TeeBee's Blog

Well technically, they won and we watched. But it felt like we won. Heck, we did win. We won the right to go to bed before midnight.

Sox 3, Cards 0

World Series Champs.

Un-freakin-believable.

Next up - Opening Day, April 11th, vs the Yankees, at Fenway.

Maybe there'll be an eclipse that night, too.

teebee

Fall-related activities this past weekend:

- We painted windows downtown for Halloween. Each fall, local businesses allow children to decorate storefront window with Halloween paintings. We got a slightly off-the-beaten-track bank window, but were sheltered from the wind and cold (always cold on window-painting day). See the results here:

Window Pics

- Went for a hike in the woods with dogs, kids and a friend. Much warmer than when we painted windows. Foliage is just past peak, but still very nice. Pics here (am trying out Yahoo photos to see if I like):

Fall photos

- Am part of the haunted house committee here at work. Every year for the past 4 years, we decorate the place for Halloween and employee kids come for trick-or-treat. This year they roped me into helping out with the Haunted House. Spooky stuff. Pics later.

teebee

Red Sox 10, Yankees 3. 'Nuff said. Goodnight.

teebee

The 70's saw my mom going back to work, back to school (eventually getting bachelors and masters degrees to add to her resume, along with RN), and getting her own cars. With her own money, thank you very much.

There was always a certain aura/mystique/car-on-a-pedestal aspect about Mom's cars. First and foremost, she was fiercly protective of them. You did not mess around on, in, or near Mom's cars. You rarely got to drive them, and if you were allowed, it was *huge*. Plus she had a series of really cool sporty cars that were a blast to drive. Plus you knew you'd be dead, dead, dead if anything ever happened to them. Naturally, all this combined to make them irresistable to impressionable young drivers like myself.

Anyhoo, here they are, starting with:

1973 Toyota Celics (green, then *really* green)
This was her first car of her own, cutting her loose from the family dreadnaughts we had at the time. What a difference - 2 ton Chevy Van to a 2200-pound point-n-shoot with a 5 speed.

Early Celicas are really nice cars. The engine was shared across most of the Toyota line (18RC?), and was torquey and rev-happy. They have nice lines, kinda like a 240z meets a Saab Sonnet meets something else. They sat l-o-o-o-w to the ground, with the shift just where you want it. Steering was incredibly stiff while parking, but spot-on at speed. Add a 5 speed and genuine radials, and you've got some fun on wheels. Here's a whole site devoted to '70-'77 Celicas: http://www.classic-celica.nl/.

Don't know where Mom got it from (private party or dealer), but it was in really nice shape. And oh boy did she love that car. Always kept it clean, inside and out. Had a Celica specialist in Peabody (or Danvers? somewhere up the line) that was the only one allowed to work on it. Tolerated its faults (like an electrical system that made British cars of the time seem like the pinnacle of excellence). Loved its virtues (an enthusiasm not shared by the local constabulary).

At one point, she decided her baby needed a new paint job, so she selected Celica Green. Might as well have been called "HEY I'M OVER HERE" green - it was *bright*. I think even my mom was surprised at how bright it was. Not that she wasn't pleased.

I remember:

- I'm leaning on it, talking with my friend, idly playing with the radio antenna (one of those with a big spring at the bottom so it can bend). I'm flexing it back and forth and *snap* - it breaks off and I'm staring at it and so is my friend and I am so dead it isn't funny. I go to Mom, 'fess up, catch holy hell, but survive.

- I'm driving it, by myself, for the first time. I think I was sent downtown to get some milk. I naturally take the long way there and the long way back. I'm cruising past Back Beach, the sun is shining, and life is good.

Eventually, the love affair had to end. I think the car was getting way up in the miles. My Mom needed something more dependable. She sold it to one of our friends who had always liked the car (despite the unfavorable ratio between the car's size and his). She moved on to a succession of sporty cars, but I imagine this one still has a special place in her memories.

teebee

My dad's cars didn't make as big an impression on me as our family vehicles, at least in the 70's. I was too young to drive them, and really only rode in them on the odd weekend errand. Still, they were around and a part of my life, so worth mentioning.

1971(?) Mercury Capri, white (or was it beige?)
This was the first car I remember my dad having, aside from the old Mercedes. This was one of the first "economy" cars sold by the big 3, and was actually made (I believe) in Europe. Looked something like this:



Didn't spend a lot of time in this one, don't particularly remember what happened to it. Mostly I remember it being in the way when we wanted to play basketball.

1975(?) either Mercury Bobcat or Ford Pinto wagon, blue
Again, not a lot of memories. It was there, that's all.

1978-ish Fiat 131 Brava, tan
This was a fun, sporty little car that (as I recall) caused my dad no end of trouble. Some really wierd things, like one of the front struts would freeze in cold weather and you'd bang down the road until it broke free. My brother found out that the rear differential is not as robust as he hoped (ahem). Still, a fun car. For either father's day or my dad's birthday, we bought him this interior dress-up package - wood trim around the console, a nice wooden shift knob, leather wrap for the steering wheel. I thought it was snazzy.

This was also the car that I learned to drive in. Dad would take me to the empty beach parking lots and teach me how to shift a standard transmission. He'd also take me to empty snowed-over parking lots and teach me how to drive in the snow. For me, it was a blast - he'd have me deliberately slide so I could learn what a car does in the snow. Definitely something I'm going to do with my kids, because I've never had any trouble driving in the snow thanks to that early training.

Looked like this, only w/o the snazzy wheels:



Next up - the cars of the 80's (or Teebee At The Wheel)

teebee

Last week I talked about our first adventure-mobile. Today we discuss our family's ultimate traveling vehicle.

1973(ish) Chevrolet SportVan 30, white

This was it. The big mamma-jamma. The ne-plus-ultra of Locke transportation. Never had the likes been seen, nor have they ever been close since.

Start with a 1973 Chevrolet SportVan 30. Note those last numbers - "30". In Chevrolet truck parlance, "10" was lightweight, "20" was middleweight, and "30" was (you guessed it) the heavyweight. A big-block, 350 cubic-inch motor built for torque. Heavy-duty TH-350 transmisssion. 8-lug wheels. In other words, a beast.

Now saw off the roof and add a 2' fiberglass extension. Throw at it a mom and dad with tools, talent, and a maniac glint in their eyes and soon you have a loft bed in the back and front (with the front able to be raised for driving, and lowered for sleeping), bunkbeds along 1 wall in the back, kitchenette with sink, stove, cabinets and pantry, and a bathroom. Now carpet the inside of the fiberglass top with orange, black and white carpeting. Add a skylight with fan. 8-track stereo with a fine collection of 70's rock-and-roll. Now stand back and admire.

The Locke Family Van.

I'm guessing we had this for 10 years or so. During that time, we:

- camped our way down to Florida for Christmas, staying at Yogi Bear campground in Orlando and going to Disneyworld for the first time (Space Mountain was just being built). A little fake Christmas tree on the picnic table and grapefruit trees all around made for a very different holiday experience.

- camped our way across country in the summer of '75 or '76, with a Tunisian exchange student who was staying with us for a year. Can't remember exactly how long it took (but I bet Mom can tell you in days, hours, minutes and seconds). We saw a whole lot of the country from the back of that vehicle. It broke down once in San Francisco, stranding us in this RV park for a few days. I can remember lying in the top bunks in back, imagining that if Mom drove under a bridge that was too low that I'd have the time to dive down before the bridge beam came crashing through. As if. We stopped in Salt Lake City and I picked up a Book of Mormon and read it across the Midwest. Kind of like Jesus comes to America, as I recall. We covered the back with stickers from every KOA we stopped at. An impressive itinerary, out for all to see.

- used it for daily transportation, shopping trips, Cub scout outings, etc. We never had trouble finding it in parking lots. Everyone always saw you coming, and knew when you left. I remember one time I had done a spectacularly acrobatic bike crash in downtown Rockport. Someone had called my panents. I was sitting on the stoop of a restaurant, dazed but basically unhurt. I hear this tremendous roar, look up, and here comes Mom in the van, seemingly parting traffic like Moses parting the Red Sea. Now that's how to make an entrance.

- as my oldest brothers got their driver's licenses, it became our youth vehicle, and we learned exactly how bad it was on gas mileage. We had a terrifying wipeout on the Southeast Expressway in Boston after a downpour. Ed was driving, Dave riding shotgun and me in the back. Ed merges right onto 1 North, the back end swings out, Ed overcorrects and we do a 180 through traffic and end up smacking the guardrail facing into traffic (and clipping an off-duty Peabody cop in the process). No one hurt, but for years afterward I would feel the van slipping whenever we went around a corner.

Finally, it got too old, rusty and expensive to run, so we sold it. We'd sometimes see it on the highway (painted red on the bottom, but still with the sunflower stickers on the roof extension windows). By then Mom was working again and had her own car so the need for a big family vehicle was gone. Nothing ever again approached this vehicle in size, presence, or ability to store memories.

I could fill pages and pages with the experiences I and we had in this vehicle, but am out of time. For now. Maybe more on this one later.

teebee

In the 70's, the cars in my life diverged into 2 lines - the family vehicle (usually piloted by Mom), and whatever car my Dad used. Different experiences in each line. Let's start with the family vehicles, starting with:

1970(?) Ford Econoline, tan

This was our first serious road warrior vehicle, set up for some major traveling. Dad took out the 3rd row seat and built a pair of bunkbeds, one set on either side. The top bunk was hinged so when it was down it formed a seat back so you could sit on the lower bunk. No seat belts - this was the 70's, remember. The top bunk was held up by dowels and brackets and I can still remember pinching my fingers trying to get the dowels into place (or trying to remove them and dump the occupant of the top bunk off unexpectedly). The bunks were vinyl covered and I can still feel the skin on my back sticking to them on some long, sweaty summer drive and that long errrrrrrruuupp sound as you peeled yourself off. I spent a lot of time on those bunks, sitting and staring out the window as we rolled across Pennslyvania Dutch Country, past South of the Border, down to New Orleans. Camping all the way, of course. The Coleman cooler-that-could-also-be-set-upright-like-a-fridge wobbling along in the back, keeping milk just cool enough so it didn't spoil but way to warm to drink without having to concentrate on not gagging. Ah, the life.

For some reason, my folks got this vehicle with the deluxe air conditioning package. There were air ducts that ran along the inside top, with round vents to let out the air conditoning. The air conditioning console was right beside the driver's seat, on the left and a little to the rear. That meant that sneaky kids could reach out and turn it on without a parent noticing (hopefully). Of course, they always did and summarily turned it off (bad for gas mileage). Why did they get it if they weren't going to use it, we would all cry out in righteous indignation. Ah, the injustice of it all.

Technical details:

1970 Ford Econoline
Color: tan
Motor: 302
Transmission - 3 on the tree?
Unltimate fate - traded in?
Accident/major event history - none that I can recall.

Looked kinda like this:



teebee

Addendum:

Coupla corrections from Mom. She says it was yellow, but confirms 3-on-the-tree. She questions the A/C, but I'm standing firm with my story. She says we sold it privately.

Poker night last night, at James' Pondview Poker Palace, Porch Edition. Started out cool, ended the night cold. By then we all had our beer blankets on so we didn't mind so much.

In attendence - me, James, Jim, Norm, Jonathan, Dave T. It's Jonathan's 40th birthday and his wife baked a cake so we have cake and beer at around 10:30. We're listening to a ballgame fade in and out on some NY AM station.

Best hand of the night - James gets a natural 4 Jacks playing 7-card.

Best pot of the night - we play 2 out of 3, it goes 3 rounds, and I win with the Ace of Spaces, and 3 aces. A big pot, but I am too polite to count it then and there.

Someone brought wasabi peanuts. I cautiously try one. It was a big hit of wasabi heat and then... nothing. A strange sensation, but enjoyable.

I end up the night up $10. Coupla people bust out. As usual, a fine time was had by all.

teebee

I'm a big re-reader. Partially because I read so fast I sometimes miss things that I catch the second time around. Partially because re-reading an old favorite is like catching up with an old friend. My favorite re-read: "The Lord of the Rings".

Here's a few recent re-reads:

- Ian Fleming's "You Only Live Twice". Yes, a James Bond novel. If you've never read any of these, you should - they are vastly different in tone than the movie. Especially this one - it is very dark, and distinctly wierd towards the end.

- Nevil Shute's "On The Beach". I think this was a high school read, assigned by some English teacher. I hadn't read it in years and years, so much of it was "new" again. Man, what a book. Northern Hemisphere blows itself up in a cataclysmic nuclear exchange, and the survivors in Australia can do nothing but wait for their eventual deaths from radiation sickness, some 6 months off. Great characters but grim, very grim. Left me feeling grateful for life.

- Ray Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles". Ah, Ray Bradbury and his kinder, gentler approach to science fiction. I was a big SF fan in high school and college, and always thouoght of Ray as the left-brain-side of SF (or is it right-brain) - not so much of the ray-gun stuff and more on people and emotions. Am just starting this.

teebee

First frost last night. And some ice. Is 29 degrees now. Cold, but doesn't feel like it is that cold. Must be the subcutaneous fat layer creeping back in - the one that has you taking off your jacket in February and saying "Man - it's warm!"

teebee

Yikes - a whole month and not a post. Wassup, TeeBee?

Well, life got in the way for awhile. Work got busy, home got busy, church got busy. Etc, etc - you know the routine.

Anyhoo, blah, blah blah. Here's what's been going on for the past month:

- We went to the Big E with our friend Sarah and her kids Madeline (10) and Olivia (1+). Lots of fun as usual. Indelible memory for me - watching Emma and Madeline go on the Ferris Wheel alone and thinking Emma is growing up awfully fast.

- I built an extremely robust near-ground-level platform off the back of the house. Then me and 8 other guys moved the hot tub from the garage, around back, and placed it on the platform. I filled it up, added some Chemical X (and Y and Z), and now we're hot tubbin'! Been in it every night since, and it's very nice.

- Am on the Board of Trustees of our church and it's budget season, so evenings have been busy with that sort of activity. I've been unofficially nominated as the in-church spokesperson for the trustees, so I have to get up in front of everyone and talk on Sunday mornings. I hate that kind of stuff, but I tough it out.

- I watched Florida get hit with 4 consecutive hurricanes and worried about friends and family in the area.

- I skipped the first presidential debate (was painting the porch), then felt bad about it the next day. I hate political jibber-jabber, but I should pay attention a bit more then I have. I'll watch the next one, I promise.

- Am very excited about a new project at work - a next-generation business intelligence application, written in Java and C#. Fun, resume-enhancing stuff.


That's it for now. I promise I'll be back soon to my Cars series.