finally figured out what windchill is

6 degrees.....wind chill of -16 degrees.....
when I grow up I'm moving to Florida...I don't care what my wife says......
had forgotten that thermometers only have one digit......
got to thinking they didn't go below 60......
it's been a cold busy week.....
if you follow the bus's, and the horsefarmer's, and the bythenumbers blogs, then you know what I have been up to........
except for one thing......
DAMN IT IS COLD IN THE OZARKS THIS TIME OF YEAR..!!!!!!!!!
arrived in Spfld on Saturday night after piloting the big white truck for 17 hours through night fog, daylight rain, urban traffic, suburban traffic, delta farm land, and mountains in the dark......
shut the garage door early Saturday am to 70 degree weather with a promise of a beautiful beach day.....got out of the big white truck to 43 degree weather with a promise of a cold day just 8 short hours away......and let me tell you right now, that weatherman earned his pay....for the first time in recent memory the weatherman was correct in his prediction....he called for cold dry weather and boy was it.....after a short breakfast I headed west to Haven Lee Farm in beautiful southwestern Missouri, looking forward to spending the day with my sister in law and brother playing with their new toy......for the first time in a long time I was thankful that I possess a cellular telephone.....after calling them when I left the Bus's house to let them know I was heading their way, they informed me that they were taking a short drive east of Spfld to look at a parts vehicle for the new toy......rather than driving all the way out to their place I hooked up with them at the local Wally World....the fifteen feet from my truck to theirs was bitterly cold.... thank goodness for Henry Ford's heater system.....saw a really beat up bronco and discovered where the oleragtop came from.....then headed back west to Haven Lee Farm.....the horsefarmer and I stopped off at wally world to get my truck and his bride continued on about her day while we drove to his local auto parts store to try to determine what was wrong with the big white truck.....it didn't like the cold weather and in typical FoMoCo fashion we wasted a lot of time before I just wacked the air cleaner real hard with a flashlight.....that seemed to straighten up the white truck but not until we wasted a half a day trying to determine the electronic failure....
as TC and I are finally enroute to the Farm his bride calls and says the big mule died on the highway.....beautiful thing about us is that we are able to change plans on the fly......Bob would have been right in his element....plans change and you adjust...of course all I could think of was hitting the closet purveyer of my favorite beverage, but the horsefarmer assured me he had taken in a supply so I was content.....remember I'm on vacation....but back to the
Found On Road Dead .....I can say that because I own one too....and mine was almost....but if you check out the horsefarmers blog you can see a photo of me standing on his truck's bumper checking under the hood of this little beast....DAMN IT WAS COLD.....nothing like sticking your ass out in the cold wind.....literally.....but as has been told....the vehicle suffered a major mechanical failure.
of course of all the options available to us, since it was the coldest day I personally have experienced in over a decade, we chose to tow the mule to the big barn......got a phone call from TC on the drive telling me to get off the damn highway shoulder....I guess I was throwing gravel all over the front of his truck....sorry about that TC.....but in a fashion that the oleragtop would appreciate, we towed that beast with a chain down the highway about 8 miles, going no faster than 30 mph......oh and yes we did have a bit of a following.....thought of Jon-Jon a lot as we held up traffic for over 5 miles.......but I finally got to see the little mule.....sweet little ride that needs a little TLC to make it a daily driver......never really got to spend any time playing with it as the big mule needed immediate attention....the Bus came out after a short trip to Sam's to secure a couple of heaters to supplement the kerosene heater in the barn.....they worked out sweet as we spent the remaining daylight hours repairing the big mule....and contrary to the horsefarmers statement....his local dealer did not repair any of my repairs....finally sampled a few of those fantasticly cold beverages that are contained in 12 ounce cans....gotta love Auggie Busch for that invention....spent the following day trying to determine the failure of my white truck but gave up after beating on the air cleaner seemed to straighten it out.....did spend a couple of hours at the Farm playing with the little mule....but damn it was cold....did take the kid and his cousin out in the field to do some tarket practice but finally gave that up too....funny but the last thing the barngoddess said as we were heading out to the field was, and I quote, "There are 19 cows in that field now, there better be 19 when you get back." Of course the damn cows follow you around the field like lost puppy dogs....no wonder they don't name them....just give them numbers....except for t-bone and hamburger.....but the damn cows almost licked me to death before we got out of the barn yard....laughed so hard the entire time because all I could think of was counting to 19 after each shot....of course one white cow looks like another to me but I knew better....and then the farmkid kept telling me not worry as she pushed another cow away....reminded me so much of Joan and I when we were that age with our visiting cousins.....damn pest...."don't worry Uncle Ed, I got them.".....she is a doll and a true pleasure to hang out with.....good job there guys....
got back to the bride's parents in the late afternoon and after eating dinner the kid and I decided we would head over to visit with the bus....got to the bus's house and his bride was hanging out with the grandaughter and told us he was next door at Pettijohns's house....the kid and I headed on over as that is the custom in the compound....I call it the compound because between the three houses on the end of the block that is what it is....I'm not sure that they even lock the doors, but I do know the code to visit...if the bedroom window curtains are open then it is okay to come and visit....if not....well you understand....but back to Monday pm....Jack and his family live in a really cool old house and as we walked up to the back door the kid was amazed that I didn't even knock...just walked right in and joined the party..
the kid was surprised to say the least, and totally at ease with the different personalities in attendance....later he told me that he had a blast as he and the bus got to talk about alot of stuff without me around....like the old jeep I owned years ago and a lightpost that didn't get out of my way....another thing that amazed the kid was the fact that you had to put a coat on to go get a beer....he was the runner since his legs were the youngest ones there....and at winter parties in the Ozarks you store your beer outside...why not, it's a whopping 18 degrees outside...of course as you walk up to the back door the first thing you see sitting outside are about 10 different 12 packs of your favorite beverage....or in my case, a handy 11 pack....
spent the next day's afternoon with the bus....the intent to work on his old jeep, but reality had different plans....at one point when we were on errands and it began to sleet I wanted to come home...unfortunately Dorothy was not to be found so we hung it out and finally got back to the bus's house safe and sound....got his old bus running and moved it off the main street....seemed that during the week, street traffic was stopping behind and in front of his bus waiting for kids to get on or off...ole Jack got a hell of a laugh out of watching the traffic jam around the bus....but after getting the bus moved we spent the afternoon piddlying around his house garage cleaning up....made a comment to Jim about a book in a box that I would like to have and in typical fashion he said I could have it....of course if I took one I had to take them all....still laughing about that as I try to figure out where I am going to put those other books.....
rest of the week spent with the bride's family....mostly inside as it was COLDCOLDCOLDCOLD outside.....keep thinking of the line from Sam McGee....'please close that door, for you see, since I left Plumtree down in Tennessee, this is the first time I've been warm'....headed home out of SpfldMo on Sat am heading east into a rainy morning....got home Sat pm to 67 degree weather....spent today washing cars and mowing the yard....
I know I missed a lot but the beauty of this form of communication is that it can be edited at will.....

CELEBRATE LIFE.............

What I saw Today

typical day today in beautiful, sunny, and warm downtown Daytona Beach FLorida.....
off to work at 6:30 to a busy day ahead of me.....got about 60K worth of tires sitting on the floor of the shop waiting for the wave of the magic wand to put them away.....two cars that are getting new motors waiting on that same magic wand to finish them.....couple of other various projects that require immediate attention just like everybody else in the service industry.....but then the phone rings about midafternoon and it's the olelongroof......seems he stopped the old falcon way up on the beach when the tide was in.....of course this is okay as long as you move it when the tide goes out...but if you wait too long the sand dries out and it becomes soft and as we all know...heavy things sink in soft sand....but back to the call...he's stuck and the kid is getting ready for a b-ball game and can't offer any assist....as I have nothing to do and it cost $100 bucks for a tow truck to come to the rescue, I'm heading north east to assist.....now when I am driving north on the beach looking for the old bus I see this character sitting in a beach chair facing the western sky absorbing the last of the sun's ray before it drops behind the local highrises that line our shore....in the shade sits the longroof.....
so this is what I see.....


gotta a much needed laugh as I drove up and saw Jon-Jon sitting there in his beach chair......

didn't even need the fourwheel drive of the truck I borrowed.....just a little push would have done it......thanks for not burying it....I'm sure we will bury a couple this Sunday at Sara's place......


that's what I saw today.......

CELEBRATE LIFE.....

It's John's Fault

it all started about 20 years ago.....being a large family spread out over half the world, there comes a time when somebody has to be blamed for something......back in the seventy's whenever my father couldn't find something, a tool, a book, a pencil, what ever, it didn't matter what he couldn't find, he would always blame brother Tom......something along the line of, "Damn it Tommy, where in the hell did you put my _________." ......fill in the blank as you see fit......you see Tom and his bride lived half way across the world in someplace like Guam or Hawaii during that period......there was no way possible for Tom to have misplaced Dad's whatever, however Dad blamed Tom every time....it became a standing joke whenever something could not be found......'it's Tommy's fault'.....when Tom finally retired and he and his family relocated to the Ozarks, Dad had to change his tune......mainly because it finally became true......Tom usually had whatever Dad was looking for.......so Dad began to blame however lived farthest from home......at the time it was John, so he got blamed......then I relocated so South Florida and I would get these phone calls from Dad wanting to know what I did with his (whatever he was looking for)......we got a lot of laughs out of that cheap gag and it continued until he finally found what he was looking for......so this brings us to why it is John's fault......we tried to blame Bob, but he actually lives closer to the Ozarks than John......we measure in direct line of travel and since Bob lives on the west coast of Florida and John lives almost as far east as you can without getting wet, then it becomes John's fault.....not to mention that John aquired that old longroof and started this new craze of old cars.......Jim's toys don't count as he has been into old cars for years.......but this new aquistion of toys can easily be blamed on John......what's he going to do.....try to defend himself
so now there is a new addition to the horsefarmer and the barngoddess's fleet.......good find and at a good price.......just remember.....it's all John's fault.........


CELEBRATE LIFE

This one is for Jon-Jon

the kid is off on a school trip to play basketball in some tournement west of us and east of the gulf.....he and his team are visiting the UF campus on Saturday to take a tour and then off to watch his high school football team compete in the state finals.......since Jon-Jon is (not) SUCH a football fan, I thought the following would help explain the game...... to him....


and if that is not enough...then pay attention...this is classic.......

It's ALIVE.....again....for now......

enjoyed a great day in sunny florida today.......cold though.....okay so maybe not as cold as where you are right now....but cold enough for me.....didn't get much above 60 in the shade and with the wind off the ocean it was cold.....cold enough for long sleeved pants and long sleeved shirts....
these are clothing items that are buried way in the back of the bottom drawer of your chest of drawers.....they don't see daylight very often.....sorry horsefarmer, but today I did sleep in late... didn't get out of bed until 9:00 am.....great feeling as I think I needed it.....but the kids slept until at least 10...11 for the kid, so I figure he stayed up late watching old movies.....but the sungoddess got up early and was out riding her bike so the kid's sister and I started on a school project after breakfast.....3-D map of the Nez Perce Indian displacement of the late 1880's..... spent a couple of enjoyable hours supporting her on that project..... as the sun was now letting her presence be felt, we loaded up to go to the ball field for a little pitching practice.....the longroof called before we left and he joined up at the field.....he makes a pretty good umpire and we had a short talk about the geographics of the old ballfields......seems a large box store wants the acreage the ball fields are on and wants the ball fields moved to a former landfill area.....
this kind of got his ire up and with a little luck he can spend some time at the council meetings....
returned back to my garage after practice and proceeded to spend an enjoyable afternoon with my big brother......of course the first thing I did was turn on a football game and pull a jeep into the garage....sometimes I think the longroof gets tired of this, but he just turned the tv channel to a car race and hung out.....got the old Cj2A running on the first crank and Jon took it for a spin around the neighborhood.....feels really good to have that running on the first crank as it wouldn't start last weekend......just like an old vehicle....it ran but wouldn't stop......got the brakes fixed by rebuilding the wheel cylinders...... actually the longroof and I just disassembled the cylinders and cleaned them up, honed out the cylinders and reassembled them......but they work and the little mule stops.......but then it wouldn't start......no spark, but plenty of crank......the balast resistor failed.....went to my local parts store and when the kid at the counter asked if he could help me, I told him I needed to talk to the oldest guy behind the counter......I think he was a little upset, so I asked him for a two pole resistor......he wanted to know what year, make, and model of vehicle and what area I was working on......a moments pause from me and then good old Phil walked up from the back room carrying a 2 pole balast resistor.....seems he overheard my request and just went in the back room and grabbed one off the shelf......sometimes old guys rule.......got home and after calling 'uncle Tom' to confirm my diagnosis, I installed the new resistor and the little mule fired right up.....so now it runs and stops.......It's alive.........but then I have two jeeps in the driveway and there is always something to be done to them....finally got around to installing the heater in the kid's jeep......once again the longroof was helpful for something other than 'can you grab me a beer please'.......got the heater box installed with minimal cutting and only had to take it out three times to find out why the fan wouldn't turn.... but we finally got it installed and then wired up to an underdash switch......plan on hooking up the hoses tomorrow night just in time for the 80 degree weather on Wednesday.......but it's alive.....again.....for now.....hey, they're old....

CELEBRATE LIFE.......

Fourth from the Fourth

pretty novel post here.....the fourth photo from

the fourth file.....
gonna go look and see what we got.....

gee we found a jeep related photo.......

no glamour shot.....just a fuel tank for a CJ2A......

bought this off ebay, that lovely store in space.... another example of why you should always ask more questions when buying off the web..... was looking for a fuel tank for a M38A1......under seat, side fill tank with a three inch cap.....exactly what I asked for......except for the angle of the neck off the tank.....on the M38A1 the tank neck is at about a 40 degree angle...the CJ2A neck has no angle of approach.....so I thought I had just wasted another $80.00 on ebay......filed this tank away for future use.......you never really know what a fuel tank can be traded for when somebody else is in need......when the bus got his jeep, I thought hot dog, I got a tank so he won't need to buy one......his jeep was stored in a barn with a top on the jeep.....his tank was in good shape......back into the barn this tank went awaiting a future need.....low and behold, it was drug back out when a 2A showed up in my driveway......and it needed a fuel tank.....jee, I know somebody who has one sitting around gathering cobwebs and dust.....out of the box it came, cleaned, primed, and painted, and then into the jeep it went......so that's my fourth photo from my fourth file......

piano class is now in session

here's another one for you Jim....

not sure what the title to this entry into my life's reflection should be, so it is blank for now...... sometimes we have entries like this.....just not sure what to call them......spent a long holiday weekend/week hanging out with the kid and uncle Jon-Jon.....saw some really nice restored automobiles and one really sweet 46 CJ2A that will never see a dirt road, or a sandy beach...... seemed like a waste of time , energy, and money on the jeep...the cars are all the same..... I call them Vanna Whites.....man they look great from 60 feet away....but when you get up close you realize they are really not worth the money it takes to keep them looking as they do..... somewhere, somebody, is tired of their crap and that is why they are for sale to the highest bidder....but then I enoyed the time spent with my son and his uncle Jon......didn't get to spend any time working on the new-old jeep.....instead spent that energy getting the Christmas lights up and finishing the honey-do list that had materialized......got those knocked out and found a lot of free time to just sit and relax in my garage....enjoyed watching the kid and the kid's sister playing with the neighborhood kids.....the kid got his driver's license on Monday and like all of us, found every excuse in the world to go someplace.....?what, you wanted three items from the store?.....I must have forgot one of them....gotta go back....same thing we all did.....and every new driver since then.....tonite he had b-ball practice.....he came home from school on the bus and then drove to practice himself....drove himself home too....no problems despite his Mother's worries.....the most excelerating -frightening time of my life......all for knot it appears....