GUYS,CARS & FRIENDS FOR LIFE..........

In Ft. Worth, I had a rather well-to-do young friend from England in 1969, David Cook - David Francis.

He ordered himself a new 1969 Jaguar E-Type.
His father owned a large aircraft parts manufacturing company and my friend ran it; when he went back to England for a 2 week visit in 1969, he left his brand new Jaguar with me, a 21 year old car freak... a dream come true, right? 

I got stopped driving that car 90 miles per hour in a 30 MPH zone, along the Rockwood Park area in Ft. Worth... there was no traffic around, and I didn't consider it a dangerous act, but the Ft. Worth cop who stopped me, sure did. He ran the plates and they came back to David F. Cook, and then he ran my DL and found out I had unpaid speeding tickets with warrants.

The car was impounded and I was hauled to the slammer in lieu of several hundred dollars in warrant fines. I managed to bail out after a couple of hours, and David had to get his car from the pound when he came back home to Texas. He wasn't very happy, but somehow our friendship has survived a half century. David is still a car guy; he sold the company he owned and now he operates his perfect "retirement" plaything... Eagles Canyon Raceway near Decatur, Texas. David drives his own Ferrari on his own paved speedway winding over several hundred acres of rolling North Texas hills. (He also has a few other cars including a fully tricked out Porsche race car... lucky guy, huh!)

The view in the picture is from the driver's seat of my own '69 E-Type, another car that was on my bucket list for a long time after that early morning happy ride through Rockwood Park at 90 MPH one Saturday in 1969 in David Cook's Jag.

I found this car in Florida; it was property of the original owner, a doctor who had bought it new "right out of medical school" and had lovingly kept it until he got too stiff in the knees with Arthritis to drive a stick shift.

I bought it on the spot in West Palm Beach and enjoyed the ride back to Texas, top down, radar detector on dashboard, winding through the whole Southern Gulf Coast for a couple of days of top-down, carefree driving.

The E-Type is legendary for cornering and grand touring. Some people think it's the most beautiful sports-car body ever designed. The 4.2 Litre inline 6 cylinder engine with twin SU carbs develops 275 HP, with a top speed of 142. This is the type car that swept victories in numerous international races and even took top honors in the original Canonball Run from New York to Los Angeles back in the early 70's with Hal Needham and friends.

As I wind down my collection of cars, this E-Type will be among the last to go. My friendship with David however,will last forever.

My knees,thank the Lord, still work!

Kent Perkins

October 27, 1977

"WHERE ANGELS DARE"

Angels sing as they bring,

A package to unwrap.

No finer thing,can they bring.

So put it in your lap.

Untie the blue-red ribbon.

And lay the white cloth down.

Now look at what lies hidden,

inside the box dace down.

Can you see the light

that emanates so bright?

This planet comes from Heaven,

just like the number seven.

Pull it from the box,

and set it on a rock.

For this is the beginning

of your greatest shock!

Now take another look,

for this will write your book.

About a plan to be

that man will live to see.

Can you see it now?

It's not far away.

Remember you took a vow,

for here you are to stay.

-----------

David Francis

"Inspirations for writing 'The Rise to Power' - Book 1 - in The Legacy Series"

For years I've known that a book was inside me. When I finally set about writing it, the process felt natural. I wrote for days and days on end - and then for months.
My inspiration for Book 1 the Rise to Power was life itself. I wanted to challenge of integrating the pragmatism of everyday life with the unseen world beyond. The world we cannot see has a structure. For example; what is a miracle? It's something that happens; yet we cannot quantify it. We can't explain it in the practical, real world. However, if we were able to transport ourselves into the future,say two thousand years ahead, would it be just an everyday event?
It is my hope that this book-and the entire 'Legacy series'- provokes you, the reader, to dig more deeply into your everyday lives-to look at what lies beyond our reach. This first book is an all-encompassing story of business, love affairs, human relationships, intrigue, an expression of human nature, and all our facets.
From the past I have brought us to the present.
Our history may not be as it appears or has been written. I have attempted to make the reader see things from a different perspective through this transcending of an intense story.
I would like the reader to "suspend disbelief",let go and enjoy the possibility that this could have been a reality in the civilization preceding us. So open your minds and know that this may be possible for all of us one day.
I wish all my readers to have a great experience and know there's more to come! 
Happy reading to you all, and know I'm always available to answer any and all of your questions!!

David Francis

www.davidfranciscook.com