Page 34 - Issue 48

WORDS AND IMAGES BY JAKE
CROOKS, WITH ADDITIONAL
PHOTOS BY REV JOHN MEDIA

As a kid I remember thinking is better at being you than you,
that by the time I was all grown up and vice-versa. The confi dence
people would be in fl ying cars like the to be original, to be a trendsetter,
Jetson’s and robots would be mowing to just be yourself, that is what’s
lawns, at the very least we would really cool.
have real hover boards like the ones
in the movie Back to the Future. Truth We are all automobile
is I haven’t seen any of those things. enthusiasts, we are all
What I have seen is a world that is chasing the same dreams
becoming more and more a “Throw and goals. To build
Away Society.” Sad in many ways, but something we are
great in so many others. You can fi nd proud of. Building and
treasures every day! Whether it’s out driving a rat rod is the my
on a curb, at a second-hand store, perfect Cinderella story. grandmother
taught me
or even straight out of the dumpster. Taking “unwanted” or how to sew.
There is literally gold hidden all around “unusable” things destined
you, you just need to know where for the landfi ll or the scrap pile,
to look. People throw away (or give and turning them into something
away) some of the wildest things. The beautiful.
biggest problem for most guys like us
I’ll show you how I turn discarded items into functional
is fi nding a place to store it all!
hopefully you can take these principles and ideas and
I have always told people, “You can’t and/or sellable treasures in the articles to follow – and
buy cool, you’ve got to make it.” use them however they apply to your life… (and if
Now take that with a grain of salt… I nothing else create some smiles along the way.)
think it was David Lee Roth that said,
“Money can’t buy you happiness, but
it can buy you a big enough boat to
pull right up alongside it.” The point
I am trying to make is, if you can just
go out and buy something, anybody
else can too. Nobody likes showing
up to the party and seeing someone
else wearing the same outfi t. Nobody

34 RAT ROD MAGAZINE ISSUE FORTY-EIGHT

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