You may have noticed that I have not been commenting on your blog nor have I been replying to your comments on my blog lately. I have had intermittent internet service because we have spent the past twelve days visiting our fiftieth state. We spent a total of five days on the beach at Waikiki, and seven days cruising four of the Hawaiian Islands. To say it was the trip of a lifetime is putting it mildly. Brace yourselves, there are going to be several Island themed posts coming your way, but for now, I will just post one of the incredible sunsets we witnessed on the beach at Waikiki. Aloha!
Every spring I usually spend some time photographing flowers around the house and community. This year I have been very negligent in that endeavor. I have really only photographed one set of floral images this spring and summer temperatures are already here. It has been near or above 90 degrees several times in the past couple of weeks, so these will probably be my first and last images for this season.
This year the 50th anniversary of Hot Wheels. Recently Hot Wheels sponsored a car show here. I believe the winner’s car would be selected to become a Hot Wheel car. There were some beautiful cars and there were some great examples of Rat Rods. Rat Rods are cars built to look old, rusty and barely being held together with duct tape and baling wire. The fact is, they are just as well thought out and executed and some of the very fancy looking cars. I love both, but today I will feature the “Rat Patrol”
So who you gonna call when your Rat Rod breaks down? You call Rat Wrecker, of course.
Technically this next rod is not a Rat Rod. It’s a little too clean, but it was one of my favorites. Pin striping is a lost art and this car has some of the best I have ever seen.
I just found this car to embrace the very spirit of a Rat Rod. Take the cab from and old ’30’s coupe weld the truck from a 50’s Dodge Coronet with the largest fins in the history of automobile design and make it look like a dragster pick-up truck. This is a classic.
There were a few examples of trucks and they were among the most creative. A couple of them were set on “big rig” wheels and custom frames.
My final entry is an example of a classic Rat Rod build.
It was an Awe…some day at the car show. I will post some of the traditional street rods later. Have a blessed day.
I know, the header to my blog says that my posts include images and stories from my little corner of the world, but this year the focus has been on the grand kids. That’s just the way it is. Last Wednesday evening the high school track team had their year-end banquet. The boys and girls won the state team outdoor championship and were the runner-up at the indoor championships. The young ladies pictured here make up the varsity girls high jump team that finished first, second and third in the conference meet and then placed second and third in the state championships. The young lady on the right is our youngest grand daughter. She won the conference championship and placed second in the state finals. That earned her “All Conference” and “All State” honors as a sophomore. We’re already looking forward to next season.
This is what she looks like at work. As you can see, she cleans up pretty good when you fix her hair and put a dress on her. Have a blessed week.
Recently on FaceBook, one of my friends posted a meme that requested participants post their top ten favorite artists and albums of all time. We were to post one per day. It seemed like an easy enough task so I jumped in. I will not post all ten artists and albums here, nor will I bore you with all of those that I left out but deserve a place in any top ten list. Also, these are not listed in any particular order because it is just not fair to place some of these artists above others. So, let’s get started.
No. 10: The first artist and album I posted was Ray Charles, “What’d I Say”. I was in junior high school and this was the first album that I ever bought.
No. 9:The Beach Boys – Little Duce Coupe. As a child of the ’60’s, I grew up in the golden age of muscle cars & hot rods. The Beach Boys did as much to define the image of our day as any band ever. They undoubtedly wrote and recorded more songs about fast cars than anybody. Wheat jeans and shoes with no socks ruled the day. Long live the “Little Duce Couple”.
No. 8: The Rolling Stones – Big Hits (High Tide & Green Grass). I liked The Beatles, but I was really a “Stones” fan. “Satisfaction” and “Honky Tonk Women” were just the best Stones music ever.
No. 7: James Taylor – Sweet Baby James. During the folk rock era of my music tastes, nobody did it better than James Taylor. His music may have been the first time I really listened to and absorbed the lyrics of songs. “Fire & Rain” was an instant classic and one of my favorite songs to this day. We’ve all lost loved ones who made our days brighter and our lives better just by being in our life. When we look back on our lives, we’ve all had days of Fire and days of Rain. No one has written a better lyric that this from Sweet Baby James.
No 6: Led Zepplin – Led Zepplin II. The late 60’s & early 70’s were my personal “Golden Age” of music. While I loved the folk rock of James Taylor, Carly Simon, Carole King and others I also had an appreciation of the hard rock of our day and Led Zepplin’s “Whole Lotta Love” was at the top of the list.
No. 5: Elton John – Tumbleweed Connection. Sir Elton John is quite possibly my all time favorite artist. At one time I may have owned as many as eight Elton John albums including the scarce “Friends” soundtrack that he scored. I saw him twice in concert in Tulsa prior to the release of the “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” album. Tumbleweed Connection was probably not one of Elton’s biggest selling albums, but I loved every song on it. “Love Song” and “Country Comfort” were the hit singles from this release but “Where to Now St. Peter” & “Burn Down the Mission” were among my favorites.
No. 4: Creedence Clearwater Revival – Willie & The Poor Boys. Right behind my collection of Elton John albums, ranks CCR. I loved everything they recorded and I especially liked the light hearted Willie & the Poor Boys. Even after they split up, I bought John Fogerty music.
No. 3: Eric Clapton – Riding With the King. One of the all time best rock/blues guitar players. From his days with Cream and Derek & the Dominos, Eric Clapton has always been a force in the music world. Today as a soloist he is as good as ever. “Layla” was his biggest hit as a part of Derrik & the Domonos, but his duet album with BB King, “Riding With the King” is a classic.
No 2: Garth Brooks – Ropin the Wind. Garth did as much to change country music as the Beatles did to change rock and roll. He brought big sound, big shows, and an energy that had never been seen in this genre. His songs brought back the classic themes in country music but added the intensity of a rock concert. He proved that good guys can wear black hats, and not all country stars need to wear rhinestone shirts or jackets. One of my favorite albums was “Ropin The Wind” and my favorite song off of the album was “Rodeo”.
No. 1: Linda Ronstadt – Heart Like a Wheel. I believe to be the best female pop, rock, country vocalist of all time, Linda Ronstadt. I believe that Trisha Yearwood is just as good but never truly crossed over into the pop/rock genre. There are other great female vocalists that are in my playlist, Grace Slick (Jefferson Airplane), Janis Joplin, Martina McBride, Heart (Nancy & Ann Willson) and The Supremes (with Diana Ross), but I loved Ronstadt. She was the female version of The Eagles. Her album Heart Like a Wheel contained the mega hit, “When Will I Be Loved” written by Phil Everly of the the Everly Brothers. I am sure that there are days when all of us ask the question, “When Will I Be Loved?”
One week ago we attended our oldest grand daughter’s graduation from college. This past week-end her younger sister graduated from high-school along with 639 classmates.
That white sash means that she graduated with “honors” and those gold chords indicate that she was a National Merit Scholar finalist. Needless to say I had neither as a part of my cap & gown wardrobe.
She found us among the crowd and gave a little smile and wave prior to the start of the ceremony. With 640 graduates the commencement exercises take place at Bud Walton Arena on the campus of the University of Arkansas, about 20 miles south of Bentonville. Fortunately Bentonville always gets the first slot of the day, at 8:30 a.m. There are two or three other high schools that will graduate during the day and the traffic can get hectic, to say the very least.
After the ceremony, we met outside for a few photos. She is glad that high school is finished and she is more than ready to begin her college adventure. She will be attending the University of Central Arkansas and majoring in sports medicine.
Time for one photo of her family, including big sister and last week’s college graduate on the far right. Sooo…. how far has she come in eighteen years?
Driller's Place 