On the way down to Miami a couple of weeks ago we drove past a new town called Tradition. It was off 1-95 near West Palm Beach. It was just a couple weeks past the last asskicking hurricane Florida got. Tradition was pretty badly damaged, from what I could see. Tradition wasn't built with bricks and stones, it was built with drywall and metal studs. There was nothing about Tradition that was traditional, it was a facade. It was flimsy, it was threadbare, it was feelgood in a way that a hit of crack cocaine might be, not that I've ever tried. Tradition is about as fake as the dude deciding that his 4 barred Pepto Bismol hot rod needs to be "updated" with a coat of flat black and red rims. Tradition doesn't just spring up from the ground like Yanni reinventing himself with an electro record. Neither is it a worn out New York Dolls deciding to go out on the road without Johnny Thunders. That's pretty much like the recurring nightmare we all have of of going to work naked, except we're not as famous, or with that much to lose. Instant classic, fuck that! A classic can never be instant, it has to have been here a while. It has to have been ogled and perused, it has to be taken in. Monochromatic shit sucked then, it classically sucks now. It doesn't matter how many "Tradition" neighborhoods douchebag land speculators churn out, the truth of the matter is is that time, and time alone, that gives tradition its value. And time is something we all have too little of.
Nads Every one wants to get back to the "good ole days" even if they are to young to have been there in the first place,just a sign of the times I reckon,hell look at how many "Von Dutch Tshirts are floating around being worn by the new old skool. john And what the fuck does it matter what car he was driving.
I get it Nads.....just because you build something and put a "lable" on it, doesn't make it so. Great analogy.
Thats not what gets me.... The people that PRACTICE to be traditional are the farthest from... I mean the fake patina shit and crap like that. Are you just tryin to get people to like you??? ARE YOU LOST!!! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!! Its not about makin your car look like CRAP on purpose... Its about building what you like and stickin to it... I mean do you really like cars that look like crap???? Build what you want with what you have... If you think you are trad and go around sayin it....your most likly not.... IF you don't give a flyin fuck...and your just in it for the cars and dont care if anyone else in the whole fucking world cares or likes it...........you are.... BTW I ain't trad.... All my old school shit is broke and I am driving around in a mustang lol. Just wait till I am outa shcool and have money...then nobody can stop me.. But like you said....trad/classic has to be earned... has to be proven... not faked...
Nads was probably driving a hot rod. If that question was meant to call Nads a poser, I think you may want to reconsider which tree you are barking up. ===================================== Now as far as "tradition" goes, here are some thoughts I've had: Recently my hometown shut down the old high school and built a new mega school......PROGRESS.... The old school building is an imposing 1930's castle looking thing made of local sandstone blocks. Really a lot of "tradition" in that building. Its positioned right in the middle of town. Now its in ruins. The town feels empty without it in use. What a waste. If it were in England, it would have been renovated and restored. Preserved if you will and USED. America has no sense of history. Everything has to be "new". Great analogy Nads. Thanks for the thoughts.
Couldn't agree with you more NAD'S. Not to change the subject but it was good to see ya again Saturday night at the BOOTHILL.You play a pretty mean Bass.That was the first time I'd seen the PHYSCO DEVILLE'S .They were pretty fuckin hot . GREGG
Shit my old high school was an awesome building they closed it and opened a new one when I was in the 10th grade... Then 6 months ago some little kids set fire to the old school house as a joke and it went down to the ground....its still there taped off in a pile of rubble. I see old houses around me too... people wont sell and they end up falling to the ground.. Thats why I have a house built in 1900, my mom has one built in the late 1800s and a new house built in 1940s.. Fuck new shit... I almost feel like cryin when I see neat old buildings just ruin and fall to the ground. I almost feel guilty when I see em because I want to do something about it.... AHHH.. shit like that pisses me off.... I'm gonna go put my head in the oven...
Tradition isn't exactly what you see, it's what you do. It's gettin' up at zero dark thirty to go to some swap meet, freezing your nutz off in the hopes of finding that ever elusive part you need, it's gettin' greasy bustin' your knuckles by yourself or with your pals working on your rides at all hours of the day or night. It's steppin' back an perusing one anothers ride while havin' a brew and listening to your favorite tunes. Going to shows and road trips. It's working overtime so you can have the extra scratch to get them hard to find parts. It's 24 hour vigilance always keeping an open ear for information on parts and cars, and sharing that info with your pals! If you are into the fake shit, people will see right through it. Like Nads said, every show I go to, I see more and more of those "Once finished" rods that had an expensive paint job, now sportin' "Primer" red wheels and whitewalls. Those guys want so bad to lose the "Goldchainer" name tag and "Fit in" with all the "Rebels" so they spend more money undoing what had already been done! Anyhow if you put the time and effort into your car, no matter what it looks like, it will be appreciated by those who know what it takes, and that is what it's all about.
So...........would tradition be waking up inthe middle of the night, going down to the garage at 230 am and grinding on a body for hours ? Not being embarrased to ask or leran how to do something that could make your job easier on your car or truck you are working on. Starring at the truck for an hour or so, and wondering how in the hell I am going to make that peice fit ? Or, Working bymyself, not becouse I have nobody who wants to help, but just want to work alone ? Is tradition, leaving the mainstream of what ever culture or society you are assosiated with ? I guess tradition is continuing on a truck when people say "what a peice of shit". But.....you still can see the potential and finished product in the back of your mind even before you finish it. In my book, tradition would be "work with what you got". I don't have a lot of money, but FORTUNATELY have a lot of resources. Tradition is not how many "work shirts" you are sportin' with the name "LUCKY" on them. It's not how many retro-vintage t-shirts you have that you purchased from your local Wal-mart. Tradition is doing what you believe in and doing YOU WANT !! At least that's what I get out of this forum. The guys here have really opened new areas in my mind
Hey Gregg, yup the Psycho Devilles do rock don't they. Too bad there were only thirty people there. I like the The Boot Hill North, it's a good place to have a car show. BTW, I was faking it on the bass. If you're ever in my neck of the woods go to the town of Celebration, it's an invention of the vast Disney Corporation. You'll feel like you're in some kind of bad acid trip, but lacking the ingenuity of Pixar. Instant gratification is killing this country. How many happy lottery winners are there? Not many, I bet.
I'm not saying I'm traditional, but I've always have done things for myself not so I can fit into a group. I've been riding motorcycles my whole life and in the 70's I was a Harley rider, people would lock their car doors at stop signs. Well the little town I moved to when I got married turned into Yuppyville and now every a-hole has a Harly with dewrags and leathers. I now ride a Beemer. I was getting gas and a bunch of these guys on their new hogs pull in an one a$$ says 'My first bike was a Harly' as loud as he could, so I said very loudly, 'my first bike was a Hodka 100' and rode off. They probly didn't get it. Anyway I like this forum not because I'm trying to be something but because most are real, I hope nobody ask ,Who built your car. I'm tired of the ' Look I bought something so now I'm cool' people. If I offened any of you, too bad. Sorry for the soap box just my $0.02 Mick
I hear ya bro. hell sometimes "tradition" isn't any farther away than just being yourself. Its like cool if you're trying to be cool you aren't. Hell he was probably fat 40 and on his first bike.
Reminds me of Pattonsburg Mo. "the newest town in America". Old Pattonsburg exists about 2 miles down the road along the Grand river. The old town got washed out in 93' so FEMA declares the real estate uninsurable and "moves" the town up the hill onto dry land. The whole downdown is basically two strip malls facing each other. The rest of the town is a blend of 50-100year old houses with new construction and modular homes mixed in all set on lots platted out to 1995 specifications. The whole thing just looks out of place.
The term "instant classic" has always grilled my cheese. Before anything can be "classic" it must stand the test of time, so how can it be instant? A statement like "The PT Cruiser is an instant classic" is like calling Britney Spears a diva. Most rediculous in both casses.
i hear ya. They are doing the same thing down here. my old school which also was my dads old school which was also my g-mas old school has been slated for demolition and a new one put up somewheres around there in the next few years. and get this... all because they supposedly found mold in the floorboards under the classrooms in the basement/pipe chases. this place is supposed to be unsafe etc etc. now you tell me since when has it ever been more economically feasible to tear down and restart anything than just to restore what few problems ail the particular subject? this place has been here since 1910 or so. the school board tried doing this crap with another school across town which has been there even longer than mine, but now a days its in a minority neighborhood. well the folks in that community got together and said no, we dont need a new school, just added capacity and fix what we have. but because they are who they are they were listened to and low and behold the school was saved as well as saving about 2 million on the cost of a new school. i guess we all just need to bitch more.
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