All my adult life I have been painfully aware that unlike other men, I have been hobby less. From my 20's to the 50's I have seen my friends, relatives and acquaintances hunt, fish, ride motorcycles, race cars, collect stamps, guns or knives. Some have become fans to college and professional sports teams. But alas, there was never a hobby that worked for me.
But I have good news now! It finally came to me that I DO have a hobby and I have been busy with my hobby for years. I just never called it a hobby.
My hobby I finally realized, is that I buy used cars that I think are roadworthy vehicles that will require little more than gas and oil to sustain them for years of trouble free driving only to find that my vehicle of choice no matter what color when I buy it quickly starts to turn a bright shade of lemon yellow as soon as it is parked in my driveway.
So then the fun begins- I've replaced many engines, transmissions, drive axles, brakes, and even fuel pumps that can only be removed after the gas tank is dropped out of the vehicle- a special treat for anyone who has not been initiated in removing rusty gas tanks.
Not only have I spent countless hours pursuing my hobby, but I have spent thousands of dollars also. This hobby is not for the faint of heart or the pauper.
Some would say I should just buy better cars- but then what would I do with all my idle time and where would I spend all my excess money? This hobby has filled my life with physical and financial challenges. What more could I ask?
Now, Daniel is coming home soon, I just keep thinking that the little blue 1989 Volvo DL240 that is sitting at Joe's junkyard would be a great summer car for him. I think it would be very reliable....
Friday, March 30, 2012
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Three Angels came last night
Angels came into Mom's room last night,
They'd come a long way—were a terrible sight.
Jesus had sent them to bring home His child,
But the Devil was watching and he was just wild.
He strutted and danced and pounded his chest,
He cussed and swore and was doing his best,
To keep them from passing and getting the one,
That Jesus had told them was weary for home.
"She's mine! she's mine! I'm taking her home!"
He shrieked and the words chilled to the bone.
"Look at her body! Look at her face!
she's crippled and gnarled she belongs in my place!"
"I've worked long and hard for death and disease!
Don't rob me now of the prize I will seize!"
They fought him and wrestled—that Devil is strong.
The three of them battled him half the night long.
Finally, so weary they took out the Book,
To show him her name, the Devil wouldn’t look.
With clawed fingers he grasped at the pages to tear,
He wickedly flailed in raging despair.
"I hate those words-they mean nothing to me!
Only what I say is how it will be!"
They pulled back the book away from his grasp,
Then the three of them painted a scene from the past.
The Devil, he howled and he covered his face,
He saw they had painted the Cross and God’s grace.
They told him again how he’d acted that day,
Long ago when he thought he had captured his prey.
How he'd strutted and cursed and screamed, “Christ is dead!”
…til the stone rolled away, crushing his head.
With that- the Angel's words held him at bay;
and once they had passed he slithered away.
Soon they arrived from their long delayed flight,
Weary and worn from a terrible fight.
We let them come in—our Mother had died,
While they had been fighting, we’d prayed by her side.
They brushed off their robes and straightened their wings,
And said not to worry about anything.
Soon they were busy with flowers and jewels,
They fashioned it all without any tools.
Some how they made her pretty again,
With flowing black hair and baby soft skin.
With flowers and jewels woven into the robe
she was all the more beautiful sight to behold.
They lifted her gently, for she was asleep,
To take her to Jesus, the first one to meet.
After that meeting she’d see all the rest,
And be with them there forever and blessed.
We thanked the dear angels and fell to our knees,
They quickly said, “Stop! Don’t worship us, please!”
Then they painted a scene of the Cross and God’s grace,
And gently took Mother asleep from her place.
We kissed her goodbye with tears on our face,
and watched as it seemed they just vanished in space.
Then turning our gaze to the Cross and God's grace
We said "Thank you Lord Jesus" with uplifted face.
They'd come a long way—were a terrible sight.
Jesus had sent them to bring home His child,
But the Devil was watching and he was just wild.
He strutted and danced and pounded his chest,
He cussed and swore and was doing his best,
To keep them from passing and getting the one,
That Jesus had told them was weary for home.
"She's mine! she's mine! I'm taking her home!"
He shrieked and the words chilled to the bone.
"Look at her body! Look at her face!
she's crippled and gnarled she belongs in my place!"
"I've worked long and hard for death and disease!
Don't rob me now of the prize I will seize!"
They fought him and wrestled—that Devil is strong.
The three of them battled him half the night long.
Finally, so weary they took out the Book,
To show him her name, the Devil wouldn’t look.
With clawed fingers he grasped at the pages to tear,
He wickedly flailed in raging despair.
"I hate those words-they mean nothing to me!
Only what I say is how it will be!"
They pulled back the book away from his grasp,
Then the three of them painted a scene from the past.
The Devil, he howled and he covered his face,
He saw they had painted the Cross and God’s grace.
They told him again how he’d acted that day,
Long ago when he thought he had captured his prey.
How he'd strutted and cursed and screamed, “Christ is dead!”
…til the stone rolled away, crushing his head.
With that- the Angel's words held him at bay;
and once they had passed he slithered away.
Soon they arrived from their long delayed flight,
Weary and worn from a terrible fight.
We let them come in—our Mother had died,
While they had been fighting, we’d prayed by her side.
They brushed off their robes and straightened their wings,
And said not to worry about anything.
Soon they were busy with flowers and jewels,
They fashioned it all without any tools.
Some how they made her pretty again,
With flowing black hair and baby soft skin.
With flowers and jewels woven into the robe
she was all the more beautiful sight to behold.
They lifted her gently, for she was asleep,
To take her to Jesus, the first one to meet.
After that meeting she’d see all the rest,
And be with them there forever and blessed.
We thanked the dear angels and fell to our knees,
They quickly said, “Stop! Don’t worship us, please!”
Then they painted a scene of the Cross and God’s grace,
And gently took Mother asleep from her place.
We kissed her goodbye with tears on our face,
and watched as it seemed they just vanished in space.
Then turning our gaze to the Cross and God's grace
We said "Thank you Lord Jesus" with uplifted face.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Mom
I watched you live
I watched you die
I saw the things that made you cry
When I was just a little boy-
always wanting some new toy
you took me to the Goodwill store
for there your money bought you more
But more than shopping for a toy
for you the outing brought some joy
Potatoes peeled each day to cook
was it a bushel that it took?
from steaming pots with mismatched lids
came endless meals for hungry kids
And laundry running wild it seemed
you tamed it with an old machine
I stood by the wringer tub
my hand upon the spinning hub
Thus whiled away the lazy day
till kids came home from school to play
But Mom, you wanted us to nap
And I could never see
the reason why a napping you
required a napping me
You had a goodness and a charm
that kept your tongue from doing harm
What others learned in God’s good book
you seemed to know without a look
Time went on you lived a life
the ups the downs some fun some strife
Most things in you I saw and learned
while other things I vowed to spurn
A funny thing this sneaky life
some things we spurn we end up like
So part of you is part of me
no matter how I want to be
But there is one thing I can say
in which I went the other way
This statement I will say to you
because I know that it is true-
My children watched me live
someday they’ll watch me die
but Mom you have to know-
they didn’t see me cry
I watched you die
I saw the things that made you cry
When I was just a little boy-
always wanting some new toy
you took me to the Goodwill store
for there your money bought you more
But more than shopping for a toy
for you the outing brought some joy
Potatoes peeled each day to cook
was it a bushel that it took?
from steaming pots with mismatched lids
came endless meals for hungry kids
And laundry running wild it seemed
you tamed it with an old machine
I stood by the wringer tub
my hand upon the spinning hub
Thus whiled away the lazy day
till kids came home from school to play
But Mom, you wanted us to nap
And I could never see
the reason why a napping you
required a napping me
You had a goodness and a charm
that kept your tongue from doing harm
What others learned in God’s good book
you seemed to know without a look
Time went on you lived a life
the ups the downs some fun some strife
Most things in you I saw and learned
while other things I vowed to spurn
A funny thing this sneaky life
some things we spurn we end up like
So part of you is part of me
no matter how I want to be
But there is one thing I can say
in which I went the other way
This statement I will say to you
because I know that it is true-
My children watched me live
someday they’ll watch me die
but Mom you have to know-
they didn’t see me cry
Thursday, June 2, 2011
What's happening to me?
Today I painted the garage doors and I don't know what's happening to me, I used to be such a careful painter, now I'm terrible, I slop paint on places it doesn't belong and when the paint in the roller pan skimmed over in the hot sun, I just kept on painting and didn't even care. What's up with that?
I was planning to submit my painting job for the Andrew McCann Seal of Approval. I figured he could inspect it when he came to Daniel's open house, but now I'm thinking of uninviting him to the open house.
Then there is the problem of the color, I really wanted some manly forest green type color to go with the roof, but decided that would be too much dark so I picked a lighter green. Then went even a little lighter just to be safe. Now I have this pale mint green that just makes me feel queasy when I look at it. It doesn't go at all with the roof. I had my doubts but they were confirmed when Debby Tilton trotted over to tell me that she liked the color. Now I know I painted it some sissy color.
But here again, I'm too complacent to get more paint and do it again. I'm hoping the color will grow on me, or the sun will change it to another color I like better.
Is this old age setting in? I just don't know.
I was planning to submit my painting job for the Andrew McCann Seal of Approval. I figured he could inspect it when he came to Daniel's open house, but now I'm thinking of uninviting him to the open house.
Then there is the problem of the color, I really wanted some manly forest green type color to go with the roof, but decided that would be too much dark so I picked a lighter green. Then went even a little lighter just to be safe. Now I have this pale mint green that just makes me feel queasy when I look at it. It doesn't go at all with the roof. I had my doubts but they were confirmed when Debby Tilton trotted over to tell me that she liked the color. Now I know I painted it some sissy color.
But here again, I'm too complacent to get more paint and do it again. I'm hoping the color will grow on me, or the sun will change it to another color I like better.
Is this old age setting in? I just don't know.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
They have taken away the fun of kids and cars
I grew up in the glory days of kids and cars. The 50's and 60's were the best years for kids to ride around in cars. I have lots of fond memories of riding in cars that kids today will never have. How about riding while laying on the ledge of the back window in the car? (actually I remember seeing my little sister Debbie do that- but I probably did too) I definitely remember riding while laying down in the back of the station wagon in the cargo area- it was fun to watch the moon "follow" us home at night. Of course seat belts weren't even invented yet, so hopping from the front seat to the back was no problem as long as you didn't kick the driver in the head in the process. Pick up trucks were the best rides of all, adults rode up front, kids rode in the back while hanging on for dear life. Once I remember my friend Tim and I stood in the back of my Dad's old pickup while going down the road- we were safe though- we reached over the top of the cab and hung onto the little rain shield above the windshield to keep our balance. Or how about the time my Mom let us ride on the fold down tailgate of the station wagon with our legs dangling over the edge? The only problem came when I saw my friend playing in his yard and decided to hop off to play with him. I found out you don't just get off a moving vehicle- you roll down the road for a bit before you come to a stop. I didn't do that one again.
Small children of course had to be in a safe spot, so they always just stood beside the driver so if the car stopped quick the driver threw out their arm just in time to stop them from smashing into the metal dashboard. That kept everyone on their toes. Some kids had it really good with a kiddie seat that strapped to the front seat, it had a steering wheel, horn and other gadgets to make the kid think he was driving.
Somewhere along the way people like Ralph Nader pointed out that the kiddie seat was just a launching pad for little kids when a car got in an accident. Thinking of launching pads, now kids are strapped in like astronauts getting ready for a blast off. I'm surprised helmets are not required too.
And what about leaving kids in cars? Nowadays people are arrested for it. In my youth the car was the preferred babysitter while your parents shopped. Of course the windows had to be down in the summer to keep cool, but that was OK, we were practically climbing out the windows most of the time anyway. No need to lock up kids in the car to keep them safe- bad guys had more sense back then. If they saw a bunch of rowdy, dirty kids like us in a car they knew the best thing to do was to stay away.
I learned lots of important stuff in cars while waiting for someone who was shopping, such as- don't touch red hot things no matter how intriguing it may seem. I learned that one from my first encounter with a red hot center of the cigarette lighter. It looked pretty, how was I supposed to know it would hurt? Not only did it make me cry for about an hour and everyone walking by looked at me, it left a bunch of little white rings on my finger that matched the little red rings inside the cigarette lighter. I also learned that slamming your fingers in the door can really hurt, that lesson was learned at Dalton Grocery. And that no matter how smashed your fingers looked and how much they hurt, eventually they stopped hurting and they took their normal shape again. Sitting in the drivers seat while the adults were in the store was when you got the chance to pretend to drive. With non locking steering and transmissions, I have seen a few cars roll down a incline from kids fooling around with the controls. It would only happen once before you learned which one of those pedals way down there was the brake.
So it seems we live in a more controlled and safety conscious time. Today we see danger lurking everywhere. In my day we never thought anything bad or dangerous was going to hurt us. The only fear I remember being placed on me was the fear that some bad man would drive up in a car and offer me candy. It never happened and I never could figure out why bad men would offer little kids candy anyway. It kind of gave candy a bad name, but I still ate it.
The funny thing is that my Dad used to tell stories about his childhood, and it sounded REALLY dangerous back then compared to my childhood. Either we just keep getting more and more careful or each generation learns how to juice up the stories from their youth just enough to let the next generation know how wild life used to be back in the "old days".
Small children of course had to be in a safe spot, so they always just stood beside the driver so if the car stopped quick the driver threw out their arm just in time to stop them from smashing into the metal dashboard. That kept everyone on their toes. Some kids had it really good with a kiddie seat that strapped to the front seat, it had a steering wheel, horn and other gadgets to make the kid think he was driving.
Somewhere along the way people like Ralph Nader pointed out that the kiddie seat was just a launching pad for little kids when a car got in an accident. Thinking of launching pads, now kids are strapped in like astronauts getting ready for a blast off. I'm surprised helmets are not required too.
And what about leaving kids in cars? Nowadays people are arrested for it. In my youth the car was the preferred babysitter while your parents shopped. Of course the windows had to be down in the summer to keep cool, but that was OK, we were practically climbing out the windows most of the time anyway. No need to lock up kids in the car to keep them safe- bad guys had more sense back then. If they saw a bunch of rowdy, dirty kids like us in a car they knew the best thing to do was to stay away.
I learned lots of important stuff in cars while waiting for someone who was shopping, such as- don't touch red hot things no matter how intriguing it may seem. I learned that one from my first encounter with a red hot center of the cigarette lighter. It looked pretty, how was I supposed to know it would hurt? Not only did it make me cry for about an hour and everyone walking by looked at me, it left a bunch of little white rings on my finger that matched the little red rings inside the cigarette lighter. I also learned that slamming your fingers in the door can really hurt, that lesson was learned at Dalton Grocery. And that no matter how smashed your fingers looked and how much they hurt, eventually they stopped hurting and they took their normal shape again. Sitting in the drivers seat while the adults were in the store was when you got the chance to pretend to drive. With non locking steering and transmissions, I have seen a few cars roll down a incline from kids fooling around with the controls. It would only happen once before you learned which one of those pedals way down there was the brake.
So it seems we live in a more controlled and safety conscious time. Today we see danger lurking everywhere. In my day we never thought anything bad or dangerous was going to hurt us. The only fear I remember being placed on me was the fear that some bad man would drive up in a car and offer me candy. It never happened and I never could figure out why bad men would offer little kids candy anyway. It kind of gave candy a bad name, but I still ate it.
The funny thing is that my Dad used to tell stories about his childhood, and it sounded REALLY dangerous back then compared to my childhood. Either we just keep getting more and more careful or each generation learns how to juice up the stories from their youth just enough to let the next generation know how wild life used to be back in the "old days".
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