Because my home page carries a dedication of the tantra and karezza portion of this web site to My Lord of Cars, i receive e-mail queries fairly frequently asking, "Who is 'My Lord of Cars'?" The answer is...
During the 10th-12th century in India a movement arose called Virasaivism, which means "heroic worship of Siva." The Virasaivites were wandering ascetics who adored the god Siva (also spelled Shiva). They performed all manner of strange feats and acted kooky. They wrote poetry, the first blank verse in history, and their reason for writing in blank verse was that Siva, as the god of chaos and destruction, would not particularly like tightly rhymed verse. These Virasivite poems were called "vacanas," a word which comes from the same root as the English word "vacant," as in "blank" verse.
Each of these poets had a "signature name" for Siva, that is, each of them addressed their entire output of poetry to him in a name that only he or she used. To one he was "My Lord of Meeting Rivers," to another, "My Lord of Caves." Some of these poets are only known by the signature-names they gave Siva, their own names having been forgotten. Others, like the female author Mahadeviakka, are quite well known to this day. (Mahadevi's signature-name for Siva was "My Lord White As Jasmine" and she was notable for going naked, clothed only in her long hair.)
I am not a in any sense of the word a Hindu, nor am i culturally Indian, but i do worship the deity that i personally recognize as Siva. Many years ago, i started thinking about what it was in this "Siva" that i liked best, and i realized that it was the way men tinker with their vehicles. (Realizing this made me smile because in the Hindu religion, each deity is iconographically identifiable by the animal upon which he or she rides -- and these symbolic beasts are technically known as "vehicles," a term that never ceases to amuse me.)
Due to my poor eyesight, i cannot drive a car myself and each of
my partners have been, in the words of the great old blues song
by Memphis Minnie, my "chauffeur." Since the word chauffeur
comes from the French word for "stoker" (as in one who stokes a
boiler), the double entendre is doubly delicious to my ears. The
strange truth is that i have been married a couple of times and
have been in a couple of other long-term relationships and
numerous short-term ones -- and all the guys i have ever loved
deeply have owned vintage cars or custom cars or both. When i was
in Junior High, i dated a boy named Jim who belonged to a car
club called the
Torque Masters. Tom Hall and i had a 1940 Chevy panel truck and a
1947 Chrysler New Yorker coupe. Peter Yronwode and i owned two
1950 Studebaker pick-up trucks and a 1940 2 1/2 ton Dodge flatbed
truck called The Wheat King. Barry Carroll had at various times
a 1948 Hudson coupe, a 1949 chopped and channelled Mercury,
and a 1953 Buick sedan. Dean Mullaney and i drove a 1953 Volvo PV
444 DS coupe. Et cetera. I just like guys who drive old cars.
FOR PETER ON HIS 50TH
A MEMORYmy Lord of Cars
your radiator boils;
pull in, pull in
the wooden-sided station
flanked by frying weeds
where gas is cheap
and oil
flat sunlight
heat
don't touch it yet
you'll burn yourself
it's not a leak
you hear that squeak?
yes, i did too
the belt is shot
sure, help yourself
the soda's in the fridge
just leave the quarter on the --
ain't it hot?
that fan don't hardly do a thing
but move the air around
some little bit
no problem --
if we have a belt that size
old vehicles like this
there ain't much call for --
hey! it looks like you're in luck
you wouldn't want to sell that truck?
In that poem, Peter is the incarnation of My Lord of Cars, but there have been others before and after him in my life. My current chauffeur is a man whose very NAME incorporates that of my beloved Lord of Cars -- he is tyagi nagasiva. (No, this was not planned; yes, it was an "amazing coincidence." Not only that, when i met tyagi, he lived on a street called Ironwood Drive, which is how my last name, yronwode, is pronounced. Crazy? Yes! Fate? I think so.) The vehicle in which my dear nagasiva drives me is a funky beater -- a 1985 Nissan Sentra station wagon -- but we are turning it into a religiously-themed art car and i have plans to acquire something more suitable soon, probably a 1940 Chevy pickup truck. If you have one for sale in driveable condition at a reasonable price, send me email.
Well, like they say -- that explains it, but the explanation may not make much sense...
Thanks for asking.
For more on vintage trucks, kool kustoms, and street rods, you'll want to cruise these wonderful web sites:
This is where i got the lovely photo at the top of the page of Tom
Kelly The Crazy Painter in one of his vehicles. Also be sure to check out the beautiful George
Barris shop
truck that Von
Dutch painted and pin-striped in 1957. Good stuff! (Richard Reesman)
A fabulous multi-page site devoted to pre-1947
Cheverolet and GMC farm trucks and light commercial vehicles, both
hotrods and originals. This is where the picture above
of Bart and
Chris Owens' 1940 Chevy 1/2-ton pickup came from. (John C. Milliman)
A lovely lead sled layout (mostly Mercs) that is both well
organized and well written. This site is notable for the many fine photos of
heavily customized 1949-51 era cars snapped at shows, and for the useful
page of links to other rod and kustom web sites. This is where i
picked up the image of David R. Stromberger's "Virtual Merc" shown directly above. (Mel Klimas)
In 1996 a caravan of venerable street rods cruised from San Francisco to Lincoln, Nebraska,
and here are the pictures to prove it. Be sure to check out the
photo of Boyd Coddington's "chase car." I laughed out loud!!! (Boulder Bob Stauffacher)
They are roddin' in Canada, folks, out in the ice and snow. This
is a nice site with plenty of good pics, nostalgic memories, and
links to more cool Calgary cruisin' action than you ever knew existed. (Michael Siewert)
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OTHER SITES OF INTEREST
Yronwode Family:
www.yronwode.com, the home page for the Yronwode family
Southern Spirits:
www.southern-spirits.com, Ghostly Voices from Dixie Land
Garden of Joy Blues:
www.gardenofjoyblues.com, former hippie commune in the Missouri Ozarks
Satan Service:
www.satanservice.org, theory, practice, and history of Satanism and Satanists