Hot Rods and Cool Memories

I love drawing older cars. I think that the older ones have a little more class than the newer ones. Oh sure, the cars of today can go over 200 mph and have more electronic equipment on them than the space station, but they just don't have the pizazz of an old '69 Camaro, or a '32 Ford Coupe.

My first car was a 1972 Chevy Impala, convertible. It was charcoal gray with a lighter gray, vinyl interior. The old man I bought it from sold it to me for $800 and it was still all original. 350 small block engine and automatic transmission, and one of the old push button radios.

After I got it home me and my dad got started to work on it. It had a busted motor mount on the right side so whenever you tried to stomp it the motor would raise up and the fan would hit the shroud. My father never liked small blocks and he wanted something with some "meat" under the hood. Being only 16 years old and working part time in a truss shop before and after school, I didn't exactly have the money for a new motor. Dad helped me sell the 350 and then loaned me the rest of the money to buy the big 454 that he wanted to put in. We finally found an engine that we wanted, bought it, cleaned it up and sent it off with the transmission to Atlanta to be reworked. Dad wanted them balanced. I didn't even know what that was at the time but Dad said that it would make the car run better, smoother and faster. FASTER!!! Hell!! That's all I needed to hear!!! That was the longest wait of my entire life. I didn't think they would ever get back. Everyday I got home I would look down at my father's shop and see my car sitting there covered with a tarp. Ugh!!

Finally everything arrived and we went to work. I was so excited I think I could have put everything in by myself, but Dad was right there beside me all of the way. He would keep a piece of broom handle with him and whenever he thought that I had tightened something enough he would rap me across the knuckles with it. OUCH!! I asked him why he couldn't just say "That's tight enough" or something to that effect and his reply was simple and pure Dad, "You'll remember this more." He was right. He usually was. We added dual Holly carburetors, dual exhaust, chrome mags all the way around with white letter fatties, and a Kraco car stereo with a tape deck and 4 new 6X9's in the back. Can you say, " WWWOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

We got it all put back together and took it out for a run. The dual exhaust sounded like a demon screaming. We took it down some back roads for a awhile when Dad suggested we air it out on the interstate. I was more than happy to oblige. I was cruising down I-85 North at about 90 when from out of nowhere a '68 Camaro rolled up beside me and romped the gas. Two words came out of my father's mouth..."Get 'em!!", and down the road we went. That Camaro was dialed in a little better than the Impala, ... and... they didn't call the '72 Impala the 'Lead Sled' for nothing. But still, I'll never forget the look on my dad's face as we went screaming down that highway doing 140+. It was a very good day and one of my favorite memories.

After the ride was over and we had parked the Impala, my Dad turned and put his arm aorund my shoulder and, with a smile, said "Yep. We did good."

Big, Bad, Nasty Viruses!! There EVERYWHERE!!!

I'm sorry I haven't' posted anything lately. I'm sure the 3 people that read this blog are completely devastated, but it couldn't be avoided.

A few days ago while looking for pictures to put into one of my Facebook albums I managed to also down load a virus. The 'Antivirus Live' virus to be exact. I can tell you that this is one nasty little creature. It effects almost everything on your computer and will effect the way you use Internet Explorer and is almost impossible to get rid of.

Wikipedia says, "A computer virus is a computer program that can copy itself and infect a computer. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, adware, and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability." Not only can the virus copy itself to another computer, it can also be written to copy itself to other programs on the same computer. So once it gets in, it can literally destroy everything stored on your computer. AND if you try to transfer files from one computer to another via a USB storage devise, you will most likely take the virus with you.

"Viruses are sometimes confused with computer worms and Trojan horses, which are technically different. Worms and Trojans, like viruses, may cause harm to either a computer system's hosted data, functional performance, or networking throughput, when they are executed. Some viruses and other malware have symptoms noticeable to the computer user, but many are surreptitious or go unnoticed." (Wikipedia) So a 'virus' is purposely written to cause damage. It's done ON PURPOSE!!! Why? What possible thrill can come from destroying some one's computer? People have their memories and careers and lives on computers now a days. Why destroy that? Do these 'program writers' not have memories of there own? And if I may quote The Smirking Cat, "If you are smart enough to write programs to destroy, why not use that knowledge for something that actually does some GOOD?!?!?" (see why I'm with her?)

In order to replicate itself, a virus must be permitted to execute code and write to memory. For this reason, many viruses attach themselves to executable files that may be part of legitimate programs. If a user attempts to launch an infected program, the virus' code may be executed simultaneously. Viruses can be divided into two types based on their behavior when they are executed. Nonresident viruses immediately search for other hosts that can be infected, infect those targets, and finally transfer control to the application program they infected. Resident viruses do not search for hosts when they are started. Instead, a resident virus loads itself into memory on execution and transfers control to the host program. The virus stays active in the background and infects new hosts when those files are accessed by other programs or the operating system itself.

Some viruses can do whats called a "self modification". That means that the virus will change it's 'signature' or code to each item it has infected. When your antivirus program scans what you are trying to down load, it will not recognize the signature.

Although most viruses are hard to detect, they are not impossible to stop. Make sure that your antivirus program updates itself regularly. There are a lot of free antivirus programs out there but most of them don't catch the threat until it has already entered your system. Make sure you check out the antivirus program you have and keep it up to date.

There are ways to protect your computer even if you do get a virus. A bit of preventive maintenance, if you will. Make sure that you do a system back up regularly. If a virus does get in you can do a System Restore (only on Windows, I think) and it will usually remove the virus atomically. Some times you will still have to re-install some programs, but that is better than replacing the entire computer. As for me, I am still trying to remove every last bit of the virus. I have another computer so I am back up and running. And believe me, I am looking for a good antivirus program as we speak.

I hope this information helped someone. And please, be careful where you click your mouse, you don't know where its been.

Angel Of Fire

I have been working on this picture for about 2 weeks now. I needed it to be as close to perfect as I could make it. This drawing is very important to me because I drew this in honor of someone that means a great deal to me.

I have called her my hero, my one, my goddess, but she is, for sure, my angel. She is not like any other angel you will find. She will not coddle you and make feel warm and fuzzy because you just did something stupid. She won't sit around and tell you that everything is going to be alright when there is a good chance that it isn't. She won't turn the other cheek or back down from someone just because they need to feel tough. She won't try to make someone feel good about themselves just because they need and ego boost. She will not stand for any disrespect at any time. She definitely believes is doling out 'tough love'.

She will always be there when you need her. She will defend her family to the very end. She will stand in defiance to anyone/anything that tries to do them harm in ANY way. She has stood by me while the world caved in around me and never let go of my hand. She offered a calming voice that drowned out all of the screams that filled my head. She stood by me while I battled demon after demon and never let me forget that I had the strength to win. She stands by me today. She is still holding on to me. She is very much like this picture. She is an angel of fire. That fire can keep you warm or , if need be, she can set you ablaze.

She is beautiful, smart, strong, funny (although not as funny as she may think at times), brave, sexy, fragile, never weak, and in a word, perfect. She is my everything and the main source of balance I have. I have called her my rock in the past, but she is more than that. She has fought tooth and nail to keep the four people that matter most to me with in arms reach and has asked for nothing in return by my love, loyalty and respect. I gladly offer them to her. Freely and without disdain. She is MY knight in shinning armor. I treasure her.

We have been together for over 3 years and are not getting along very well right now because there is just so much stress wrapped around us almost all the time. But our love is holding us together. I drew this picture for her to let her know that my thoughts and feelings for her have not changed. They are still there and stronger than ever. I want her to know that I am truly sorry for any pain I have brought into her life. I never intended to hurt her. I never will hurt her again.

Some people might read this and think that it is too sappy. That these are just a bunch of words typed in to make people go 'awwww'. Or that this is just another stupid 'I love you' post. To those people I say you have never felt this woman's love. For if you had, you would surely sit back and nod your head as you read this and think to yourself, "He's right, she's all of that and more".

I hope you understand that the words I have here for you are words of love, respect and admiration. You are and will always be my hero, my lover, my partner, my best friend, my one, my angel. We DO have a relationship. I can't promise that the things around us will ever get better, but I will promise that I can do better to show you just how much you mean to me.

I Love You.

Art and Conversation

I have been trying something different to try and break up the routine of being stuck at home EVERY single day. (No, not by choice). I have been walking down to a small park that is about 2 miles away from the house that I am living in. The park has a walking trail around a lake. It also has benches and tables where you can sit and just pass the time. I decided to start going there every day and just enjoy and good walk and the fresh air.

Yesterday, while sitting at "my" table a homeless man approached me and I was instantly annoyed. I was so sure that he was going to ask me for money or just sit and talk until my ears bled. I was wrong about both.

He introduced himself as Keith and offered his hand. When I shook his hand I noticed two things. First, that his hand was as cold as ice. Second, that he had the warmest smile I have seen in a while. He said that he noticed that I was drawing and just wanted to come over and sit with me a while because he was an artist too. I explained to him my "I'm not an artist, I just like to draw" theory to which he quickly replied, "Bullshit! If you draw then it is art and you are an artist!". I didn't argue anymore.

He began to tell me how he used to just keep a piece of paper and a pencil with him all the time just in case he had the urge to create a masterpiece. I offered him some paper and a pencil and we sat there and talked and sketched our pictures. I was working on this one at the time. Kieth drew out some landscaping from the scenery of the park, and I have to admit, it was really good. He would draw a little piece of a tree or a duck from the lake and then quickly stop to shade it with his finger. I offered him a little shading tool that I had made from just a torn piece of paper and he informed me that he didn't really need "fancy tools". I told him about this blog and asked if he would let me have the picture so I could post it here for people to see, (...that's if anyone actually reads this thing...) and he explained to me that he has art in museums all over and Florida and all around the world. Mostly he keeps them at his mother's house, but the really good ones go to a museum somewhere.
Our visit was cut short because they were giving away free canned food around the corner and Keith had to go. Whether or not he has drawings hanging in a museum is not for me to decide. I've never been in a museum, so how would I know. I only know that I enjoyed our conversation and I hope to have a chance to visit with Keith again.

The Incredible Hulk

I have always loved comic books for the colors and the details. The story line was just an added bonus. I would sit in the floor of my room with a whole stack of them and take in the beautiful art that filled the pages from cover to cover. And hey, who didn't want a pair of x-ray glasses or be able to beat up the sand kicking bully? In fact, I just passed down two milk crates full of comics to my oldest son, who seems to love them just as much as I do. (COOL!!) I have always been more partial to Marvel comics than DC, although Batman is one of the coolest heroes ever.

The picture I have today is of the Incredible Hulk. "The STRONGEST There Is!!!", and, one of my most favorite characters. I drew it a long time ago and I believe I seen it in a magazine as a 'Got Milk' add.

What makes the Hulk so cool is that he never asked to be here. It wasn't his idea that Bruce Banner play around while a gamma bomb exploded (Yes, I know about Rick Jones). And now that he is here all he wants to do is smash someone and then be left alone. N0w I ask you, what harm can come from that? Another reason is that the Hulk has no limit to his strength. The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets.

Now, if you ask Bruce Banner he will tell you that having the Hulk around is a nuisance, but I disagree. How many times have we wished that we could just let our 'inner monster' loose? No regard, no remorse, just let it out and see what happens. Just reach through that little hole in the glass and slap the shit out of someone because they were, purposely, being as annoying as humanly possible.

We seem to live in a society that absolutely has a panic attack whenever someone gets the least bit upset. We've seen it in a restaurant, or while shopping. Someone gets mad and shouts at someone else and, instantly, people are afraid. They have their phones out and have them on stand by, ready to dial 911 (or the Marines, whichever they feel may be needed at the time). I'm not sure why. How do we know the person that just got yelled at didn't have it coming.

I'm not saying that we should just stand by idly and watch as some one gets the dog snot beat out of them because the just happened to wear the 'wrong' color T-shirt through the 'wrong' part of town, or as some crazy person goes tearing through a crowded place shooting at anything that moves. I'm only saying that anger is just another emotion, same as happiness, sadness, fear or even guilt. But we are taught from an early age that getting mad is just wrong. "Stay calm, Don't get upset" Why? I WANT to be upset! I DESERVE to be upset!

There are so many people that go out of their way to see just how mad they can make someone. Maybe its about time we took the Hulk's advice and just start "SMASHING PUNY HUMANS!!!!"

Skull and a Snake

I have two versions of the same drawing here. After finishing the first one I took a look at it and decided that something just didn't fit. I discussed this with my oldest son and my girl friend and we all decided that the eye had to go.

After that, I was informed that I needed to add a glob of maggots or another snake, a ball of fire, or a cloud of poot gas coming out of the eye socket. After removing the actual eye I decided that was all the picture needed.

It took me about 3 days to finish this one because I took the time to shade in around each scale individually, something my scanner didn't find as important as I did. (I gotta get a new scanner)
Here is the second and final version of the drawing. I think it turned out very well.

I like dropping myself into a picture like this. While working on this nothing else was in my head. No matter what is going on in my life. All of it goes away when I am drawing. All that is left is me and the idea in my head. It is most definitely a way for me to get away for a while. At least until my 4 beautiful wonder bugs come back to see me. Then I get to watch them make their own little master pieces.

1st Time

Hello There. I thought it was time that I actually did some typing on my own. After all, this is called 'Gary's Greetings'. I've never really tried anything like this before so I would ask that you be a little patient with me until I figure out how this stuff actually works. I am sure there is going to be more that a few typos, misprints and misspellings before this is all over.

I have always loved to draw. It is a way for me to just get away. Just sit down with my pencils and paper and the radio on and make something take shape. I do not consider myself the be the world's greatest artist. I don't really consider myself an "artist" at all. I just love to draw.

The picture here was actually one of the most popular designs I drew while I was a resident of the Harvey Hilton. I am not really sure why. This is just another version of the 'Laugh Now, Cry Later' masks, but this little drawing paid for more than a few canteen orders.