How fast does a Decade go by?

Back in 2009, I had been working for Mark Morton as the Managing Editor at Hop Up for all three Specials and two Annuals (#9 and #10), but things were winding down. Working in print was incredibly fun and rewarding, as Hop Up was always a passion project for ‘Mort’ rather than a money-maker. He never put too many ads in, and always gave our Art Director Marc D’Estout and I complete creative freedom to make every issue something special. That was the most important thing for me with anything in hot rodding- Working on something I could be proud of, and doing it with people I admired.

At the same time, I had been a member of the HAMB since 2000, and became a friend of Ryan shortly thereafter. One day in the Summer of 2009, working on a project with Disney Imagineering that would become ‘Cars Land’ , Ryan called asking if I knew anyone who could write for the Jalopy Journal a few times a week. My initial response was that I would ask around for him, and then paused for a moment… “What about me?” Ryan’s only concern was commitment. He’d tried guest contributors in the past, and they would write for a month and then disappear.

It’s crazy to think that conversation was over a decade ago, and this ‘Jive-Bomber’ is still dropping a payload twice a week, 104 times a year. Hope you’ve enjoyed the flight with me, and gotten a few good reads out of it. As long as I continue working on something I’m proud of, like the Jalopy Journal, and doing it for folks that I admire (that’s you), I’ll keep at it…