... and for (relatively) warm January days, while we're at it. I'm just in from the verandah, where we managed to down Happy Hour's first beer al fresco. But there's precious little warmth in the late afternoon sun on these short January days, so we'll take the rest of our beer indoors. Still and even... it's been a LONG time since we sat outdoors and enjoyed a beer and a cigar, however briefly. It was good, too.
But... longevity? It's a minor point but one that causes me to marvel. I made a beer and grocery run out to Cannon Airplane Patch earlier this afternoon... top down and stereo blaring. Which got me to thinkin'. The Green Hornet is a lil over 11 years old and her Bose stereo system still sounds as good as it did on Day One. The CD player never skips, the speakers still kick out the jams loud and clear, and everything just works. I find that rather remarkable, given the temperature extremes the system suffers, coupled with road vibrations and all that other stuff. Why don't home audio components fare as well? I've never owned an indoor CD player that lasted longer than five years and my pre- and power amplifiers, tuners, and the like don't last all that much longer... even though the heart of my current set-up (amps and tuner) is going on 12 years as we speak. I should knock on wood... and I did.
Yes. Yes, she IS. Heh.
Nuttin' like an outdoorsy-induced stroll down memory lane! BTW, I read the latest entry before this one.
ReplyDeleteOriginal spark plugs?!?! That's impressive!
Yup! Bein' outside with the sun on one's face is MOST therapeutic. Especially when there's beer involved. ;-)
ReplyDeleteI figgered as much about the order of your reading, Moogie.
You know the old saying "they don't make 'em like they used to?". Where cars are concerned, I dare say that is a good thing. I own three American made vehicles, all of them sound and running strong. The lowest reading on the odometer of said three is 150,000. It wasn't too many years ago that by 100,000 a car would have been falling apart.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you enjoyed an outside Happy Hour.
Nice 'vette! Owning a Corvette of any year is the last item on my "Bucket List". I have lusted over them since high school!! That duel point ignition on my old Dodge Hemi used to decide to break a ground wire in the most unlikely places, the engine would just quit!!
ReplyDeleteWell dad, I gotta jump in... even if it's a day late. I love driving my 74 Ghia, still runs well. My better half and I are still discussing getting a new vehicle; the Excursion is getting a little tempermental and the Subaru has a few issues as well.
ReplyDeleteI also need to mention that your previous audio system still works and the amp you had in Klamath Falls worked well into the 80's! I've really enjoyed your "hand me down" audio systems!
Thanks!
Where cars are concerned, I dare say that is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, BR. I've often thought I'd like to have my old Chevelle back, or one just like it. But the only thing that car was really good at was going VERY fast in a straight line, aside from looking good while parked at the drive-in. I'd kill myself in that thing if I tried to take a corner at speeds The Green Hornet does in normal, routine driving. OTOH... my Vette was good at damned near EVERYTHING... but it was a '92 vintage car.
Ed: Do it! Given that Vettes are toys you can find some pretty good deals on well-maintained used five or six year old vehicles.
My Dart never broke a ground wire in the distributor, but the points were remarkably touchy and hard to keep set just right.
Sam: You've gotten your money's worth out of both those vehicles!
As far as hand-me-down audio goes... you'd have never gotten the system you have now if I hadn't moved into the RV. But... you're welcome! ;-)
BR makes a good point. People bitch about the cost of repairs nowadays, while driving cars with 180K & more.
ReplyDeleteMan, I remember working on 'em every Saturday, and praying for an 80K life.
Was that shot taken in Michigan?
The picture reminds me of the George Jones "Corvette" song.
ReplyDeleteWe can always get another car for a beautiful day.
Barco, thanks for the reminder of that song. Never was a Jones fan, but that was a cute one.
ReplyDeleteWas that shot taken in Michigan?
ReplyDeleteYup. On beautiful Lake Huron, in the Thumb, on a BEAUTIFUL Spring day.
Darryl: George Jones? Is he related to Tom? Similar stuff? ;-)
Nyuk!
ReplyDeleteI'll come to Darryl's defense here. That was a funny song. Even though I never "got" the George Jones success deal, some pretty clever songwriters sniffed around his place.
I remember seeing him on some interview a while back. The interviewer asked him about "He Stopped Loving Her Today."
George said that when he was presented with the song, he liked it. But, he said, "I told 'em I'd record it...but it's just so damn sad that nobody'll ever buy it!"
I'm wondering if she's thinking that you might like HER new car :-)
ReplyDeleteNow that you mention it, Anon... it WAS her car. We had a knock-down, drag-out over the choice of transmission when we ordered it: she DEMANDED an auto, I was adamant it should be a six-speed manual. Wanna guess who won? Hint: There's powerful logic behind "It's MY car."
ReplyDeleteO! The ignominy. I got to choose the color as a consolation prize.
While we're on the subject... TSMP's gig at the time was working as a Jap-to-English translator at Nissan's engineering HQ in Dee-troit, which paid quite well. We flirted with the ideer of buying a vanity plate for that car: PD4WYEN, read as "Paid for with Yen." Which it was. But we never did it... pop for the plate.
ReplyDeleteThe plate story just reminded me of a bumper sticker I saw in Ohio once.
ReplyDeleteRemember when parents would try to make you feel unworthy by putting "My child is an honor student..." sticker on the new car.
Then people had "My child beat-up your honor student..." usually on a rust bucket.
I thought I had seen everything, but right there on a pickup-truck before me at a stop-light was "My child is an honor student at Ohio State Prison"
Bonté divine!
Heh. Everyone needs SOME sorta claim to fame...
ReplyDeleteI picked the color.
ReplyDeleteHeh. Riiight, Paula. Everything I know is wrong. Still.
It's a wonder that things weren't always that way.
I'm just glad someone got some fun out of a GM!
ReplyDeleteI've only owned one GM and that was a 87 Buick Riviera. It actually self-destructed at 91,000 miles. I mean everything electrical started breaking, and boy - everything was electrical - so that was a real problem.
The only reason I never considered a Vette, was that I refused to pay the insurance they wanted.
So instead I tried to find a blond who already had one, and needed constant loving! Nah! Didn't find one (actually I think they had higher standards)...
I settled for a woman who liked to cook instead... To hell with GM, I got food!
Anon: We all pays our money and makes our choice. Three of the Top Five cars I've owned in my life were GM products, specifically that '92 Vette, my '96 Impala SS, and my '67 Chevelle SS396. I'd STILL be drivin' that Vette if I had opted for a conventional lifestyle... and prolly the Impala, too.
ReplyDeletere: Blondes and Vettes. I had BOTH, back in the day. It's just too bad that didn't all work out the way I wanted. ;-)