Congratulations wife

Real proud of ya'.

Swindlers Poker Run, 2008

Yesterday my friends and I went on a little poker run put on by The World Famous Swindlers of Mt. Vernon, Washington. A bunch of the folks on the run asked to see what I was shooting, and as it's tough to email a lot of pic.'s, here are a handful.

150+ miles driven on the run
52 hot rods and customs
An experience so pure it's tough to put words to it

I had a really, really great time. Thanks to each of you for the great company and thanks to Mike and Josh for letting me ride along and for being Mike and Josh.

Swindlers Poker Run, 2008

Swindlers Poker Run, 2008

Swindlers Poker Run, 2008

Swindlers Poker Run, 2008

Tatoos

Most of the images I put up here are my own, but not this one. Trevelen over at SuperCo shared it a while back on the Church of Choppers thinger and it blew me away. It's still blowing me away.

Those are real tatoos and the kind I was familiar with as a kid. You had to be a sailor, biker, or ex-convict to have them and I can assure you that they weren't about to make TV shows about the guys grinding them in back then because they were, yes, you guessed it, sailors, bikers, and ex-convicts.

Beautiful.

Old bikers

Before Jesse James, TV shows, or even my exposure to the internet I was drawn to bikers. No, not the modern, hyper-stylized, my age, picture-perfect period bikers with the right shoes, rare eBay accessories on their bikes, and just the right amount of denim of today; I'm talking about bikers. Old, grizzled, initially scary, walk-with-a-limp from years of kickstarting their scooters bikers. I like those guys.

My fascination as a kid and up until five or so years ago with these characters was primarily due to the aesthetic. In a world of lemmings, they stood out because of how they looked and what they rode. I dug it. Over the past five years though I've realized what it is I really enjoy about them and why I spend increasing amounts of my time in their company.

They're fun and honorable in a peculiar way.

They don't take themselves too seriously and their versions of fun don't generally involve constraints someone else provided for them to live by. Live free or die- you've heard that one right? Well many of these old codgers do it.

Regarding the honorable thing: Whose ahead in the game here, the guy in the Porsche who drives by the old lady broken down on the side of the road, or the doesn't-have-two-cents-to-rub-together biker who stops to help?

I've probably just been fortunate in that the old guys I've gotten to know over the years have been stand-up individuals. Or maybe I really am as far off my rocker as some think, who knows?

Above are my friends Mike and Gary, two old bikers. I make a point of visiting these two a few times a month and I never regret it. Never. Along with Anthony, Jake, Josh, and Mike S., they're awful good friends and a large part of what keep me going not only with the old bikes, but in life in general. My family too, of course.

Here's to you gentlemen. I know in one way or another this song suits each of you well. I know you were all born with a tail.

The Anti-Smart

There you are, stopped at the traffic light in your Prius or Smart or other sensible car just listening to some Jack Johnson and thinking about tree love, pachouli, and dirty feet. Out of the blue, some dude pulls up on your right and all you see as you look out the passenger's window is a real life version of the image above, shaking away with a ragged idle and belching out super sweet race fuel exhaust.

That dude waves, shifts into gear with a big ca-chunk, and lights 'em up. You're pissed for all the reasons people with too many causes get pissed for. That other guy- the guy in the fossil fuel burning monster, he's just happy.

I'd like to be that other guy.

Lowered Lid

My friend Ryan decided to chop the top on his Model A. We took some pictures of it mid-summer and did a few more last night to show the new proportions.



I'm really fond of Ryan's car. It has a perfect stance, isn't flashy, doesn't have a bunch of unobtainable parts on it, and is motivated by an early small block Chevy. Flathead Fords, Hemis, Nailheads, and other rare motors are all neat, but when you break down 200 miles away from home there's something nice about walking into a parts store and knowing they have what you need to get rolling again. The small block Chevy is a common motor, where those others aren't.

I'm also fond of the location we used to shoot the car. It's right down the road from my house and to date, it's my favorite.

The little old garage

I took some pictures of a neat '30 Ford Roadster in front of a little 30's-era, broken-down old garage the other day and found the boxes above stuffed in the wall. Insulation maybe? Mom owns a maple farm and monster pancake house, so the Sleepy Hollow Syrup logo caught my eye immediately.



The people who owned the land the garage was on were really nice and let us back the car into the garage to snap a few. If I were to get all fancy with PhotoShop and faux age the shots you'd be hard pressed to tell they weren't from an era gone by. That would involve my knowing how to use PhotoShop though, which I don't.

Rat Bike

Killer.

No bull type of guy

Cliche

Look familiar?

Every car Higgins builds is built as a model first. Here's the full size version.



Just ask Steve-O about the models - he'll tell you all about them. Steve-O is AMOCAT's shop slow kid and is a fucking great guy. He's also a Puyallup, WA celebrity.



Here's the model of a '29 the shop recently turned out. This car is AMOCAT's Crown Jewel and won 'Best of Show' at the last Billetproof.

Super hardcore chopper & hot rod stuff bro...

Nah, just flowers. These are Dahlias that are blooming in our neighborhood right now.



On my way into work yesterday I stopped and snapped some pic.'s.



The woman who owns the house the flowers are out in front of is an older gal and was very nice. She knew a lot about them, even though they're her husbands project.



She wants him to let her use one of his Dahlia beds for tomatoes next year. I say keep the Dahlias.

The zipper learning curve is steep...but you'll get it kiddo

AMOCAT = TACOMA Backwards

Poke around the internet and this blogger a little and you'll see what my friends Josh and Steve are up to. Great guys building great cars.

I'm no artist, I'm just common people man, just common people.

Someday though...someday.

Spuds

I'm gettin' me some 'taters come Sunday.

Time flies

It's been almost five years since I did this little 45. Long gone.

Grinder, hand drill, torch, welder, patience

Amazing what you can build when you have to. Things from an era before mail-order are the best things.

Neat seat

Love that old long hair witchy tweaker chopper stuff.

Things change

In 1908 that symbol meant something entirely different than it does today. It was a symbol of good luck and was readily used on post cards, greeting cards, and keys to cities.

All that said, it's not 1908 and it doesn't mean what it used to. Display at your own risk.

Blue skies

It's been pretty nice here in Seattle over the past few days. The month of September seems to be the best the area has to offer when it comes to favorable weather.

Just Kick'n It

Big guy's first soccer game was this past weekend. No other word to describe it but cute.



While Logan worked it out on the field, the young lady was busy providing superior quality child care.