Introductions…

Call me Ishmael.

Wait a minute, that’s not right… Call Me Chuck. Perhaps that sounds vaguely familiar? I’m a bit of a thing in some circles. Nah, just kidding!  I’m just a random schlep with arguably marginal writing skills.

Fact is, that may be a bit of an exaggeration itself. It is safe to say, however, that I can mash buttons on a keyboard and sometimes they’re even in the proper order. Though this may not be a particularly rare skill, sometimes it’s who you know that matters and not what you know. It is with this law of nature and dubious talent that leads me to the point.

I’ve been working with Don Varner for years and we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well. Well enough that he has agreed to give me access to The Archives and even trusts me to post on his behalf. There’s a truly staggering collection of images and Hot Rod memorabilia in the One Pass office, not to mention the personal stories! So although his own modesty dictates otherwise, I’ve talked him into sharing it here on OriginalWaterBlade.com and to our obligatory social media sites.

We’re sure you’ll enjoy the pics and with any luck maybe have a little fun reading along as well. Please know that, for the most part, I will be writing on Don’s behalf. If there are scrambled details or the spelling of someone’s name comes out mangled, the error is very likely mine. Feel free to write me hate mail about it if you feel the need, but keep in mind… if I were any good at this, I’d probably be authoring best selling books instead, right?

Comin’ at ya in the next couple of days, “My First Foety”.

Happy trails,

Chuck