So trivial, yet it really ticks you off.

[tonyb]

It's a '99 Outback. Paid $500 for it last winter when my '97 Toyota finally rusted itself to death, and aside from having a driver's door seal that doesn't, a rusted-out rocker panel, and dash lights that don't work, it's been a reliable Classic Maine Beater.

Seattle is a mecca for old cars in decent shape, mostly on account of there rarely being corrosives applied to road surfaces. I've driven more than a couple of cars with more than half a million miles on 'em, still presentable, still "solid."

 

[Harp]

I learned to drive a car with a manual transmission in college.

Busted cherry manual transmission with the M151A Jeep-issued my very own after the war while in Greece on advisory duty,
and the US Army bolted a M109 radio, price tag $14k inside; so I had to autograph signature both vehicle/radio. Took it up to the Yugoslav
border one night for a routine radio check, then later dialed in WCFL The Rock of Chicago on a signal bounce off a ship traversing through
the Panama Canal. That damn radio was superb and penetrated beyond the Balkans to Britain.

 

[Zombie_61]

...Doctor told me that besides hauling a heavy video camera on my shoulder and the wallet that I carried on my rear back pocket when driving for a length of time contributed to my back problems. I was given some movements to ease the back pain...

When my post-surgery back problems began I was sent to a class to learn some exercises designed to strengthen the "core" muscles. For whatever reason the instructor chose me to demonstrate one of the more difficult exercises, one in which you lie on the floor on your back, use your lower abdominal muscles to rotate your hips so that your lower back is touching the floor, then bend your knees slightly and raise your legs to approximately 45° and hold them there for however long it was. Just before the demonstration the instructor suggested I remove my wallet, and when she saw how thick it was she half-jokingly said, "Well, that's part of your problem right there!"

I did get a laugh when I performed the exercise as instructed, and at least half the class muttered something to the effect of, "Hell, I couldn't do that before I had back problems!"

Gotta wonder how many people born after, say, 1965, have ever driven a car with a steering column mounted manual gear shifter. The latest-model such car I recall driving was a '65 Ford Falcon -- straight six, three on the tree -- which I had in the early 1970s...

When I worked as a "gofer" for a concrete contractor in 1979-81 the truck I drove most often was a Ford flatbed (early- to mid-70s model, best guess) with a "three on the tree" shift. That truck was a beast! It took all of the usual construction company abuse and then some, and never once broke down. Ford really knew how to make 'em back then. I wish I could have taken that truck with me when I left the company.

...What's confusing is switching back and forth between the Plodge and my '99 Subaru -- I often forget where to reach for the shift lever.

I drove a variety of trucks while I worked for the aforementioned contractor--from a Ford pickup to a 20' dump truck--then I'd get into my '61 VW to drive home and it felt like I was driving a kid's toy.

Thanks. You get to a certain point in this life and that's what happens...

My condolences for your loss as well. Your comment here reminded me of a line from the last Indiana Jones movie:

"We seem to have reached the age where life stops giving us things and starts taking them away."

Intended as an expeditious way to explain the absence of characters who had been in the previous movies but were written out of this one for various reasons, it nevertheless struck me as being quite accurate.

 

[HudsonHawk]

Gotta wonder how many people born after, say, 1965, have ever driven a car with a steering column mounted manual gear shifter.

The latest-model such car I recall driving was a '65 Ford Falcon -- straight six, three on the tree -- which I had in the early 1970s.

Are column mounted manual gear shift cars still made?

I don't think there are any three speed transmission still made for passenger cars, are there? The linkage for a steering column mounted three speed is complicated enough, it would be a nightmare for a five or six speed.

 

[tonyb]

I don't think there are any three speed transmission still made for passenger cars, are there? The linkage for a steering column mounted three speed is complicated enough, it would be a nightmare for a five or six speed.

Cursory research after posting that query suggests that the last of them on "regular" vehicles are found in pickups dating from 1987.

 

[2jakes]

Thanks. You get to a certain point in this life and that's what happens. The departed sis-in-law's only child, her and my deceased brother's kid, is now orphaned, at age 33. One of my bestest, longest-term friends is likely to succumb to lung cancer before long. (We're maintaining hope that an experimental treatment will arrest the disease's progress, but we ain't betting the farm on it.) Two old girlfriends have shuffled off over the past couple-three years (ovarian cancer in one case; what I suspect was a drug overdose in the other, although those who know ain't saying). Old man croaked last year. Mom's still kicking, but she is indeed an old gal now. No denying that.

But, as Yogi put it, you gotta go to other people's funerals or they won't go to yours.

Last night I happened to catch a scene from the movie "1941". ( It's kind of zany)

The part where Robert Stack as "General Stillwell" is in a movie theater watching
the movie "Dumbo".
When I watched this scene I started to cry. Polo who was sitting near, looked at
me in an odd manner. He's never seen me cry.
He placed his paw on my shoulder and I bawled without control.
My mom took me to see this movie when I was very young.
And having lost her this last January was tough. But I didn't cry.
Until last night.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^
Yeah, it can hit you when you aren't expecting it.

I've think you've answered this already, but how old was she?

 

[sheeplady]

Apparently none of the local department stores will replace a watch battery.

The woman who handed my watch back to me with a look of distaste, "This isn't worth replacing the battery in. you should buy a new one. but you could try the jeweler downtown."

Went to the jeweler and the replaced it for $10.80 in five minutes. I also learned they have a local guy who repairs watches... I've been looking for a local watch repair to fix my grandmother's watch for 5 years...

 

[BobHufford]

Beetles were bad enough that way. VW "station wagons," aka microbuses, of which I had a couple, just weren't meant for limited access American highways. Passing trucks had a person thinking he was driving a kite. And long uphill stretches, such as mountain pass highways, had you poking along in the right lane, if not on the shoulder.

I posted this on a VW forum back in 1996:

To the tune of 'Cocaine' by J.J. Cale (With apologies to Eric Clapton)

Slow Lane
- ---------
If they want to go zoom, you've got to give 'em room. Slow lane.
'Cause your Bus may break down, you may be shoulder bound. Slow lane.
Please keep right, please keep right, please keep right. Slow lane.

With an old 40-horse, there's just one lane, of course. Slow lane.
With the resto done, what's your hurry son? Slow lane.
Please keep right, please keep right, please keep right. Slow lane.

Now your "Thing" is gone, it's a Bus you ride on. Slow lane.
Don't forget this fact, you'll always hold them back. Slow lane.
Please keep right, please keep right, please keep right. Slow lane.

Please keep right, please keep right, please keep right. Slow lane.

 

[Stearmen]

With me, it's reaching for the gear shift at a stoplight.

For me, since the auto gear shift in in the center console, I find my self parking, engaging the e-brake, then wondering why I can't get the ignition key out? It's because I left it in neutral!

 

[Stearmen]

The only time I ever sat in a heated seat it was very disconcerting -- I felt like I'd wet myself. Not something I care to repeat.

Way to much information there!

 

[2jakes]

The only time I ever sat in a heated seat it was very disconcerting -- I felt like I'd wet myself. Not something I care to repeat.

Way too much information there!

Here's more!

It's very uncomfortable to sit on a cold toilet seat in the mornings during
the winter time.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Ha, remember the ugly, old-fashioned, wooden toilet-seats, before the modern plastic-times...

 

[2jakes]

@ Trenchfriend.
Yes I do.

And I also remember this when I lived in the country.
Without a doubt this had to be the scariest thing when
I was 2 yrs. old.
One time a chicken fell in.

And in the hot summer days..... whooeeee!

 

[Trenchfriend]

@ Trenchfriend.
Yes I do.

And I also remember this when I lived in the country.
Without a doubt this had to be the scariest thing when
I was 2 yrs. old.
One time a chicken fell in.

And in the hot summer days..... whooeeee!



It's 3:30 AM & I took some medicine for my cold.
It's fine now, but I can't sleep, so...
How's it going over there in good old Europe?

Good. It's 10:39 o'clock in Germany, sunny days are over and wo got the real cloudy german autumn-transitional weather, now. And +7°Celsius.

 

[Stearmen]

@ Trenchfriend.
Yes I do.

And I also remember this when I lived in the country.
Without a doubt this had to be the scariest thing when
I was 2 yrs. old.
One time a chicken fell in.

And in the hot summer days..... whooeeee!

Remember, breath through your ears!

 

[Edward]

Fascinating reading about sriving in the US. Automatics seem a standard there; here in the UK they are rare on the roads. If you do your test in an automatic, you're not legally licensed to drive a manual.

 

[Zombie_61]

Fascinating reading about sriving in the US. Automatics seem a standard there; here in the UK they are rare on the roads. If you do your test in an automatic, you're not legally licensed to drive a manual.

Yeah, the "officials" don't make that distinction between manual/automatic transmissions here in the U.S., though sometimes it seems they'll give anyone a license as long as they can simply manage to move their vehicle of choice 100 yards without crashing into something or running someone over during the duration of the test. However, you do need a specific license in order to be a chauffeur (i.e., taxi or other passenger vehicle), drive a motorcycle, or drive certain commercial vehicles.

 

[Stearmen]

Yeah, the "officials" don't make that distinction between manual/automatic transmissions here in the U.S., though sometimes it seems they'll give anyone a license as long as they can simply manage to move their vehicle of choice 100 yards without crashing into something or running someone over during the duration of the test. However, you do need a specific license in order to be a chauffeur (i.e., taxi or other passenger vehicle), drive a motorcycle, or drive certain commercial vehicles.

 

[Trenchfriend]

I just don't like to decide such things.

Today, it came to my mind, that I could go to the nice olf-fashioned sewing-store in my littletown, to ask, if she could remove the lining of my transitional-woolcoat and sew a usual quilted winter-padding in, so that the coat would be a great real wintercoat, like it would be nice to have.

Now, I'm thinking of either converting the coat to a usual heavy-warming padded wintercoat or let it be and kept the coat as transitional-coat with it's breathable Cupro-lining.

Um...