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.............