Never Forget 9/11/01

WOW! I can't believe it has been 17 years ago. I can still remember like it was yesterday. I don't know what else to say other than, God Bless those whom we lost and those who survived that tragic day.

The Bandit's Last Pursuit

Pontiac Trans Am Firebird

WOW! I can't believe The Bandit (Burt Reynolds) is no longer alive to bring us laughter and entertainment. Yes, I am a fan of Burt Reynolds. He was born in 1936 and even though I would see him on television or wherever as a Senior Citizen, I always envision him with the black cowboy hat and in the driver's seat of that beautiful Trans Am. I remember him starring in some of my favorite movies, Smokey and The Bandit, The Longest Yard (Is my absolute favorite Burt Reynolds Movie) and The Cannonball Run but, I didn't know until just recently he was in Gunsmoke and starred in a TV Series, Hawk. From what I read about Hawk, I really want to watch it now. One other movie that I really enjoyed is City Heat, a movie that featured both Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood. How cool is that? It wasn't a great movie but, I still enjoyed it. From my knowledge, I don't think Clint and Burt co-starred in any other movies, which sucks in my humble opinion. I wish they could have done a few more movies together. If you know of any, comment below. I would like to know.

The one movie Burt Reynolds was in that I don't care for and will never watch again is Deliverance. Dang! Did that movie give me the creeps. I didn't get to watch it until much later so, I was in my 20's when I watched the film. It was a good story but, if you haven't seen it yet, there are scenes that were disturbing. As Forrest Gump says, "That's all I have to say about that."

Now, all I can think about is that Trans-am in Smokey and The Bandit. That is one gorgeous car. When I was Kid had a plastic model that I had to put together with the old modeling glue and painted it with the paint that is sold in the little tiny jars. The plastic model I had was similar to the Bandit car but, it was grey with the big Firebird emblem on the hood. And, I used to imagine owning that Trans Am and just cruise the numerical mile to anywhere. I love the latest generation of the Chevy Camaro but, I wonder... Will GM-Pontiac ever bring back the Trans-Am? I hope so. I did a quick search on Google for any news regarding the return of the Trans Am and it doesn't look like it is happening any time soon. I did find an interesting article over at FoxNews.com about whatever happened to Bandit's Pontiac.

I found a picture of a Pontiac Trans Am Firebird that I took at the Murrieta Father's Day Car Show. Beatiful car.

Rest In Peace Mr. Burt Reynolds. You will be missed. You did bring a lot of laughter and entertainment to my life over the years. One last thing... I remember he did a guest appearance in one of my favorite shows many years ago, Burnt Notice. He played an old, retired Spy. Bury Reynolds was still cool.

Until next time, Smoke'em if you got'em.

License to Drive

License To Drive

I feel like I keep saying the following statement more often now that I am older, "How Time Flies." It feels like yesterday my Son was born and in reality it was almost 16 years ago. What does every All American 16 year old male wants more than anything? His driver's license. Yep, we are planning on getting him license at 16. We could wait but, I believe it is best to have a Kid get his license as soon as possible. This way, if they can keep a good driving record, by the time they are 19 or 20 years old they should qualify for the Good Driver's Discount on your's or their Auto Insurance. Who doesn't like to save money? I know I do. I advised my Son to keep his grades up to at least 3.0 due to the fact I know from experience that most Insurance Carriers offer a Good Student Discount and without it, it can increase the cost of the premium to another $1,000 over six months. That $1,000 increase can vary depending on where you live, what type of vehicles are on the policy and etc... With or without the Good Student Discount, I am not looking forward to having our auto insurance premium to go up. I will pay. Best to be safe than sorry.

Anyway, I just had to let my 15 year old Son watch that 1980's Something classic, License to Drive with the two Corey's. Corey Haim and Corey Feldman. I had forgotten that Carol Kane was in this movie. She cracks me up, she is great. I had forgotten how many movies she has been in. Amazing.

I started thinking more about my Son driving ever since I read an email from one of the insurance carriers I work with, Safeco. I found the info very useful and interesting. Click here if you are interested in checking it out. What I do now is take my Son out for some drive time and tell him about my years of experience on what to do or not to do when driving. The one thing I have learned is never trust another driver. Sounds harsh? Probably but, I have learned that not every driver likes to use their signals to warn you they are turning or moving into your lane. Some times another driver won't even give you any type of warning and just quickly drift into your lane. The most important thing I have learned. Don't tailgate. Don't EVER tailgate. Yes, I am one of those idiots who used to do that many times in my youth. I changed to where I leave plenty of room between the car in front of me and myself. I had too many close calls in rear ending the person in front of me. Yes, I was very stupid and at times I am still do stupid things. I guess that is why we all have insurance.

I know, I am starting to rant on like I did in my previous post, What's The Hurry?! Well, this is my blog so, I will rant on whatever and whenever I want. I have to admit I am a little nervous about my Son starting driving but, I think that goes with the territory of being a Dad. I was nervous when his 3 Older Sisters started driving but, over time I don't worry about them on their driving skills. They have been driving for many years now and turned out to be good drivers.

Until next time, Smoke'em if you got'em!