I was poking around in the old garage and found this container of old grease. I think it is quite old because of the label “hard oil” instead of the word grease being used. I tried searching for the Kunz oil co. of Mpls. without much luck. Maybe I’ll find something with a little more time invested. If any one has any information on the age of this can I would appreciate hearing from you.

I must brag a bit. Here is my son Jeremy and my grandsons Thorwald and Gunnar on the stump of the old Ash tree we took out of the flower bed just south of the house. It is early march but the weather was very nice. My son and Thor were just here for the day but Gunnar stayed for a couple of days .

I like this picture of Thor. He mastered his fear of heights and climbed up (and down) onto the loft in my pole barn.  I showed him how to make sure his hold was secure on the steps, move one hand or one foot at a time, and keep your weight close to the latter. Don’t be ashamed of fear  because it makes you careful, just don’t let it paralyse you. Think before your every move and all will be fine. Living in the Big City the Boys don’t have the opportunity to climb and explore like I did growing up on the farm in the 40’s and 50’s. Life was a continuous adventure with minimal supervision. I survived the cuts and bruises and gained confidence and respect for danger.

Here is Gunnar all ready to drive Grandpa’s garden tractor. He has the hearing protection on and note the smile. Gunnar loves to be with Grandpa in the garages and shop on the farm. He does think that Grandpa should either fix or get rid of the rusty junk that he has accumulated in the corners. Below is a young man taking driving very  seriously.

The captain at the Helm

That’s me, when the rest of you were soveling snow.  At 68 years of age I had the wheel of a two masted ship at sea. True I wasn’t really the captain, but it’s OK for an old man to dream. It was a great ride for an old hotrodder.

Here Donna and I are on the beach.                                           We really enjoyed the days at Key West.  It is very cosmopolitan, museums, art gallery’s, shops, restaurants and open cafes. It reminded me of the way city’s were in the 1950s. The weather was great, with lots of sun shine. The town is full of tourists from all over the world and  I really enjoyed visiting with people.  My only regret is that I didn’t have my red convertible down there to ride around in.

There are many beautiful and interesting  things I could write about and I will add more later. Here I am at the end of the day, isn’t the sun set grand.                                                                                                                                                                                 

The first Saterday of each month the Willmar Car Club has a breakfast get together.  Nothing formal, it’s a gathering of people from all walks of life who like cars.  If its nice we drive our rides. If our ride isn’t running or it is still in the dream stage we come anyway, and join the conversation. I always enjoy the stories people tell, and I have found most car people like to talk about cars. Check the locations and schedule at the following link, then drop in and join us, you will be welcome.  www.willmarcarclub.com/calendar.htm

Now we always have lots of door prizes which adds to the fun. As you can see from the following picture, some are extra nice.  The way we do things, a table is filled with prizes and each lucky person gets to chose the one they like best.

The last Breakfast, Lady Luck smiled on me. My name was the first name drawn, so I had first choice. Check the picture below and note the headlight bezel clock on my shop wall. Sharp isn’t it, can you name the car it came from?

These are hand made by Brian Pearson of New London MN. They are not cheap plastic but solid metal,  made from the real headlight bezels. He makes a wide variety and can be reached at pearsongs@charter.net. Brian also does some other interesting things. Check this site  at www.aabaca.com/pearsong.html

Car Clock

I just attended my 50 year class reunion this week end. I had a good time and it brought back lots of memories. Out of a class of about 260 their were, I’m guessing, some over 110 members present. A good turnout but it was somewhat disappointing that a lot of the people I chumed around with weren’t there. I ran with the guys that liked cars. and most of my friends joined the blue collar world after school.
It was an impressive bunch at the banquet, preachers, lawyers, engineers, professors. Many people with impressive resumes. I’m proud to have known them and it was fun visiting with everyone. Probably best was the forgotten memory’s it brought back. It made me think hard about my life and the choices I have made.
School was tolerable, but hardly the best time of my life, I was eager to move on. I got pretty good grades but almost never studied. I had some good teachers and I enjoyed those classes. Then their was Russ the coach who could make an interesting subject like history unbelievably dull. I loved to read, still do, read all my text books cover to cover by the end of the first quarter.
I received about six and one half percent of my education in high school the rest of my education has been spread over the my life time. I found that education costs money whether you get it in the “Halls of Ivy” or on the street as I did.
I am satisfied with the way life turned out and I wouldn’t trade with anyone. I would be the first to admit I made a lot of mistakes and did a few stupid things. Even if I could I wouldn’t go back and change a thing, it might screw up the end result. I have traveled as much as I desire, Europe, all 50 States and Canada. Along the way I learned I would rather listen to people, than instruct them. I have found most people are friendly, weather on the streets of London, or New York, or a small town in rural America, and if you do find a hostile person, its not you they are angry at, but the problems in their own life. One thing is certain they all have interesting stories to tell.
I have been very fortunate in that my best friend in life is my wife of almost 48 years. I have a great family, My two children have done much better in life then I ever did, all this in a world that is much more difficult. I believe my grand children are very capable and are being well equipped to deal with the future.
As for the future, I have been hearing that the world is “going to hell in a hand basket” as long as I can remember. It was always from old people and it hasn’t happened yet.  I’ll admit I feel that way myself sometimes but then I think how good I have it. I believe that feeling is just a symptom of old age and the fear of change.
That the world is changing there  is no doubt. Some change is bad,  some is good but most is just different. Change is also opportunity, as a fellow I worked for pointed out to me. The cruel fact is No one looses money without some one else gaining it.
If anyone from the class of “59″ reads this, I would be happy to hear from you. Conversation is something I truly enjoy.   E-Mail me at rodander@frontiernet.net

Ever since High School I have known that shiny red convertibles attract pretty Girls. Many things have changed in the 50 years that have passed since those carefree days. As the picture shows that belief still holds much truth. True they would rather drive than ride but than I always did and they don’t need Grandpa along any more than I did back then.
Seeing the excitement in their eyes and the smile on their faces as I hand them the keys is a pleasure thats every bit as good as what I felt back in 1959.

Spring has been slow to come but I keep busy as you can see in the Photo. I put together the computer sitting on the card table out of old parts. It has an 800 MHz processor so it is fairly usable. A 19 inch monitor I saved from the scrap-man makes it a fun Machine. I loaded Ubuntu on it and a full suite of software including lots of kid games. With the GIMP software you can do magic with digital pictures. Open Office makes working with all word documents and spreadsheets easy.
I have no use for it, so will sell sell it or give it to someone who doesn’t have a computer. Better than landfilling parts—-and I learn a few things along the way. It was also a lot more fun than cleaning the junk out of my shop.

I haven’t added anything to the page for a long time. The reason is shown below. The wife is shown with her Sister Doreen and Brother-in-law Sam. You have to say they are great people when they can put up with me for several days in a row.

We had a great time, you can see the weather when we left Minnesota. As a friend says even the ducks know enough to go south in the winter.

The best laid plans of Mice and men often go astray

They said this can’t happen but it did. I’m glad I didn’t leave it on the front seat of my truck.

Our new refrigerator has had problems with shelves sagging under normal usage. After looking things over it became obvious that the design had been cheapened. The thin hollow plastic support was just not enough and I feared for the glass shelf. searching my salvage pile, I found a piece of extruded Aluminium from a old storm window that was the right size

With a little sawing and filing we soon had a good fit. The brace metal fits under the plastic and is not visible with out laying on the floor and looking up.

I think the plastic support was originally intended to have a metal brace inside, much like I fabricated.

Undoubtedly a MBA had the final decision and they rarely do anything right.