Tag Archives: buick

Al capone, 75 years of Buick history in one family + me

19 Oct

this morning i woke up at my usual time of 4:45am.  does that mean i’m getting old?

i like it anyway because i get so much done.  sometimes i tell myself (quite literally) to chill out and just read or something.  today, i pulled out a box of old photos and there was a folder on top.  it was a draft from an article my dad wrote (i helped) for a publication.

if you’re into cars, in the business or not, you might appreciate this.  i didn’t know my grandpa but he was a pretty cool dude including being Buick’s General Service Manager for the whole country but also when he was single, he fixed Al Capone’s henchman’s cars.  #badass

but the most fun for me today (already) was reading this.  most of all because i could hear my dad’s voice in this draft below.   he wrote this about my grandpa.  if you’ve ever had someone you love for years and years pass away and then read something they wrote and hear their voice in it – it’s like they are reaching out from the grave and talking to you.

here you go – it’s three pages.  this was published in a couple of car publications.  for those of you in the business that think i’m just another ad chick that doesn’t know anything about anything – know that at my very core i come from 75 years of very smart and passionate car people!  🙂

 

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al capone, 75 years of Buick history in one family + me

1 Oct

this morning i woke up at my usual time of 4:45am.  does that mean i’m getting old?

i like it anyway because i get so much done.  sometimes i tell myself (quite literally) to chill out and just read or something.  today, i pulled out a box of old photos and there was a folder on top.  it was a draft from an article my dad wrote (i helped) for a publication.

if you’re into cars, in the business or not, you might appreciate this.  i didn’t know my grandpa but he was a pretty cool dude including being Buick’s General Service Manager for the whole country but also when he was single, he fixed Al Capone’s henchman’s cars.  #badass

but the most fun for me today (already) was reading this.  most of all because i could hear my dad’s voice in this draft below.   he wrote this about my grandpa.  if you’ve ever had someone you love for years and years pass away and then read something they wrote and hear their voice in it – it’s like they are reaching out from the grave and talking to you.

here you go – it’s three pages.  this was published in a couple of car publications.  for those of you in the business that think i’m just another ad chick that doesn’t know anything about anything – know that at my very core i come from 75 years of very smart and passionate car people!  🙂

 

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lyrical sunday: we live

16 Sep

on september 25th, my dad will have been gone 7 years.  

hardest for me to believe (and i’ve always thought this) is that a living, breathing human being who was such an integral part of my life is just…gone.  never to be spoken to again.

maybe some of you know how i feel.  every single day, i think about my dad.  either it is remembering the funny line from the movie “wedding crashers” (she’s a stage 5 clinger!) that he laughed at or feeling his hands as they got so soft from the chemo or a james taylor song on the radio.

but around this time of year, i reflect on something that many people and maybe not so many know about.  how to hold someone’s hand as they bravely die.  as their body shuts down.  i remember september 24th, 7 years ago now, sleeping on the couch next to my dad’s bed at night watching his chest go up and down in the night.  i would hold my cell phone up and shine it across the room just to make sure he would know i was there.

for today, i want to share with you some lyrics that have always meant a lot to me.  i swear i need to engrave them somewhere so every morning i remember this.  in a world of a very shallow focus of “keeping up with the jones” these are great words to remember.

There’s a cross on the side of the road
Where a mother lost her son
How could she know that the morning he left
Would be the last time she’d trade with him for a little more time
(so she could say she loved him one last time)
And hold him tight
But with life we never know when we’re coming up to the end of the road
So what do we do then
With tragedy around the bend

We live, we love, we forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love
We live, we love, we forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love

There’s a man who waits for the tests to
See if the cancer had spread yet
And now he asks why did I wait to live ’til it was time to die
If I could have the time back, how I’d live
Life is such a gift
So how does the story end?
Well, this is your story and it all depends
So don’t let it become true
Get out and do what we were meant to do

We live, we love, we forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love
We live, we love, we forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love

Waking up to another dark morning
People are mourning
The weather in life outside is storming
But what would it take for the clouds to break
For us to realize each day
Is a gift somehow, someway
And get our heads up out of this darkness
And spark this new mindset and start on with life cuz it ain’t gone yet
And tragedy’s a reminder to take off the blinders and wake up
(to live the life)
We’re supposed to take up
(moving forward)
With all our heads up
Cuz life is worth living

We live, we love, we forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love
We live, we love, we forgive and never give up
Cuz the days we are given are gifts from above
And today we remember to live and to love

 -superchick (look the song up!)

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hey dad – start here

21 Sep

this weekend holds two momentous occasions for me.

saturday, is my one year anniversary to my wonderful husband ROF.  i’m going to give that it’s own post.  on the 25th it will be the anniversary of my dad’s death.  it will be 6 years on sunday.  it’s not sad, just i remember back to everything that happened that you can read here.

this story i found on-line on a flint, michigan website.  i’m in michigan now and i think of this with every coney place i pass.  it’s one of my favorite and something that was passed around on email FOREVER.  it so has my dad’s way of telling a story which i miss so much:

Famous Coney Sauce

 Passed on by Barbara Bacon Ewing

 From Jim Krause….R.I.P.


Good Evening folks! Since we all spent at least one afternoon in beautiful downtown Flint, this should bring back some memories.

This has been a secret of mine for years that I have been unwilling to share. However, in my present state, I am hoping that if I can share so much joy for so many people, the good Lord will say this man needs to be saved. OK, I know it is a long shot, but worth a try.


A LITTLE HISTORY:


No matter what you may have heard, I grew up in the Coney Island hot dog capital of the world. (Flint, Michigan.)  As a youth, a perfect evening would be taking a date home and then going directly to your favorite Coney island restaurant. In my case, it was the Original Coney Island located on Saginaw Street down from the Durant Hotel by the railroad tracks.  You could pull right up in front in the no parking space as long as you were just running in for “two to go”.  At 1:00 AM the place was full of drunks and hookers but that had no bearing on the Coney Islands.  I would get two with onions and head for home.  The plan would be not to ever try and eat a Coney in the car. However, about two blocks away the smell would be just too much. I would say to myself, I will very carefully eat one on the way home. No matter how carefully you tried, those onions and sauce would drop between my legs and sometimes fall on the floor. They were also known to ruin a great new tie. It didn’t seem too serious at the time, but the next day when you opened your car door after three hours in the sun, those Coney’s had a different smell.

Now, some people will tell you the key to the Coney island mixture is the Koegel hot dogs that are only available in Flint or online. However, you can still make a great Coney with regular hot dogs.
Before, I give you the recipe, this is the way to fix the Coney Island Dog on a soft hot dog bun, steamed bun would be best, mustard to taste, much Coney island mix, and then top with a generous portion of chopped onions.

Cheese is optional. If you are on a diet, do the same thing without the bun. (low carbs)


I can usually get about two dinners, four lunches and one late night snack out of a mixture. After six days and seven warm ups you sometimes get a little green tint to the meat. That tells you it is time for a new mixture. But DO NOT throw out the old mixture, just mix it in with the new and therefore none is wasted.

Here is the recipe:

1 tb butter
1 tb margarine
1 1/2 lb LEAN ground beef
2 md onions finely minced
1 clove garlic finely minced or equiv garlic powder
3 tb chile power
1 tb prepared mustard
1 6oz can tomato paste
1 6oz can water
10 skinless hot dogs
salt and pepper to taste

Do NOT brown beef before using!!!  Combine all except hot dogs and simmer until thick. Grind up the skinless hot dogs or chop in food processor.
Stir in and cook 15 min longer. The big secret in this recipe is the ground up hot dogs.

DO NOT SEND MONEY………………JUST ENJOY!

 

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“the story” – finally! – part 3

27 Jul

good day!

if you’re joining in the “the story” for the first time today, then, please read part 1 and then part 2 and you’ll be all caught up and ready for part 3. which is right here.  won’t take long.

so where does this find you on this downright balmy wednesday morning …at the kitchen table with a cuppa joe, laying down with the laptop propped on your stomach (my favorite pose) or can’t sleep at night and nothing is on tv?  i hope it finds you well.  let’s get on with the story at hand, shall we?

we left off with a pretty dramatic flourish.  a crescendo if you will.  and those that know me know that is so unlike me – to be dramatic.

i remember the day vividly.  like it was yesterday.  have you ever had one of those times in your life where everything bad converged at once?  like one thing wasn’t bad enough, God goes ahead and just piles it on.  this was that year for me.

Continue reading →

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