MENTAL HEALTH

It seems like my mental health column a couple of issues ago — September, issue 208 — struck a positive chord with a lot of readers. In fact, in my 25 years of writing, never before has one piece of text generated so much positive feedback. What was important with this one was how people could relate to it themselves. That was pretty cool, with calls and emails thanking me for speaking out. I am no mental health professional but it sure helps to talk about it to others.

A lot of people are dealing with some sort of struggle, whether it’s health or career or perhaps relationship. Much of the time it’s something out of their control, such as the aftermath of the Christchurch earthquakes and the various floods around the country. With most forms of life and business, Covid does get the blame for delays in parts and products and also shipping. There is a strong element of truth to all of it, as the pandemic crippled the world. In New Zealand, being thrown into various lockdowns with no clear path or light at the end of the tunnel also impacted on people’s mental health. Even today, as we seem to be at the tail end of it, many people’s lives have changed more than we initially realised they would.

The impact of Covid and these changes in life has taken a toll on many people’s mental health, adding to existing issues. This is where the car scene is so important because that’s our ‘out’, our form of freedom to take us away from the day-to-day troubles — even if it is just for a Sunday drive.

Talking amongst friends and family of late has resulted in a total shift in the way we think. We now look at embracing what we have and the goals that we have always had, and ways to fasttrack them. Whether it’s a car project or taking part in a bunch of events here or overseas, people are now looking at things differently.

Back in June, I went for a five-week mental health therapy vacation to the USA — see September, issue 208 — to take on some events with my Model A pickup, which is based at the Squeak Bell shop in Bakersfield. Despite work commitments and money, it was the best thing I could have done to reset life and the way I thought and perceived things. As I’ve talked to people about this, it seems like more people are thinking the same: “Let’s do this good stuff while we still can. You just don’t know what’s around the corner and things can change so fast”.

Case in point was in the third weekend of August, when the rod and custom car world was rocked by the sudden and tragic passing of noted hot rod and custom car historian and writer Pat Ganahl from Glendale, California. An incident with his lovingly restored 1950s Ike Iacono Hilborninjected Chevy six-cylinder dragster took Pat’s life at a nostalgia drag racing event in Washington. Pat is considered one of the best writers this hobby has seen — see a sample of his work in the pic accompanying this — and in more recent retired times he had an online blog at www.patganahl. com; great reading there.

Nothing is forever, but what shocked me the most was that I had spent time with Pat and his son Bill on my recent trip. We talked at all the events I went to, but I never thought that my time with Pat at the LA Roadster Show would be the last time I would see or talk to him. RIP, Pat!

This all hit home pretty hard because our heroes — and our parents, for that matter — are people we think will be in our lives forever. We go along thinking that life goes on forever to some extent, and then tragedies of this type take place. Bill and his mum Anna lost their father and their husband respectively, and we lost a very important and key individual in the hot rod and custom car world. Unfortunately, it takes incidents like these to make us re-evaluate life, think about what’s important, and not dwell on what’s not as important. Closer to home is the recent passing of two of our own legends: Robin Silk and ‘Plank’ Sherwin — the list of losses keeps growing. It’s sad that it takes this type of thing to give us a tune-up.

So, we are at an interesting time of our lives and of the hot rod and custom car scene, which is changing, and changing fast. We can slow down and enjoy some of that as we used to; other aspects we have to take for what they are and make the most of. If I am completely honest, I don’t really like where it is all heading. I often talk with a good friend of at least 25 years and we share the same thoughts about the older guys we looked up to who are no longer with us. The landscape is changing fast, and it’s important for your own mental health to do all the things you like or have put off. It may be that event or trip, or it could be a project that is languishing in the garage. Time is precious — what little of it we have left.

I remember those older guys that we looked up. I remember what it used to be like even 20 years ago, and in some cases even just 10 years ago. It was a carefree time before the one-upmanship; it was before coffee runs and mornings dictated the event calendar; and it was when guys had the time to just hang out and have fun — and some still do! So, if life gets complicated, and it gets a little unknown and compounded with our struggles, just remember these cars are for having fun with likeminded people. We’ve gotta keep the emphasis on fun; otherwise we have lost the plot!