Metal of Honor car and bike show

I made it over to Slidell Louisiana to the Metal of Honor Car and bike Show. There were a lot of cool cars of all types from drag cars to street rods and a few bikes. Here's some pics of my favorite vehicles. This is mostly rat rod stuff. I got to see some cool old bikes I had never seen in person. Old flathead Harley's etc. it was cool

Finished my Tattoo tonight.

2 sessions, session 1 had 1.5 hours of design time an 6.5 hours of needle time. Session 2 had almost 7 hours of needle time. A big thanks to Jordan Madere and Turning Point Tattoos in Mandeville Louisiana.

RANTS ON DOMESTICATION

My whole life I have pretty much done what I wanted to do and have never really cared to much about what people thought about it. I have of course had my moments, I am only human, but all in all up to this point “I did it my way”  (Thanks Frank) and I have very few regrets. I remember getting my first tattoo when I was 17 making my mom cry and at 37 I just started my 11^th tattoo, a ¾ sleeve in a pseudo Maori design, and she laughed to hold back the tears. She has come to accept who I am and I will always be her little boy but with each new tattoo or piercing I give her a little shock. (Though the only piercing I still wear regularly are my 4 gauge titanium nipple rings which I got at 18.)

Even though I have always wanted a family and kids (I have an amazingly hot wife and 3 awesome kids with dynamite personalities) I have never in my life wanted to be domesticated. I don’t want to do the plaid shorts and golf thing. I would rather be building something than watching football. I go to my little girl’s school events and I see so many fathers who have given up and have let their spirits die, allowing themselves to be absorbed into the collective consciousness that is the modern society of consumption. Big TV’s and bigger cars, flavored with pumpkin lattes and life divided up into sports seasons, the mundane only being broken up by the occasional glimpse of something that stokes what little flame they have left, reminding them of the old dreams that still reside deep inside them.

I guess I am writing this for a couple of reasons. The first being I know a lot of people on both sides of the spectrum, the ones who struggle to live and the ones who run free like the Mustangs of the American frontier.  The second is I hear so many people talking about life running by and I hear tons of regret. Ultimately there must be balance in life, especially when you have to raise a family and you have responsibilities but I urge everyone to live the dreams they want to live. Wars are made up of many small battles. Life is a struggle and we cannot all run free, but you can indeed have the little things, the little victories that give you your little piece of the pie. Never forget the stubborn arrogance of youth that gave you the strength to jump tall buildings in a single bound and keep trying even when you slammed yourself against the wall time and time again.

I am many things. A father, a husband, a martial arts instructor, a firefighter, a backyard builder, an artist, a writer, a dreamer, but most of all I am an achiever. Some victories are smaller than others for sure, but there is no doubt (judging by the reactions I get from people) I am doing what I want and it feels good to know I haven’t been absorbed into the system and domesticated. It starts small, get that tattoo, start that project you have always wanted to start, save for that trip you always wanted to go on. I don’t care what it is but damn it do something to stoke the fire inside, to light the way for your dreams to come true. Even if it’s just a small one, it all starts with a step. I know what it’s like to struggle for a dream, it took me 3 ½ years to build a rat bike.  I have to balance a family and multiple jobs just like everybody else, but it is possible. Live your life with no regret and do it now because we are not promised tomorrow. Now go forth and live those dreams and make shit happen.

DO I REALLY NEED TO TITLE THIS....

I am not a professional photographer so I just get my pics of girls from the web. If I post something of yours and it makes you mad just let me know and I'll take it down. Otherwise enjoy.

LIFE IN THE RAW

Lots of people don't understand many of the things I enjoy, in particular and for the sake of this post, riding a motorcycle as my main mean of transportation. They often bring up bad weather or other elements of nature or the fact that there is a certain element of danger inherent in riding motorcycles, as deterring factors. I find it hard to explain to people the joy that I derive from being on two wheels. Being out in nature, the wind and sun on your body and the road blurring past your feet as you feel every lean of the bike or twist of the wrist in your body. Your mind acutely aware of everything around you as you multitask both hands and both feet while braking, shifting, clutching and accelerating practically all at the same. And that is just the riding part.
As a devout member of the chop cult lifestyle I built my bike from the ground up and I know every nut and bolt on it. This means I MUST travel with a tool kit which I often have to use. I've had to pull over several times to make adjustments or tighten bolts I notice coming loose and a few things more serious. I have come to refer to this as "life in the raw". Everything is out there in the open, no AAA, no comfortable cage to ride in with A/C, no radio. Just me, my machine and the elements. Anything can happen and that's just how I like it. Down and dirty, simple and rough, life in the raw. I guess you either get it or you don't judging by the looks I get from people when explaining this concept. So heres to it everybody, now go forth and live your dreams.

NEW INK #2

Ok, here is the finished outline. It's hard to understand if you don't know what the finished product is supposed to look like so if you don't have the vision it's ok, your just going to have to wait. We started at 4 pm and Jordan did some super wicked free styling with this design and after a few tweaks and a lot of mirror posing like I was trying on a pair of $200 jeans I gave the thumbs up right under the 2 hour mark. The design time really went quicker than we expected so we got right into laying down some ink. And as the story goes nearly 6 1/2 hours in the chair went by of actual needle time. We did take a couple of small breaks and I must say at the end I was happy to be getting out of the chair. My longest tattoo session to date was 9 hours but that was no joke about 17 years ago and this one about wiped me out. Kudos to Jordan for putting in the hours to get the outline done, I can't wait to get it finished up.
If you guys are even remotely near Mandeville Louisiana and want a custom tattoo stop by Turning Point Tattoos, you can't go wrong.

GETTING SOME NEW INK

Jordan over at Turning Point Tattoos in Mandeville hooking me up with some new ink. It's a pseudo Moari style design in a half sleeve. Getting the outline done today. The guys at Turning Point rock. Awesome skills and a great atmosphere.

SABINA KELLEY.....MY FAVORITE PIN UP MODEL