Kickin' Rocks

with Don Pennington

Taking the High Ground

Just like Roseanne Roseannadanna once said...."whenever you came from that's where you started, and we all gotta start sometime", or was that Yogi? (Never mind, not important). We all did start somewhere and chances are pretty good that after you get past the mandatory drooling and goo goo stages and have reached the threshold of the real world, you spent much of your important formative time in your folk's garage. Some people might say that life begins at birth, others at conception, but we all know the truth, life begins when you walk into a garage and have an uncontrollable urge to tear something apart.   

Building a car from scratch is a cool deal, of all the good feelings in life that lasts over thirty seconds this may be the best. Right after a new rodder falls out of his crib for the last time he starts tearing up magazines and tacking pictures of his favorite cars to the bedroom wall. Years later when you start carrying books to school and you find yourself inking car drawings on one of those blue canvas notebooks you have officially come out for everyone to see, you are car nuts and you'll have to live with it, at least until you get a new notebook, but chances are hat you are hooked and there is no saving you.

The leap from picture covered walls to actually working on a car is a big one. It starts casually by sniffing around the garage when dad was out there, helping clean up the work bench, it's about this time that you quietly identify the prime area on the bench and start eyeing it for your future home.  One trick about being in the garage with the old man is to be careful not to show up when he's got one of those sweaty out in the sun jobs, or one where you end up crawling under the house in search of the elusive squeaky floor board, that's a perfect time to do homework, it's hard for a parent to say "do your homework later". Your sole reason for being in the garage at this point is to mark your territory for the future takeover. Start small so nobody will notice that you are actually setting up shop, make it look like it's still "his" garage. When big changes are necessary be sure to ask the old man, "hey Pop is that okay?" If you use "Pop" he'll like that, still thinking you are his little guy and can do no wrong, especially since you do your homework in the middle of the day. Once you have established a regular presence you ask him, "when will the garage be all mine?" With a chuckle in his voice he says "whenever you are big enough to take the high ground". Whatever that meant. Soon it's time to go in there when nobody is around and really get serious, you are still a ways from hanging up race posters and the Rigid tool girl calendar, but it's coming.

The early days is the only time in your garage life when you will actually enjoy cleaning the garage top to bottom because you need any excuse you can come up with to get in there. Once your garage beachhead is established  you can slow down on the cleaning gig. One tip here, when you get your broom, don't drill a hole in the handle and hang it up. If you do, it is easy to find, if you can't find it your don't have to sweep, brooms tend to disappear if not on a nail. Sooner or later the excitement of getting the garage "ready " wears thin, you need  real car stuff to put in there, it's time for a project. This is when you may want to consider a father-son joint venture thing. With the old man involved, cash options are much better, not great, but better, and if you play it right the first hot rod project is just around the corner. This will also give you additional skills other than cleaning the garage and looking for squeaking floors, you learn how to make old Dad think that getting the six-twos set-up with the chrome air cleaners before a body or a frame is a good thing, be sure and use lots of "don't ya thinks"so he believes that this is his idea.

Somewhere in the process of taking over completely there comes a time when you need to get a little.... creative. You have come up with an item that you can't live without, a sandblaster from the boat yard. Getting it into the garage may be a problem since you have been told in no uncertain terms that you can't have it.... but you made the deal anyway. Using traits that Dad's are proud to teach there kids can do wonders, in this case you can use... helping friends in need. "Dad, Jimmy's moving and he can't take the little sandblaster he has to his new house for a week or two, can we keep it for him until then? Two weeks....tops..... honest." After it's in the garage, coincidently in the best place for you to make the best use of it, bring the old man into the picture again. Wait for him to be chipping away on some old gnarly part then you ask, " Dad? Wouldn't that be cool to use that blaster? You think Jimmy would mind if we used the sandblaster once in a while? Why don't I give him a call."  Don't wait for an okie-doke, just grab the phone. Of course the call is a dummy. There, that's done, one more hurdle. If your dad is half smart, you need to cover the fact that this thing is still in the garage six months later. Tell the story about the elusive loan you made to  Jimmy for say... fifty bucks, with the sandblaster as collateral of course. No surprise when Jimmy doesn't pay you back, the sandblaster is yours! Your Dad will be proud, not letting anyone get over on you. What a great deal! Huh Dad.

Then one day you are out in the garage and pop says "catch you later". What? What was that? Do I dare ask him to repeat that? Then you realize it, he's climbing in the old crummy and you are alone in the garage for the first time, officially. Quick, get the ladder out and climb up on the roof, scrambling to the highest peak you thrust you arms to the garage god in the sky and yell, "I have taken the high ground, I am a man".  But don't do this until the old man is out of ear shot.

Kick the Old Man Out of the Garage....Rock.

DP