Hot Rod Race

Recently, my cousin Tammy found a video of my grandfather's song, "Hot Rod Race" on youtube.com. He is also on Wikipedia. WOW! Arkie was my maternal grandfather. He and my grandmother also ran a restaurant in California and later, opened "Dixie's Cafe" (named after my aunt Dixie) on Main Street in Van Buren in the 1970s. He passed away two years before I was born.

So I thought I would share a bit of my grandfather's history...

Arkie Shibley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Arkie Shibley
Birth name	Jesse Lee Shibley
Born	September 21, 1914(1914-09-21) Van Buren, Arkansas, U.S.
Died	September, 1975 (aged 60) Van Buren, Arkansas, U.S.
Genres	Western swing
Occupations	Musician
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar
Years active	1950s
Labels	4 Star (Gilt-Edge)

Jesse Lee "Arkie" Shibley (born Jesse Lee Shibley, 21 September 1914, Van Buren, Arkansas - d. September 1975, Van Buren, Arkansas) was a country singer who recorded the original version of "Hot Rod Race" in 1950. The record was important because "it introduced automobile racing into popular music and underscored the car's relevance to American culture, particularly youth culture."^[1]

Shibley had relocated from Arkansas - hence the nickname "Arkie" - and, around 1948, began hosting a regular country music show on radio station KBRG in Bremerton, Washington.

Although the writing credit for "Hot Rod Race" is given to George Wilson, this may be Shibley's pseudonym. He offered the song to 4 Star Records in Los Angeles, but was turned down, and Shibley decided to release the song on his own Mountain Dew label. The record was credited to "Arkie Shibley and his Mountain Dew Boys", the line-up being Shibley on rhythm guitar, Leon Kelley on lead guitar, Jackie Hayes on bass and banjo, and Phil Fregon on fiddle.

The record became popular and was reissued on 4 Star's Gilt Edge imprint. Shibley's record raced into the country charts in January 1951, peaking at # 5, with cover versions on major labels by Ramblin' Jimmie Dolan on Capitol, Red Foley on Decca and Tiny Hill on Mercury. The Hill version also crossed over to the pop charts (# 29).

In 1951 Shibley recorded four sequels to his hit, all performed in a Woody Guthrie-like talking blues style: "Hot Rod Race # 2", "Arkie Meets the Judge (Hot Rod Race # 3)", "The Guy in the Mercury (Hot Rod Race # 4)" and "The Kid in the Model A (Hot Rod Race # 5)". He subsequently disappeared into obscurity.

There were later countless variations of the song, the most successful being "Hot Rod Lincoln", a hit for Charlie Ryan (recorded 1959, charted 1960, # 33 pop), Johnny Bond (1960, # 26 pop) and Commander Cody (1972, # 9 pop). Shibley's record also directly influenced Chuck Berry's "Maybellene", Gene Vincent's "Race With The Devil", and the succession of hot rod records by the Beach Boys and others in the early 1960s.

Click the link below to see the video and hear my grandfather's famous song! (You may have to copy and paste the link below into your internet browser)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvuoJlCDLxg

9th Anniversary!

This past week, Jim and I celebrated our 9thwedding anniversary!

September 23 was this past Wednesday. Andrew was at Mother's Day Out, so I was able to meet Jim for lunch, just the two of us!
We enjoyed a yummy and relaxing lunch at Table Mesa in Bentonville.

Last night, we had tickets to the Rogers Little Theater for the production of "Over the Hill and Through the Woods". It was a great show, so funny and very touching. We loved it! Plus the food was delicious! I am so blessed to be married to the most wonderful man in the world! Jim is a great husband, father and my best friend!

Me and my boys

Just a lazy Saturday morning enjoying some time together with my boys on the couch! Now that Christian is in school, I really cherish those relaxing mornings that we can stay in our pajamas and cuddle together! And yes, Andrew is chewing his toes in this picture. :)

Pumpkin Patch 2009

Each fall, we like to go to the "pumpkin patch" (better known as the tent that sells pumpkins by the highway) and pick out our family pumpkins.
This year we got 4 pumpkins...one for Jim, me, Christian and Andrew.

Christian picking out our pumpkins and putting them on a wagon

He is so proud of his pumpkins!

Below are some pictures taken at their pumpkin display. All the pics have an "orange hue" because of the lighting under the orange tent.



Happy Fall Ya'll!

Feet

I like to take pictures of my feet. My feet of vacation, showing off my fun pedicured nails, my feet while lying on the beach, my feet with a view of the mountains, etc.

Yes a bit weird, but fun. This picture has to be one of my favorite "feet" pictures. No need for a vacation...just Andrew and I relaxing on the couch watching football. ;)

Stewie 1999-2009

Stewie, aka Stew the Woo, Woo the Stew, Sta the Wa, Wa the Sta, was put to rest and went to kitty heaven on September 25, 2009.

He enjoyed open windows, laying around, eating fake floral arrangements, puking and pole dancing. He had a good life.

Seriously, I took Stewie to the vet this week to get checked out because he has been sick. His head had bad bloody sores, his hair was falling out in huge chunks and he was puking way more than normal. He was also spending most of his time hiding in the back of the pantry or behind the downstairs couch, which was unusual. He was also not eating as much and would puke whenever he ate.
Vet said he had masses in his stomach and bowels (possible stomach cancer) making him puke, hair falling out, etc. His bumps and sores may have been from the stress his body was going through. He gave us the option of surgery but I figured Stewie lived a good life and I would rather him die in peace rather than suffer through a surgery that may not make him better. Plus, I refused to have a cat on IV meds and a colostomy bag.

Even though I had been complaining about wanting to get rid of the cat for awhile, I was the only one that got a little emotional over it. Weird, I know. Jim was fine with it and Christian said, "Well, we can just go over to someone's house that has a kitty."

At least I don't have to keep our bedroom door closed all the time anymore (He would always puke on our bed which was GROSS) and I can actually put out fresh flower arrangements now.

Stewie, you will be missed. Sort of. ;)

Stewie with Christian when he was little

5 months old!

Andrew turned five months old last week! He is now sitting up on his own, not propping himself up, and will reach out for toys in front of him while sitting up! He is growing up fast!

I also wanted to thank everyone who gave us diapers before Andrew was born!!! We actually have not had to buy any diapers until last week! 5 months supply of diapers was AWESOME!

I have been taking some random pics of Andrew so here are some of my favorites...

Bathtime! He is now sitting up in his little bath seat in the sink! No more baby tub!

Chewing on his toes is his favorite thing to do right now!

just being cute


Sitting in his little rocker

Check out those dimples!

Uncle Will got him this little "Monkey" shirt before he was born! I love it!


Can you see his bottom two teeth???
(click on the picture to make it bigger)

I love this little man so much!

I am so blessed to be able to stay home and spend my days kissing on him and holding him tight! Even if I am covered in spit up and rice cereal...and sometimes don't get a shower until noon (if I am lucky) but it's all worth it! Being a mom is the BEST job EVER!