Junkyard Wars

THE JUNKYARD WARS LOG
(As told over the phone by Jack to Kathy)

Sunday - May 5th
Jack left for the airport at 5:45 am for an 8 o'clock flight to begin the Junkyard Wars adventure.

1st phone call came at 5:15 pm (our time) to say they (he and Dana) had just gotten checked into their rooms. He was tired and hungry. They were supposed to be in L.A. at 12:30 pst and were just a little late getting in. They sat on the runway in Kansas City for 1-1/2 hrs. All Jack had to eat was some pretzels on the way to Kansas and more pretzels and mints I had packed for him. Alex (Producer) met them but didn't have enough money to pay for the parking. Jack had to pay. I'm sure Jack will never let him forget that. The room is OK and the weather is hot and nice. He and Dana are going to get a couple of beers and just relax for a bit.

Monday - May 6th
6:15 PM (our time) Jack called to report in. After I talked to Jack yesterday, he and Dana drank a few beers and took a nap. When they awoke, they went for dinner. (Now keep in mind the time difference) He said they had dinner around 6, California time. They had a big steak dinner and a few more drinks. One of the "family" build teams offered to buy them a few beers. The family build teams were trying to find out what they will be building. (The teams don't know just what they will be building.) Jack said he was too tired and was going to bed and so was Dana.

Jack then said the next time he saw Dana it was morning. Dana had gotten up sometime in the morning and got on a bus and then on the LA Metro that took him through Watts. He ended up at LAX Airport where he rented a car.
Dana came back and got Jack and they drove off to Santa Monica. Jack walked in the ocean and has been having a good time. Laughing. When they are driving around and Dana gets lost, his favorite expression is "trust me, I'm an expert!"
They had a 12 o'clock meeting for which they were late.
They then toured the Junkyard and have done nothing but laugh ever since. Everything is going good.
Jack got a Fed Exed package from Laura. A case of I C Light beer she had sent out as a surprise. He is sharing it with Dana as they each have a fridge in their rooms.
After dinner they are going to Venice Beach.

Must be up and ready by 6 AM for the big day of building.
Can't wait to hear how Tues. goes. Jack said he probably won't call, because they will be late getting home.

BUILD DAY
Tuesday - May 7

10:35 PM - California time - 1:35 AM Our time
Jack has called in to tell of the events of the day and the night before.

Jack said Dana is banned from driving. (only kidding)
Monday evening there was a big party at the hotel for everyone to get a chance to meet. They were LATE. Jack and Dana went sight seeing to Venice Beach. They discovered that they had to get a 6-pack of beer from a store and take it to their chosen eatery. No place they found serves alcohol.
They were going to have dinner at Chairman Mao's. Jack said the food was great. Imagine him eating with chopsticks. He reports that somehow he managed, even in eating the rice. (He won't eat rice at home).
They got lost on their way back to the hotel and were ½ hr. late. Everyone was there and they got to meet their crew.
Dana's crew from Wisconsin, the Morterheads (Guy, Andy and Molly Morter) are into racing Big Rigs. They only want to talk about their 1,000hp truck.
Jack's crew consists of a father and 2 sons (Myles, Jay and Clint) from Murray, Kentucky, who are VERY serious about this project. Apparently they are avid viewers who want to go on to the next level. He said the producers went to Kentucky and Wisconsin to interview the crews. Dana's crew does this type of Public Relations thing often. As Jack and Dana were late for the party, no one hung around too much. The Ky. crew were off to bed for the early start and the Wisconsin family were off to a radio station for a race interview.

The Day Begins:

Jack has mis-set the alarm. He said he doesn't know how, but he was up, showered and dressed and sitting in the lobby at 12:30 AM instead of 5:30. His clock apparently was set incorrectly and he has the time all mixed up. He was looking around for some coffee, wondering into the kitchen when the Security Guard showed up. Back to his room, but unable to sleep, so the day will really be long.

AT THE SET:

The 10 hour Build-Day Clock stops when you need a re-take shot or interview. The 10 hours turned into 16.

Take: 152
The Ky. crew are very serious. Jack hasn't found all the parts needed and lots of "f_ _ _" you, "f_ _ _" that. (Sounds like the "Ozzie show") They manage to get most of what they need.
Dana's boat is done, but it doesn't float yet.
Jack's is almost done. He said it will stay together for a little while he hopes.
Jack and the Dad and Dana and one of his crew are going back today to finish up. Jack said they have about 3 or more hrs. of welding and then the Safety Team will inspect. It should work out.

The producers and film crew seem happy with how it has turned out. It's truly made for TV. - Take after Take after Take.

The Judge is a fellow who works at Trinity Yacht, out of New Orleans. He spent much of the time on the phone trying to launch a 190 foot ($22,000,000) private yacht.

Well he's going to take a shower, relax and have a beer and then off to bed. This time he will call for a wake-up call and well as try to set alarm. He's really tired.

NOTE: now remember the time he called me - 1:30 AM our time.
I'm back in bed and trying to fall asleep. The phone rings again. It's Jack!
I'm thinking it's 3 AM here. What's going on? He asks me what time is it here? I tell him, it's 3 AM. He says he's sorry. He's been bugging Dana to call home and Dana is insisting that it's too late. Jack is convinced and mixed up about the time change. He thinks we are 3 hrs behind in time. I reassure him he is 3 hrs behind and he apologizes again for getting me out of bed.
Neither one of them has a watch, I guess. Jack doesn't want one either!

Well, I'm glad he called, no matter what time.

Can't wait to hear how things go today.

FINAL BUILD AND INSPECTION
Wednesday - May 8th

6:30 PM (our time)
Jack has called and asked me "what time is it?" Only kidding he said. He is sorry for calling in the middle of the night and thinks he has the times straightened out. It's 3:30 in L.A. he informs me and he has just gotten back to his room, from 8:30 this morning. He didn't need the wake-up call as Dana was up wondering around and woke him up. Jack says Dana is like an owl, up and wondering around at all hours of the morning. Now keep in mind, Jack has a set pattern for beginning his day at home - awake at 6:45 - have coffee in bed till 7:20 and then shower and eat breakfast and then go to work.
Jack and his team leader, Miles and Dana and Guy, his team leader, and the judge left this a.m. at 8:30. There were security guards also on the set to make sure no one cheated and everyone had the same advantages.

Jack and his leader got the boat started and the wheel turning after sometime and work. The "dad" is a lot happier now. Jack said there are no rudders and they will probably be given some oars. He didn't comment on the steering, so can't tell you anything on that subject.

Dana was busy patching his dumpster (I think) pontoons. They had holes big enough to see through. They were welding patches, using roof cement and expanding foam to seal the holes.

Jack said everyone seemed happy with how the thing went, so I guess it's a go for the challenge.

Tomorrow morning they leave for the launch. The lake they will put in at is a 45 min. drive away and they leave again at 8:30 a.m. and won't be home till dark (maybe 5:30 or 6 if everything goes smoothly). Hope he leaves a wake-up call again. Maybe I'll call to make sure.

One of the highlights so far was Dana tripping and falling in the junkyard while the cameras were rolling. There are 7 cameras filming all the time and 200 hours of filming for a one-hour show.
Dana's crew are Public Relations people. The girl on the team is the driver of the 1,000 HP Semi-Truck that is going to race up Pike's Peak in June and knows Artie Schmidt, a friend of Jack's, who lives in Pittsburgh. That's her claim to fame, according to Jack.

Dana has taken some pictures and hopefully they will turn out.

Jack and Dana were told that approximately 5 weeks after the filming/editing, they each will receive a copy of the final tape. (I'd like to have the whole thing, but I guess 200 hrs would be a lot of TV watching

Jack and Dana got their boots spray painted black. They were dark brown, but the "wardrobe" called for black boots.

Jack said tomorrow should be interesting. When Jack first met his crew from Kentucky, the one thing they said was that they hoped whatever they were building didn't involve anything to do with water. They don't know how to swim and don't like the water.

Tonight they are off for more sightseeing to Hollywood.

Hoping for another call tomorrow to see how it all went.

THE FINAL EPISODE
Thursday - May 9th
The final installment of reports has been submitted.

It's 10:45 pm EST
Jack has called and is aware of the time and apologizes for calling so late. I had hoped he would call, no matter what time! (Really it's not too late.)

"IT'S A ONCE IN A LIFETIME EXPERIENCE" is all he could say, but it's been a fun time.

When he and Dana arrived on the set at the lake, the boats were already there and in the water. The lake was beautiful, right below a dam. The weather was clear, not a cloud in the sky and the water smooth.

They didn't race the boats - only shoved.

Jack's boat had buckets made of aluminum, similar to the Julia Ann's wheel.
They painted the boats before the contest and all Jack asked to paint was one bucket. He painted "Hi Hey" (that's what he calls Haley) on one of the buckets and said that every time the boat stopped, that particular bucket was at the top. "Don't know if it will show up on the tape." Too bad he spelled "Hey" with an "e" and not an "a". He said it was because of too much work and sun and not enough sleep.

The only thing Jack and Dana were given was a T-shirt. They bought a couple of extras, but they didn't have a big selection of sizes so they will mail them. Pay first tho!

Dana's teammates are from Wisconsin, father, son and daughter. The daughter is off to Pike's Peak for training to drive the 1,000 HP truck cab for another race.

The Judge has been sightseeing with them The Judge bought a map, as he doesn't trust the "experts". He's turned out to be a really nice guy, very professional. If we are ever in New Orleans again, he will give us a tour of Trinity Yacht. They are in the process of building a 180 ft. yacht. (Sounds like a plan to me).

One of the forms Jack had to fill out required body measurements, from head size to glove size to everything but shoe size. Dana thought how neat it would be to keep the jumpsuit as a souvenir! Well according to Jack, that if a finger fell off a glove, the wardrobe people would hunt it down. No souvenir for Dana! Dana thought it would be neat to have the jumpsuit as a souvenir! Jack's hands and feet never were visible, pants too long, belt never came close to fitting, etc. "so why all the measuring beforehand?"

Last night, Dana, Jack and the Judge went sightseeing. They went to Hollywood and witnessed a Rave. Everyone was in black. They drove the entire way on Mulholland Drive. This road is winding and lets you see all the lights of L.A. Jack had enough of city lights and kept falling asleep.

Well I'm sure there will be a lot of stories yet to come, but I know Jack will be glad to get home and on the Thumper. Maybe I'll hang a recorder on him and try to capture more comments. (only kidding)

His plane is to land at 10 pm Fri. night, but was an hour late leaving LA. Let's hope it's kind of on time! VanGuard, what more is there to say.

AND THE WINNER WAS...