A Dream Come True

[Gregg]

I'm at LAX, writing this

Went to the Grand National Roadster Show in Pomona this weekend.

Yesterday, I got to meet my long time idol: Rich Guasco, the man behind Pure Hell, my favorite car of all time.

I spent about ten minutes talking to him, he signed some photos for me, and let me take this picture:

[LoneWolf15]

Gregg ,

Word has it , that in his day , Rich had a temper , as in bad ! One of his buddy's nicknamed Rich "Pure Hell " , hence the name of the car ! It appears from the picture that he still has that gleam in his eye . Old drag racers never die..... Dey just go faster ! Glad to see you out and about and having fun !

The Old Man

[Gregg]

And then I met this guy.

[george 53]

GREAT ta see ya back Big Kahuna! We missed yer ol raggely self! Oh, an who IS the smiley guy in the second pic?

[Peter Lombardo]

This is the one and only Norm Grabowski. Known as the "Father of the T Bucket" and the creator of the legendary “Kookie†T Bucket from the 1960’s detective show named “77 Sunset Stripâ€. Kookie was the “crazy†hot rod Car Hop character played by Ed Burns who was known as Ed “Kookie†Burns. The famous line was “Kookie, Kookie, lend my your combâ€. :-)

[Eshaver]

" :unsure: Kookie, Kookie.........lend me yer comb!" Whew aint but one Norm, that is Norn , hey Norm! Ed Shaver

[RodBurNeR]

Very cool Gregg! I talked to Darryl tonight and he said it was a great show. Looks like some great memories formed for you!

[Gregg]

They weren't memories, they were dreams come true.

I am so blessed.

The greatest "job" in the world

The greatest friends anyone could ask

Being able to show up in places thousands of miles away from home and people stop and say hi, meeting new friends, putting names to faces, grabbing stories and articles along the way....

And who knows, maybe even a new contributing Sketch Pad artist for the magazine.....

It really was a fantastic weekend.

Even though spoiled Gregg didn't get his upgrades on the flight, I still enjoyed this trip more than any I can remember in a long long time.

This just goes to show you: You never know when or where I will show up.

Just the look on the faces of a few in Pegasus Hobbies in Montclair when John Oszajaca and I showed up was so cool: Lil' Joe, Bill, Tony (and Tony's other half, Makiko sp?, don't shoot me if I got the spelling wrong), was what I love doing.

Jairus and I would drive across country sometimes and pop into local mom & pop hobby shops and not say a word.

It was and is so cool and so much fun to do.

I love coming back to a show and hearing guys tell me, or actually appologize, that they didn't know who I was when I was talking to them.

That's the way I like it.

I'm just a guy who builds models who was in the right place at the right time, and has been able to devote over ten years of his life to his passion, hobby, and dream.

And this past weekend really makes the struggles all worth it.

Okay, that's it, I pau

I will post pics the next few days

Thanks, everyone, for everthing

[george 53]

And YOU SIR, are Quite welcome, And Thank YOU! for EVERYTHING!!!!

[Modellpularn]

Ohh, good for you! It's always cool to meet old "heroes". I met Ed Roth and George Barris when I was at the Roadster Show in '99. I happened to stroll by Ed's booth, took some pics of him, and all of a sudden, here comes George Barris, and I got a pic of both of them. I thought that was cool. Met Pat Ganahl briefly also.

No more pics of the show? I've seen some that a fellow modeler on our swedish model forum linked to. Many cool cars, and there's one, or maybe two cars from Sweden. The one I saw is a leather covered A Ford phaeton.....

[jeffb]

did ya buy us all some jerky from the jerky hut?

[MR BIGGS]

Nice pics Gregg.

Sorry I missed you, I got there a little late and Darrel told me you had just left. Maybe next time buddy. Im glad you had a blast and got to meet one of your Idol's. Hope to see you in Santa Clara, CA. Take care Buddy, also glad you made it home safe.