Viva Las Vegas Car Show and Mind Blowing Weekender

We decided a few months ago to make the trip to Las Vegas for Nikki and Joe's wedding. For starters, I have known Nikki since I was born (her parents went to school with Grandpa John). Also, I have known Joe since before we could both drive and we are over 40 now. So with our recent sad family times, we decided to talk Grandpa John into tagging along and bringing my sister, Mindy. Abby was not a hard sell as she loves Las Vegas. The kids stayed at the Povenmire Compound with Grandma Susan and we headed to KCI. The wedding trip was combined with the Viva Las Vegas event and car show.

Needless to say it was a great time. We attended the "Elvis wedding", a kick ass car show, Circque Du Soleil show Viva Elvis (worth the trip itself), lots of drinking, some great Rockabilly music and general mayhem. The event drew people from all over Europe and America. The ages were very diverse also. There were Grandpa John aged guys that saw all this the first time around to people who were in their early 20s.

This event is definitely worth attending if you have any interest in hot rods, rockabilly music and greaser culture. It is like the Greaserama on steroids. Fun for everyone, including a bunch from Missouri.

"Man, I really like Vegas." Elvis Presley and Jeremy Povenmire

Los Punk Rods Clubhouse Visit - Save Your Pictures

Lately I have been going through a lot of old pictures for various reasons. It has occured to me that this is the equivilant of my 1976 for my son, Wesley. I have cherished all the old pics of Grandpa John and his colorful friends. I wish I had more.

So I have decided to just walk around a few places we go and take random photos. One place that always gives Wesley fond memories is the Punk Rods Clubhouse in the West Bottoms of KC. For him it is kind of like the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse gone bad. On our last visit we rode the bikes down to see Dave and Jesse. It was a fun day.

Remember, whatever you are doing with hot rods, kustoms, bikes etc., take lots of pictures. You won't regret it later.

Thank You from the Povenmires

Mom's gathering last night was quite an event. We really appreciated all the show of support from old friends, new friends and family. She would have been happy to see the outpour of support we received.

Also many thanks to everyone who came and helped with the food and tables. That was much appreciated.

I called Dad this morning and he was very shocked to see all those people and feels lucky to have that many special people in his life.

I will now go back to work at the American Royal and Mindy will go back to selling chemicals. Dad is on his way to the Wichita swap meet to hock his wares this weekend. We will all try to resume some sort of normal life while still greiving for our loss.

Everyone was relieved that Grandpa John's stupid red Shovelhead came to life at the end of the evening. He rode a wheelie into the darkness with his unbaffled exhaust annoying everyone in Sugar Creek. He has been doing it for over 50 years...his tattoos have faded and his blond hair is now grey, but somethings will never change. Ha!

Beth Povenmire Service Details

Thank you everyone for all of your kind words, thoughts and prayers. It has meant a lot to our family.

We will be having a celebration of my Mother's life on Wednesday, February 1st from 6-9PM at the VFW Sugar Creek Memorial Post 3976 at 12810 Kentucky Road, Sugar Creek, MO. You are welcome to join us in remembering Mom and enjoying some good food.

Because of her lifelong love of animals (and Grandpa John doesn't know what to do with flowers) we suggest donations be made in her honor to the Animals Best Friends Organization either by mail: PO Box 493, Independence, MO 64051 or by visiting their website http://www.animalsbestfriends.org/.

Thank you again to all our friends. It has been good to hear from everyone.

Good Bye Mom - Beth Povenmire Passes

After a long battle with illness, my mother passed away this evening. It was for the best at the end, she was in a great deal of pain. She was 66 years old.

She was around for most of all the fun times I write about on this blog. She was the silent presence in the background telling Grandpa John when to put on a clean shirt (without grease) and when to stop for gas on the chopper.

"I hated those stupid little gas tanks. We were always running out of gas because they were so small and your father was too cheap to buy much gas," she said several times.

She made all the home-cooked meals that Ed "Big Daddy" Roth ate in our kitchen (boy could he eat).

She was there when David Mann told their landlord off at the community swimming pool resulting in my parents subsequent eviction.

"Dave was the first person I ever heard use the F-word. I thought he was a horrible man. He really made the landlord angry. That plus your father was parking his chopper in the living room of our apartment so that didn't go over well either."

Good bye mom, I hope you have found peace.

Rex Adams Crazy Paint Sedan Delivery

I have mentioned Rex Adams on this blog before. He was one of the colorful characters that Grandpa John knew ever since I can remember. My earliest memories of him are from the mid 1970's and mainly his sedan delivery and all his red hair. I watched Grandpa John help Rex put a rear end under this delivery when I was a little kid.

I was relaying this to my friend Joe Boos one evening as we were looking at Rex's flamed paint job on my Super Glide. He said he remembered the sedan delivery too. "In fact," he said, "my brother Mike owned it for a while in the 1980s."

My next question was do you have any photos of it? Joe said he thought Mike did and would look around. Sure enough there were these two images. It was quite interesting for me to see a car that I hadn't seen in 35 years. I remembered it being a different shade of blue, but the eagle mural on the passenger side was just as I remembered. We discussed the other side and both thought it had some sort of woman holding a baby or something. Unfortunately the only photo we have is of the one side and back.

Mike Boos had found it behind a lowrider shop in Argentine area of KCK. How it ended up there would probably be another interesting story. Rex certainly lived life to the fullest. He told me he was "clinically dead" three times and the ER people brought him back to life. I don't doubt that he was telling the truth.

Sunday Greasy Sunday - Los Punk Rods Clubhouse

I am trying to give Wesley some of the same unique childhood I had. I decided to take him down to the Punk Rods clubhouse in the West Bottoms this afternoon. Eric is working on his Model A and needed to take some measurements off of Grandpa John's Cadillac powered coupe. Joe Boos tagged along.

We had a great time, riding mini-bikes, checking out everyone's projects and racing the remote control truck in their parking lot. We even met one of the local ladies who seemed in need of some sort of business transaction. She just asked me for a cigarette. I was glad I didn't have to explain her presence to Wesley!

It was good to see Eric, Dave, Jeff and the ever entertaining Cos. They remind me of Grandpa John's colorful friends from the 1970s. Check out their blog if you want to see what they are up to year around. http://lospunkrods.blogspot.com/