“Ask Larry” January Edition

Dear Larry,

Did you get to keep the motorcycle from the show?

Chris

Missouri

Chris, No I did not keep the police motor from CHIPS but Erik Estrada did.  Kawasaki gave me lots of other motorcycles, like the dirt bikes and the Z1R and BMW loaned my 4 or 5 motorcycles for a 6 month period.  Presently I have only dirt bikes and a Quad.  See the yellow BMW which is a great bike.

Dear Larry,

In a previous column, you mentioned you no longer keep horses. Do you miss them?

Tina

Cincinnati, OH

Tina, I have had many horses and have enjoyed them.  I had Arabs, Quarter Horses, Thoroughbreds and Warm Bloods.  My wife rode jumpers and I roped and road cutting horses.  I enjoyed the quiet time of brushing and rubbing their legs with asorbine junior and other liniments.  Sure I miss them and their companionship but I do not miss cleaning the horse stalls and the horse shoer and the Vet bills.  It was a nice indulgent luxury.  I feel so sad that people send their horses to the slaughter houses though.  Some of the owners know it and some are told they are taking them to a ranch….and in the end are just slaughtered.  Really SAD.  I think the horse is a metaphor for trust and vulnerability and how one deals with that is reflective.  It is so hard to find a nugget of TRUST and integrity and to me…..the horse was a gold mine!

 

Larry:
Thanks for taking the time to answer all these crazy questions.

I am along time fan and participant in off road racing. I was hoping you could give us the background as to how you became involved, what you raced and in which races you competed in? Also, what is your fondest memory of racing? Lastly, other than the fact that it was and still is a tremendous money pit…why did you decide to stop racing?

Oh yeah…thanks for all the memories from Chips…I used to watch shoots down in Long Beach every so often.

Best wishes for you and your family,

Bryan

Bryan – well I got involved in racing originally in the off road indoor Mickey Thompson race at the Los Angeles Coliseum and we were racing little jeeps.  I was the fastest driver but I could not get around the “blocking” of Tanya Tucker the country and western singer and so I got 2^nd but they gave me a jeep truck as my prize.  It was a lot of fun and the crowd loved it.  While I was practicing in the paved parking lot before the race I rolled the Jeep a few times.  That was a bit scary because of a potential Fire.  But strapped in with a 5 point harness it was no big deal.

After that I got the racing bug and started thinking I could do that too.  So I got invited to the long beach celebrity grand prix and we raced Toyotas.  After that I started going to race schools like the Bob Bondurant School of Racing at Sears Point, and then the Jim Russell School at Ontario.  I also got in any race car at any chance I could get.  I raced in the Rabbit SCCA series for a year or two in California and the Phoenix Speedway Oval Track.  I raced at Watkins Glenn and Laguna Seca, Riverside, Long Beach.  I set 8 Intl Land Speed Records in a little LN7 Mercury at the Bonneville Salt Flats.  I raced Formula Fords, Rabbits, and Class 8 Trucks in the Off Road Series.  I kind of wanted to race the open wheel cars and was working on moving up to the Formula Super Vee series (180 mph car then). 

I then got invited to race with Dale Sexton and we drove his Class 8 Truck, a 130 MPH Ford with a balanced Cleveland Engine.  We raced in the Mint 400, the Frontier 500, the Parker 400 and the Baja 1000.  I think we got 4^thin the Baja race and I drove half and Dale Sexton drove half.   Often, you pee blood and that is a brutal race on the body. and lower back.  I think the Baja 1000 was my most memorable and exhausting.  I could write many paragraphs of drunken Mexicans shooting at us, to jumping (mistakenly) over a canyon to seeing elephants late at night due to exhaustion. 

 

Hi Mr. Wilcox,

I’ve noticed you mention on Twitter a couple times that you are doing parenting education and coaching. As a parent, I’m always looking for ways I can be a better parent for my children. What exactly is involved in parenting education and coaching? Is it a class you take or teach and if you teach it, what sort of things do you talk about?

Melanie

Aurora, CO

Melanie, I am a member also of LinkedIn.  I log onto Parenting 2.0 and I learn so much from professionals and parents.  I also read tons of books that I find on these sites like Troubled Teenagers or Educational Consultants.  I have begun to create my own site at www.FlowersAndGardeners.com I really feel bad for youth today and the problems with the Penal System.  But the first 5 years are the years where an individual learns the most and those are key.  After that one has to teach character, values, discipline, respect, finances, emotional health, coping skills for bullies, etc.  I joined a MLM company that resells energy as a result of deregulation and I usually ask someone if they are being paid any commission on their present energy and phone bill or cable bill.  If they say no I say why not?  This is going to be a site to help children with business and it seems to be working well.  I am not soliciting you but if interested and you want more info you can go to  www.larrywilcox.ACNrep.com

 

Dear Larry,

You guest starred with Robert Pine on a Perry Mason movie. Did you enjoy the mini reunion?

Tom

Elizabeth, NJ

Tom….I do not remember that episode but I see Robert a couple of times a year for charity events.  Larry

 

Dear Larry,

I’ve always wondered what it was like to guest star on the Love Boat. As I understand, they filmed during an actual cruise! Did you enjoy it? I sure enjoyed the wacky (nerd and hippie!) characters you played!

Martin

Iowa

Martin, we did not go on any cruise on the show I played but they did go on some cruises.  Aaron Spelling was quite generous on his shows in some ways.  Anyway I enjoyed the character I created; and enjoyed kissing Kathryn Bach of course.

 

Happy Hew Year Larry,
I hope your holidays were awesome for you and your family. We have been watching your shows in our tiny chat room and we were watching the one Christmas episode that was made. I was just curious why there weren’t more Christmas episodes made? It would of been cool to see you focus on other members of the team during the holidays and see what made there Christmas’s so special for them. I love when they have special episodes that focus on other members. Have a great year Larry and the best to your family.

Lorraine Barnett
Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

Lorraine, very interesting question…and no answer.  I am not sure why they did not do more Christmas Shows……maybe because the producers were not Christians…..who knows.

 

Hi Mr, Wilcox,

Are you looking forward to the Chips reunion later this year?

Toby

Edmonton, Alberta

Tony, I assume you are talking about the CHIPS Convention that Sue is putting on and yes I am looking forward to that event.  It should be a fun and hopefully entertaining old home week. Larry

 

Dear Larry,

As Jon Baker on Chips I’m sure you’re aware you’ve inspired countless people to go into law enforcement or simply to get through another day when times were rough. Who do you count among the people who have inspired you throughout your life?

Liam

Butte Montana

 

Liam

Inspirational people in my life have been numerous…..

My mother raised four children on her own and she had a very hard time making ends meet but seemed to live from paycheck to paycheck and then work 2 or 3 jobs and find solutions for all of us apathetic indulgent kids.  She provided food and home and had little time for other things but when she did have time she would camp out in the back yard and plant vegetables and brand cattle with all of us.  She was great under some very bad circumstances!

My Coaches in elementary, junior high and high school were my male mentors and I am glad I had sports because it is the nucleus of my philosophy today.  It is important to be a good sportsman, train hard with a work ethic and have discipline and a burning desire to compete.

Bill Bright at the Campus Crusade for Christ was a very sensitive and insightful man and extremely honest and caring.  I enjoyed his guidance and leadership.

Robert Hayden was a real CHP officer and he was a good mentor on the show.

William Richey, an attorney in Florida is an amazing human being and cares so much about mankind.  His Harvard background, his wisdom and his philosophy is the best.  He is one guy, like Joe Stubbs here in Los Angeles that you want on your team.  They think so very deeply and the lead naturally.  The depth of one’s thinking is what amazes me so much.

My ex-wife Judy was an amazing mentor, as she withstood my dysfunction and carried on as a great Mom to my older kids.  And as a result, my older children quietly guided me in so many ways while opening the door to the next room of education and wisdom.  Their combined effort has been amazing and I am so grateful for the journey.

My wife of 25 years, Marlene is of course a testament to discipline and dedication.  She believes so much in her family and the loyalty and love of the family.  She continues to find ways to bring all members a few times a year together on special events.  She trains young athletes and nurtures their soul, something most coaches never learned or were never taught.  She knows that an emotionally healthy child is key to success and putting positive pictures in one conscious is a daily choice and a daily duty.

Dr. Robert Cameron, at UCLA, the famous surgeon who removed my tumor was very sensitive, professional and supportive during scary times.  He was a mentor.

Sue has been a mentor in a unique way that only time honors and that is that she has been consistently loyal through thick and thin.  She has a good heart and has good intentions.  She has been scarred by many bad people but she moves forward in life and that is good.

Each time my younger children misbehave or create drama or chaos at our house I find myself learning more about emotional triggers in teenagers; coping skills, and understanding the lack of communication skills that kids often have for “various” reasons.  So I have this life long journey of learning more about Parenting because I was really not parented as a child.  And I am a Johnny come lately to Parenting 2.0 but I enjoy the process so much.  It is one the PhD that should be mandatory as there is the toddler things you need to know and be proactive about and then the middle school stuff and the prep for teenagers (Yuk) and onward.  So much psychology, labels, and traps……what a wonderful and rich educational journey.  So, even my two youngest kids are teaching and mentoring me daily along of course with my MAKER.

 

Hi Mr, Wilcox,

Did Chips ever have a blooper reel? I’d like to think despite what the tabloids of the day said, that there were fun times on the set at least now and then!

Macy

Chicago, IL

Ahhh Macy…..we had so much fun honestly.  Erik and I 99% of the time had fun, fun, fun.  And yes sometimes we would have a blooper reel and we sure did for the Chips 99 Reunion.  The pranks were amazing and hilarious.  One time we had this poor Director, and we taped a sign on his back that said if you think I am a dumb ___, kick me in the A..

Every week we did something crazy……you had to ….long hours….and boring waits.  Just know WE had a BLAST……and got Paid for it. Larry

 

Thanks for the questions! See you next month! -Larry

To ask Larry a question, send an email to AskLarry@larrywilcox.net. He is happy to answer questions and offer advice and will answer as many letters as he can in this column each month. He regrets that he is unable to send private replies. When you send your questions in be sure to include your first name and location!

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Copyright 2011 Larry Wilcox