As the senior tech editor of Truckin' magazine, I feel blessed being able to travel across the country accumulating thousands of frequent flyer miles while attending and covering the hottest custom truck shows on the planet. During my photojournalism travels, I meet wonderful people sharing the same custom truck and hot-rod car culture. The instant bond between two strangers when they have a common automobile and truck passion has always amazed me.
During the many hours of seat time belted into an airplane streaking across the earth's atmosphere, someone next to you invariably breaks the ice by asking, "Where are you from?" or "Where are you going?" Another favorite is, "What kind of work do you do?" It seems as soon as I mention my job and its description, other gearhead's ears perk up. As we compare notes about different automotive and truck experiences - whether good or bad, custom or stock - I'm amazed at the variety of stories I hear. Young and old, male and female, it doesn't matter - each story is unique in its own way. Before you know it, we are hearing that the captain has put on the Fasten Seatbelt sign and we are cleared for our final approach and landing.
As I write this, it's the beginning of another show season and now is when I become anxious and optimistic as our show assignments are handed out and we begin plotting each week and month. Remember, we still have to document tech articles, features, and editorials to produce for Truckin' magazine. As much as we enjoy the shows, there is also a magazine deadline to meet.
To give you an idea, earlier this month, I attended my first show of the '04 season - the Goodguys March Meet at Famoso Raceway, north of Bakersfield, California. A week later, I left on Thursday to drive approximately 500 miles to cover the Goodguys All American Get Together at Pleasanton, California, returning Monday, to do some quick loads of laundry and to pack for next weekend's Truckin' Nationals in Las Vegas, Nevada. I will leave on the Thursday before the show, driving a Ford F-250 with a 28-foot enclosed trailer in tow, holding all of the Truckin' show merchandise. Once in Vegas, I will need to cover the Truckin' Nat's held on the surface of Vegas' famous Fremont Street in old town Vegas. After that, there will be the tearing down, loading up, and towing home on Monday, which is our deadline for this issue. Of course, this is why I find myself in front of my computer tapping the keyboard to the beat of Led Zeppelin on the radio at 2:30 a.m.. When this job goes 24/7, I love it even more and can't get enough of it. You know you are blessed when your job is your passion.
Coming from years of spinning wrenches with my dad, then reversing my role, wrenching with my two sons during BMX, go-karts, and hours under the hoods of their '67 Nova and '59 Bel Air, being a hands-on tech editor, I love involving myself, physically and getting my hands dirty. I try to involve myself in every tech article I write. If I don't, I feel I haven't experienced the true soul of the tech article, whether it be installing a grille or a complete airbag suspension system, or cleaning, machining, and assembling a big-block with a 6-71 huffer. I love breaking it in on the dyno, completing the articles after experiencing a couple of strenuous dyno pulls, then retrieving the dyno sheets with the engine's performance numbers to analyze. What makes my job more rewarding than any other is while working with the masters of their trade, I learn something every day.
When the day is done and I lay my head on my pillow at night, my body might be in Neutral, but the gears in my head are still grinding - even well into REM. Waking every morning at 5 a.m., I can't wait to start another day. Full throttle and don't lift!
As I gaze at my tachometer clock on the wall of my office, it reads 3 a.m. It's time to shut it down, go home, and get a couple of hours sleep, before I have to roll in tow to the Truckin' Nat's in Vegas.