosen to be one of three FBI agents.  He said the hardest thing was that the Actor Gerrit Graham was so funny that he had them laughing all the time.  To set up the scene, They have just hacked the Presidential Speech and the FBI is there to investigate what happened. Because my parents had signed up to be extra in the film, they were put on a list.  And were called to do another movie.  They were also called to do commercial, and one time they took use along and got all of use in a Visa commercial, that I never saw.  They filmed it at Sky Harbor Airport and we wo...

I am lucky for where I leave.  Having served my mission in Ireland there really is not a lot of us around.  I think at the time I served there was about 140 to 160 missionaries in Ireland and there was 20+ thousand serving around the would, so we were less than 1 percent of missionaries in the world.  I live in area where there is a lot of us.  I just found out that there was a guy in my sister's old ward in Gilbert that served in Ireland in the 70's.  In my ward there are three of us and two of us served under the same Mission President. I have two former companions that live here in the Phoenix Area.  I have meet up with one them, and keep telling myself that I will call the other, one of these days, but it gets pushed back every day.  But my former companion is not the only one that I have meet over the years.  When I first got home in October of 1990, Randall McClellan was around.  We would hang out, go out and eat, and go to a few d...

 I first wrote this as a note on Facebook back on May 19, 2011.  It is funny how things have changed still.  I will give some updates on some things. I was out with my Friend Del Mar, picking up pizza, when I realized how things had changed in my town of Mesa.  We were at the Domino's at Broadway and Gilbert.  He came back with the pizzas and I said,"  I remember when this was a Circle K."  As we left I pointed out that next to that was the Taco Bell, the old location of Domino's, and the Tasty Freeze, all of which are gone. I was with my dad the other day, and we past LJ's Pizza on Main.  He had told me it was closing soon.  Well I did not know how soon it was, until I read it was this Saturday.  This made me think of how Main Street had really changed since we moved here in 1978.  So here is are some of the changes I have noticed in my drive up Main Street.  Lets start this trip at Main and Mesa Drive.  ...

I have been listening to my playlist that I have on ITunes.  I have a lot of different taste.  Kim always thought that I did not like country but I do have a lot of country on my play list.  A lot of it is really depressing and find myself crying. But I do find that some of these song do have some mean to me and my life.  So here are a few and what they mean to me, or what memories they bring up.   Rock Lobster by the B-52's:  Even though my friend Del Mar hates this song, it reminds me of all the church dances I went to when I was 15 to 18. Devil Inside by INXS:  This was the cassette that played in my Chevelle my senior year.  Just reminds me of cruising around in a cool car. Freexe-Frame by The J. Geils Band:  My mom was really into bowling in the early 80's and this was the music they played on ABC Sports when bowling was on. You be Illin"  By Run-DMC:  This was one of the songs they used for our skit for Homecoming...

As I sit here watching English Football on my t.v., I have some what hit a writers block.  I was trying to work on some topics that I have started before, but some take some research on when things happened, and trying to work on past fun vacations, brings up some hurt feelings of how life is going on now. So I left the computer and went in to watch t.v.  Summer t.v. watching is not that greatest.  ABC brought us Zero Hour, which I think was just a summer filler show, but I would like to see it continue.  And CBS has given us Under the Dome.  I have no idea where this is going, but I would like some answers before some suits cancel it. But I can watch almost anything on t.v.  I have surprised a lot of people when they find out that I like one program and just don't get another, like Sinfeld.  But then again I had a few friends that thought my favorites movies were way off.  I would not make a good t.v. critic, because I can just sit and watc...

So here we are again.  I have been blogging now 4 months working on the 5th.  I have reached over 2000 views, but I think that most of those or ghost sites. I don't think I am this world class writer, but I think that I have improved.  I have posted 42 blogs so far and I have 5 in the works right now.  I have 2 more, on when I was racing ,and 3 on my favorite vacations.  It is taking a while to write about the vacations because a lot were with my wife that I am separated with or with my mom, both of which are still tender subjects for me.  I hope that you like my first Opinion based Blog.  I have a lot more that I would like to do, but I do not want to lose any friends over it.  Maybe soon, but I have to think about it some more.  And I hope that you like the Seattle Trip.  I wish I would have taken more pictures of the people I was with.  I do find people interesting, but not to photograph.  Again something I have to work ...

Well thanks again to Del Mar Dial for fixing my computer again.  This time it was a blown graphics card.  In the past two years Del Mar has put in two power supplies, two graphics cards, added memory, replaced a hard drive, a CD/DVD drive, and upgraded it to Windows 7.  I bought this computer in 2004 after we moved into our house.  I think this is the longest I have had a computer except the IBM Portable that ran on DOS.  At least I returned the computer he loaned me, working!

I think that I have watched my last show on Speed.  I guess the hand writing was on the wall back around fall of last year when Formula 1 announced that the were move to NBC Sports, and dropping Speed.  And how many Formula 1 races have I really watched this year because of the Network change, None.  But Fox has decided to roll some there speciality Networks into one, and calling this new brand Fox Sports 1, which starts August 17th. And what type of programming are we going to get from Fox Sports 1?  Well from the commercials that I have seen for the new network, it is covering the major American sports.  And what will they show of racing?  That is right the same formula that they have been following for years.  They are giving us NASCAR Race Hub.  That is great, but all of racing is not about NASCAR. I grew up liking a lot of motorsports.  So when Speedvision launched in 1995 I was excited.  Speed offered what we were not getting o...

I told you this was a Busy day. July 31 Del Mar's plan was not to go straight to his brothers (Over the objects of Victoria), but to show off some more sights. The Tree lined Road on the Campus of U. of Washington. The first place he took me was the University of Washington.  We turn onto this tree lined road, and he tells the guard that we are just driving through. I had only been on just a hand few of college campus here in the United States, namely Brigham Young and Arizona State wh ich I graduated from.  It was a beautiful campus.  The architecture (Sorry for no captions on the pictures below.  I had no idea where I was or what the names of the building or field of study they belong too.) of the building, really made you feel like it was a college from back east. I was really impressed.  Really made ASU look like a dump.  But this little trip through the campus really got Jr. (who is in his Junior year of High School) excited about going to c...

July 29 The day was kind  of a off day.  Del Mar had promised a friend, that he would help put in some flooring at his house.  So Del Mar went to his friends, Emily w ent to her sisters, and I stayed at Richard's watching movies all day.   Downtown Seattle July 30 Last day at Richard's  The plan for the day is to meet Del Mar and the family down at  Mukilteo Beach.  Me, Richard, and his kids drove down and meet Del Mar at the Ivar's there.  We then took our fish and chips down and ate them at the park near the light house.  There I talked with Richard about life, realizing that I should have talked to him about this stuff the day before.  But the setting was great.  It was a nice cool day, the wind blowing off the  Ocean, watching the ferry, and the boats and ships moved through the water.  Victoria wanted to take home some sea weed, but was vetoed by her dad. I don't know how long we were there...

I am not a person that keeps a journal, so I used the notes on my phone to keep track of what happened on my trip to Seattle.  So with the words and my pictures, with a little help of Del Mar Dial.  Here is my trip. Mt. Rainer from the plane. July 25 Our trip started out on July 25, when we caught a flight out of Mesa/ Gateway Airport.  I was traveling with my friend Del Mar who had taken his family up there a few weeks earlier.  Del Mar is from the Seattle Area, and his is Wife's family is from there as well.  As we flew into the  Seattle Area, Del Mar pointed out to me Mt. Hood, Mt Adams, and Mt. Rainer.  I had No Idea, that Mt. Rainer was so massive.  He also point out to me Mt. Saint Helens.  For me, I always thought that when it erupted in 1980, that it eruption was on the south side, but as I learned from my flight that it was on the north.  We were to far away to get a good picture that day. Emily picked use up at t...