Quote:
Originally Posted by -Dan-
Looking forward to seeing more of your build. Just saying……
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Thank you for the interest in my project. It has been a couple weeks and I wish I had some progress pictures to share. I'll be back in the shop soon.
But..... Life threw a curve ball recently. I had gotten the flu, then dad.....
My dad, my hero, my mentor, my best friend took his last breath as I held his hand yesterday.
My dad just turned 79 a few weeks ago. He was just one of those guys you loved to know and be around. They say some people are a Glass Half Full or Half Empty. Well my dad was a Glass Overflowing kind of guy. He took everything in life without a complaint and kept his feet moving forward. He started smoking at 13 years old and about ten years ago his lungs started to fail him little by little. He is the guy that taught me everything Hot Rod. How to look at them, picture them, design them. He taught me how to weld, do body work and paint. When I surpassed his skill set he stepped aside and was happy to watch me grow in this trade/hobby. I know for a fact how proud he was of every single thing I did. From industry awards, to Best Paint at the Detroit Autorama and so on, he beamed with pride. I have long thought that while my name gets the mention, somewhere next to mine he should be acknowledged as well. For without him I would not be getting all of these accolades.
10 days ago we were watching the Mecum auction marveling at some of the prices. Sunday I went to see him and clearly there had been a change, he turned a corner of which there was no return. I was told Monday he had roughly 4 weeks. On Thursday the phrase Early Active Dying was uttered to me. With that came the knowledge that he has 2-5 days. On Saturday at 1:56pm with me holding one hand and my daughter his other he took his last breath.......
Dad and I in the pits of the CT Dragway when I was real little standing next to his E/MP 66 Chevelle.
You can clearly see the pride on his face in this picture. This was taken during set up at the 2018 Boston World of Wheels ISCA car show where I debuted this latest build. This was also the very last car show he was able to attend with me. The car won five awards at this show including the Steele Rubber Master Builder Award. He beamed with joy when I got that award.
