what's up?

save it for a rainy day

better half and i drove out early yesterday to chino, to hit up the chino cornfed run. though no rain was forecasted on the weather app, there were definitely storm clouds overhead on the way out there. driving off the two-forty-one onto the ninety-one freeways, we can see a bright gap in the clouds above where we were heading, kind of like the day we got married. figured that boded well for our day.

weather app finally did start showing rain expected at noon, then revised to eleven.

well, we arrived about six-thirty a.m., and it seemed as if it had just finished raining, clouds still pretty ominous above. love clouds—they emote so well in a picture.

this chevy was one of the first ones we walked up to. beads of water still on the trunk, expecting it to rain any minute, we figured we better shoot as many as we could.

the owner peddled up on a bike to ask where he could see the pictures of his car. handed him a card, told him i’d post it. so here it is, stephen. thanks for the follow.

better half took off to the other side of the road. i made it to the first distant community center building on the right, when the next bit of rain started. didn’t last too long, but i wasn’t willing to get my camera gear too wet. can’t afford to replace it due to a good soaking. a little bit is doable, but nah, didn’t want it soaking into the lens gears, etc. hung out under the arched walkway for ten minutes or so, and headed back out.

happened again off and on throughout the day. after ten, rain was expected for a couple of hours. sitting on some steps under a roofed building, we packed up our gear, and decided to head to a restaurant four blocks away, to have lunch and wait it out a bit. it really started raining and we were mostly soaked by the time we arrived. had to back track a bit, when we realized it was on the other side of a busy street, and then to find the door locked, entrance on the other side. the owner or a waiter luckily opened the door for us, and seated us where our bags wouldn’t get in the way.

happily enjoyed sitting under the overhead heaters for an hour and change, warming up and drying off. we finished eating, and noticed people were starting to line up waiting for seating, so decided we shouldn’t keep hanging out. still raining quite good outside, we put on our jackets, pulled up our hoods, and rolled out. headed back four blocks to where we had been sitting, to find several other people on our steps, so we went up past them to an opposite wall. they left shortly after, so we sat back down and waited another thirty minutes or so for the rain to stop.

saw chevy owner later in the day, with a group of friends, telling them that i had taken pics of his car. i hope he likes these.

cookhouse

this one is far from perfect, but it’s a perfectly fine car.

i love the crustiness of the paint, the imperfections all over. the beat to hell ornament. i wonder if it still lights up?

i think it fits in with the surroundings far better than the perfectly shiny impala to the side there. oh it’s difficult to choose one over the other.

i’m enjoying the gloom outside the window. more rain coming. i’m bundled up and feeling sleepy, but it’s too early for bed. i guess i’ll watch some random television until a more proper time to sleep. back to the grind tomorrow, at least for half a day. we’ll see if i’m feeling up to a full day of work yet.

still coughing up some bitter lung butter.

sick

the second day out in riverside, i ran into an old acquaintance.

i believe i met gary, who owns this lovely chevy, as well as that turquoise ford in the background, back when my kid was studying out at ucr. so, what. about a decade?

it was nice to see this car again. i believe it was out for repairs the last time i’d run into him.

i suppose i should also post a shot of his other car, only i’m a bit under the weather just now.

been traveling for the last couple of weeks, on the east coast, followed by a terribly long train ride from DC to chicago, then chicago south through texas and along the border, a total of four nights on amtrak.

so much time rocking and rolling, that when we’d have time to hop out and get some fresh air, i felt like a sailor on dry land, at least i thought that was the reason i was reeling. nope.

apparently, i caught the covid, so here i am, hiding out in my room, for at least five days. just feeling terribly sick. haven’t been this sick since 2017, when my dad was in the hospital for a valve replacement surgery.

not today

imperials show was today. intended to go. better half says when i wake up arguing with myself about going to a show, he already knows i’m not going, and goes back to sleep, no need to walk me out to the car. so, ya, one of those days.

stayed in town. went back to sleep after breakfast, instead of driving away. decided to go for a walk when i woke up. unfortunately, it would have been an ideal day at the show, as it stayed overcast until about one p.m., at least in whittier. walking uptown, i noticed some sort of thing going on a block up philadelphia, tents and vendors selling stuff. took a detour from my walk to check it out. whatever it was, they’re terrible at advertising it.

going with casita del pueblo running it, as it was all latin culture sort of stuff for sale, t-shirts with skulls and aztec symbols, paper mache art, jewelry and food trucks.

at least, i wasn’t the only one who missed the imperials’ show – lo and behold, the “mayor” was there, with his fifty-six.

he said he was invited, but was unable to go. i guess i just wasn’t up to hoping they’d let me in early.

pretty buick from the other day in cypress. nevada plates, but a boyle heights flag or whatever you call those metal things. so confused.

hammered

sorry i’ve been away from home for a while, and away from my computer. finally had a chance to go home for a night on wednesday. got dishes washed (better half has been sick and some had piled up), and had my dinner. packed my bag for the next day or two away.

finally, i was able to get to my computer. the power button is failing, but it started. had to do some tweaks to some artwork for my boy, who has quit his job and has decided to partner up with a fellow grad to start their own law firm. lemme know if you need an attorney or two—they specialize in personal injury and taxes, but can also do the usual contracts, wills, etc. that need legal attention.

that took some time out of the evening, but finally i could get back to my pictures.

i’d been to chicano park a couple of weeks ago, and took a couple thousand pics in the five hours that i was there. still sifting through those, and have only posted a couple.

last weekend, while most people were at the la puente kiwanis show, i was out at the front sight car show in diamond bar. apart from enjoying smaller shows because they aren’t as crowded, i was mostly there because the owner of this here car asked me to stop by. it was for a good cause…in honor of a veteran who had committed suicide, and to offer help to other veterans to prevent more joining him in the afterlife.

actually, most of the people i did talk to said they were there because tudy had asked them, or otherwise twisted their arms to be there. he’s a good guy, they were happy to stop by, but generally all were on their way to other shows shortly thereafter—la puente or one of several high school fundraisers.

back to the picture…let me explain. i’d spent almost a couple of hours fiddling with this car, getting the color as i liked it, spit shining the chrome, and adding my copyright to it. i saved the file, and had started an export so i could post it…

we live in an older place in whittier. his mother gets cold, so there’s a space heater near her bed. then the tvs are on in her room and the front room. i’m working at my computer with a fan running next to me, cuz i just overheat all the time. better half probably had his computer on, even though i think he had been napping.

his mom gave up coffee, and is now a big tea drinker. she sips at the same cup of tea for several hours, requiring multiple reheats through the day. not my cup of tea but whatever.

in the back of my mind i register the buttons on the microwave beeping as he punches in the time. he hits start and wanders off into the laundry room. thought nothing of it, as i’m overheating as usual. did not realize his mom had gotten chilled again, and had cranked up the heater.

yet again, the perfect storm of me saving out a picture and him overloading the circuits, and boom blows a fuse, and the lights go out.

he ain’t no dummy, that man o’mine. my computer has a battery backup. but either i’ve got the plugs on the wrong sockets, or it isn’t working, and my computer crashes. it used to happen so often, and the profuse profanity that would come out of me at high volume would make any sailor proud. now i just shrug, wait for him to reset the breaker, and turn the thing back on.

yup the file wasn’t done exporting, and both the export and the file i’d just spent precious time polishing were corrupted. the export wouldn’t open at all, and my source file was now flattened and only three-fourths there. just black at the bottom. so here it is, with a little embellishment, of what would have been a lovely picture of tudy’s chevy. not sure if i’ll rework it from scratch. i have so many other cars to look forward to sharing. oh well.

gotta kick that battery backup this weekend. one good thing i noticed though, was that the power switch seemed to be working properly again. maybe it got hammered the last time the system crashed, and this one cleared the problem up.

dammit anyway.

jaded

veteran’s show last spring over at rose hills. the “mayor’s” car, again. he always wonders why i take pictures of his car every time i see it. if i didn’t shoot cars that i’ve seen before, repeatedly, there would be far fewer cars for me to shoot around here. same guys go to the same shows, driving the same cars. but there’s always some variable that has changed, most obviously, the light and/or the location.

i’d never been to a car show in a cemetery before, so come on, that’s way different. no idea what those buildings/sculptures in the background are, but it was kind of cool, no?

my dad got out of the hospital yesterday. after three months of bland, diabetic diet food, he had my mom take him out for everything he had been craving: pho soup of some sort, ice cream shake, and diet pepsi, for starters.

this morning he was whining that the food in the fridge tasted funny and/or was out of date. reminded him that mom had spent most of the last few months driving back and forth to sit with him every day, so she really hadn’t done much shopping. pointed out the egg nog he was complaining about, was in fact, still good until the end of the month. it just tastes nasty, because…egg nog. ick.

this evening, i asked my mother-in-law if she would like me to get her something uptown. usually mentioning where i was going, leads her to remember something she used to order. tonight, instead of just california grill spaghetti, she wanted spaghetti with marinara, so i was going to have to drive out to a different restaurant.

went out to lascari’s. figured i’d just get lasagna. got mine for there; hers to go. most restaurants will hold off on the to go order, but no, the waiter brought it out with my dish.

the food there was always pretty good. is pretty good. it’s just that, after going to italy, it’s not the same. told my better half that the lasagna at the sit-down restaurant here, is on par with a fast food lasagna over there. just not very flavorful. my homemade stuff is better.

mother-in-law is happy as a clam. her spaghetti is exactly how she remembered and was craving. meanwhile, as my co-worker said the other day, i’ll continue to dream of gelatto…

and then...

the hood ornament off of one of my favorite cars...a fifty-six pontiac wagon from the old times car club. sort of futuristic, and vaguely reminds me of the logo my dad had for his business back in the day.

————-

only took a day before the effects of twelve hours in a petri dish, known as an airplane, became apparent. yep, as typical, i caught a cold of sorts. and the bitch of it is that i have no more sick time, and am in negative numbers on that now.

so i’ve gone to work, mostly keeping to myself, tired af, and trying to avoid talking so i don’t go into a coughing fit. my usual colds, don’t give me a fever, so i mostly sound deathly, but otherwise feel ok. i think now that it’s friday, i relaxed a bit, and i’m really feeling it heading into the weekend. i just want to sleep!

had already been evacuated from the house in whittier...suggested, not forced...for better half’s mother’s health.

seems she caught something anyway, and i was called back to help take her to a doctor. stayed for a night and am again staying away, so maybe my better half doesn’t catch it too.

kid is out of town with her dog and the new boy toy, so i’m hiding out in my own house. not much of my stuff here, and not a whole lot of furniture either. never started up cable for her, so really there’s nothing between me and the bed and that sleep time i’ve dreamt of all week, except this here ipad and me flicking my fingers across the screen.

hoping i feel much better tomorrow. still haven’t seen my dad since i got back from vacation. i want to get back to doing a car show once a week at least. and i still haven’t been home long enough to sift through vacation pics, that invariably will never get seen. well, better half wants to see...his vicarious means of going on a vacation by imagining what i saw via photos, video clips and tv documentaries to fill in details that i won’t tell him. no doubt when he asks about the trip, i’ll just say it was “ok.”

hope for jorene

i made it out to another fundraiser for jorene. she has cancer. i don't even know her, but i've met her people, and those that care about her. they bring out their cars, i bring out my camera, and donate the little bit i can afford.

it was local, i wasn't sure how my arm would handle it, so it was perfect for me to go.

small parking lot, and i heard cars had been turned away earlier, as it was by invitation only, for the limited spots available. they seemed to shuffle cars later on, so they probably should have come back by later in the day for a spot.

out along whittier boulevard, there was a lot of passing cars gawking and honking their horns. maybe if they'd put up a banner asking for donations, people would have stopped and kicked in some cash.

i had to ask which table was collecting the donations, so i could hand over my little bit. apparently they traded for raffle tickets. i didn't stay late enough for the raffle, so i handed them to some other photographer on the way to my car.

i did ok. not sure that i would have been ok, had i gone to pomona instead. long walk, so many cars. maybe next time.

early bird gets...

...the shot.

one more for today. for the one guy that came over to talk to me briefly, and pointed out his car and one next to it...his brother's or cousin's, i can't remember. i suppose i should put that one up too.

it was a spectacular sunrise, so this shot was more interesting than the other direction. didn't quite catch the slightly earlier, more reddish and colorful sky, as i couldn't find and decide on a single car in a good position to catch it in time.

and so it begins...

my dad is having surgery in the morning. valve replacement...one try or goodbye. hoping they don't have to crack his chest. going to be a long weekend.

hope everyone had a good thanksgiving and were grateful for those you were with.

i'll be away from my computer for a while, but i do have a relatively large number of pictures i can post here, if i have any more news or observations from a hospital room.

if you follow my instagram, you've already seen this pontiac. still a fav, and owned by the best people you could hope to know.

shot at the trunk n treat show at frisco's last month. parking lot was sooooo full, and he got there late, so i caught him parked by the hardware store. i liked the lighting, it's a bit different.

i should have done a one-eighty shot, of the two cop cars parked and watching the crowd. the dj was warning people to behave and park in designated spaces, so they don't get shut down...again.

party was still going, and more cars were arriving when i left, soon after i took this picture.