Monday Labor day, and I labored all day on the Chevelle and the great news is that the car is ready for the Route 66 car show starting Sept. 17th, as always I had a lot of help from my buddy Chris. He laid out the templates for the fan shroud I’ve decided I need to increase the engine efficiency. We got the rear window trim on, polished and waxed the chrome and took some fashion shots of the car to complete the album I have been keeping to chronicle the last two years of work on this project. Feeling good, but tired. But I’ll put an hour on the drums before I go to bed tonight. Remember, Life is Grand, and you get out of it what you put into it.

Click on each image if you want to see a larger version and click on that version to see the full size picture

Went to visit a great man Friday. Jim Ditch retired as Executive Director of  Maintenance from Long Beach about a year ago when his cancer came back and he bravely decided that Chemo and the side effects that come with it were not worth it. He chose quality of life not length of life. Jim was larger than life during his career. A knowledgeable man who has many innovations and even a few patents to his name. Jim is responsible for training programs that trained and promoted many capable people who are now maintenance directors or general managers at systems throughout California.

Jim has always been known as kind, generous with his time, and caring and compassinate about others. He was equally known and loved for his sense of humor and warm and generous spirit.

As Jim nears the end of his battle with cancer he still exudes these qualities. When you walk in the door he and his wonderful wife Carolyn immediately want to get you comfortable, and then Jim turns to his guest and wants to know how they are feeling, how they are doing with deep and genuine concern. He delights in the company of his wife and the impending visit of his beloved grand children. Jim’s bravery and undaunted spirit are an inspiration and help put out daily challenges in perspective.

Jim’s life has been and will continue to be a lesson in appreciating the good in life, delighting in your family, growing from the growth of others, helping those around you to succeed, and doing it all with a sense of humor and humility. Thank you Jim for the inspiration and the life lesson.

Finished wiring the starter with the help of a great friend/neighbor. Took the car for a long test drive, starter works great and fires off the car much faster and more dependably than the old starter, fans keep the car cooler longer but still eventually gets hot, need to look at a shroud of some type, car is being detailed, rubbed out and waxed to get ready for the car show, finished up, and cleaned up to meet our sons future in laws. GREAT family, easy to know, easy to talk to and easy to like.

My point in these last two blogs is at 55 and diagnosed with Parkinsons 5 years ago, I put in two 16 hour day working on the car, entertaining guests with no detectable problems. Sure my right hand isn’t as steady as it used to be, I have learned to use my left hand when a steady job needs to be done. All other aches and pains are realistically more to do with the natural aging process. I live each day with a sense of gratitude and treat each day as the gift that it is.