This is Dan astride his Royal Enfield motorcycle. Dan’s a big guy and the motorcycle is smaller than the big Harleys and BMWs most of the regulars ride. He’s ridden them all and likes the Enfield a lot. More affordable than other brands.
I was 13 years old in 1961. Eighth grade? Kennett was a real-life Mayberry in the 50’s and 60’s. A great place to grow up.
Dropped the pickup truck off at the auto glass place this morning and spotted this beauty. Should have looked around for the owner but Barb was waiting for me. Will try get the story.
Insect bites are a real problem for me. A tick bite can plague me for a week or two. Chiggers are too horrible to even mention. I do my best to stay on the concrete but occasionally I forget and wander into the wilderness. A year ago, while walking on the prairie, I stumbled into a swarm/hive/nest of Oak Mites.
After feeding and reproducing, the mite then exits the leaf in the fall looking to find a protected location to overwinter. It is at this time millions of microscopic mites are blown in the wind, falling or landing on us. That is when they bite, resulting in the itchy rashes that are painful. Mites that don’t land on us spend the winter protected, waiting to emerge the following season to potentially start their reign of terror over.
I had never heard of Oak Mites until the Urgent Care physician identified the bites. There’s really not much you can do but treat the bites with anti-itch creams. And friends, there is no itch like an Oak Mite itch. Okay, maybe Poison Ivy or Poison Oak, but it’s close. And it takes at least three weeks to subside and feel remotely human again.
Three weeks ago — one year almost to the day — I managed to drive the Land Rover through some tall grass and again encounter Oak Mites. Even worse this time. The bites were so concentrated I had bites on top of bites. So thick you could not see the individual bites. Too horrible to share photos.
Because these fuckers are wind blown, there’s apparently no way to completely avoid them. But no more walking in tall grass for this boy.
Had a little surgical procedure six weeks ago and met with my urologist, Dr. Katie Murray, today for follow-up. Since nobody wants to hear about old guy surgery, I’m telling folks I had a couple of inches added. Life has gotten a whole lot better. Beer on the deck tonight at sunset.
Paul Bandelier’s latest project is a 1960 Continental Mark V. The Wikipedia entry confused me because it said the Mark V was made between 1977 and 1979. Car nerd that Paul is, he immediately provided the following explanation:
The 1956 Continental Mark II was it’s own unique car company that was supposed to capture the glamour of the 1940’s Continentals. The Mark II was the most expensive car in the world short of a certain Rolls Royce model.
After 1957 the Continental car company was liquidated and and for 1958 in an attempt to sell more cars the top of the line trim level was a Mark III. The same top tier trim level applied to the 1959 Mark IV and 1960 Mark V. This move may have sold a few more car but it also diluted the uniqueness of the 56/57 Mark II that was it’s own car company.
Fast forward to 1969. Lincoln says, we were just kidding about those big old 4 door boats being the exclusive Mark series. We’re going to start over and make the Mark series a unique 2 door personal luxury car again. Sooo in 69 we have the Mark III. That lasted until 71. In 72 there was a restyled Mark IV until the next body style change over and so on.
These photos don’t begin to capture the size of this monster. The seats are like large, living room sofas.
Paul shared another bit of trivia about these slanted rear windows but I can’t recall it.
I asked who might be a buyer for this baby when he gets it up to snuff and was surprised to learn the Scandinavian countries are the top market. For some reason, they love big old American cars.
The driver-side door panel on the pickup was falling apart when I bought the truck so a few weeks ago I just took it off. I thought I’d just leave it like that but there was no place to rest my elbow so I ordered a set of after-market panels. They came with little attachment gizmos that I couldn’t make work so I just drilled some holes through the plastic and into the metal of the door.
Next enhancement is replacing the driver-side shoulder harness with a simple lap seatbelt. Never cared for the shoulder harnesses and the Land Rover doesn’t have them, so…
There are some beautiful places in Missouri but one of my favorites is the Prairie Garden Trust, managed by my friend Henry and his wife Lorna. I’ve posted about it here many times.
Henry and I usually walk but today we took the Land Rover. (The hot, dry summer made it safe to drive on the prairie without leaving ruts.) Henry took us to some spots where we got to engage the four-wheel drive (low range!) and the truck performed beautifully.
I was not a fan of what I think of as the early Matthew McConaughey but his later stuff really speaks to me. Mud (2012) and Dallas Buyers Club (2013). Top of my list is his portrayal of Rust Cohle in the first season (2014) of the HBO series True Detective. In the scene above (with Woody Harrelson) Rust shares his view of the cosmos.
Richard Handlen (an old friend who lives in the Bay Area) shares my love for old pickup trucks and shared a couple of photos.
He spotted this beauty (above) at the Green River Brewing & Taproom Car Show in Winters, CA.
And he found this monster at the Napa Porchfest (blocks and blocks of singers and bands, performing from yards and porches.
