Over The Hill Gang , Old Farts with Young Cars

[Ladybugsmom]

Originally Posted by Black On Black On Black

18 HERE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! :P

You couldn't PAY me to be 18 again.... I'm so much better now. Don't worry, you might get better too.

Age doesn't matter here - we're all young at heart in our Camaros!

[The Shadoww]

Originally Posted by Ladybugsmom

You couldn't PAY me to be 18 again.... I'm so much better now. Don't worry, you might get better too.

Age doesn't matter here - we're all young at heart in our Camaros!

Hahaha yeah.... College sucks! :p
And yeah, i have seen first hand how young everyone gets in their Camaro!!!

[lightning]

Originally Posted by Ladybugsmom

My stress level would be greatly reduced is my stupid SUV would quit dying. The transmission's acting up now. Sometimes, it won't go into drive. Just sits there and the engine revs. It did it last night, multiple times, in the parking garage at Century Link Field after the Seahawks game. Had to be pushed out of the way twice. FML. I don't have another couple of grand to get this fixed.

Don't stress too much yet. Could be just a loose coupling between the shift lever and the tranny. Or it may have sprung a leak and it's out of fluid. The repair might not be too awfully expensive. Be sure to take it to a trusted place that won't screw you on the price. Good luck dumplin'.

[SSBUSDRVR]

Ladybugsmom Very sorry to hear about your continuing mech issues with your vehicle.Hope you get it straightened out without any further stress.
Going to spin some music to liven up the evening

[dianeokie]

Okay, I know it's not Friday, but I'm going to post a pic anyway.........car show in Columbus GA last Saturday......

[lightning]

Wow, Dianeokie, you look HOT in that leather jacket. Oh, I just noticed there are some Camaros in the picture too. Well, they look real nice as well. We've kinda gotten away from picture Friday around here haven't we? You guys gotta fix that, OK?

SSBUSDRVR - I had no idea Paul Revere and the Raiders did that tune. I would have bet on Jan & Dean or some other group like that. Haven't heard it in quite a while though.

Here's a pic of an SS396 Engine ---

[dianeokie]

Originally Posted by lightning

Wow, Dianeokie, you look HOT in that leather jacket. Oh, I just noticed there are some Camaros in the picture too. Well, they look real nice as well. We've kinda gotten away from picture Friday around here haven't we? You guys gotta fix that, OK?

SSBUSDRVR - I had no idea Paul Revere and the Raiders did that tune. I would have bet on Jan & Dean or some other group like that. Haven't heard it in quite a while though.

Here's a pic of an SS396 Engine ---

That engine looks hot!

Thanks for the compliment, you should see my skull cap motorcycle helmet

[lightning]

Originally Posted by dianeokie

That engine looks hot!

Thanks for the compliment, you should see my skull cap motorcycle helmet

Hmmmm, I think it's maybe not so much the leather jacket as it is what's in it. Probably would be the same with the skull cap motorcycle helmet........

[Ladybugsmom]

Originally Posted by lightning

Don't stress too much yet. Could be just a loose coupling between the shift lever and the tranny. Or it may have sprung a leak and it's out of fluid. The repair might not be too awfully expensive. Be sure to take it to a trusted place that won't screw you on the price. Good luck dumplin'.

If only it were that simple.... My hubby knows the owner of the local AAMCO, we trust them. Got a call with the estimate today.:( Tranny needs to be rebuilt. This was the sequence of events, best as we can figure... A) Radiator clogged halfway and started to overheat (top half was hot, bottom was cool). B) When temp gauge pegged out, it fried the circuit board for the gauges (so no CEL, temp lights, etc....) C) Tranny temp increased, burned off the fluid, and f'ed up the guts of it - and with the gauges out, no tranny temp light came on to warn me! So the estimate is $1990, which does NOT include replacing the torque converter if that needs replacing. (it would be another $400 for the part, no additional labor)
In my 25+ years of car ownership, I have had radiators overheat a few times, and NEVER had tranny problems as a result. I think that Mitsubishi put a time bomb in the vehicle, set to go off at 109k miles...
Sigh..... There is a silver lining in this - I know there is... At least I have Ladybug, so I'm not stuck without a way to work... And, even though driving her in 28 degree weather on the P Zeroes makes me nervous, I know she'll keep me safe, and I still enjoy every minute behind the wheel.

[lightning]

I remember my first Christmas adventure with Grandma. I was just a kid.

I remember tearing across town on my bike to visit her on the day my big sister dropped the bomb: "There is no Santa Claus," she jeered. "Even dummies know that!"

My Grandma was not the gushy kind, never had been. I fled to her that day because I knew she would be straight with me. I knew Grandma always told the truth, and I knew that the truth always went down a whole lot easier when swallowed with one of her "world-famous" cinnamon buns. I knew they were world-famous, because Grandma said so. It had to be true.

Grandma was home, and the buns were still warm. Between bites, I told her everything. She was ready for me. "No Santa Claus?" she snorted...."Ridiculous! Don't believe it. That rumor has been going around for years, and it makes me mad, plain mad!! Now, put on your coat, and let's go."

"Go? Go where, Grandma?" I asked. I hadn't even finished my second world-famous cinnamon bun. "Where" turned out to be Kerby's General Store, the one store in town that had a little bit of just about everything. As we walked through its doors, Grandma handed me ten dollars. That was a bundle in those days. "Take this money," she said, "and buy something for someone who needs it. I'll wait for you in the car." Then she turned and walked out of Kerby's.

I was only eight years old. I'd often gone shopping with my mother, but never had I shopped for anything all by myself. The store seemed big and crowded, full of people scrambling to finish their Christmas shopping.

For a few moments I just stood there, confused, clutching that ten-dollar bill, wondering what to buy, and who on earth to buy it for.

I thought of everybody I knew: my family, my friends, my neighbors, the kids at school, the people who went to my church.

I was just about thought out, when I suddenly thought of Bobby Decker. He was a kid with bad breath and messy hair, and he sat right behind me in Mrs. Pollock's grade-two class. Bobby Decker didn't have a coat. I knew that because he never went out to recess during the winter. His mother always wrote a note, telling the teacher that he had a cough, but all we kids knew that Bobby Decker didn't have a cough; he didn't have a good coat. I fingered the ten-dollar bill with growing excitement. I would buy Bobby Decker a coat!

I settled on a red corduroy one that had a hood to it. It looked real warm, and he would like that.

"Is this a Christmas present for someone?" the lady behind the counter asked kindly, as I laid my ten dollars down. "Yes, ma'am," I replied shyly. "It's for Bobby."

The nice lady smiled at me, as I told her about how Bobby really needed a good winter coat. I didn't get any change, but she put the coat in a bag, smiled again, and wished me a Merry Christmas.

That evening, Grandma helped me wrap the coat (a little tag fell out of the coat, and Grandma tucked it in her Bible) in Christmas paper and ribbons and wrote, "To Bobby, From Santa Claus" on it.

Grandma said that Santa always insisted on secrecy. Then she drove me over to Bobby Decker's house, explaining as we went that I was now and forever officially, one of Santa's helpers.

Grandma parked down the street from Bobby's house, and she and I crept noiselessly and hid in the bushes by his front walk. Then Grandma gave me a nudge. "All right, Santa Claus," she whispered, "get going."

I took a deep breath, dashed for his front door, threw the present down on his step, pounded his door and flew back to the safety of the bushes and Grandma.

Together we waited breathlessly in the darkness for the front door to open. Finally it did, and there stood Bobby.

Fifty years haven't dimmed the thrill of those moments spent shivering, beside my Grandma, in Bobby Decker's bushes. That night, I realized that those awful rumors about Santa Claus were just what Grandma said they were -- ridiculous. Santa was alive and well, and we were on his team.

I still have the Bible, with the coat tag tucked inside: $19.95.


May you always have LOVE to share,

HEALTH to spare and FRIENDS that care...

And may you always believe in the magic of Santa Claus!

[Darth_Emma]

lightning-
Great Christmas story. Thanks for sharing.

[SSBUSDRVR]

Yes lightning. Thanks for sharing!

[RubyCamaro]

I love that story. Every child should have the chance to live it. It would be a better world.

[hotrodsally]

Thank You Sheriff.