Thank you Ryan. A valuable reflection and thread. So often, I go back to many of Jay's [C9] posts and messages. Time's brief, and treasured.
Nice story.....Something I've never thought about....but you CAN learn alot about someone just by reading their posts.
Wow Ya know I never really thought about it that way. I suppose that in 40 or 50 years there will still be people that don't understand me at all just like today. After the Ol' Man passed a friend gave me a box full of old receipts and work orders from the Old Shop. I still go through them once in awhile just because I can. How cool would it have been if he had been a HAMBer way back when.
X1000 Thank you for sharing the letter Ryan, it just reaffirms to me that any money I put towards the HAMB is money very well spent. Enjoy the day, Rich
I guess I should be careful what I post on here. My kids may read this one day. LOL My dad doesn't know how to turn a computer on and doesn't want to so the odds that he'll ever etch something into internet history are pretty slim. He's probably lived 5 different lives in his time here. He's pretty tight lipped about his past. He was a star athelete in high school, vietnam veteran, hot rodder/drag/dirt oval racer in the mid-late '60's and '70's, flew ultralights in the 80's (I was born in '78 so I got to see that), and then a hot rodder again in the '90's. He doesn't talk at all about the stuff that happened during or prior to his time in Vietnam. I wish I knew him then.
A poignant reminder of just how influential this site really is. Great story. Thanks for all you do, Ryan.
Hi Ryan, Thanks for posting all this.. Makes one really think, about what we all leave.. I read GV Gordon's comment about his Scoutmaster. I had a great one when I was in Scouting, and probably due to him, I am still in Scouting and pushing 66 this year.. My own dad, a 35 year Chevy Olds mechanic, passed on a lot of info to us 3 boys, although I am the only one to do anything with it.. it was greatly appreciated.. He had a old Model A, back in WWII and it was hopped up some, and he loved to drive it fast... Anyway...We need to cherish what relationships and friendships that we have today... I sure have added so many great friends through the HAMB... Photo was taken in 1937... My dad with his favorite dog..
As the writer of this email has discovered, it's the candid photos and remarks that offer the clearest view of us. Posed photos and composed letters aren't nearly as revealing as candid photographs and conversation. About 10 years ago, my brother Mike and I were riding in Mike's old '55 Chevy on our way over to check out his boss' stash of street rods and drag cars (Johnny Rocca - IHRA PROMOD racer - Tin Indian '33 Willys coupe and Iron Horse '49 Mercury). Mike (my brother) was driving his old '55 Chevy. I'd taken along my camera in order to get a few photographs of the cars. As a joke, I snapped the candid photo below of Mike driving the '55. In 2004, Mike lost his life when an axle snapped and his lost control of his '30 Model A coupe (Front Royal, VA). This photo of Mike is one of my favorites. Mike's son gave the '55 to his halfbrother, who later sold the car to me. I'll eventually give the car to my grandson. I added the tires, wheels, and graphics to the car. The car and assortment of photos always bring back fond memories. We were worse than two 16 year olds. Picture this: two old gray beards in a '55 Chevy with a small block with two 4bbl carbs, lopey cam, headers, 4 speed transmission, and 4.10 gears. We stop the '55, bring up the rpm, sidestep the clutch and then go through the gears. You then stop and do it again. After this you go back and look at your marks! Yep, fond memories and just because you've grown older doesn't mean that you've grown up!
WOW didnt see that coming..... Really all you can say is Thank you ryan and all who makes the hamb a great place to come and learn the ways of the hotrod past,present,and future
This also made me think about my Dad. He wasn't a car guy as such, but I remember watching him work on our family cars changing clutches etc. When I bought my first car ('50 Ford conv.) in 1956 he said anything I did on it was on me. Sure enough though, when I was putting dual pipes on it he was right there helping me. Awhile later I had a '55 Chev 2 door post, stick shift, 4 bbl, all of that stuff. One day I pulled out of my buddies house down the block and really got on it. I hit second gear right in front of my Dad sitting on our front porch steps and blew the clutch out the bottom of the bell housing. As I coasted to a stop Dad walked over and didn't say anything as he helped me push the car into our driveway. This time he didn't help me. It's amazing as I grow older how much smarter he becomes. Thanks Ryan for triggering memories in a lot of us.
I lost my dad back in 1990 when I was 24. He was a drunk and kinda an @sshole. In 1992 I started working for the city where my dad retired from. It was nice to hear the respect the guys had for him who worked for/with him. I understand.
very cool ryan! history is being made everyday.... this posts kinda touchs home with me , as i have a young son at home that i do not force the car thing on. i let him find his own interests, but there are days that he just wants to hangout in the shop with his dad and do what i do. thanks for sharing with us!
This post hits home and stir's thoughts about my Dad... he was a car guy but life got in the way of his hotrod and he never got that done. We worked on many cars and projects and I learned alot, but none of it is recored anywhere except for some pictures....... Fast foreward to today.... I have been on the hamb for about 2 years and have learned alot and made some freinds but it is all here for everyone to see including my son. He isn't really into hotrods [ but he will drive mine, my dads old hotrod that I have running, anytime he can] he likes stock cars and is very good at building and setting them up. We spend some time in the garage together and it is cool. Every once an awhile he gets on here and has posted on a thread or made a comment about me that I have happened to stumble across. Without this site I would never know some of the things that I have done or shown him that made more of an impact than I thought. Thanks Ryan......
Awesome post, it's a story that really hits home for me. My father passed away back 2004, when I was 22. Even though, nearly every childhood memory I have is car related, and I spent countless hours at swap meets, attending car shows, and hanging out in various garages with him. I treasure every circled want ad or note scribbled down about a car or parts that I come across, items like that are priceless to me. Losing my father in my early twenties was tough enough, but one of the hardest things for me now, is having all these car related questions I wish I could ask my dad. I can only image how amazing it would be to find a journal or notebook with his thought and words to help answer a few of those questions. I've never thought of the H.A.M.B. in that way before, but I can see how the archives could be that priceless journal to a son or daughter who's father has passed away. It really make you think, the H.A.M.B. is not just about spreading the gospel of tradition hot rods & customs worldwide. It's also about giving a person glimpse of who we are to the next generation and our sons and daughters. Thank you Ryan for all that you do, it's very much appreciated.
Wow, what an awesome thing to read. Thanks for sharing Ryan! Write stuff down and have some "real" photographs printed. I do this in hopes that one day my kids can actually hold these things in their hands and share memories instead of hoping the photo cd's still work.
As the old Blues song says: "You never miss the water till the well runs dry"...live now....appreciate now....and preserve for the future. Thanks, Ryan
I can really relate to this story, having lost my dad when I was a teenager also. Many years later, after I was well into adulthood, I found boxes of photos (that I had never seen) and letters... all my fathers, some letters that he wrote and were sent back to him. It was an amazing window into the man I only knew from a teen's perspective. The HAMB just got some karma points! (or would that be car-ma?)
I went to a High school reunion late last year and bumped into my Tech Drawing/ shop class teacher. We sat and talked for quite some time. I explained to him how I used the skills he nurtured in me on a daily basis since school, and how it has influenced my career/life path. My dad has had a very similar influence, I must sit down and spend time with dad and discuss this too! Thanks Ryan for facilitating this invaluable resource and historic documentation of our thoughts and actions. Don't ever archive anything from here, just keep adding memory capacity.
I'm happy for that son. It reminds me how important it is to think before I type. We never know who'll be reading our words down the road.
Wow! what a post! it really touched me. My father left us in 2004 at 58, he was the ultimate father that everyone turned to. He is my hero.