Between 485 & 705 SQ/FT Bob Heine's Auto Emporium

[shortykorte]

Who doesn't like a good camping story. The picture of the tent reminds me of our trips in the late sixties to Little Gant Lake north of Tampa. Our tent was almost identical except it had an external frame. Boy that was a heavy canvas tent! One trip there was a typical Florida thunderstorm that wouldn't stop and my brother, step brother and I were in an old Army pup tent. Where my parents were dry in their tent, we were climbing on top of sleeping bags and each other to get out of the raising water. Us boys ended up sleeping in the car. Great times, great memories.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob

Forgive me, but I've been so busy lately (yes - picture that one armed man - oh no, you don't have to, my apologies ) that I haven't had time to catch up with your story. I will shortly. I love reading your story. Mine doesn't come close, but is nearly as long.....

Lyndon
REALLY, REALLY behind. Sorry.

Lyndon, thanks for nudging me into this thread and I'd say your thread is better -- you post pictures of your garage much more often....

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob Heine View Post

...The stories shared on this forum have awakened my own memories and it gives me a warm feeling (of course, that could just be the incontinence).

AND THEN YOU WROTE A RESPONSE TO ANOTHER MEMBER'S COMMENT

you laugh but wait 'til you turn 70. Sneezing and laughing too hard are not your friends.

Bob: i'm just waking up and catching up on your thread which is a great read BTW. then i get to these lines you write and have to stop and laugh (only 60 so not having issues YET). keep writing because i'm sure you are putting smiles on other members (and lurkers) faces too.

have a great day

Drives, thank you for your kind comments and support. If you think 60 snuck up on you fast, you're not gonna believe how fast 70 comes. I don't yet have the problem but I did stop stifling my sneezes a while back.

Bob,
We're right on the St Lawrence River. About as far north as you can get in NY.

Gary in NY, that's some beautiful country up there. I interviewed and was accepted at St. Lawrence University in 1961 but didn't attend. I flew from LaGuardia to Watertown on Mohawk Airlines in a DC-3. It was my second flight (first was with a bush pilot in Alaska). I flew up so I wouldn't miss a second day of school -- return trip was on a Greyhound that took most of the weekend. The flight and the interview paled in comparison to the last leg of the ride to the school.

I hitchhiked the 66 miles from the airport in Watertown because I didn't want to spend the little money I had on a bus ticket. A 16-year old (rich) kid picked me up in his new car and drove me the whole way. He just wanted an excuse to show off his 1961 Chevy SuperSport bubbletop with a 409 and 4-speed. It was beyond belief and I knew they were making a handful of them (turns out it was 1 of the 40 Chevy made that year). it was white with a red spear and red interior, just like this one:

The SuperSport was extra impressive because our family car at the time was a PINK 1961 Rambler Classic station wagon. This is a '60 but you get the idea.

When we gave up traveling with the trailer my father bought a yellow 1958 Rambler station wagon and by 1961 it was pretty tired. He didn't go to Wisconsin to buy the Rambler (uncle was a Chevy fan who was driving a yellow/white 1955 Bel Air 2-door hardtop at the time and wasn't ready to replace it).

Dad went to the dealer and told them he wanted to trade in the '58 for a new station wagon -- now. The salesman asked him: "Which one?" and Dad glanced around the lot. Dad claims he said: "Any one but the Pink one." Next day he went to pick up the car and the Pink one was waiting for him. Salesman claimed he heard him say "The Pink one" so we drove it for a whole year. The replacement gold '62 Rambler wagon lived with my parents for 3 more years, when Mom and Dad flew to Wisconsin and Uncle Laverne stole two Buick LeSabres.

It is great to read your stories Bob, they are bringing back some of my own memories of growing up in a simpler way of life. Even if I'm less than half of your age. The trip to the grand canyon sounds similar to mine back in 2010. I went with my parents, one grandmother, one sister-in-law, my future bride, and 4 of my 5 brothers (One was deployed in Iraq at that time.) Three of us split off one afternoon to do a hike to Havasu Falls. We arrived at sun up at the trial head where there was a sign that stated no day hikes, the problem was we only had one day before we had to meet back up with the rest of the family. We each had 2 liters of water, some energy bars and gels, toilet paper, and a couple of cameras.

We decided to go for it, the worst that could happen other than death was they tell us we have to stay the night. The trip started off with a 1 mile decent of about 2000 ft. Over the next 10 miles we went down another 400 ft. or so. We were able to see 3 of the most beautiful waterfalls in the US if not the world. Stolen from someone with a better eye and camera:

We made the trip down to the falls and had a good time playing in the water and taking photos as well as talking to others down there hiking and camping. They were extremely surprised to see three guys with just camel backs and not 40 pounds of gear. Well we had lunch on our way out and started running back to the trail head to drive the ~90 back to the closest real town for the night. We arrived at our hotel in time to each shower and eat at the world famous Roadkill Cafe in Seligman, Az. by 6pm. All in all we ran 22 miles total and had 4,800 total feet of elevation change. It will forever be one of my fondest memories of spending time with brothers, and the entire trip as one with family.

Thanks again for sharing, and if you don't want my story on your thread feel free to delete it.
JB

JB, first of all, I would be the last one to delete a story like yours. Second, Havasu Falls is new to me. I've only been to the Grand Canyon once (other than a few 30,000-foot flyovers) and it is an indelible memory that I hope never goes away. Third, good time stories spent with siblings is a big deal to me. Thank you for the story and a glimpse at another natural wonder in this great country.

Who doesn't like a good camping story. The picture of the tent reminds me of our trips in the late sixties to Little Gant Lake north of Tampa. Our tent was almost identical except it had an external frame. Boy that was a heavy canvas tent! One trip there was a typical Florida thunderstorm that wouldn't stop and my brother, step brother and I were in an old Army pup tent. Where my parents were dry in their tent, we were climbing on top of sleeping bags and each other to get out of the raising water. Us boys ended up sleeping in the car. Great times, great memories.

Stewart, I googled Little Gant Lake and checked it on the Earth view. From the looks of it, I'm surprised it isn't called Little GNAT Lake. I've tent-camped with my son and grandchildren in Florida and it's a different experience. We had a fire for cooking marshmallows but didn't need it for warmth. I wasn't sure about the group's fire-starting skills so I brought out my high-volume low pressure mattress inflator (rechargeable) and we were ready to forge steel in a few minutes. I noticed a bright red father blowing up a mattress and offered him the pump. You'd have thought I gave him a pony he was so thankful.

 

[Toolfool]

Loving your stories and bringing back memories. I also spent most of my youth fishing the south shore of LI. Flounder and striped bass, and mackerel when they were running in the East Rockaway canal. Our extended family jointly purchased a rustic cabin on a trout stream in the Poconos and we spent most of our summers fishing, hiking, building forts, and shooting BB guns. Good times, no, great times. Thanks Bob.

 

[Bob Heine]

In 1955 oil companies provided service. Most know when you stopped for gas back then, an attendant operated the pump, checked your oil, washed your windshield and checked your tires' pressure. The oil companies also provided maps -- not just the ones in the station. My mother wrote to Gulf Oil and asked them to map our trip. AAA also provided the service but you had to be a member. For some reason my parents weren't (maybe to save a few dollars). In any event we had dozens of maps with routes marked (they had Mobil make a slightly different "just in case" route).

For my father this Route 66 trip was his third. First time in the early 1920s when his father drove from the Bronx to LA in a model T. My paternal grandfather was the electrician for a New Jersey movie studio that moved to Hollywood right after WWI. He was a partner in the studio and had been stiffed so he went there to collect his money. Much of Rte 66 was a dirt road on his first trip.

This was my mother's second trip, the first was in WWII so she and my father's could get to his duty station in Colorado.

We left the Grand Canyon and headed to Hoover Dam and on to Las Vegas to get food and ice. Back then, Las Vegas was a small town -- with gambling everywhere, including the grocery story. It looked like this:

(Not my picture -- copied from http://vintagelasvegas.com/tagged/1955)

We crossed the mountains and I think we were heading into Barstow. My father started slowing down for a railroad crossing and may have braked a little harder than usual. All of a sudden there is a loud crash and crunching of metal and the back of the car jumps up a couple of inches. The front of the trailer is also much closer to the rear of the car than usual.

We all pile out and run to the back of the trailer, expecting a car smashed into the back of it. Nope, it's that trailer hitch. The hook has broken and the only thing holding the car and trailer together are those green perforated straps. We are screwed. We're 2,800 miles from home with no clue where to go to get this fixed. We used a scissor jack to raise the trailer tongue high enough to put the steel dolly on the tongue jack.

Dad was going to creep over the railroad tracks while the three of us kept an eye on the dolly wheel. Dad was going to detach the trailer and leave it on the shoulder while we drove into town for help. I saw a big metal building on the right about 500 yards ahead. It had an old rusty sign but you could make out "Custom Trailers and Hitches." I just started screaming for my father to stay on the road and we walked with the rig to the shop.

When we got to the shop the old man working there said: "How far'd ya come pullin' with this hitch?" and when my father said: "From New York," the man's jaw hit the floor. He thought it was good for about three blocks. Using C-channel he welded up a custom hitch that spanned the frame behind the bumper and the second crossmember behind the axle. He also welded on heavy duty rings for the safety chains. My father mentioned the electric brake controller and the guy told him it wasn't connected to the car brake system so he installed a new controller that connected to the brake light circuit, had a variable adjustment and you pushed down on the adjustment handle to activate the electric trailer brakes manually if needed. Here's the two controllers -- the one at the top was first, replaced by the one below.

All of a sudden the rig slowed down without the rear of the car lifting up. Guy wanted $30 for the hitch which was less than the suicide hitch from Sears. Priceless!

 

[Bob Heine]

Loving your stories and bringing back memories. I also spent most of my youth fishing the south shore of LI. Flounder and striped bass, and mackerel when they were running in the East Rockaway canal. Our extended family jointly purchased a rustic cabin on a trout stream in the Poconos and we spent most of our summers fishing, hiking, building forts, and shooting BB guns. Good times, no, great times. Thanks Bob.

John, my parents could have afforded a summer home but chose to travel the world instead. Although we did a fair amount of traveling as well, we took our teenagers boat-camping at Fire Island National Seashore in the early 70s. My mother-in-law got us a Babylon Village clamming license that allowed us to harvest a bushel of clams each day. We had clams for lunch and dinner most days and opened a couple of dozen on the transom during the hunt (cooler had a few beers and sodas but mostly the makings for cocktail sauce). We had a tent on shore but the mosquitoes were so bad the four of us slept most nights on our 19-foot speedboat.

 

[Bob Heine]

We arrived in Los Angeles near the middle of July 1955 and stayed at an aunt's house. The house was small but it had a tiny guest house on the hillside behind the house. The first night **** and I slept in the guest house with the screen door unlatched. I woke up the next morning with my bed on the concrete slab in front of the door. Apparently I slept through my first earthquake. Note to self: latch the door when staying in earthquake zones...

While my parents visited with my aunt and her friends, I walked down to the main drag at the end of the street. Not sure which road it was but I just sat on a box and watched the cars go by. There were fender-less cars with shiny engines and new cars with no emblems or hood ornaments. They were all as loud as uncle Harvey's competition fire truck and had cool hubcaps that didn't come with the cars and I saw one that had chrome wheels. I was in heaven and missed lunch the first day.

On July 17, 1955 we left Los Angeles. I was an avid fan of Walt Disney's Disneyland show that had been running on TV forever (10-year-old forever = 9 months). We were leaving Los Angeles on the day Disneyland opened and we chose to go to Sequoia National Park instead. Incomprehensible to me but years later I learned that day was a disaster. The biggest traffic jam in Los Angeles history up to that date and most people never got near the main gate. Inside the park, a bunch of the rides weren't finished.

Start ADD Moment
We took our pre-teen children to Disney World in 1973 and there were similar problems. The only rides we could get on were A-tickets, which meant "room with pictures". The lines for the E-ticket rides were 2 hours long - each. The second day we drove to Bush Gardens in Tampa and drank enough free beer to forget the day before. Exit from the free beer room is the entrance to the souvenir shop so I still have way too much Budweiser stuff in the attic.
End ADD Moment

 

[Bob Heine]

[FONT=&quot]Driving to Sequoia National Park was challenging. Our almost-new Oldsmobile didn’t like the steep road and the high temperatures so it overheated. Dad was not mechanically inclined so the best he could do was to wait for it to cool down. We hung a canvas water bag from the hood ornament when we crossed the Mojave Desert and it came in handy this day. Luckily there was a spigot connected to a spring in the hillside so it was refilled once the car cooled down.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]The Olds came with wide whites and I really liked them – I thought they made the car look elegant and expensive. When these tires wore out I begged my father to get whitewalls but he didn’t like cleaning them. I promised to scrub them with Brillo pads but it was to no avail.[/FONT]


After a week in Sequoia National Park we moved on to Yosemite and spent a week there as well. In 1955 they were still having the firefall after dark. They pushed burning embers off Glacier Point and created a 3,000-foot column of burning embers, visible from our campsite. That stopped 13 years later and when I took my wife to Yosemite in 1994, the only souvenir I bought was a firefall T-shirt.

We made a side trip to Mount Lassen National Park and I was allowed to hike the less challenging trails. It was my first encounter with volcanic activity (steaming mud, steam vents and sulfur vents) and snowbanks in July.

Heading north again, we stopped at Crater Lake National Park to see the deepest lake in the United States. It was impressive but apparently we arrived on a very unique day. There was no wind in the caldera and the lake was so calm it was hard to tell the real from the reflections in the slides my father took. Our guide was near tears because this day he left his camera at home. My father had the slides copied when we returned home and sent the 360 copies to the guide. My wife-to-be was treated to a slide show at our house in 1961 and for many years would say "are we going to see Crater Lake" whenever slide shows were mentioned. Just to give you a taste, here are four from that day....

From Crater Lake we headed north and drove into Seattle at the start of the rush hour. I was sure we were going to die. It was the first time I had seen a multi-lane road with no dividers and more lanes added to one direction at morning or evening rush hours. Good thing I witnessed it in Seattle as a young boy -- the Harbor Bridge in Sydney uses a similar system and wasn't as life-threatening the first time I encountered it in action.

When you cross borders between countries, inspection stations are to be expected. I didn't expect them between states in the US but ran into one entering California. The nice man in jackboots and a uniform asked if we had any fresh produce -- fruits or vegetables. My mother volunteered that we had a head of lettuce, some tomatoes and celery. Rather than throw them out when the officer said we couldn't bring that stuff into California, we sat at the side of the road and ate four huge salads. Waste not, want not....

Heading north from Seattle, we arrived at the Canadian border. Dad was worried his huge supply of slide film (~100 rolls) would be confiscated so he hid it under the clothes closet in the trailer on top of the wheel well. No problem, we're gonna sail right through. Turns out Canada is worried about Americans bringing their stringy, fat and gross bacon into the country and infecting their ham-like bacon. They have the same California fear of produce as well. We cooked a pound of American Bacon and made bread-free BLT's (Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwiches) by the side of the road. I lost my appetite for quite a while, which turned out to be a good thing.

 

[Bob Heine]

I mentioned my father finishing the book several months before this trip. He and his co-author had turned down the publisher's offer of a onetime payment of $10,000 each rather than ongoing tiny royalties. The first royalty check would be tiny because the cartographers, photographers and illustrators would be paid out of the first year's sales and this book was profusely illustrated (more than any other high school textbook of its time). The royalty check was being mailed to uncle Harvey rather than forwarded to the General Post Office box addresses on our route we provided before we left. The check was expected in August. By the middle of August I'm feeling some extra tension in my parent's private talks. It's August 15th and Mom and Dad splurge on chairlift rides in Banff. They had not mentioned we were out of money.

We could use gasoline company credit cards to fill up the car and continue driving. We drive to Lake Louise on our way to Jasper but we are finishing the food we have left. Dry cereal (water optional) for breakfast and lettuce and mayonnaise on white bread for lunch and dinner (you know we're going to have mayonnaise until the very end). We have enough cash to pay the campground fee at Jasper National Park so we spend the day there hiking. Dad called his brother Harvey at the end of our hike and finds out the check has arrived. Dad was hoping for a few hundred dollars but it's for $7,000. Holy Sh*t we're rich!!! Just a reminder, $7,000 in 1955 (adjusted for inflation) is $61,881.04 in today's money.

Dad did have an emergency-only Diners Club credit card but back then grocery stores didn't accept them but the Jasper Park Lodge did. Guess where we are having dinner.

Kings and Queens visit this lodge to slum a little. The waiters all wear tuxedos and so do the majority of the male guests, accompanied by their wives in formal gowns. We were wearing hiking boots, flannel shirts and were covered with trail dust. At least we didn't go horseback riding. The Maitre D' kindly showed us to a table next to the kitchen and off to the side. There was no mayonnaise in or on any of our food.

There were some problems wiring money from Long Island to Canada so we stayed at the Jasper Campground for a couple of additional days and now Labor Day is right around the corner. School starts the day after so we have to get back. Our usual daily distance was 400-500 miles but we covered 1,100 miles in 24 hours with our parents taking turns sleeping on the back seat while my brother and I sat up front and kept the driver talking. A very brief stop in Wisconsin to wash clothes at my aunt and uncle's house and we made the last sprint back to Long Island. Labor Day beach traffic made the end of the trip a reminder how nice it had been living in the wide open spaces. Pulled up to the house Labor Day evening and returned to real life the next day.

 

[Lyndon]

Mark, you laugh but wait 'til you turn 70. Sneezing and laughing too hard are not your friends.

djones1a, I hope my memory isn't unique. I have a hard time remembering what I had for dinner the night before last but things that happened 60+ years ago are amazingly clear. On the down side I tend to repeat myself and I have a hard time remembering what I had for dinner the night before last.

Bob

Stop it! You've got me laughing until the drink comes out my nose.....

You're line about "Sneezing and laughing too hard are not your friends." reminded me that I discovered to my horror one of the side effects of having a stomach re-made above my diaphragm. You know when you get one of those surprise sneezes that comes out of nowhere, well the first time that happened after my operation, my stomach was suddenly compressed, and it "sneezed" too...... Startled the living daylights out of me. It's happened a couple of times since, and still makes me feel very weird.

Anyway - I'm caught up now, at the cost of some sleep. Great stories. Keep it up, for my sanity's sake.

Lyndon
Yawn; is that the time.

 

[BBChevro]

Another great read Bob, I'm loving these stories.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob

Stop it! You've got me laughing until the drink comes out my nose.....

You're line about "Sneezing and laughing too hard are not your friends." reminded me that I discovered to my horror one of the side effects of having a stomach re-made above my diaphragm. You know when you get one of those surprise sneezes that comes out of nowhere, well the first time that happened after my operation, my stomach was suddenly compressed, and it "sneezed" too...... Startled the living daylights out of me. It's happened a couple of times since, and still makes me feel very weird.

Anyway - I'm caught up now, at the cost of some sleep. Great stories. Keep it up, for my sanity's sake.

Lyndon
Yawn; is that the time.

Another great read Bob, I'm loving these stories.

Lyndon and Mark, thank you for joining my brain walkabout and Lyndon, you just did it to me. Is it OK to have a mouthful of coffee in the keyboard? If not, is there an easy way to get it out? Never mind, my spare keyboard has dried out from the last episode...

Lyndon, the image I have is Luca Brasi in The Godfather Movie.

If I'm wrong, I apologize but I still have that image burned into my three remaining short-term brain cells.

In the months after my accident I picked up quite a bit of hardware, including a removable bridge in place of the front teeth left at the scene. The larger piece of hardware was my artificial arm. A broad shoulder ******** the harness gives it great lifting ability and the strap that goes across the chest and back operates the arm. Expand the upper torso and the cable lifts the forearm. A shrug locks the elbow through the cable on the front and then another expansion opens the hook. Rube Goldberg would be very proud.

Once I learned to make the movements more subtle it didn't look like I was convulsing. Here's the arm strapped on:

I came home from The Institute for the Crippled and Disabled in Manhattan with my new arm and had my parents over for dinner. We were relaxing in our tiny living room when I sneezed. When I take a quick breath and lurch forward before sneezing, my arm snaps up toward my face and the hook stops a half-inch from my face. I lurch back in surprise and then the sneeze (with mouth slightly open) blows my bridge out of my mouth and it lands in my father's lap. It's hard to describe how speechless the room got but I just started laughing when I realized this could have happened on the train going to work or in the office itself. Hand over mouth whenever you sneeze 'cause you don't want to share what's in your mouth!!!

 

[1/2 Cup]

A great read Bob and by popular demand keep them coming.

Regards

 

[Lyndon]

Bob

Yep, lovin' it.

And the initial period after coming home from these major things really brings some surprises doesn't it.....

Live life, love, learn, and HAVE FUN.

Works for me!

Lyndon
Yeah - that guy that can't sneeze right.....

 

[Bob Heine]

Steve and Lyndon, thanks for the encouragement and for your patience. I think everyone leads an interesting life but sometimes its hard to recognize when you're in the middle of it all. I'll try to hit the high and low spots in mine.

 

[jimgood]

I came home from The Institute for the Crippled and Disabled in Manhattan with my new arm and had my parents over for dinner. We were relaxing in our tiny living room when I sneezed. When I take a quick breath and lurch forward before sneezing, my arm snaps up toward my face and the hook stops a half-inch from my face. I lurch back in surprise and then the sneeze (with mouth slightly open) blows my bridge out of my mouth and it lands in my father's lap. It's hard to describe how speechless the room got but I just started laughing when I realized this could have happened on the train going to work or in the office itself. Hand over mouth whenever you sneeze 'cause you don't want to share what's in your mouth!!!

:

Good thing didn't have a mouthful of coffee! That's priceless.

 

[Bears Fan]

Great thread! Love seeing all the cars, I want to come over and clean out your garage cabinets, I'm opposite of you, My OCD kicked in when I saw inside your cupboards

 

[Bob Heine]

:

Good thing didn't have a mouthful of coffee! That's priceless.

Jim, glad I gave you a giggle and thanks for visiting and posting on my thread.

Great thread! Love seeing all the cars, I want to come over and clean out your garage cabinets, I'm opposite of you, My OCD kicked in when I saw inside your cupboards

Bears Fan, I have a broad spectrum of disturbing traits, including hoarding tendencies. I conquered nicotine and alcohol addictions without entering treatment. Not sure why but questionnaires only ask if you're been treated for alcoholism. Apparently it's OK to be a functioning drunk as long as you don't do anything about it.

I do have hints of OCD. I worked in a supermarket and had to stock shelves with labels facing out. To this day I can't put a can or box on a shelf upside down or with the label facing away. Every month I turn my quart and gallon cans of automotive paint over. I start to sweat on the months when the cans have to be upside down. I also can't just drive my cars into the garage. I have to turn around in the driveway and back them into the garage. Even when I work on the engine, the last thing I do is back the car out and turn it around and back it in.

My house is small and it is full. I never visit Craigslist and I only do price-checks on eBay. I avoid leaving the house because there are yard and garage sales everywhere. Just like I don't go into bars, liquor stores or smoking lounges. Haven't been to a swap meet in more than a decade. Throwing things out is very hard but bringing stuff in is just feeding the beast for me. Like many hoarders, I see myself using stuff that I have already proven I won't. Much as I would like to have a dozen vices, I am holding at 3 and all are mounted on benches (one is ******* with the Portaband on a SWAG table). This year I have begun throwing out rusty hardware. I stopped saving bent nails 40 years ago but I still have too many buckets of unsorted treasures.

I would have a garage or yard sale but two friends have had their homes burglarized within days of doing one.

 

[Lyndon]

..... Apparently it's OK to be a functioning drunk as long as you don't do anything about it.

I do have hints of OCD. I worked in a supermarket and had to stock shelves with labels facing out. To this day I can't put a can or box on a shelf upside down or with the label facing away. Every month I turn my quart and gallon cans of automotive paint over. I start to sweat on the months when the cans have to be upside down. I also can't just drive my cars into the garage. I have to turn around in the driveway and back them into the garage. Even when I work on the engine, the last thing I do is back the car out and turn it around and back it in.

Bob

I'm with you there. I also worked in a supermarket for a while "facing up" products and stacking shelves. But then, I also owned a General Store in the countryside outside Sydney for 6 years, and used to employ the local kids to do that in the shop..... And my OCD has seen me paint lines on the garage floor so I can back the cars in straight, and always backed in.

Lyndon
Is it beer o'clock yet? Must be somewhere?

 

[taumac]

Yep, I always back vehicles in garage. I guess it's my job that teaches us to back in first and not to back out of a driveway. CL, flea markets, and swap meets are fuckers. It's bad enough when you have all that stuff just begging you to take it home plus doesn't help when you bring a GJ FC member egging you on. LOL. I did ok at Flywheelers show and behaved myself only getting few things I needed. LOL.

 

[wasfast]

I do have hints of OCD. I worked in a supermarket and had to stock shelves with labels facing out. To this day I can't put a can or box on a shelf upside down or with the label facing away.

That's not OCD, that's the correct and proper way. Clearly this is normal behavior, I'm sure of it

 

[Lyndon]

That's not OCD, that's the correct and proper way. Clearly this is normal behavior, I'm sure of it

^^^^^^

See, told ya!.

Lyndon
Night all. Tomorrow approaches (well - bedtime does anyway).

 

[Bears Fan]

I do have hints of OCD. I worked in a supermarket and had to stock shelves with labels facing out. To this day I can't put a can or box on a shelf upside down or with the label facing away.



Bob

Holy ****! I do the same thing...what does this mean Doc?

 

[BuickFarmer]

What a memory and recall of not only events but of the dates they occurred!
From the pink Rambler to the first big sneeze, you've had me laughing out loud. You're a great story teller Bob, thanks for sharing!

 

[Grizz1963]

Bob

I'm with you there. I also worked in a supermarket for a while "facing up" products and stacking shelves. But then, I also owned a General Store in the countryside outside Sydney for 6 years, and used to employ the local kids to do that in the shop..... And my OCD has seen me paint lines on the garage floor so I can back the cars in straight, and always backed in.

Lyndon
Is it beer o'clock yet? Must be somewhere?

And me too.

Having had a Battle Axe for a mother, all labels, rotation of old vs new groceries, parking the car correctly, etc etc etc.....


You only have to look at my garage thread to see how bad my wife and I both have it.


I have loads of brand new nails (by the kilo) yet, I persist in straightening them out of pallets, and pick up nails, screws and washers along with nuts and bolts when I cross the street.

If it does not sound too weird, and using a cinematographic voice of a 15 year old girl....... "I Love you Bob Heine"

You are a brave man for clearing up and going cold turkey....... Our first Bootfair of the year is on the 20th March...... I am absolutely torn, because the same day is the NSRA Swapmeet that I attend every year to buy **** I will probably never use, and certainly don't need.


I am so pleased you started up your thread.

 

[Bob Heine]

Bob

I'm with you there. I also worked in a supermarket for a while "facing up" products and stacking shelves. But then, I also owned a General Store in the countryside outside Sydney for 6 years, and used to employ the local kids to do that in the shop..... And my OCD has seen me paint lines on the garage floor so I can back the cars in straight, and always backed in.

Lyndon
Is it beer o'clock yet? Must be somewhere?

Lyndon, thank you - this is making me feel better.

Yep, I always back vehicles in garage. I guess it's my job that teaches us to back in first and not to back out of a driveway. CL, flea markets, and swap meets are fuckers. It's bad enough when you have all that stuff just begging you to take it home plus doesn't help when you bring a GJ FC member egging you on. LOL. I did ok at Flywheelers show and behaved myself only getting few things I needed. LOL.

Gerard, when my wife and I married, we were too poor to pay attention. After we bought our first house ($14,500) the $110 a month mortgage was crushing us. The town of Poughkeepsie, NY announced a "Town Cleanup" event in the fall of 1966 where people were allowed to put all their "junk" at the curb and dump trucks would be scheduled for each neighborhood. This was a big deal because the town had private garbage collection and they required gift wrapping and deodorizing everything that went into the two allowed trash cans. The first night of Town Cleanup we drove our Rambler station wagon through the "rich" neighborhoods ($30,000 and up homes). Brought home two identical Montgomery Ward lawn mowers, a bottle jack and enough home decor to start our own store. One of the lawnmowers needed a crankshaft key (probably hit a stump) and the other needed a set of points. Both were still running 8 years later when we moved to Florida.

My neighbor and I went back out and came across a 17-cubic foot frost-free freezer with the door removed (as requested by the event organizers). My neighbor worked in a department store that sold refrigerators so I asked what the worst thing to go wrong with them -- the compressor -- he told me. Loaded the freezer in the wagon and drove home. Before we went out for our third trip I set the freezer up in the garage, putting the door back on, plugging it in and setting an ice cube tray inside. Upon returning with a third full load, I checked the ice cubes and they were frozen solid. I can't believe they threw out a perfectly good freezer so I set it up in our basement the next day. The previous owners had cut the wires to the pilot light when they removed the door so I re-connected them. Plugged the freezer in and got a 110-vold shock from the door handle. Cut the pilot light wires and used that freezer for another 14-years. I threw out the bottle jack two years ago (crapped out after 48 years) when I found the seals would cost more than two Harbor Freight bottle jacks.

On the way home from our fourth trip, the car was again full to the brim and we passed a house that had obviously received a kitchen remodel. A beautiful set of appliances were just sitting there. Raced home, emptied the car and went back within 10 minutes and it was all gone. The following year there were traffic jams in the "rich" neighborhoods and pickings got slim. Oddly, in all the years we went out I never saw a tool cabinet or chest, let alone a power tool.

That's not OCD, that's the correct and proper way. Clearly this is normal behavior, I'm sure of it

wasfast, thank you so much for posting. I'm feeling a trend starting here....

^^^^^^

See, told ya!.

Lyndon
Night all. Tomorrow approaches (well - bedtime does anyway).

OK, Lyndon, we've got a movement started....

I do have hints of OCD. I worked in a supermarket and had to stock shelves with labels facing out. To this day I can't put a can or box on a shelf upside down or with the label facing away.

Bob

Holy ****! I do the same thing...what does this mean Doc?

Bears Fan, this is going to save me a fortune....

What a memory and recall of not only events but of the dates they occurred!
From the pink Rambler to the first big sneeze, you've had me laughing out loud. You're a great story teller Bob, thanks for sharing!

Lamar, thank you but you will soon learn that I have no recollection of what I've already posted in this thread. By the way, your showroom is absolutely awesome and is going to be even better when you can park your collection in it.

And me too.

Having had a Battle Axe for a mother, all labels, rotation of old vs new groceries, parking the car correctly, etc etc etc.....

You only have to look at my garage thread to see how bad my wife and I both have it.

I have loads of brand new nails (by the kilo) yet, I persist in straightening them out of pallets, and pick up nails, screws and washers along with nuts and bolts when I cross the street.

If it does not sound too weird, and using a cinematographic voice of a 15 year old girl....... "I Love you Bob Heine"

You are a brave man for clearing up and going cold turkey....... Our first Bootfair of the year is on the 20th March...... I am absolutely torn, because the same day is the NSRA Swapmeet that I attend every year to buy **** I will probably never use, and certainly don't need.

I am so pleased you started up your thread.

Rian, I have cancelled my appointment with the psychiatrist. I'm certain I'm still Bat Sh*t Crazy but it's also obvious I am in excellent company. GJ Rules! :tard::tard::tard:
P.S. I love you too (in soon-to-change voice of 11-year old boy).

 

[Bob Heine]

I came across another photo that reminded me when it rains, it pours. The day before we found our current dream home, I had come across an interesting house in the classifieds. It was listed as having an 8-car garage so I called and made an appointment to see it. I only took one picture.

The garage looks like a normal 2-car until you see a car parked in front. I think those are 12’x16’ doors. Inside he had a dually pickup with a Camaro drag car on an open flatbed car carrier trailer attached that he backed into the garage on the left. The recently divorced man who answered the door was dressed in shiny black pants and a shiny white shirt. Everything inside the house was either black or white. He explained a unique feature in the garage -- a windowless ‘office’ in the attic space accessed using the longest drop-down attic ladder I have ever seen. I had visions of a young woman bound and gagged up there during our visit. Can’t say why but it just had that vibe. The master bedroom also had a unique feature – a huge A/C vent directly above the bed. His wife liked to be warm but he kept it 65*F (18*C). The side yard (note custom van with blackout windows) was covered with concrete as was most of the back yard. Visions of more young girls….

I liked the house a lot but it was located 10 miles inland and convenient to almost nothing. I have no insight into my wife’s mind but she rejected the house because the man wore Canoe cologne. I believe he used it as a general air deodorizer, grout cleaner and bath additive. Even the garage was saturated so I had to give up on the house with real growth potential. It was priced at $275,000 and would have required us to sell our house first so that became the final nail in its coffin.

 

[Bob Heine]

The public school I attended had a traditional yearly writing assignment. We all had to write a "What I did for Summer Vacation" essay and I foolishly wrote about our trip (apparently writing “nothing” 500 times was not acceptable). I had a teacher I really liked and he was by far the best I had in grade school. He wanted to arrange a slide presentation to all of the 6th graders in the school auditorium (300+ students). I thought it was a horrible idea but a call to my parents turned it into the preferred alternative to a public flogging with my pants around my ankles (that might be an exaggeration but I do remember public humiliation was the stick and the slide show was the carrot). The show had to be an hour and to my surprise I had more like two hours of material. With help I boiled it down to an hour and received both the mandatory applause at the end of the show and the cruel hazing from the class jocks for the rest of the year.

I still have a lot of color slides from the trips but Dad saved a lot of money by using Anscochrome and Ektachrome instead of Kodachrome. The Kodachrome slides have held their color but the Anscochrome and Ektachrome slides started losing color twenty or 30 years ago. I’ve scanned them and tried to restore some of the original color but I’m not very good at it.

The summer of 1956 was a repeat trip lengthwise but with a slightly more southerly route to start. Having seen Carlsbad Caverns the year before, we made our first stop at Mammoth Caves National Park in Kentucky. We then headed straight to Pikes Peak in Colorado. We unhitched the trailer and drove the dirt road to the top. The carburetor on the Oldsmobile was set up for sea level, not 14,000 feet so it really started to give up the ghost about half-way up. The car ran fine in Lo but the engine was screaming so Dad shifted into S and the transmission would lurch from first to second to third in quick succession and the engine would bog, bringing the car to a crawl. The transmission would then shift back into Lo. We went from screaming to bog over and over, all the way to the top. On the way back down dad was afraid of overheating the brakes so we went from crawling in first to a suicidal speed with the engine backfiring through the carburetor, skidding to a near stop and crawling in first. Looking back, it was amazing the transmission didn’t give up the ghost that day.

The 1953 Oldsmobile automatic transmission has an odd gear selector. There is no Park. When you park the car, you put it in N (neutral) and set the parking (emergency) brake. You shift out of N right into Dr (drive) and when you want to pass someone quickly you can move the selector to S (passing gear) or floor it and let the transmission downshift itself. Flooring it was not my father's style so he used the selector. Beyond S is Lo but that's the lowest gear and there's no way to select the gear between S and Lo (it's a dual-range Hydramatic with 4 gears). You select R (reverse) by moving from N through all the forward speeds. Here's a photo of a '53 Olds dash:

Those Hydramatic transmissions were very popular with drag racers in the '50s and 60s. B&M first racing transmission was a Hydro Stick transmission that allowed manual control of all four gears.

The top of Pikes Peak wasn't much back in 1956 but the Cog Railway Train and terminal were pretty cool. Speaking of cool,it was early July and we had a brief snow squall at the top.

Interesting as Pikes Peak was, the biggest thrill for me was seeing several Cadillac "Station Wagons." There were 55 and 56 models and they were jam-packed with people. When I told my friends about these cars on my return, I got the "liar, liar, pants on fire" response from everyone. My parents and brother claimed not to have seen them so I stopped talking about them. It turns out I'm a liar about a lot of stuff but not about these Cadillac station wagons. They were custom built for the Broadmoor Hotel to take guests on tours around the area and up Pikes Peak. As proof, here is a '55 and a '56:

 

[Bob Heine]

Sidebar: I have a personal connection to the Hydramatic transmission. When I got home from the hospital in 1965 the first thing I wanted to do was begin building my handicap car. I had a 56 Chevy 210 2-door post sedan with a hopped-up 235 6-cylinder and 3-speed manual and didn't expect to ever drive stick again. I also had a 55 Chevy Bel Air 2-door hardtop gifted by a friend who kept the engine and transmission. It was red/white with green hood and fenders (it had been in a minor(?) accident.

My next-door neighbor had swapped a 348 tri-power into his '58 Bel Air hardtop and brought the lightly used 283 engine over to my house. He also knew I didn't like 2-speed poweglide transmissions so he scrounged a dual-range Hydramatic from a junkyard truck. The engine in the truck was a small block Chevy so it would bolt right up. The engine and transmission were in my garage when I got home from the hospital. When I told my wife I wanted to get started, she said fine as long as I wore a shower cap (cuts on my skull were still healing) and a plastic bag over my stump (also still healing). I encountered my first obstacle lifting the battery out of the '56. I had to take my belt off and thread it around the battery so I had a strap to grab.

I didn't hear my father arrive and when he came in the front door he expected to find me in bed. When my wife explained I was under one of the cars (measuring cross-members) my father got that disappointed look on his face (happened whenever cars and I were mentioned in the same sentence).

I never got to build my handicap car because my father gifted us with the '62 Rambler he no longer drove (remember the '65 Buick LeSabre/Wisconsin thing?).

We ended up with the Rambler because my wife drove my father home from the hospital in our '56 Chevy. She told him not to put his feet on the floor in front of the seat because there was a big hole under the rubber mat. She also asked him to hold the floor shift in third because I had yet to fix that popping out of gear problem. My wife later told me he was white as a sheet when he got out of the car and mumbled something about grandchildren and death traps....

Those are our two children, age 3 and 2, shortly after I came home from the hospital.

 

[Bob Heine]

Back to the 1956 trip…

From Pikes Peak we headed west and visited Great Sand Dunes National Park. My doctor gave permission to take part in more strenuous activities so we all climbed one of the 2,000-foot dunes. It’s like climbing 4,000 feet because every step forward was followed by a half-step back.

Next stop was Bryce and Zion national parks, with more amazing scenery. I can’t find any Kodachrome slides from those parks and the ones I do have are unrecognizable to anyone but me.

We headed to Salt Lake City and spent two days. We drove right past the Bonneville Salt Flats without even slowing down but we did get to float in the lake. There were warning signs at the “beach” advising against splashing or actually swimming in the water. They should have also warned bathers about the water’s effect on whatever bathing suits are made of. Mine disintegrated within a week after going in the lake. This is one of those Ektachrome slides….

We did the obligatory visit to the Mormon Tabernacle, listened to demonstrations of the amazing acoustics and had an organist play the gigantic instrument in the building (about 12,000 pipes in the organ). I was impressed!

Dad liked amusement park rides and the Giant Racer wooden roller coaster at Saltair was special. We all went on the roller coaster with my brother and I sitting in the front car and our parents in the one behind. I liked the speed on the first drop but my brother freaked out. The structure seemed to move a lot and the sound of the tracks was deafening (my brother hated loud noises, like the exhaust from Uncle Harvey’s speedboat).

It’s a 2,500 foot long ride so it was a real horror show. My brother tried to crawl out of his seat under the safety bar so he could get on the floor. I was holding on to him and trying to calm him down. I kept telling him it was almost over even though I could see it was a long way to the end. I still went on roller coasters after that but it was never as much fun because my brother’s misery always came back to me. Here’s an aerial view of the ride in 1956. Maybe it was karma but the next year a gust of wind toppled 60 percent of the framework and it was never rebuilt.

 

[Bob Heine]

Next stop is Yellowstone National Park and less than a mile from the park entrance we see our first black bear. Actually we saw 3 black bear with mom standing in our lane and her two cubs sitting in the opposite lane. Once traffic stopped the mother bear came to each car begging for food. My parents rarely break the rules but my mother had to slip a sandwich out her window. After the mother bear moved on, my mother got out of the car to take pictures. She was concentrating on the cubs but I was watching the mother bear. I quietly suggested mom get back in the car because she was standing between the cubs and their mother – even I knew that wasn’t a good idea. Nothing happened and we got to our campground without further problems. The mandatory lecture the first evening had the rangers sharing a movie showing what bears do to cars, campers and coolers when they suspect food is inside. Mom stayed in the car when we saw additional bears.

My brother-in-law and his wife visited Yellowstone a couple of years ago and saw a wider variety of animals, including wolves and bison. In 1956 there were almost no American bison in the park. Today the numbers have grown and they have overtaken the bears as the most dangerous animal in the park.

We did a pretty thorough exploration of the park, seeing Old Faithful as up close and personal as they allowed back in 1956.

The Lower Yellowstone Falls was amazing and reminded me we had fishing tackle in the trailer.

The day after we visited Yellowstone Falls we took our gear and went fishing from the banks of the Yellowstone River a little downstream from the Fishing Bridge . The fish were not biting so I decided to go exploring. There was a very marshy area behind our fishing spot so I carefully stepped from grass tuft to grass tuft so I wouldn’t get my feet wet. I stepped past a large bush and came to a large fallen tree. On the other side of the tree was the world’s largest black bear. It was bigger than a Kodiak and more ferocious than a Polar bear. I was sure this monster ate grizzly bears for breakfast. I bent down to pick up a big lump of sh*t (pretty sure there was one down there) and then decided to stare the giant down. It sniffed, turned around and slowly walked a few feet away. I think he (she?) was afraid of drowning in my urine flood and continued to walk away. Turns out I was only 15 giant wet strides from the river bank.

 

[BBChevro]

...I came home from The Institute for the Crippled and Disabled in Manhattan with my new arm and had my parents over for dinner. We were relaxing in our tiny living room when I sneezed. When I take a quick breath and lurch forward before sneezing, my arm snaps up toward my face and the hook stops a half-inch from my face. I lurch back in surprise and then the sneeze (with mouth slightly open) blows my bridge out of my mouth and it lands in my father's lap. It's hard to describe how speechless the room got but I just started laughing when I realized this could have happened on the train going to work or in the office itself. Hand over mouth whenever you sneeze 'cause you don't want to share what's in your mouth!!!

I haven't had a lot of GJ time lately, so I'm a bit behind on my favourite threads - I just started catching up on this one and didn't get past the first unread post before having one of those "coffee out the nose" moments.

You do realize Bob, that I've used up my coffee time cleaning up the mess, so I'll have to continue reading the updates later.

Maybe your thread should come with a warning "It is highly recommended that the reader does not attempt to drink coffee (or for that matter, any beverage) whilst reading posts by Bob Heine - we hold no responsibility for the consequences of ignoring this warning".

 

[jbmatth]

There are few feelings like coming across a bear in the woods not expecting it. I was on a hike in the rocky mountains of Alberta, Canada when a ranger talked to us about bear safety. He said you always need to carry pepper spray and wear little bells. The bells help to warn the black bears you are in their area and they will leave. The pepper spay is surprisingly effective at making them run away when they get a face full of it. My brother asked how we knew we were in black bear country and the ranger told him that black bears excrement has little nuts and berries in it as that is their primary diet. I wanted to know about grisly bears when he said their excrement is full of bells and smells like pepper.

 

[Lyndon]

....... He said you always need to carry pepper spray and wear little bells. The bells help to warn the black bears you are in their area and they will leave. The pepper spay is surprisingly effective at making them run away when they get a face full of it. My brother asked how we knew we were in black bear country and the ranger told him that black bears excrement has little nuts and berries in it as that is their primary diet. I wanted to know about grisly bears when he said their excrement is full of bells and smells like pepper.

JB

^^^^^^ Yeah, yeah. Very clever.

We getcha. At least our bears here are the last thing you need to worry about.

Lyndon
Yes, I'm back!

 

[Lyndon]

Bob

Are you under snow? You posted on my page, but you've been "off the range" on yours for a bit. Hang on, aren't you in Florida? So it can't be snow - it must be wine, women, and wild wild song....." If that's a correct quote.

Come on buddie, we can't have you on page 4 for long.

Looking forward to the next interesting update.

Lyndon
Your Down Under bouncer offerer........

 

[Bob Heine]

I haven't had a lot of GJ time lately, so I'm a bit behind on my favourite threads - I just started catching up on this one and didn't get past the first unread post before having one of those "coffee out the nose" moments.

You do realize Bob, that I've used up my coffee time cleaning up the mess, so I'll have to continue reading the updates later.

Maybe your thread should come with a warning "It is highly recommended that the reader does not attempt to drink coffee (or for that matter, any beverage) whilst reading posts by Bob Heine - we hold no responsibility for the consequences of ignoring this warning".

BB, all I can say is "Payback is a *****." I should add a disclaimer to the thread that includes it being a pit of pity, tasteless humor and an unending stream of Off-Topic posts. Might save people from wasting a huge amount of time.

There are few feelings like coming across a bear in the woods not expecting it. I was on a hike in the rocky mountains of Alberta, Canada when a ranger talked to us about bear safety. He said you always need to carry pepper spray and wear little bells. The bells help to warn the black bears you are in their area and they will leave. The pepper spay is surprisingly effective at making them run away when they get a face full of it. My brother asked how we knew we were in black bear country and the ranger told him that black bears excrement has little nuts and berries in it as that is their primary diet. I wanted to know about grisly bears when he said their excrement is full of bells and smells like pepper.

JB, thank you so much for that one. One of the great side effects of getting old is a fading memory. I can watch movies over and over and not remember I'd seen it before until the last few moments. Your joke had that same effect. I was thinking you didn't realize my story was taking place long before pepper spray. Then I got to the punch line, laughed my *** off and only then realized I heard the joke before. Just wonderful and thanks for doing that (empty coffee cup saved me some cleanup time).

JB

^^^^^^ Yeah, yeah. Very clever.

We getcha. At least our bears here are the last thing you need to worry about.

Lyndon
Yes, I'm back!

Lyndon, might I suggest you Google "Koala Attacks!"

Bob

Are you under snow? You posted on my page, but you've been "off the range" on yours for a bit. Hang on, aren't you in Florida? So it can't be snow - it must be wine, women, and wild wild song....." If that's a correct quote.

Come on buddie, we can't have you on page 4 for long.

Looking forward to the next interesting update.

Lyndon
Your Down Under bouncer offerer........

Lyndon, snow only comes to me on TV or in my dreams.

I apologize for my truancy. My dog ate the keyboard.

 

[BuickFarmer]

I apologize for my truancy. My dog ate the keyboard.

He'll probably keep you up all night after eating all that caffeine.

 

[BuickFarmer]

groannnnnn

 

[Bob Heine]

He'll probably keep you up all night after eating all that caffeine.

groannnnnn

Lamar, you're almost right. Our Pug, Eleanor Roosevelt Heine, was born in the middle of October and bore a slight resemblance to the former First Lady as well as my mother-in-law. My wife decided she couldn't be yelling her mother's name every time she wanted the dog's attention so she became Ellie.

Like her owners, Ellie is extremely low energy and snores all the time, while sleeping or awake. Turns out she was just using the keyboard as a firmer mattress....

During her infrequent awake times she tries to maintain oral health by flossing. For her, peppermint floss is like crack cocaine.

 

[Lyndon]

Lamar, you're almost right. Our Pug, Eleanor Roosevelt Heine, was born in the middle of October and bore a slight resemblance to the former First Lady as well as my mother-in-law. My wife decided she couldn't be yelling her mother's name every time she wanted the dog's attention so she became Ellie.

Like her owners, Ellie is extremely low energy and snores all the time, while sleeping or awake. Turns out she was just using the keyboard as a firmer mattress....

During her infrequent awake times she tries to maintain oral health by flossing. For her, peppermint floss is like crack cocaine.

Bob

Good come back Potsy....

Good to see all is still going well in Heineland!

Your Ellie, sounds like our fluff ball, Sherlock. His snoring can keep an infantry up. And his "crack cocaine" is a treat we have here for dogs, called "Schmacko's". He will do any dance routine you want, or don't want, for one of those.

Lyndon
TGIF.

 

[shortykorte]

"...as well as my MIF."

Ouch!!!' Started laughing, slapped by injured knee with my injured hand. Now I'm crying.

Love the picture of the Ellie. Looks like our Nicki from long time ago. Does look like she loves flossing.