Hey guys, just wanted to give you a update. It’s been 2 weeks since my injury. The issue of swelling has been keeping the surgeon from being able to operate and rebuild the foot, ankle and lower leg. That has finally been resolved and I will be operated on late this morning or early afternoon. I know one thing and that is I’ll be glad to have this rack removed from the leg. It sounds like I’ll be in for a long recovery. Eight weeks before I will be allowed to start putting any weight on it. I’m going to spend a couple weeks here in Fairbanks in a motel before finally heading back home. When I am done having to see the surgeon for at least a month. My dad will fly up from Florida and stay with me to help me out for awhile. Will be nice to see him. 
Kevin, I’m glad to see that you managed to make your move safely. Phil, your wife is dead on with her dying bread statement. 
In closing this, I want to add, Phil, to mention the kindness of the blogs readers. I want to add to that list. This fellow that answered Kevin’s call for my assistance, Paul, guys this man has come to see me every day but one. He works on these air ambulances up here and is talented in my areas. I just find it amazing that he like so many others look at the blog daily and never say a word. They come for the information and the stories, but also for the comments. I’m telling you this because I don’t think he’s a one off. I think the blogosphere is probably full of many people like him. I can’t say enough about how much I appreciate him. 
I’ll get back in touch with another update after the surgery as soon as I’m able. You guys take care and stay safe. Oh yeah, thank you both for being who and what you are and, for your caring and the blog. 

He called me a little bit ago.

He had made it to his destination a half an hour earlier and was on his way with a friend to get some much needed food.

He sounded beat but was happy to have made it.

I am very glad.

Now I can quit worrying about the asshole like a Catholic Grandmother.

Once again I am stunned and humbled.

An extremely nice guy got a hold of me last week and offered to give me another little John Deere riding mower almost exactly like the one I had given to me a couple weeks ago.

The really amazing part is that the gentleman lives hundreds of miles away and he showed up with it today. That and a few other goodies too!

This one is actually in better condition overall, the engine is half tore apart though.

If you know me, you know what that means.

ENGINE SWAP!

If you look closely, the newer one even came with a bagger set up!

WOO HOO!

That alone is a hell of a score!

I also got another starter to replace the cracked one .

Even though the gentleman came almost all the way from freaking Canada, he has a daughter down here close by so he got to visit her. I tried to give him some money just for the fuel he burned but he wasn’t having any of that, he merely told me to Pay It Forward.

He also gave me some old Monkey Wrenches and most of a Walk Behing Push Seed Planter.

I had to Google it to find out what it looked like when it was complete. Even though it is missing the front wheel, this little cutie pie is in excellent condition.

Did I say cutie pie?

Why yes I did. This thing is just cute as hell!

A quick Image search and this is what it looked like when it was complete.

At first I thought it might be part of an Allen Bradley set up.

I actually have the frame and rear wheel for one of those too.

I am still trying to get over the generosity and this mower and feel very blessed to have someone think enough of me to go to such trouble.

We had a real nice visit, the guy has some fascinating background that I would love to expound on but I am going to keep that to myself to protect his privacy.

I can tell you that I learned quite a few things today talking to him about what it is he does.

Quite a few.

Heck of a nice guy.

I consider it a privilege and an honor to have met him.

I still have another project that I need to kick myself in the butt for and get done, I haven’t forgotten another example o EXTREME generosity, that 220 volt, 3 phase motor and brand new VFD project that I need to get finished up.

It’s just that this mower deal is kind of a priority at this point. It’s Mowing Season and I need to get one of these put together and working so I can drag it over to my Father In Law’s place and get his lawn under control.

He is 80 years old, has Old Timers and has a yard big enough to throw an apartment building up on.

He is no longer able to take care of it and there is no damn way I am going to do it even with a self powered walk behind.

So stay tuned, as I get time I am going to have a little Thrash Session and get these engines swapped out ASAP.

That’s what my wife said about me earlier today.

It’s been a busy one at that.

First thing I had to drive over to the Farher In Laws 35 miles away because he had told one of her sisters that it felt like one of the front wheels on his car was “wobbling”.

He isn’t even supposed to be driving for starters.

Then of course the Sister In Law is to scared to try and test drive it around the block so I can either confirm that there is an issue or at least get some kind of idea of what I’m supposed to be looking for.

Did he hit a curb?

Can you grab the wheel and see if it wiggles?

Oh fuck no.

So I drive all the way over there, take a look, take it and him out and thrash on it out on the highway because he never gets over 25 miles an hour or more than a mile and a half away from the house.

Not a damn thing wrong with it as far as I can tell.

Tell him such and to quit worrying about it.

Jumped the Sister In Law’s ass for being so lazy and came home.

Then I started in on the wheel bearings on that little trailer.

Jumpin’ Jehosephat it was way worse than I thought.

Real bad.

As bad as it was, it could have actually been worse!

At least the inner bearing race wasn’t heat welded onto the spindle.

Not that it came off easy mind you.

But I did get it off finally.

Then over an hour up at the parts store .

No numbers left on anything except one bearing race and a freakin’ Newbie behind the counter.

A more experience guy that I usually deal with finally had mercy on us and found sets of bearings and races instead of trying to find them individually.

Of course the spindle was messed up and I had to clean that up before I could put it back together.

I got almost all of that really bad side back together and discovered that the grease cap on the end didn’t fit this side anymore.

Apparently dragging the thing God only knows how many miles without an inner bearing had caused the hub to tilt on the spindle and had basically turned the inside of the hub like a lathe against the nut and opened the hole up.

I was screwing around with that when The Wifely Unit came out to see what was going on.

I stopped and explained what I was trying to do when the thought occurred to me that there just aren’t that many people around anymore who have my particular skills.

You know how you are doing something that you have done so many times before that you don’t even really think about how you are actually doing it?

Like that.

If you really stop and think about it, there aren’t that many of us left and it’s getting fewer and fewer by the day it seems.

She must have picked up on what I was thinking because she looked at me and told me that I was part of a dying breed.

She went on to say that she was really glad that she was married to a guy who could do things.

Fix broken stuff, make things work that nobody else she knows would have the slightest idea of where to even start.

I told her it felt good to be appreciated once in a while but that what she said was true.

Just to drive the point home I guess, The Universe yanked my chain a half hour later.

Just for fun.

My Brother called me and said his daughter, my Niece, was stranded at the local Sonic Burger joint with the new to her 2018 Subaru Something Or Other that wouldn’t start.

Even better, HER daughter was with her.

Unfortunately My Wifely Unit had run to the store so I called the Niece and told her I would get there as soon as she came home.

My Brother is a Finish Carpenter, with a life long history of not knowing shit about cars.

So he called me, of course.

I snagged up some tools and shit and ran up there.

Turn the key, clicky clicky.

Dead Battry.

Got some stuff out, checked the voltage, 11.8 volts. No Bueno.Hoked up the cables and let it sit for a while and yakked with the Niece.

Finally told her to crank it while I reached in and revved the old Small Block.

Vroom.

Unhooked the cables, checked the voltage again, 14.3.

You needs a new Battry dear.

Told her to expect to pay at least $150, asked if she could afford that and was told yes.

OK then.

Said hello to the Grand Niece who had her face buried in a phone the whole time and sent them on their way.

She stopped at an Auto Zone on the way home and they swapped it out for her.

Come to find out, her Fiance had been sitting at home on his ass this whole time, ten minutes closer to her than I was.

Because he don’t know shit about cars either.

There is absolutely no need for me to tell anyone that this country is fucked, just on the premise that nobody knows how to do Jack Shit anymore.

Oh sure, there will always be someone in the comments who will tell us that they have Kick Ass kids who know all kinds of stuff and how to take care of them.

What’s that, One, Two, Three maybe?

Out of HOW MANY?

It isn’t just “The Kids” either. I couldn’t even begin to count how many full grown adults who don’t know Fuck All about what used to be Basic Knowledge back in the day and that goes for Women and the Art of taking care of shit that women used to do every freaking day.

Baking, sewing, shopping, food preservation, none of it.

Yep ,

The Last of a Dying Breed.

Seen a few minutes ago leaving Sandy Oregon

At least forty cents a gallon cheaper than anything I have seen in Vancouver.

There’s a whole lotta truth right there.

I found this at My Patriot Supply Blog via a link from Mathew at BACON TIME!!!!!!

It’s dang near 7 A.M. here on the Left Coast.

That would be 9 in South Freakin’ Dakota.

Cederq was supposed to hit the highway this morning headed to Idaho.

Say a little prayer for our Road Warrior.

If anything comes up he is supposed to get in touch with me.

I will let you know if he does.

In the mean time, here is a little traveling music for him.

Heh.