VERY OLD ART

[W Humble]

KIndle Direct Publishing doesn't allow much creativity or control over these Kindle Vella 'covers', as they'e only ebooks.  Not the format I'd have chosen, but niether were the other ones; makes them look so amateurish!  Wick

[JPL-ACE]

Replying to "Thanks, but..."

More and more similarities. I had a friend in all 4 HS years and about 50 more (though he passed on a few years ago). I had to wait an hour for my dad to get off work and Mike and I would sit and doodle (where much of my posted art was made) and hit off each other. He was the better artist and even had some commercial success until he was drafted. We corresponded while we did our tours (I joined so went to Germany). But he went on to be a Postman till he retired. Too bad he did not pursue his art. I was not in the same league as you guys, so I went to college for engineering and worked for NASA/JPL as a Mission Controller for most of my career.

I had dreams of fixing my crop of old classics in retirement but waited too long and a few medical problems left me just strong enough to walk normal (more or less). But I married a wonderful Ethnic Chinese and we raised an artistic daughter we talked into computer science. She was good at it but did not like it so tried to go the starving artist bit. So now she works for the school district and does her art for fun.

BTW, my 1:1s are 64 Camino, 56 Nomad, 56 Sedan, 57 Chevy Truck, and a couple of foreigners. 86 Samauri and my brother's 79 Toy pickup. Only the Toy runs. Humorously my main driver is 20+ year old Subaru with a junky old 2000 Kia as backup. I live in the Boondocs in S Calif and can't find any cheap backyard mechanics to start working on these.

So there you have my life in a nut shell. Here are 3 more pics.

[W Humble]

I like the drawings, esp the engineering ideas!  I had a '55 Nomad back in the 'eighties, fixed all the rust and tried to waterproof the liftgate with another weatherstrip, etc.  We made the mistake of trying to make a family car of it, and at 30 years old, it wasn't in the cards.  Gypsy red, w/w radials and stock B-A wheelcovers, plus a special P-Pak 265 with B-W overdrive (had a 350 and PG when acquired for $3K!)  That car got an honest 25-mpg on the road using the OD as much as possible, on regular gas.  Being a trucker (not long before) I made the kickdown discretionary, and could split shifts in second and third = five speeds!  I like our T-5 trans (from S-10 pickups) so much better.  The '51 Chevy has a five-speed, the '51 Ford a B-W OD, and the Poncho just a PG -- out back!  My restomod 240Z has the L28 engine and five-speed from a 280, of course. Plus discs, leather seats, etc.

I found drawings (not so hot) of my first and third cars that I may post; and photos of the models I made of them.  The '51 Ford had to be converted from the AMT /49, and the tail-lites, to my surprise, were not available in resin, so don't look very real.  I dropped almost $40 on PPG custom-mixed paint for the kit, supposed to be Hondouras Maroon, but now called Garnet Red -- or something.  The '55 was 'Refrigerator White' with blue striping; interior was striped in white.

As I might have mentioned, I earned my BA class of '68, and got a CAS Civilian-Acquired Skill MOS in the Green Machine: 81E20 or Graphic Arts Illustrator, and was posted for 21 mos at Ft Sam Houston TX attached to Brooke Army Medical Center/Medical Field-Service School, and did all kinds of art jobs; even learned something too!  Made SP5 E-5, and then got out for grad school in 1970.

I hitched up with a local gal, Benita, Latina of course, who should have known better, but I hung our with her brothers and cousins, so was acceptable.  She was cheerleader and class valedictorian, and I was hot rodder, first trombone, and 23 from the bottom of my class of '63.  She was '67, too young to date in HS!  We've been hitched since '72, and have two kids and four grandkids; all pretty artistic, I must say.  Youngest wants to make a career of it; hope she also gets her teaching credential, as a back-up plan.  She and I have our health issues, including the BIG C, but are getting along for now.

We have been sweating out the Park Fire, about 2-3 miles away, but at the heel and mostly burnt out/cold now.  We have too much valuable junk; the model cars prob would have been left behind, darnit.  I'm too ancient for this BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH!  I mostly work on kits in the colder months; finishing up my son's '51 Chevy and the '61 Tempest currently.  I have a '53 Stude sedan I'd like to slice & dice into a custom roadster next.  Wish me luck!

Wick

[JPL-ACE]

Wick, I somehow thought you were in Canada. The Park Fire I hear about is just N of Sacramento, CA. I happen to have 10 acers near Redding (old investment).