The Automotive Arts is competing with the age of computers and high tech. With the, "I want and need it NOW" demands. Not many are willing to go into a trade that takes many years of dedication to just obtain some of the basic skills.
My favorite quote," At one time I was too vain to be good and after many years I have become too good to be vain"
Now you can be a patron of the arts. Any Monetary Gift will be appreciated.
"The Dove" - a Spiritual True Story by Spence
Dove Casually Sitting On My Arm
To tell of this event a few things first must be told to set the scene as they say. It was late fall of 2006 the upcoming Biketoberfest Bike Rally held in Daytona was a few days away.Before I arrived I had been driving across the country and found myself having chest pains or chest pressure mostly except this one time a deep sharp hard pain directly in the middle of the chest while I was in a Wal-Mart somewhere in the middle of Texas. Since they don't have a ER department in Wal Mart I did the next best thing and went to the pharmacy to sit down. A few minutes as the pain subsided my blood pressure went back to a normal reading. This was not good. BUT like most of us since it only lasted a few minutes Ill walk it off and be on my way. My body keeps warning me as I travel to Daytona with more pressure attacks. Just a few. Basically my focus was on the last rally for the year. One more last shot to pull together some winter money. I would have to deal with the pressure attacks home remedy style.
I'm a week early making camp at the Hawg Pen Grounds waiting to set up my booth in a few days. I'm taking aspirin, drinking beer, taking anti-gas pills and searching on the Internet my symptoms being a home doctor and map questing the local hospitals. My worse fear at that time is in the middle of the rally while trying to make some money something would happen and I'd miss out my last chance to pull in the winter funds.
The Sunday before the rally starts is my last final warnings. One warning came from just taking a bag of trash to a dumpster which gave me chest pain. The second warning came after I decided it was time to go to the emergency room but needed a shower first and just preparing for the shower I had another attack of pain. It was time to take this chest pain serious, well, I had already laid out a steak and the makings of a salad I might as well go to the emergency room clean and well fed. I now know why so many die from heart attacks. They are easy to blow off thinking it will correct itself. In MY mind, I'm thinking and visualizing at the Emergency Room of being scorned for smoking and given a prescription for meds and being sent on my way.
Finally I'm cleaned up. I'm stuffed with salad and rib-eye steak. BUT just moving around getting ready to drive to the emergency room sent pain pressure to my mid chest . Off I went in the middle of the night. One hand on the steering wheel and another on my chest and the pain stayed with me all the way on a 20 mile ride. I safely ran a few stop signs and stop lights. If I saw any lights or sirens behind me I would of took them all the way to the emergency door.
Now I'm gripping my chest and standing in front of the girl with counter between us as she asks the questions she has asked thousands of times. My situation doesn't phase her a bit. I could of had a arrow sticking out of my eye and she would of said, "Home Phone Number Please".
The on-duty nurse came along and took my blood pressure while I was answering the questions the best I could. My blood pressure must of been up. The nurse quickly came back with a wheel chair and swooshed me away from the Interrogation. Next thing I know I'm laid out with 30 monitor wires hooked up to me. Little medical machines beeping all around me. I'll be getting a lecture and a med script vision had pretty much left my head by this time. As various nurses came in to do what they do and informed me all chest pain patients are required to stay in a room for observation. Oh hell, so much for the budget I had planned.
Later in the morning I was checked out with one of those scopes they send up your leg to your heart. They were thinking maybe I needed a Stent or balloon. I pictured them giving me a blown up balloon and ice cream and sending me home with a pat on the head. All this time the sides of my bed would get full of nurses doing their nursing stuff and looking down at me. Each had the same look in their eyes. A look given to a old man in a bad situation...."HEY-WOW-I WAS THAT OLD MAN!!!! WHEN THE HELL DID THAT HAPPEN???? I WAS JUST 18 A FEW HOURS AGO." I found it funny to see my age on such pretty faces. I laugh at me all the time.
Turned out Stent and balloons weren't going to work. Blockage was too severe. I found out later an artery called the widow maker was 99% blocked. If it goes nothing can be done to save you. I was a walking fatal heart attack waiting to happen. Needless to say within 24 hours I was having a triple by-pass open heart surgery preformed. Even after surgery I was thinking I had a few days before Biketoberfest maybe, just maybe I could still do some light work on bikes. Man, those pain meds are good. Working!!?? ha ha...walking was going to become an issue let alone painting on a motorcycle.
After a few days of some great fantastic treatment by the hospital and staff I was released. I have them and their medical talents and training to thank for keeping me in the game for some extra innings of life. Where does the Dove come in?????
It has been just a few days since the surgery. Henry my friend with the angel wings has me out on his property laying low and mending my wounds. At this time I'm sitting under a big old majestic oak tree. Just taking in the day. Henry is set up in town working the bike rally Even then I'm giving thought," If I could some how manage to work it." As I sat there in the chair under the tree I noticed behind me a wild dove walking just a few feet behind me. For some reason I had some bread in my hand and stretch out offering some. The wild dove had no interest in the bread. I thought maybe, just maybe I was in this birds favorite area to obtain ground food. I decided to change chairs and leave the dove alone to his day. As I walked a few feet over to another chair this wild dove was walking behind me following me. When I sat down the wild dove flew up to the arm of the chair. For the next twenty minutes or so me and this wild dove hung out sitting under this majestic oak tree. As I sat in a chair pulled up to a table. This wild dove would walk up and down one arm onto the table then walk up and down the other arm allowing me to touch its wing and even touching it's foot while it sat on my arm (see above picture).
I had poured some water onto the table and the wild dove took no interest in the water on the table but the wild dove did drink some water from the mouth of the bottle while I held the bottle. I asked the wild dove,"Do you have a message for me???? Am I suppose to tell you something????". Sitting on my arm without even a goodbye this Dove took off to the skies. I was astounded. I called my friend Henry. Thinking this neighborhood has a history of a wild dove tamed and landing on people. Telling him what happened and inquiring. His response . No history of this ever happening before and if I didn't have a picture of this wild dove on my arm he would of been convinced it was a parakeet.
Within thirty minutes Henry had called me back saying he had an answer for my earlier inquiry. A bike came into his paint booth and already painted from a couple of years ago , on the back of the bike fender was a pair of cupped hands with doves around the hands with the words,"From the wings of doves He will send His Love.".......OH WOW.......
I had just received a "Get well" card from God. It was a spiritual up lift I really needed at the time. I took it as, " Just get better everything else is worked out."
To this day my little miracle keeps me worried free. I only enjoy the day I am in. I can no longer live in the worries of the days ahead.
The lady that owned the bike with the art on the fender was told about me and the dove and she got teary eyed.
I share this story only to share my experience of my path of enlightenment. We all have our own paths to a higher understanding of life and our lives within that life.
Two babies.....One is Laughing and playing with it's feet the other is crying and crying and crying and crying. The difference. The crying baby is worried about the future that it can not see except through its own fear. The Laughing Baby playing with its feet is retarded...we should all run in fear and be scared every moment of our lives...wait....ooops...wrong ending....the laughing baby is living in the moment and not concern with the uncontrollable.
