uncledj

Prayers on the way.

EXACTLY !!!

Yup. More than one way to interpret that prophecy.

My friend thinks he's smart......

That stove was a display piece at a Dutch Pantry restaurant that had closed. I was a few years into my trade at the time, and went through a bit of effort to convert it to a gas burning stove. That was back before we had computers, and I had to pour through a catalogue from a local appliance parts store to figure what I could mount, and safely supply gas to....ordered the parts and put it all together. Pilot lights, knobs, and all. The knobs were hidden behind one of the cast iron covers. (Where you'd access the grate shaker) I would have taken that stove since when Dad was getting rid of stuff to sell the house, since my home now is kinda rustic, but I thought he would have gotten a good $ for it. I found out later that it sold at the auction for $300. A bunch of stuff went for pennies that I'd have loved to have. Serves me right for not being willing to take hardly anything when Dad told me to take whatever I wanted.....I felt he could use the money more than I could use the stuff. Within a year after Mom passed ( 98 ) All that stuff was gone, and Dad moved into a smaller house that we'd remodeled for him. I drive by the house nowadays, and see that it's being let go. The whole neighborhood on the Upper Southside of Youngstown had turned bad.... I don't think I'd care to see the inside. The stone fireplace was built by Dad, with stones we pulled from the creek up at the hunting cabin. The grey woodstove IS in my house now. It's the stove Grandma cooked for Dad on in the 1920s in Wilksbarre, PA. I have it set up for wood heat, but it's so inefficient that I rarely use it. That was a great home and neighborhood to grow up in, but alas, urban sprawl has taken it's toll on that whole area. Sad. That's probably why I live out in the boonies now.

Looking over some old photos from the mid 90s, back when my Mom was still alive.....sniff...... Mom loved decorating for Christmas, and just decorating in general. She had an odd mix of Victorian and Rustic decorating styles, and was a bit eclectic as well. Looking at the pic I realize now how non-typical the house that I grew up in was. People who saw it used to fuss over it, and I never really understood why at the time, I thought it was normal... but looking back....it's a bit overwhelming......and really cool. Everything you see in the pics came from my Mom's mind, and mostly from my Dad's labor, although I'd help when asked.

Ditto: Wishing a Happy, Safe New Year to All. 2016 was a CRAZY year,....now let's see what 2017 has to offer.

Bummer. I had a Chevy TH400 tranny shipped to me once. It was strapped to a pallet. I received it with the pallet missing,....looks like it'd been dropped down a set of concrete steps, case cracked in two places. Junk. UPS offered $100. Last time I ever shipped with them.

​Some things shouldn't require a warning, but since they actually have a MSDS sheet on water, I guess anything goes.

I'm sure that's quite respectable in some parts of the world, but nuthin' to brag about 'round here.

My Winter goal would be to not damage either of them (First Gen and Second Gen) as I squeeze between them to put salt in the softener. LOL During the Winter they live in the pump shed, where the softener also sits. I keep it at 45* in the Winter, and have a dehumidifier that runs when needed, so it's a great storage spot for the old gals. No room to work on them though.

Take 'er easy, and heal up. Don't push it trying to deal with the snow. See the doc.....There could be something more going on there....Let them check ya out. This gettin' old stuff ain't for sissies......40 years ago, you'd have bounced back up without issue. Thoughts / prayers are with you.

Been thinking about getting one, but not sure what I'd do with it.

If ya gotta be laid up, this is a good time of year for it. Hope ya heal quick, and don't go through too much discomfort. Take care, and keep us updated.

Best wishes for Gunner. Kicked a few $ his way.

Best wishes for you and Gunner. Kicked a few $ your way.

It's inevitable. As technology improves, more and more will be done by machines. Just imagine: Once the technology used for self driving cars gets the bugs worked out, and is proven safe...what happens to truck drivers...bus drivers....taxi drivers and the like....??? What are the masses going to do when machines do most / all of the work...??? It's difficult / impossible to imagine where this is all going.

I was thinking of having a get together at the cabin in North Central PA the same weekend as the Sinnemahoning Rattlesnake Roundup. It's kind of a big event around there, and it's based out of the local Sportsmans Club, about 3 miles from the cabin. I didn't see any set date yet, but it's usually mid-June, which may conflict with Freebirds MD. We'll have to see how it plays out, but that's what I was thinkin'.

Got a call from Dad today. He said "John.....I've made a decision"....(pregnant pause)...."I'm not going to drive anymore"....Fearing the worst, I asked what happened to make him change his mind, since he's been pretty stubborn about giving up driving. He said that he'd had two close calls in one day.....having trouble judging distance to the car in front of him,....so it's time to quit. I re-affirmed that I can come up when he needs me to, and my sister who's a bit closer can do the same. He says he'll have no problem getting groceries and the like, but he'll let me know if he needs me. Wife and I are going to try to step it up a bit and visit more often. It's about a 2 1/2 hour drive for us each way, and we currently go up at least once a month, but I think we're going to try for at least twice a month, with my sister going up whenever she can. Anyhoo, I just wanted to share the news that he quit driving without us or anyone else forcing him to quit, and, thank GOD he didn't get in any accidents. It's kinda sad, but at the same time a happy resolution to this concern. Thanks everyone for the input.

Looks like I get to be the first to thank our Vets. I never felt the call, and have never served, but I thank God that my Dad WWII and older brother Vietnam came back. We all owe our Vets a great debt. THANK YOU for your service.

I like the stock look, although I never liked the dull look of the passenger footrests when folded up. My mods are mostly utilitarian....Leveling links and clutch spring upgrade are all I've done to my second gen. I always appreciate the custom look of many of the bikes I've seen at the rallies, and think I'd like to do the same, but there's also a lot to be said for the simple beauty of such a wonderfully styled and built machine.

Wife and I were on vacation in the Dominican Republic a few years back, and it seems scooters are the primary mode of transportation down there. I saw one of those MB5 bikes with a guy driving, woman and child squeezed onto the seat behind him, and TOWING A TRAILER piled high with garbage bags full of something.... I guess it beat walking. I think those MB5 are 50cc, so that had to be a heck of a strain on that little powerplant.

On my second gen, I miss the gear position indicator, and I REALLY miss the Tach. Don't like the rev limiter. Other than that, I think it's a great scoot.

You'll have a few folks chime in, but I know there's some small ones you can mount on the handlebar. I kinda like the setup a few folks have done, ...removing the tape deck and putting some small gauges in that space. Let us know what you decide on, and post a pic when complete. Good Luck !!!

I can't speak for God, and I'm a poor Theologist, so I can't speak for what the various religions would claim God would want, but it's a moot point. Political matters in the US are pretty secular....I think they're pretty secular everywhere that's not a Theocracy, ....so while God may not care about the borders we've drawn, we MUST. Otherwise we may as well eliminate all borders, which seems to be what some folks want. (Globalism) It seems that if that's what they're after, they'll have to level the playing field a bit by lifting the downtrodden countries up at the expense of the wealthy countries, effectively taking them down a few notches. As a productive member of this society, I don't much care for the idea of having to pay for the rest of the world, on top of those who can't or won't pay for themselves in THIS country. God help us all. Not sure what happened with the type size, but I didn't feel like re-doing it.