Tank birthday, 47+ years

[Timfish]

. . . To change a tire on my Jeep, . . :confused:

Don't get me started! Few years ago I had a ball joint on my van break, was actually a fairly easy fix. But one consequence was I had to replace some studs and lug nuts and thinking it was smart to have spares I bought complete sets and not just what I needed. They were a little harder to install than the old ones but didn't think much about it being glad to get my van drivable again. Next time I had to replace the tire they were locked on and I broke the studs trying to get them off!!! Looking at one of the spares the threads were tapped from both end and didn't line up in the center and once they were screwed on they would never come off. Why make a lug nut like that!!!!

 

[Paul B]

I feel you. It's disgusting that we can't make the simplest things any more. I still have my ball joint fork but I haven't used it in maybe 40 years. I made a lot of money with that simple thing. I bet very few, if anyone on here under about 50 even knows what that is for.

As a younger person I always fixed my own car and even now no one has ever touched one of my cars, boat or appliances except for lately a couple of times when I just wasn't strong enough or didn't have the right "computer" tool for it.

Now that I am going for a new shoulder in a few weeks that arm doesn't work to well and I had some Jiboni put rear rotors on my car. A simple 15 minute job with less than a hundred bucks parts. He charged me over $600.00 which is insane. I don't know how people pay for these things. Such a simple job that you only need a jack and two working arms to do. Drives me crazy. :confounded-face:

My boat needed some oil in the reservoir for the power trim.



The hydraulic pump was all the way back in the bilge behind the port engine and Houdini couldn't get to it or even see it. So I called "SeaRay" to ask them how to access it. They told me that I had to cut a 10" hole through the deck or the floor of the boat to get to it. Like Really!!!. Is anyone stupid enough to do that. I told him that he should tell the engineer who designed it to call the engineering school he went to and see if he could get his money back.

I had to remove two very big boat batteries, the water tank, water heater, valve cover and alternator, then snake my Svelte, muscular, sinewy body in there to see the thing which was sitting in a pile of rust. The big, steel bracket the pump used to be bolted to disintegrated to dust so I didn't have to remove it as there was nothing to remove.

Out of all the materials they could have made a bracket of that was designed to sit in warm salt water forever they used steel. OK they painted it. :rolleyes:

Wood from Home Depot would have been better. I removed the thing along with the hoses and wiring and moved it using longer hoses to a place that was accessible near the front of the engines so any Human Being can work on it.



For a bracket I used 1/2" acrylic which will last longer than the pyramids and it is cheaper than the $125.00 they wanted for a new bracket. The boat had two of those pumps so I had to do it twice.

If I had that "engineer" in my hands I would have given him ich. :angry-face:

 

[Nano_Man]

Hi Paul you remind me of my dad he was a fitter all his life his job was mending machines in a big animal feed factory when the machine broke down and if they couldn’t get the part 9 out 10 times he would make it . He could turn his hands to anything just the way he was made . He started at 16 and retired at 68 only ever worked in the one place ended up supervising other fitters before he retired. Sadly he got vascular dementia and wouldn’t know what a 10 mm spanner was anymore. My dad always said if you don’t have your health you don’t have anything. My dad is still going but in a home wheelchair bound and carnt speak but I still visit he’s my dad . But my dad was like you I’m not paying that I will just do this and make that . @Paul B

 

[Paul B]

Your Dad was from a dying generation. I also like to say that. If I can't fix it, it ain't broken. :p

 

[atoll]

Your Dad was from a dying generation. I also like to say that. If I can't fix it, it ain't broken. :p

My dad as well and my mum who sadly passed away a week today. I am having to deal with everyone and his mate and we still don't have a funeral date. She was born in 1924 89when she went, worked in the land army during WW2. And had one heck of a life.

I have tools in my shed I have used in years lots guys today would scratch their heads looking at them.

 

[Paul B]

That sounds like a good life. Sorry for your loss. My Mom lived to 99 and was born in 1910. My Dad also was born in 1910 but died at the age of 47 in 1959 when I was 10.

I think he was to old for WW2 so they had him installing plumbing on new navy ships.

This is my Dad on the left and his Dad, My Grand Father on the right in his sea food market in Manhattan. This is 1926 :p

 

[atoll]

Me and mum a few years ago now. She was brought up in an orphanage as her father my grandfather died a few months before was born. My grans house was bombed during the war. Mum and my gran were in the cellar and had to be dug out of it. Soon after mum joined the land army and had various jobs after the war. She was only ever out of work for short periods f time while we were born. Mum had one heck of a life which I will talk about at her funeral.

 

[Paul B]

Hi Paul you remind me of my dad he was a fitter all his life his job was mending machines in a big animal feed factory when the machine broke down and if they couldn’t get the part 9 out 10 times he would make it

LOL, Nman. My Daughter wrote this about me in 1995. She must have been in school. She's Daddys little girl even though she is about 45 now, she's still my Baby :)

 

[Nano_Man]

LOL, Nman. My Daughter wrote this about me in 1995. She must have been in school. She's Daddys little girl even though she is about 45 now, she's still my Baby :)

You can tell you daughter that letter is very well written and you should be very proud of her . There were things in that letter that tugged on my heart strings so tell your daughter the letters still going strong now in the uk Thank you Paul B and his daughter. We forget sometimes it’s all about the family and life sometimes gets in the way . My daughter is halfway through university at the moment and making me proud loves learning.

 

[Paul B]

Nman, that was 28 years ago so she was about 16 or so then so just going out of grade school. She is a Wrighter and wrote the foreword in my book. :)

Jodi just graduated Fordham Law School. After regular college she took off 20 years but went back. I am very proud of her. :)

 

[Rybren]

Sorry for your loss Atoll.

 

[Nano_Man]

Nman, that was 28 years ago so she was about 16 or so then so just going out of grade school. She is a Wrighter and wrote the foreword in my book. :)

Jodi just graduated Fordham Law School. After regular college she took off 20 years but went back. I am very proud of her. :)

She has done well for her self. Yep you should be very proud. There’s a saying in the uk she is a chip off the old block. Great to see people doing well.

 

[Paul B]

The Back Nine of Life.
You know ... time has a way of moving quickly and catching you unaware
of the passing years. It seems just yesterday that I was young, just
married and embarking on my new life with my mate. Yet in a way, it
seems like eons ago, and I wonder where all the years went. I know that
I lived them all. I have glimpses of how it was back then and of all my
hopes and dreams. My first girlfriend, my first real job, first car, first fish tank. I lived a good life, worked hard loved hard and traveled a lot.

But, here it is... the back nine of my life and it catches me by
surprise...How did I get here so fast? Where did the years go and where
did my youth go? With my hair I guess.

I remember well seeing older people through the years and thinking that
those older people were years away from me and that I was only on the
first hole and the back nine was so far off that I could not fathom it
or imagine fully what it would be like. Most people were older than me, certainly important people like Presidents and doctors. Now they all seem like kids to me.

But, here it is...my friends are retired and getting gray...they move
slower and I see an older person now. Some are in better and some worse
shape than me...but, I see the great change...Not like the ones that I
remember who were young and vibrant...but, like me, their age is
beginning to show and we are now those older folks that we used to see
and never thought we'd become. We used to talk about skiing, SCUBA diving, going down the rapids, girls, the war we fought in and now much of our conversations are about operations we had or are going to have, Grand Kids, IRAs, reverse mortgages and Old Tank Syndrome.

And so...now I enter into this new season of my life unprepared for all
the aches and pains and the loss of strength and ability to go and do
things that I wish I had done but never did!! But, at least I know, that
though I'm on the back nine, and I'm not sure how long it will
last...this I know, that when it's over on this earth...it's over. A new
adventure will begin! Yes, I have regrets. There are things I wish I
hadn't done...things I should have done, but indeed, there are many
things I'm happy to have done. It's all in a lifetime. I still feel strong, but when I try to lift something that used to be easy, it is not so easy any more. I am a person that almost never asked for help with anything but now some things are just a little to heavy. I used to have no problem installing the outdrives on my boat, now I can barely wrestle them into my car. I think I am in good shape and I still swim every other day but aches and pains pop up every day and you wonder what you did to get them.


So, if you're not on the back nine yet...let me remind you, that it will
be here faster than you think. So, whatever you would like to accomplish
in your life please do it quickly! Don't put things off too long!! Life
goes by quickly. So, do what you can today, as you can never be sure
whether you're on the back nine or not! I lost many good friends in my life, some of them very young and some recently. Many who were very young in the war. As I get older and the people I know and love age with me I find myself going to a lot more funeral's than I used to. Almost all of the people who attended my wedding who were family instead of friends are gone.

My parents and all my Aunts and uncles I used to visit as a child are all just memories.

You have no promise that you will see all the seasons of your life...so,
live for today and say all the things that you want your loved ones to
remember...and hope that they appreciate and love you for all the things
that you have done for them in all the years past!!


"Life" is a gift to you. The way you live your life is your gift to
those who come after. Make it a fantastic one. LIVE IT WELL! ENJOY
TODAY! DO SOMETHING FUN! BE HAPPY ! HAVE A GREAT DAY Remember "It is
health that is real wealth and not pieces of gold and silver. LIVE HAPPY
IN 2020!


LASTLY, CONSIDER THIS:
~Your kids are becoming you......but your grandchildren are perfect!
~Going out is good.. Coming home is better!
~You forget names.... But it's OK because some people forgot they even
knew you!!!
~You realize you're never going to be really good at anything that you were not good at before.
~The things you used to care to do, you aren't as interested in anymore,
but you really do care that you aren't as interested.
~You sleep better on a lounge chair with the TV 'ON' than in bed. It's
called "pre-sleep".
~You miss the days when everything worked with just an "ON" and "OFF"
switch..
~You tend to use more 4 letter words ... "what?"..."when?"... ???
~You notice everything they sell in stores is "sleeveless"?!!!

~Everybody whispers.
~You have 3 sizes of clothes in your closet.... 2 of which you will
never wear.

~~~But Old is good in some things: Old Songs, Old movies, and best of
all, OLD FRIENDS!!


Stay well, old friend, and let
them laugh in AGREEMENT!!! It's Not What You Gather, But What You
Scatter That Tells What Kind Of Life You Have Lived.

 

[NanoJHB]

Wow! What a beautiful read. Thank you Paul, it really puts life in perspective

 

[Rybren]

As someone who is also in his back 9, I can relate!

 

[Nano_Man]

I’m walking up to the back 9 it didn’t feel like a long walk . Now I know we’re you daughter gets her writing from and very true we are all just passing through

 

[Paul B]

This morning before 6:00 was so beautiful that after my walk I took my Jeep on the beach and collected 50 gallons of NSW. It was so clear and calm that I don't have to strain out seaweed or do anything to it except heat it a little and added a little ASW as it is a little weak like 1.014 :anguished-face: The temperature is almost 75 degrees.

I took this just before I collected water. Just beautiful.

I tried to get some of that "red" water just below the sun. :)

 

[atoll]

Sorry for your loss Atoll.

Thank.you. appreciate it.

 

[Paul B]

I am kind of concerned today. My Daughter broke her arm and wrist in a couple of places and is in a lot of pain. She is in a hospital in Manhattan and they couldn't set it so they are sending her to another hospital where they have a better bone Dr. She said she needs at least one surgery but we are not sure yet as we live all the way out on Long Island. They may have operated on her last night, I don't know yet.

Her husband is away so I may have to go in to take care of her or the kids.

I think he is coming home today if he can get a flight :confused:

 

[Nano_Man]

I am kind of concerned today. My Daughter broke her arm and wrist in a couple of places and is in a lot of pain. She is in a hospital in Manhattan and they couldn't set it so they are sending her to another hospital where they have a better bone Dr. She said she needs at least one surgery but we are not sure yet as we live all the way out on Long Island. They may have operated on her last night, I don't know yet.

Her husband is away so I may have to go in to take care of her or the kids.

I think he is coming home today if he can get a flight :confused:

Hope your daughter makes a full recovery. Family first . Good luck hope all goes well. I hope that’s not her writing hand .