Charles Major has many loves in his life: his wife, Cindy, their four children, his job and rebuilding old cars.

He was born in the Verde Valley in 1979 but left in 1992 to pursue interests elsewhere. Ten years later he decided to come back to his hometown. He plans to stay this time.

“I love it here. It’s a great place to live and raise kids,” he said.

Major took a quick break at West Sedona tire store where he has worked for the past four years, to talk about what he enjoys outside his job. Since he has four children and they look forward to his arrival after work, his evenings and weekends are busy with Crazy 8s, War and dominoes.

“I spend time playing games with them, mostly cards. They like to play for pennies. I always lose a little bit; my kids are pretty good,” he said with a wink and a smile.

Another of Major’s pastime loves is the cars. He has rebuilt cars since he was 16 years old when he had more time and more money to indulge his passion. Right now he’s working on a 1964 Chevrolet and a 1968 Chevy Camaro.

“I rebuild them stock but muscle some of them — give them more power. It’s a hobby of mine, but I’ve had to cut back some these days,” he said. “I showed my Camaro when I got it done, but they’re mostly for my enjoyment.”

On occasion he sells the cars he rebuilds but keeps his favorites. His greatest achievement and the car he loves the most is a black 1950 Chevrolet coupe that resides with his brother-in-law for the time being.

“I owe him some money, but I’m getting my car back,” Major said with resolve.

Major said he works on the cars for a lot of reasons. It is a challenge to see if he can get them running in top shape again, he likes seeing the results of his hard work, and working on them is a good stress reliever.

“I can get lost in turning wrenches, cleaning parts and putting them back in. I don’t mind getting my hands dirty either,” Major said and raised them, palms out. They were covered with dirt and soot. “See, workin’ man’s hands, and I can always get them clean.”