Sometimes it does payoff in the end to be persistent.  Or annoying, which ever way you want to look at it....

Foreword:

I have lots of stories that involve cars. I have been around classic cars all of my life because my dad has been a mechanic since he was 10 years old.  I have seen 1000s of old cars come through dad's shop over my 51 years.  It's in his blood as well as mine and now my son's.  

And the cool thing is, every car tells a different story.  And, no I'm not referring to "Christine".  ;-)

Now for the story

Road trips are the best kinds of trips sometimes.  They're fast paced and you never know what to expect or what's going to happen. 

This email is a story about a man and his car.  It is also has a funny story within a story so I hope you'll stick with me and read it.

When my dad and mom started dating in the early 1960's dad owned a black 57 Chevy 210 Hardtop he bought new.  They went on a lot of dates in this car.  Well later on dad sold it but it always had a special place in his memory. 

No joke, 2 weeks later the guy that bought it wrecked it.  Tore the whole front end off the car and bent the frame.  So what did dad do?  He bought it back and held on to it until the 90's with the intention to fix it up.  

But it just sat behind his shop rusting away.  Needing the money to help pay some bills he sold it to a guy named Wayne.  Dad asked Wayne to promise that he would fix it up.  He agreed and started restoring the car.  He had a body shop in Roanoke do all the body work and painting and had it looking nice.

Well life happened and Wayne got married, moved to Wisconsin and took the car with him.  Sadly it was never finished.

Dad kept tabs on Wayne and more importantly to him, the car.  Dad would call Wayne about every 2 to 3 months asking about the car and if he'd be willing to sell it back to him.  For about 10 years he did this.  And Wayne kept telling him no. 

Then in spring of 2019 dad called him again and it happened.  Wayne said yes.  To say dad was excited was an understatement.  Here he was, 78 years old and finally got his car back!

So it was road trip time! 

That same July, dad, my son Madison, a guy named Tom, who was along to help drive, and I all packed up in a red Chevy Dually with a trailer in tow bound for Wisconsin.  Our goal was to drive most of the way up the first day then go get the car on the second day and drive a lot of the way back.  Then the third day drive home.

This is where story two comes into play.

None of us had ever been to Illinois or Wisconsin so we were not familiar with the highways.  Madison and I were in charge of navigation using the GPS on our phones and we had us on the right path the entire way. 

Then we came upon Chicago and that's where it all fell apart.  At least for 30 minutes anyway.  We were rolling along just fine on the interstate going around the city.  The GPS was taking us the direction we needed to go.

All of a sudden out of nowhere Tom who hadn't said hardly anything the entire way pointed to the right and said out loud "I think we need to be on that interstate over there." 

To give you a clearer picture, here's the scene: a 78 year old white haired man driving a red dually pulling a 24 foot enclosed trailer traveling over 70 mph on a 6 lane crowded interstate.   We were riding in the 3rd lane from the right.  

My dad somehow saw an opportunity and without even asking me and Madison if what Tom said was right made his winning NASCAR "slingshot" move. 

He took that truck, trailer and all, and whipped it to the right (I'm not sure if he even had time to use his mirrors!) we went across the other 2 lanes and get this, across an entrance ramp leading into our interstate AND the median between the two interstates!!!!

He never took his foot off the gas and somehow we didn't hit a thing!!!

Me and Madison just looked at each other and said "what just happened?"  I have no doubt our hearts were racing at that moment and I know I checked my britches.  

The ironic part:

It ended up being the wrong interstate.  We had to turn around after about 3 miles and get back on the interstate we had just been on!  

If there had been a police car anywhere in the vicinity we would probably still be in a Chicago jail.  It was nuts.  We laugh about it now, but at the moment, whew.  

That's the end of the story within a story for now.  I have a lot more sub stories to share with you at a later time.

After that moment we somehow made it safely to the lower half of Wisconsin that first night just like we had planned.    

The next day was one of the happiest days of my dad's life.  He got his car back.  We loaded it up into the trailer and hit the road to come home.  We all made the wise decision NOT to come back by Chicago, instead opting for the interstate on the western side of Illinois that took us in the direction of interstate 64.  We had a few more adventures on the way home, but I'll save those for another day.

I guess my whole point with this road trip story is, and it's going to sound cliché, but don't give up on what you want.  Dad didn't and now he's about ready to drive his dating 57' Chevy to the first Rocky Mount cruise in this spring!  

I have wanted to give up photography so many times here lately due to imposter syndrome and comparing myself to the other photographers in the area.  But then I remind myself of his car story.  If it's something you really want, then you've got to put in the time and work. 

I want your photography experience to be the best.  That's what I strive for.  It's what I want for you.  

What is your "ideal" photography session?  I'd love to hear what you want your photography experience to be like.  

Reply and let me know! 

I hope you have a fantastic week ahead!

Jonathan

Mess E Photos

P.S. Feel free to reach out to me anytime with your questions, comments or if you just want to chat about life. I'm here for you!

Text or Call Me! (540-793-0798)

Email Me! (jonathan@mess-e-photos.com)