Old Farts Sports Car Club

Cameron Park Zoo 10-5-2008

2008-10-08T22:28:00.005-04:00

We had an un-eventful drive up to Bryan the night before this outing and that is a good thing. The weatherman promised superb weather and he did not disappoint us. I’m not sure how the story goes but someone in our Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club met some one with the Still Creek Ranch Boys Home and it was arranged that we would get to take eight boys for this cruise up to the Zoo in Waco.

As I understood it the boys had been quite excited about this outing, as were we. It was such a pleasure for us when we saw their eyes shimmer and I could just image the dreams that raced in their minds as they examined the cars we had lined up at the usual meeting place, Jack in the Box in Bryan. They were all calling the car they wanted to ride in. There was even one young man that knew exactly how to do it. He licked the door handle. And as you all know that is a sure way of marking your spot. We women folks rode with the House parents Evelyn and Wes and their son and nephew. Thanks again to Evelyn our most wonderful chauffer for letting us ride with them.

Unfortunately we had more boys then we had cars, 8 boys 6 cars, but that worked out ok because we stopped at the McDonalds in Marlin and traded and swapped boys and cars and front seats and backseats. We also had lunch and got to know them a little better. What a great bunch of boys with good manners and smiles that would light up any dark room. If we get to do this again maybe next time we will be able to have more cars for them to choose from.

We all made it to the zoo with no problems, although Mike tried ~wink ~ wink. I for one thought the Cameron Park Zoo was really nice. It was clean, not too crowed and like I said the weather was wonderful. About mid-way through we came across the refreshment area and like average country boys with hollow legs, they ate again. We saw lots of critters, some colorful and funny and some sleepy and fearful. Lions and tigers and bears, OH My! And don’t forget the otters AND photos here.

On the way back to Bryan we stopped at the Marlin Mickey Ds and the boys ate again. Growing boys need food-lots of food. Especially when they were expecting to have to load up some eighty plus bales of hay onto a trailer once they got home. But as it turned out they got a reprieve. Thanks to the girls at the Still Creek Ranch Girls Home, who like all girls like to… how do I say one up the boys without sounding like a feminist? No not really the girls have chores and responsibilities around the ranch and are glad to lend a hand when needed.

All the Old Farts would like to say thank you to Evelyn, Wes, the boys and everyone at the Still Creek Ranch for letting us spend an awesome day with this group of young men. We hope to be able to see you all again.

For those of you Old Farts that couldn’t make this outing be sure to join us next time. Until then…buckle up, drive safe and keep an eye in the rear view mirror.

See ya!

Ball Ranch Run 9-7-08

2008-10-04T15:09:00.003-04:00

I know, I know it has been almost forever since I last posted. I won't bore you will my million excuses.
We did make it to this run but I understand it was great. Our thanks to Mr & Mrs Ball for opening their garage to us. You can find photos over here.

The Old Farts Meet The Dark Knight

2008-08-06T19:56:00.003-04:00

Well it’s been a while, vacation will do that ya know. So it’s hot, hot, HOT in this fine month of August and for that reason we opted to stay outta the heat and in the A/C.

And this is how the story of the Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club and the Dark Knight begins, we drove just as fast as the speed limit would allow. Top up protecting our precious skin from the horrid blast of heat and bright light beaming from the August sun. Do ya get the picture about it being a chilly day? NOT!

We arrived at the Silverado 19 IMAX screen in Tomball and dashed between the shade of the light poles in the parking lot until we reached the sweet cool sanctuary of the theater. We bought our tickets online so we would not have to wait out in the heat with a bunch of folks that don’t know what movie they want to see. How nice that is, our tickets were waiting at the desk inside.

Once there I was amazed at the size of the concession counter and the shear number of refreshments available for purchase. I opted for Ice Cream, coconut to be exact, a bottle of water-large please. We made our way back to the waiting zone. We found the carpeted floor somewhat comfy and sat down to await our show time. After a bit an usher came by and hollered at us to “Get your tickets ready!” he shouted this down the hall too, where thousands of millions of people waited. We were lucky to be near the front of the line. Then the usher shouted for us to “stay in line” as we entered the darkened theater. We found our seats and enjoyed our view of all the people that came streaming in, in what appeared to be a never-ending procession. Finally after the usher told every one, very sternly, that seats would not be saved after the movie started the milling about subsided, the lights dimmed and the music started.

Batman the Dark Knight was his usual beautiful hunky Bruce Wayne self. I will not tell you anything of the movie other then it was Worth the Price of IMAX Tickets to see and it is two and a-half hours long.

It stormed while we were watching the movie but it was over when we left and then we drove up the road to Goodson’s Café. Well some of us drove up, some of us had to get a jump start cause we left our lights on. Thanks to Don who had cables. But I won’t tell any other names cause you all know how Barbara’s husband is. You may not know this but our fearless leader once left his lights on and stranded us at Moody Gardens-Thank God he had Triple A.

Anyway we only had to wait a little bit, they do not take reservations but they did expect us. Does that make sense?? Thought not. We were seated and some of us got to color a lovely picture of a cow- a blue cow to be exact. Makes you think of ice cream huh? Oh and you can find photos over here.

Our waitress bought out huge plates of even huge’er rolls with bowls of gravy-yummy. OMG can y’all say southern food. At our corner of the table the Dukes and us had a funny conversation about unusual names and the spelling of those names by the younger generation. Too much hootin and laugher, I think someone may have even snorted, but it wasn’t me, not this time. At one point I had to excuse myself for the little cowgurls room and took advantage of the situation to reenact the theater experience with the pardon me excuse me Buggs Bunny bit, complete with chair bumping and thumping. Sorry about the tea y’all. But all the food was good and very filling, oh the desert don’t’ forget the pies yes they too were way good. Our thanks to our nice little waitress Lakyn. Yes this is her real name and it is spelled like this. See prior mention of unusual names and spelling above and the laughter erupted all over again.

We missed those of you that couldn’t make it. And remember that on a hot August afternoon a movie followed by good food and conversation can be lots fun. Hope to see y’all next time.

Huntsville 6-1-2008

2008-06-06T20:52:00.003-04:00

Ah the month of June in all its warmness greeted us bright and early Sunday—thank God for Air Conditioning! There was a Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club trip to Huntsville to see the Prison Museum and the Sam Houston Memorial. We had a prior engagement and could not make the Museum visit, but we were able to meet up with the Old Farts at the Sam Houston Memorial. You can check out a prior trip to the Prison Museum here. This was my first trip to the Memorial and what a nice place it was.
Now don’t confuse the statue of Sam Houston up on I-45 North in Huntsville with the Memorial, as that is a separate place to visit with its own Visitors Center. I will give you some brief but interesting information. The giant Sam Houston stands 67 feet tall he was designed and constructed by David Adickes and it was dedicated in 1994. When you are driving north on I-45 you can see the giant Sam come into view. He appears to be walking right across the freeway, but the closer you get the road curves and he is actually standing beside it. We came across some of Adickes other statutes earlier this year you can read about it here if you like.
Back to our regularly programmed post… The grounds at the Memorial are beautiful, there are tons of photo opportunities, just ask some of the ladies with the cameras growing out of their hands. There are lots of homes and outbuildings to see on the grounds. Suring his lifetime Sam was a District attorney in Nashville, elected to Congress, Governor of Tennessee, married and divorced twice, Commanded the Texas army, 1st President of Texas, Senator, and Governor of Texas. Sam, thus far, is the only man to have been Governor of two states. He married for a third and final time to Margaret, 20 years younger than him. I highly recommend you to visit the Memorial and the statue when you are near, that means within 50 miles, of Huntsville. All Texans should take the time to learn a little bit of the great history that has helped to build this awesome place we call home.
Of course it goes without saying that we Old Farts like to eat and this outing was no exception. We loaded up and drove through the Sam Houston National Forest over the lovely Lake Conroe, to Montgomery (birth place of the Texas Flag) and onto highway 105 headed east to Vernon’s Kuntry Kitchen. They always treat us right. If you look at the photos over here, you will see the huge tray of drinks that our waitress, Brittney, carried to the table. Of course there are a few other photos there too. It was a good day and a great outing!For those of you Old Farts that didn’t make it… you really should have been there. We hope to see ya next time

Scarborough Faire 5-4-2008

2008-05-06T11:34:00.006-04:00

It was a bright beautiful and spring like day, and just plain ol’ lovely. On our drive up to Waxahachie there were fragments of wildflowers all along I-45 North the Indian Paintbrush was interspersed here and there by Black Eyed Susans and a few late blooming Bluebonnets. The further north we went the more tufts of cotton candy colored Primrose there was lacing the edges of the freeway. We arrived a bit earlier than the other members of the Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club as they were coming up from Bryan.

We got our tickets and made our way around the Scarborough Faire grounds. Let me tell you right up front how clean this place was including the restrooms. It was clear that the folks in those parts Don’t Mess with Texas!

The paths were lined with Fullers Earth, that’s cat litter for you non-rock hounds, very walkable and wheelchairable. My hats off to the planners that set up the layout for this renaissance festival, the paths meandered about all the wonderful shops of hand crafted items. There were plenty of places for children to run and hand cranked rides to be ridden on or in. Costumed folks entertained us around every bend and many hawked their wares. Beautiful pottery and glass items reflected smiling faces that admired and purchased the lovely pieces. Just so you know the word piece makes any item increase in value. Although a great many of the items I looked at were priced fairly. Myself being an artist of sorts, understand the skill and enormous amount of time that goes into hand crafting unique designs as do some of y'all. Have I mentioned the gold and silver jewelry that glinted in the sun beams? No. Well there was plenty of that to be had and handy dandy walking sticks to. And there is a creek of sorts that wanders through and under a couple of bridges, making for some pretty views for those that want to stop to look.

I was pleased that there were so many shady places to sit and rest or people watch or both. When it came time to feed the dancing belly there was plenty of good stuff to choose from fish, fruit, steak, potatoes, pizza, pork and yes Ye Old Turkey Legs. Needless to say, but I will for your benefit, there were all manners of grog to drink and yummy sweets to treat those tasty buds on your drooling tongue.

Of course by that time we had already met up with other Old Farts and enjoyed watching a Falconers show and we had the pleasure of seeing an American Bald Eagle up close. Sad to say the majestic bird had been injured and therefore was unable to be in the wild anymore. It was said that some people had moved into a new house under a tree in which the bird lived. Their little dog came up missing and they assumed the big bad bird did it, so they shot it. Fortunately it was not killed but was severely injured loosing part of one of its wings. We learned that Eagles don’t pick up little dogs they are fish eaters, maybe even fish tacos so Kathy and Mike hold yours close.

You can find photos over here. When you go out there be sure to keep an eye on the entertaining events happening all around because you don’t want to miss any of them. They offer comedy, belly dancing, exhibits and learning about birds of prey, knife throwing, jousting and fairies that play the double flute just for you, glass blowing and a number of other fine, neat-O pete-O things.

Alas after only a few hours we had to be on our way as we had a 3 hour trip home ahead of us. I would recommend Scarborough Faire over the Texas Renaissance Festival in Plantersville any day of the week on the basis of cleanliness, family oriented and propriety of the performers and other visitors. We had a wonderful good time and missed those of you that couldn’t make it this time.

So til next time see ya

Texas tidbits

2008-04-26T21:47:00.003-04:00

Last time I told y’all about the Texas Pledge and the state song. Today its gonna be our Motto

Friendship

Adopted by legislature in 1930
On accounta the Caddo Indians that lived here called the place Tejas which means friend and ally. Our history has shown over the years how the great state of Texas steps up and lends a hand to others in need. A recent account was hurricane Katrina that hit our neighbor, Louisiana. We really came up to bat for that one as well as a few other states. We had lots of folks go up to New York after 911, the worst American tragedy in my lifetime. I remember the many hurricanes that hit Florida back in the 90’s the hordes of Texicans that went to help. It sure made me proud. The Tsunami a short while back, remember? Yes, I’d say the Caddo were right in our name.

On a lighter and tasty note the state tree, the pecan. More then one mighty good pie has come from that tree. Not to mention pralines and pecan rolls. Yummy Yummy.

Now as far as an official state drink there is NONE. Dr. Pepper claims to be the state drink. I was invented and made in Waco. The Old Farts Sports Car Club had a Cruise there in July 2007. Hum interesting you know, there aren’t that many states that even have an official state drink, you can check out this web site here if ya want to for more infomation on state drinks.
Till next time...See ya

Burton Cotton Gin 4-6-2008

2008-04-12T08:37:00.006-04:00

The day started out a bit foggy but not to worry clear skies were on the menu for today and oh what a day it turned out to be. Johnny and I had been in downtown Houston Saturday night and we had to meet up with the Old Farts Sports Car Club at the Gin. But first let me tell you about our drive.

Wild flowers were in full bloom lots of delicate pink flowers grew in bunches and appeared like ruffles and lace around many a sign. One type of wild flower the bright yellow ones reminded me of yellow eyelet, you ladies know what I mean, just peaking out from the edges of woods or creeping up from ditches. The burning red-orange of Indian paintbrush was just staring to color the waysides. Another yellow flower, sort of a deep golden sun colored one, was just popping up here and there. Bluebonnets were non-stop all over the place. We had to be careful of the many cars that had pulled over to take photos. Folks were everywhere as were the police, but I don’t think they passed out as many coupons as they wanted~~oh well. Having found our way to the Burton Cotton Gin, about 10 miles west of Brenham on highway 290, we were warmly greeted by the gang.

This original Cotton Gin began as a CO-OP by farmers in and around Burton, the last of its kind and a historical landmark. The engine that powers it is about the size of a large SUV maybe a Yukon. They show the actual running gin on the 3rd Saturday of the month in the mornings. I found out so many interesting things, from our great tour guides Linda Russell and Jerry More, about cotton and the cotton industry. I mean stuff you, well me any way, have never given a thought to. Do you know how they squeeze that little seed to get to the “oil”? What about the numerous items that “leftovers” are used for? —- No I didn’t’ think so. Any who we got to watch a short movie about the gin and some of us-Silvia- got to play dress up. Yes photos can be found over here. There were display items to see in the Museum even a bowl weevil or two, stories were told and a souvenir gift shop waiting for a visit.

Linda stayed at the museum while we followed Jerry out to the gin, where he gave us {no not Gin the liquor} an informative run down of its intricate workings and nuances. It smelled like, well like, ok imagine if you will an old barn and a junkyard. Yes it smelled like that, sorta familiar and friendly. He explained the growth of cotton plants and how to grow them. We even got to take a couple of seeds to plant at our own homes. You see it's almost plantin time, just a couple more weeks then its knuckle deep for the fuzzy little seeds, in well drained sunny dirt. {yes dirt can be sunny).

This was a very fun learning experience and well worth the gas to go, not to mention seeing the awesome beautiful Texas countryside covered in wild flower blooms. I’m sorry for those of you that couldn’t make it... Eat your hearts out cause I so know you are green with jealously. Y’all have got to see this place! And the time to go is April 18 – 20, that’s when the BURTON COTTON GIN FESTIVAL is. And when you get there tell ‘em you heard about all the cotton pickin stuff going on from the Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club.

See y'all

March 2nd is....

2008-02-21T12:44:00.007-05:00

fast approaching and I don’t see anything on the events page at the official site about an outing being selected for March or any other month. Surely this doesn’t mean y’all have not given any suggestions to our fearless leader? Cause I haven’t heard any. I myself have suggested Washington on the Brazos, they are having a Texas Impendence celebration the first weekend in March, which includes: Historical re-enactors, skilled craftsmen and period musicians.
Again y’all need to let Phil know what you are interested in doing. The last official Sunday bombed, not only due to weather but to a lack of suggestions as well. The club should be fun not only for members but our leader as well. I have also suggested some of the following there are lots of places around our area of Texas to visit:

--Some kind of Wildflower Run I understand Highway 6 between Navasota and Hempstead is supposed to be good viewing

--Burton Cotton Gin & Museum (willing to tour us on the 1ST Sunday with advance deposit in April or May ONLY)

--Sam Houston Statue & Museum in Huntsville

--San Jacinto Monument and Battleship south of Houston

--Museum for East Texas Culture in Palestine

--Fanthorp Inn in Anderson

--Aviation Memorial Museum & the Tyler Rose Museum both in Tyler

--Austin-to tour the Capitol-maybe in a hot month- they have a/c at our capitol you know

--Dickens on the Strand in Galveston, December only

What about y’all- suggestions? Ideas? Anything local around you?
Come on Old Farts-- you have a voice, make a suggestion or two.
Just below this post is a place to leave your comment, click on the word comments and have a say so.

this is all I’m gonna say on the subject. I hope to

See y’all

Just a Quickie

2008-02-09T09:08:00.000-05:00

Only a couple more days left to vote for the next Texas license plates. Click here to cast your vote.

Hey Hey there...

2008-01-29T14:31:00.000-05:00

We are going to have a “Girls Get together” this weekend. It will be our first. I’m looking forward to it even though I won’t be spending the night with them, prior engagement ya know. I will be able to go for Saturday happenings. YEAH! I’ll bring the camera and see what kind of trouble I can find. Hehe
Sunday is the Old Farts Sports Car Club day and I understand that we will be meeting at the Prison Museum for a return visit. We really enjoyed ourselves there so much before that some of the folks wanted to do it again and others that couldn’t make it the 1st time now have the chance. I’m counting on someone to take pictures and pass them on to me for posting, again prior engagement. But I think we may be able to make the drive out to Montgomery after [no promises but we will try]
This is not posted on the Official Site so be sure to get with our fearless leader for details on the meeting times and places. Until then

A Cookout and more...

2008-01-22T21:19:00.000-05:00

The cook out was awesome. The north wind blew as some of us huddled all snug inside the shop. The coals on the grill glowed keeping the cooks a little warm as they flipped and turned burgers and sausages. Yummy! Some folks drank wine and some of us got drunk on the laughter. What more can I say other then there is nothing quite like good company, good food and lots of poking fun at others (I mean laughter-of course). Hope the stick didn’t hurt y’all too bad. You can find some photos over here. Well I suppose FREE MONEY would be just as good, but I’m not holding my breath for that. Are you?
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I have noticed that plans for Feb. 3 have not been set or for that matter even penciled in as of yet; other then it is the official Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club gathering. Y’all be sure to let Phil know what you are interested in doing, seeing or re-visiting / re-doing {yeah do-over}. Suggestions are always welcome, so what if we thumb our noses at them we still want to hear ‘em. Until next time…
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See y’all

Hamburgers...Anyone???

2008-01-16T15:17:00.000-05:00

I understand we are having a cookout on Saturday the 19th about 5’ish at our fearless leader’s shop in Bryan.

Please remember I am on a “LiveIt” so limit the number of sweets that are made available to me. Seriously! Hope to…

See y’all

What & How things are going

2008-01-11T10:52:00.000-05:00

I know how interested (concerned) members are in how things are going for other members. Especially since we don’t necessary see each other every month. The caring connection has been developed among us ~~ like or not. And our fearless leader, Phil, has brought up this idea; that maybe from time to time we make mention of how things are going with different folks. So in answer to Phil’s request…
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If you don’t know by now, Johnny is doing great with his knee surgery. My Dad is doing well after his hip surgery and is expected to get out of the Rehab Hospital on the 17th. He has been there several weeks because he had a touch of Pneumonia. Good news is Raven passed his French test! (well that’s what he said anyway)
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Momma Thweatt’s hip surgery went well and she is doing fine. There is a nurse daily, and a PT specialist comes in to work with her on rehabilitation. Phil has had a virus F-O-R-E-V-E-R but is finally starting to improve and he thinks it is about to clear up. Good news Jasmine & Buddy are doing well!
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Gina’s dad is coping as well as can be expected after their loss. The last few weeks have been very hard for them. Good news is he has Gina who has Daryl.
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Barbara has been a very busy lady. Ryan had his wisdom removed (teeth of course). Her dad came through his surgery pretty well and is starting to mend. Her mother has had Pneumonia and is beginning to recover. Oh the good news here – Ric is staying out of trouble. (I think)
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Kathy had a bit of a virus (head cold) but is doing fine. Good news Don has not been kicked out of school (yet) like you didn’t see that coming.
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Debbie is doing super great after the stroke she had last year. Good news Mike is doing most of the house cleaning (now I don’t really know that but it sounds nice to me)
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Please remember to keep these folks as well as all members in your prayers and let us know how things are going for you.
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Oh wait I almost forgot about me, I’ve been having this pain every so often in my belly~ never mind I was just hungry- Good news I ate!

See y’all

Presidental Cruise

2008-01-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

Sunlight was fast approaching, my dreaming drew to an end as I woke on a day that was, it was… well let me just say it was so humid we didn’t need rain because the air itself dripped. I was looking forward to seeing all my peps in the Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club. So the plan was that some of the members were coming down to Conroe to meet up with folks in the Conroe Cruiser’s Car Club and then drive up to the Chicken Oil Co. in College Station. It worked out pretty well. Here’s what happened…
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We meet at the Kroger on Highway 105 and Loop 336, there were lots of cars and people, after all the cars had to get there somehow. We meandered about and visited a while with a lot of ‘em. {people that is} We took some photos, gathered supplies {water} and gas, and then we headed west on 105. As we passed Lake Conroe we saw a few boats out on the water. It was still early and a little overcast, but we expected clear skies and sunshine. It was a very pleasant drive. The dark winter green of the pines were deep and could be readily seen through the bare branched oak trees. We took a right in Dobbin to cruise on the back roads. We were traveling pretty much alone on the highway by then. I laughed to myself when I noticed the sleepy cattle pick up their heads to watch us pass. It must have been the rude intrusion our growling engines and the hum of tires that made them lift their heads from quite pillows of soft tan grass. That’s when I noticed the rust colored brush; frost burnt black weeds and abundant red berry bushes that dotted our Texas landscape. Barbara, riding shotgun, must have thought I was a nut {oh well what’s new?} Before I knew it we had made our way to Anderson and were smack dab in front of their beautiful courthouse, Barbara snapped a photo just in time—I found my gas peddle and off we went. College Station was just ahead.
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Having made our way to Chicken Oil Co. we found a place to park, got out to admire all the hundreds of shinny cars that were there and in all the surrounding parking lots and in all the streets. Heck it could have been thousands {math is not my forte ya know}. We had reservations at the Texas Roadhouse and couldn’t stay long.
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Once we arrived at the restaurant we waited a bit to be seated at our tables and soon after that our waitress’ took the orders. The conversation, laugher and not to mention peanuts, begin to fly and float around the tables. After too much food and a good visit we moaned and groaned our ways out of the chairs. Our full bellies needed a bit of exercise and our destination was still ahead of us. Some of our members had to leave and couldn’t go the rest of the way but now I think maybe, just maybe, they are sorry to have missed this great photo opportunity. After all who doesn’t want their photograph taken in the Oval Office or in the arms of a Chinese Soldier or perhaps sitting next to President Bush?
On to the Bush Presidential Library and Museum we drove, it is located on the campus of Texas A & M. Yes right there in the middle of Aggie Land. They must have been expecting us, as a short film was just about to begin. We seated ourselves and everyone {even me} was quite while the lady explained a bit about the film and then it started. I was still quite and remained so during the whole film {really!}. Anyway I learned a few things about George W. Bush (daddy Bush if you will) and Barbara. The museum had just been remodeled and looked great; this is its tenth anniversary. Very interesting stuff, they even had a piece of the Berlin Wall. You can see lots of photos over here. The volunteers and employees were very nice and helpful. If you have a Presidential Library and Museum near your home or even in your state, you should go. Forget party affiliation y’all, it is history people—history!
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After closing time we packed up and headed over to our fearless leader’s shop, where we enjoyed a nice snack of cheese and crackers, ice cream {Blue Bell} and pie. There was pool to play as well as dominoes and this teeny tiny helicopter. Before long the sun was beginning to set and we had to head on back home. So until next time…
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See y’all

Waldenbrooke Estates

2008-01-02T20:23:00.000-05:00

The Old Farts Sports Car Club has had a few problems among its members of late, from stroke to knee surgery, ill parents, parents with broken hips and one that had been called home. Our troubles and sorrows bind us closer together as our hearts and hands reach out to help others.
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Recently the Old Farts visited a retirement community in Bryan, Waldenbrooke Estates, to spread some Christmas Cheer. It was an awesome visit with these life experienced folks. Smiling faces and good conversation was shared between the visitors and residents alike. Laughter is a gift at any time of the year and this occasion did not lack in that department. Tears flowed as one woman told us this is the only Christmas she has had in twelve years. What a heartwarming experience it was for the Old Farts to be able to bring a little happiness to this lady as well as all the others. On the outside it may appear that we brought gifts and presents to these kind folks when in reality it was they who gave the gifts to us. Thank you for letting us share in your hospitality and joy. Y’all can find photos over here.
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What’s an Old Fart gathering without food involved, well let me just say that’s not gonna happen. When the Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club gets together-- there will be food and you can bet your spare tire that it will be good food. The Cotton Patch won our presence for this outing. Now mind you I personally was not able to attend this one but I can assure you no one has called me to complain about the food or the service. I can only surmise it was grade A if not A+.
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From all the members of the Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club to you --Happy New Year! May it be filled with good health, lots of laughter and accident free.
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Until next time
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See y’all

First Anual Christmas

2007-12-05T14:40:00.000-05:00

with the Old Farts Sports Car Club.
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The weather when we left Conroe to head up to College Station was very warm, dark and raining. So we took our BIG white sports car Vanna. I don’t know about y’all but we always seem to get a little sleepy by the time we get to Navasota, so we had to stop in at the corner filling station for a cup of coffee and a couple of sodas. Believe it or not some one drove a bit fast on the freeway and had to cross their fingers that the man wouldn’t u-turn and show us his pretty lights. NO I wasn’t driving, I did say “Believe it or not” didn’t I? The closer we got to College Station the clearer the skies got in fact the afternoon turned out to be very nice. Anyway we finally made it to the Rock Prairie exit just before every one got tired of waiting on us. Thanks y’all. (that would be my bad)
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Our white elephant gift exchange went pretty well. Photos can be found over here. Thanks to our host and hostess, Mike and Kathy, for not being too afraid of inviting the Old Farts into their beautiful home. I don’t think we did any noticeable damage. They had some very tasty snacks, treats and drinks. We sure had fun and I don’t think anyone was disappointed. Well except maybe Jasmine who had the problem of loosing her gifts. After a couple / few openings and under the great threat of torn paper and possible paper cuts she did manage to hide away a little something to take home. The time flew by and we had important stuff to do, so off we went.
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After a short drive we made it to the homes of some wonderful folks in the College Station / Bryan area. We were very warmly greeted by smiling faces and hearty hand shakes. The young kids loved the opportunity to pose for pictures in the cars. We hope our visit and meager gifts helped to lighten the burden that this time of year so often brings. If only we could give the gift of health, but that is not ours to give so instead we offer our prayers. Special thanks to our awesome organizers, Barbara, Rudy and everyone else, for giving us the chance to provide some smiles to those in need.
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Our initial plans had been to drive through Santa's Wonderland, but some folks were not going to be able to stay that long, so instead we headed to the What-a-Burger. We enjoyed laughs, smiles and food. Hardly anyone made a mess, that is except the teenagers-can’t take ‘em anywhere. Refills keep our “waiter” Darrell on the run. Which was okay as I heard him say he was trying to watch his weight any way. It was a great get together with so many Old Farts. We did miss those of you that couldn’t make it and we hope to see ya soon.
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Remember—Fun keeps us young, laughter keeps the oxygen flowing both of which make the heart pump-and that’s a good thing. (trust me on this one y'all)
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This season often brings too much stress and worry with all the hustle and bustle, as we try so hard to make the “Perfect Holiday” for our family, friends and sometimes even ourselves. My hope is that everyone accepts the season for what it is…
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Simply the chance to spend one more precious moment with the ones we love.
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Happy, healthy and safe holidays to you all!

Merry Christmas
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See ya

Visit to East Texas

2007-11-14T08:00:00.001-05:00

Unfortunately the “Official Sunday” Old Fart Sports Car Club outing was not held this month. Folks had other business to take care of and some of us were ill, but we’re crossing fingers for December 2nd . Be sure to check the site’s Events Calendar for the up and coming
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We were able to get together Saturday the 10th for a great drive and a trip to see Jerry’s private automobile collection. Some us gathered in Buffalo then drove on to meet others at the Sonic in Palestine. The weather was wonderful just enough shade from the clouds to keep it from being hot and sufficient sun to keep us from being cold with our tops off. Yes folks down here in Texas we drive around in November without tops on. ~~Ah the freedom~~ Racing through the autumn colored woods. Breezes blowing the falling leaves making them twist, turn and pirouette in the sky. The smell of damp hay filling the bright air, catching whiffs of home cooking and the laughter of children hidden somewhere among the trees (maybe that was me laughing when Johnny said I should try cooking) back to the visual…The horses and cows beginning to show off their thick furs in expectation of cold weather and folks finishing up their annual outside chores for the same reason. Y’all should have been there.
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We toured Davey’s Dogwood Park for a little fall color and some photos, then off to meander around beautiful lake Palestine, where people were unloading their boats, fishing and even jet skiing across the chilled waters. We drove over the dam and through more autumn woods on our way to Bullard.~~ Ah the freedom (sorry did that already). What luck; we just missed a down pour as we took a wrong turn, I mean short cut. It wasn’t long before we were back on the map and merrily found Bullard. Where they just happened to be having their First Annual Car Show, but we were running a little late so on through town, under the helicopter we drove. I waived but don’t think they seen me, their loss.
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The guard at the gate was very professional as he asked who we were and who we were seeing before he gave us the—Okay to get in sticker for our windshield. Thank goodness our name was on the list or we may have been on the wrong side of his side arm. Wow, is all I can say; as this was my first time to Jerry’s, some of the other Old Farts had been there earlier this year. My goodness what a fine collection he has. There were so many cars I didn’t know what to take a picture of first, you can find photos over here. The Babe’s car is a sure fire hit with us Old Farts as is Jerry’s collection of all things auto. I’m sure we all had our favorites but in case you were wondering… mine was one of his new acquisitions Lucille a “Dream-sickle” orangey color-Awesome! Of which this photograph does not do it justice.
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. . Jerry was a great host, answering questions, laughing at our jokes as he went out of his way to make us welcome. I understand he got up early so he could move a few things around and dust off the cars-it was a wonder Jerry wasn’t exhausted by the time we got there. Did I mention he also has mannequins dressed in era costumes? Well he does. Between you and me I think his wife may have a little something to do with his displays, they definitely have a woman’s touch. We didn’t get the chance to meet her but she must be one heck of a wife! It wasn’t long before we had to go. Thanks again Jerry it was fabulous and we look forward to having you and your wife join us on one of our outings. Just imagine the fun y’all would have going topless with us Old Farts.
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We made our way back to Palestine, stopping in at the car show as they passed out the winner's trophies. If you have not been to East Texas give it a try, they have very purdy country there. Hey can you guess who was hungry? Why the Old Farts of course, the folks at the Cotton Patch Cafe were ready, willing and able to accommodate us. Our waitress Jordan was great she got all the orders right, the first time and everyone got to eat. Speaking for myself, the chicken fried steak was very good and I didn’t hear anyone complain. I’m so proud of everyone; once again we can boast NO SPILLS. Yeah for us! If ya didn’t make it -- you sure missed out maybe next time…
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See ya

There's Oil I tell ya... in that thar car!

2007-11-05T13:55:00.000-05:00

So when was the last time you checked your car’s fluids? Check your owner’s manual for recommendations on frequency of change and the correct type of fluid to use. If you don’t have a manual for your car you can try looking online here. A general rule of thumb is check you oil every other fill up. (in Phil’s case every fourth Prowler fill up) Change it or have it changed along with the filter roughly every three months or 3,000 miles. Again check your owner’s manual for specifics.
When you check your oil the car should be parked on fairly flat ground. Have a rag or paper towel in hand-not a kitchen or bath towel and never use your shirt. Find the oil dipstick {not the goofy kid next door}. It should say “Engine Oil” or maybe just “Oil” on the handle. Please be sure you have the right thing, you don’t want to add engine oil to the transmission. If you can’t find it drive on down to the auto parts, or even to a dealership, have one of the folks there come out and point to it. Once you have found it slide that puppy out and balance it on the rag tilt it back and fourth squint your eyes up so and see where the oil line appears on the stick. There should be a mark with the word “FULL” if the oil line is on that mark-wonderful, if it just a little lower then its still ok, keep an eye on it. * If the oil is low it is time to add some. If you can’t see the oil at all on the dip stick you are in trouble, you better have some bottles on hand in fact you should always have an extra bottle or two. If the oil light comes on it may already be too late.
*Some newer automobiles only have 4 quarts of oil so being ½ to a whole quart low would not be good because 1 quart is a ¼ of the total volume.
Take note of what condition is the oil in the color and smell. Black and burnt smelling is bad, change it now if not sooner. If it’s a dark brown and sort of transparent it’s okay but plan on changing the oil in a day or two. If it looks like a latte’ (coffee with milk) there is a problem, water or coolant has contaminated the oil and your engine is in danger of damage. Have it checked out by you favorite mechanic or garage. If the oil is thick or has clumps and or is gritty looking/feeling change it.
To add oil you’re gonna need a funnel, hey it is the easiest, but if you don’ have one you can pour it carefully from the bottle into the engine. You don’t want to drip oil on the engine-its smells bad when it gets hot and could even flame up, really. It is best to use the same kind of oil that is already in the engine and one recommended by the manufacturer, again you should have a bottle on hand. Add it half a quart at a time, let the oil run down a minute before you recheck it with the dipstick. If it needs more add more, but don’t overfill it.
Overfilling the oil is a lot like not having enough, both can cause problems in the engine. Too much causes oxidation and bad oil pressure. It could make the oil overheat, break down faster and harder to pump. Remember engine oil is not only for lubricating parts but it also aids in cooling the engine.
Pay special attention and be sure to put the dipstick back in. What a mess it would make otherwise. In fact before you shut the hood take a look around to be sure there are no tools, rags missing bolts or any parts laying around.

The Woodlands Waterway Adventure

2007-10-16T11:59:00.000-04:00

The week here started out dry, unusually dry for our area of Texas. This meant that it had to rain and rain soon. It arrived just in time for the weekend and our official Old Farts Sports Car Club outing. The clouds protected us from the sun beating down on the moist pavement, which would have been a sauna. We meet at the James Coney Island on Highway 105 in Conroe, had a small lunch and talked for a long while (they were fixing to charge us rent). Because there were just a few of us that were able to make this outing the occasion was more intimate then usual which was kinda nice. We headed out from the island and made our way south down I-45 to The Woodlands Mall.
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Once there, we easily found our way to the water taxi’s main dock, conveniently located by the Cheesecake Factory. (Super yummy-maybe some other time but not to today) Yea, for the coolness that clouds offer with no rain. The rains stayed away during our tour of the waterway. For a small cost you get an all day pass that enables you to ride as many times as you want. Capitan Jan greeted us as we boarded the air-conditioned vessel named for the Sabine River. After the required Coast Guard safety instructions and a toot toot of the horn we were off (imagine the sound of a tug boat horn). Our Capitan introduced us to “restaurant row” as if any Old Fart couldn’t recognize places to get food. She also told us of the self-maintained plants that lined the waterway. The channel the boat runs in is an offshoot of Lake Robbins, an old fishing lake that used to be very well hidden in the woods. We meandered past the big (really big) and fancy (really fancy) Anadarko buildings with their fine landscaping. We floated past the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion and on to the dam at the end where they have lots of projects under construction. In fact some areas were a real mess, but the ducks, cranes, turtles and “beavers” didn’t mind. They have big plans for the waterway, yes they do, there will be waterfalls, synchronized to music and lights that you can walk under, expected completion December of this year (really the Captain said so) also water gardens, lots of new shopping and dining. After the 45 minute (or so) ride we were back at the main dock where we took leave of our dear Captian Jan and waited for the trolley {ding ding}.
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After a few short minutes the trolley arrived (free rides at this time). The Trolley is a quaint little green bus designed to look old fashioned with carved woodwork through out including the seats. It touts a bell {ding ding} on a pull cord and has air-conditioning, which was very nice since it started raining. On Sundays the trolleys and water taxies have shorter hours so be sure to check the map and running times. After our ride we made our way to our cars and because there was a light sprinkle we got a little moist but it wasn’t bad. Really NO ONE melted-not even me. It would have taken more then that to keep us Old Fart down anyway.
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We fired up our engines put them in D (I mean 1st gear) and roared off in search of food. Not really we had already decided on Tommy Bahamas in the Market area. They have wonderful ribs for two. The service and attention we were given was excellent and the company couldn’t have been any better. Word of warning here folks, the desserts are huge very rich and at least half went home in a people-bag. Sorry y’all couldn’t make it, there are photos over here, we missed you and sure had fun in spite of the fabulous weather. Till next time
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See Y’all!

Old Town Spring Car Show

2007-10-11T07:56:00.000-04:00

There was a gathering of the Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club for a cool car show in Spring. We got to meet some new folks, always love to see new faces mixed in with Old Farts. We gathered at the Classic Consignment Auction in Conroe, looked over the cars there, then we drove into Conroe proper to see the vehicles at American Classic. Now these two car lots aren’t your regular run of the mill used car lots. They carry classic cars on consignment and the second place does restoration out back as well. Would you believe no one, not even Phil bought a new car. Oh well better luck next time, on to Spring…
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We found parking right away and made our way into the old town. Cars and people were everywhere. There were lots, and I do mean lots of cars to see. Old, new, in-betweens and a few that looked made up to me. Paint colors were vivid on quite a few and classic colors were found on others. The streets were full of smiling facing and did I mention the cars that lined the streets. Cameras flashed, young girls posed by cars and boys dreamed of bigger wallets. You could see the twinkle in the eyes of many. Conversations of how they did this and how you could do that was overheard in every direction you turned. The car owners’ ages and manner of dress was as varied as the automobiles themselves, a people watcher’s buffet to be sure. Why there was even this one ol’ fella riding a cooler, yes you read that right. He had an ice chest with wheels, a motor and a seat on it. Have cooler will travel ya know. By the time I pulled out my camera he was lost to the crowd.
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Folks if you have not been shopping in “Old Town Spring” you need to head out there; especially since the holidays are coming. They have wonderful specialty shops full of things you can’t find anywhere else. I'm sure they have something you just have to own. I was so busy looking, not shopping-ok maybe a little shopping, that I took only a few photos you can find them over here.
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We drove over to the Café Adobe just to the North (turn right y’all) of Spring on I-45 at highway 242. Our waiter was called away on a family issue so one of the managers had to take over our table. What a hoot he was and he said there was no charge for the entertainment (hey that’s my line). The food and drinks were very good. I heard even the fish tacos were good. I know you’re sorry you missed this one. All too soon it was time to go. So with bellies and trunks full we all headed home. Till next time Old Farts
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See Y’all

Would you BELIVE...

2007-09-28T11:47:00.000-04:00

Y’all know it’s not really my style to complain, but for your reading pleasure today, I will.
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Our anniversary is coming up and I had a surprise all planned out; as a matter of fact I’ve had the reservations for many months, yes many months--7 months folks, and yes they have had my deposit money the whole time. I was about to re-confirm the reservation when my phone rang it was the Messenger of the B & B I had picked from many, for our special occasion. She was sorry but they (owners) have decided to be closed that weekend, they (owners) have known since spring.

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I didn’t yell, cry or any of that typical stuff others may have done. What good would it do, if they (owners) wanted to be closed they would be. Instead I have elected to tell you my friends of my grievance, what better way then on the World Wide Web. So to get on with it, here is my thang-
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If it has been known since spring, (owners) why did you wait 2 weeks before my reservation to cancel … Is it because now the standard practice of B & Bs in your area is a minimum 2 night stay on weekends, as opposed to the standard when I made my reservations 7 months ago… Or is it you have increased your costs and no longer want to be “locked in” to an old lower rate (although not cheap by any means)… Perhaps you overbooked and chose to dump the oldest reservation (mine of 7 months)… Could it have been an emergency-2 weeks in advance…Maybe it was because back in the spring you planed something of your own. Don’t misunderstand me it is your right, but you should have used better business skills and canceled me then-DUH! And if that was the case, I suppose you didn’t call me lest you change your minds, or have gotten a big booking of some sort, after all what does my few hundred dollars mean to you. And what did my plans have to do with you. I mean it’s not like I didn’t tell you in my e-mails and phone calls (7 months ago) what I had planed and the reasons I had it planned. (not that I want anyone to feel sorry for me/us) I even gave you a new selling point by using my plans as a new offer for a romantic get away...
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Oh they (messenger) offered another weekend of course the first weekend in October (we already have plans) or the last weekend- 2 ½ weeks after our anniversary. Nope, no discount was offered for my inconvenience to use latter, no cancellation fee (although they would have charged me one), no alternative for another B & B nor any recommendations or suggestion for any other place for the same day nothing except “sorry.”
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I don’t wish you anything bad, but let me say I hope you don’t get sick and want to make every day as good as possible and every special occasion as special and memorable as humanly possible; No this I hope will not happen to you or your family.
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For those of you who don’t want to end up in this situation; beware of reservations made with the Castle Avalon in New Braunfels Texas. If for no other reason boycott them on our behalf and by all means fell free to let them know how displeased you are of their treatment of a 7 month reservation with no other excuse then “not going be open.”
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Bad word of mouth sucks-doesn’t it!
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Thanks and have a nice day y’all.

A Bite of Texas

2007-09-14T08:24:00.000-04:00

Have you ever thought about the Texas Pledge of Allegiance? There is one ya know and we are once again a living part in history…
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Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one and indivisible.
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Very recently amended July 15, 2007, in House Bill 1034, 80th Legislature to now officially be
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Honor the Texas flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God.
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It’s short sweet and straight to the point. It’s amazing to me how many Texans don’t know our pledge or that we have a state song. "Texas, Our Texas" by William J. Marsh and Gladys Yoakum Wright
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Texas, Our Texas! all hail the mighty State!Texas, Our Texas! so wonderful so great!Boldest and grandest, withstanding ev'ry testO Empire wide and glorious, you stand supremely blest..
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(chorus)
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Texas, O Texas! your freeborn single star,Sends out its radiance to nations near and far,Emblem of Freedom! it set our hearts aglow, With thoughts of San Jacinto and glorious Alamo.
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(chorus)
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Texas, dear Texas! from tyrant grip now free,Shines forth in splendor, your star of destiny!Mother of heroes, we come your children true,Proclaiming our allegiance, our faith, our love for you.
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(chorus)
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God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong,That you may grow in power and worth, throughout the ages long.
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Messina Hof Winery Cruise

2007-09-07T14:58:00.000-04:00

The pretty September day with warm sun and cool clouds greeted us for tour du jour in Bryan. We meet at the usual place and welcomed a few new comers. It’s always nice to meet new folks and we look forward to seeing them again. After a few minutes of photo taking we were off for our destination that just happened to be only minutes away, Messina Hof Winery.
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I spotted the fruit vines from the country road, harvest was already over as was the stomping of the grapes.{darnit} Perhaps next time we can do what Lucy did and dip our toes in the vat and free the juice from the ripe grapes. The building is typical of other wineries I have visited in Texas, brick front, two stories tall with lovely stained glass windows. A green awning over the door led our way into the nice gift and sales shop. The entrance fee was reasonable at $10 a head, we were greeted by friendly staff and once we had a little look see around the shop we were escorted into the tasting room. We visited as we waited for our tour to begin, snapped a few photos and just enjoyed the joviality of the Old Farts.
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Before long our instructor and tour guide joined us. She was easy to get along with and answered the many questions that we asked. We were given a brief history of the Messina Hof Winery and its goals. They have earned numerous awards and recognition for their performance in the wine industry. We walked outside to see the vineyard, rows and rows of strong sturdy vines decorated the Texas landscape. Fire ants could be seen scurrying about, they aid in the protection of the grapes as a natural predator for some of the harmful insects that tend to bother the vines {who knew they were actually good for something?}
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Next we went back inside to learn the art of wine tasting and bottle opening. Yes it is an art. Always hold the glass by its stem to prevent your body heat from warming the wine. Swirl it around the glass, take note of the legs {visit the winery if ya want to know about the legs} and its clarity. Breathe in the aroma, no laughing ok maybe a little laughing. Take a cleansing taste let it roll around inside your mouth. Then there are a couple of things you do to add air to the liquid while it’s in your mouth to release more flavor, but I’m afraid I can’t do adequate justice to the description, there are pictures over here.
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We visited the bottling room and our guide explained the lettering and numbering system of the barrels. Not really a lot to tell here. {barrels stacked on a shelf} Some of us made purchases of wine or accessories. Oops I almost forgot they have a beautiful bed and breakfast if you want to head out there for the weekend and stay the night, especially if you taste too much wine.
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We left the winery and made our way towards Hearn on back roads. There was very little traffic except for the typical farm machinery you know tractors, horse trailers and the like. We meandered round about the gentle hills and curving roads. Can’t you just hear those engines roar, the hum of the tires as they glide along the asphalt and concrete? The scenery turns into a blur for a moment or two then you remember you’re not on the autobahn so you slow down a little. I said slow down! Just when we thought we were back in control the hunger monster swelled up.
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On to the restaurant, this day it was to be Mexican cuisine, Amas in Hearne. Two tables awaited our arrival as did Lisa our waitress, drink orders were taken followed shortly by the food order. It was all tasty and satisfied that monster that lies deep in all our bellies. What a great ending to a great day filled with education, wine, food, conversation and good company. For those of you who couldn’t make it because of work, having to study or whatever it was that kept you away we missed your smiles and laughter and hope to see you next time. Be sure to keep your eye on upcoming events and remember the first Sunday of the month is the official Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club day.
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See y’all

Have You Heard?

2007-08-31T07:34:00.000-04:00

In Texas as of September 1, 2007:
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The Red Lights that have Cameras to take your lovely photo as you run through the red light will now have a sign 100 feet before the intersection with the camera {smile and waive as you zoom on by}
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Older folks-79 and up will now have to renew their drivers licenses in person at the Department of Motor Vehicles. This has to do with studies showing a decrease in eyesight and driver reaction time at 80 years old. {hey I’m just a messenger here}
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Auto Liability Insurance minimum increase. Yes that’s right and premiums will go up {duh}
Bodily Injury or Death- one person in one accident is now $25,000; two or more persons in one accident now $50,000
Damage/Destruction of property of others in one accident now $25,000
And they are set to change again January 1 of 2011
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See y’all

Keep Your Cool

2007-08-27T14:03:00.000-04:00

Did ya know a low coolant level would cause your engine to cook and overheat, even cause permanent damage? Of course you knew that all vehicle owners know that, but when was the last time you checked yours or even flushed out the coolant system?
Antifreeze/Coolant is fluid that helps to transfer heat from the engine when it is hot and it keeps the liquid from freezing and cracking the engine when it gets cold. Ouch! That can be big bucks.
First and foremost NEVER-I said NEVER take the cap of the radiator, or the overflow tank (if present), when the engine is hot! I mean it you could be seriously hurt. Hey speaking of getting hurt, did you ever put that first aid kit in your car?
Here is the basic rule of thumb on coolant; change/flush the system about every 30,000 miles for the green and yellow colored coolants and about 150,000 miles for the long life type, if you don’t’ know what type you have go for the lower mileage. Of course by now you all have taken my advice and have become familiar with your owner’s manual for recommendations on your automobile’s maintenance. {Really whacha waiting for?}
Newer cars typically have an overflow tank where the coolant level should be visible and fall between the low and full marks. If you don’t have an overflow tank, take the cap of the cool radiator. Usually you have to push down and turn clockwise, sort of like the way you open a medicine bottle. Look down in the opening do you see fluid high up in the neck of the radiator? If so great, if not you need to add some; Hopefully you don’t have plain old tap water in there for crying out loud go out and get some anti-freeze/coolant**.
You want the level to be full, an engine can heat up very quickly and by keeping your coolant at a proper level along with good maintenance it will protect not only your engine but the radiator too. They (radiators) typically last a good 6-10 years without trouble, but once they start to decline your car can be in danger of breakdown. So stay cool and check that level.
If your vehicle should happen to overheat here’s what you can try: stopped in traffic put it in park (for automatics) or nueutral (for a standard)and rev up the engine to get the coolant to circulate; turn on the heater {yes really} it may help divert just enough heat from the engine to keep it cool enough so it doesn't blow up, roll down you windows and stop yelling as that too will build up heat. Be cool and keep that engine running at it’s best!

**Caution with all anti-freeze/coolant, use it in a well ventilated area especially if its hot, clean up any all spills, keep it away from children and pets-it can be deadly if ingested

See y’all

Balloon Fest In Clear Lake/Kemah

2007-08-24T13:32:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you have heard by now it was cancelled due to huricane Dean, that ended up going to visit Mexico instead of south Texas. Check the official Old Farts Sports Car Club site for the upcoming Cruise in Bryan. Too bad us Old Farts can't control the weather~fair and funny all the time...oops I meant fair and sunny, but funny is good too.

See y'all

High Beams On...

2007-08-16T08:20:00.000-04:00

We have a wide range of members in the Old Farts Sports Car Club and this time caught in the High Beams is James. When I told him that his name had been drawn from my oil can, he asked what kind of oil, being caught on the spot I made up an answer, but he was willing to talk to me anyway. We were in the breakfast area of a hotel {get your minds outta the gutter} it was at the Decatur Sleep Over and other Old Farts were there.
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I learned James had been a drag racer a few years back, he mentioned racing at a couple of drag strips but I’ll bet he did a little on the streets too. You know how tempting some of those straight-aways can be. He had lots of fun when he raced at drag strips in Tyler and Porter, the Gulf Freeway and at the old Naval air strip in Victoria. His car was a 1932 Ford coupe, chopped and channeled with a 304 Chevy engine followed later by a 1931 Ford roadster. Although he liked drag racing he put it aside for love of family. He and his wife have now been married forever, I mean just F~O~R~E~V~E~R. Next time you see him, ask about his drag racing days and see a smile cross his face and his eyes light up, and remember he doesn’t speed now because James does not own a highway.
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I found James to be a confidante man happy to talk about cars. I asked about his first one, it was co-owned through a partnership with his brother. I have a feeling that traffic slowed down when their car was one the street, let me elaborate a little. It was black and white, like a police car, a 1955 Chevy 2 door sedan. In fact it had belonged to the Cotulla Sheriff Department when they bought it. {Can you hear the sirens?} It wasn’t long before he bought his own, a 1958 Impala with air suspension. A really cool car to drive, James said, because the suspension could be adjusted on the front and back, low rider, high rider, and all points in between.
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James went through a long list of cars he has owned both new and used in fact a couple times he had the same model more then once. He and wife Charlotte figure upwards of about 35-40 cars, that’s a long way from that first one that was co-owned. His dream car {I bet it changes every year} a new 2007 Corvette and he would probably like that in a red please the medium classic red color he associates with power. Now don’t get me wrong James is not power hungry he just happens to like cars with “brute power, raw brute power.”
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Time for his favorites:
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drive- anywhere he can see things new or old, just the act of driving itself is a pleasure for him
food- if pressed he would have to say {yes I pressed} crab cakes from Maryland
music- rock-n-roll all the way mostly 50s and 60s
season- fall for the changes in color and temperature
time of day- anytime and all the time because he is blessed with another one
book- James is not by habit a reader, but he would have to say the Bible is a good one
color- red, it’s hot and powerful
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James is a Can Do kinda guy, he really doesn’t like to hear anyone say that they can’t do something. I’m sure we all understand this pet peeve, who among us has never gotten a bit peeved when told, “I can’t”? He described himself as outgoing with a friendly personality who loves people {I agree}.
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He has no allergies nor does he name cars. Although his dad had a Chevy they called Molly Belle. James is the second of four boys. He was not sure what he wanted to be when he grew up, so he went to work for Exxon like a lot of Texas boys. Currently he owns a tractor dealership with his son. James handles sales and service {more of that people side of his personality}. While still waiting to figure out what he wants to be when he grows up he is happy hanging out with Old Farts, buying, selling and working on cars and of course enjoying life with his wife along the way. He’s a pretty neat guy and if you get the chance to talk with him be sure you do.
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Here’s the recommendation James offers to us…
Live your life like you want, let others live theirs and love the Lord.
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See ya

Decatur Sleep over

2007-08-12T18:23:00.000-04:00

The weekend promised to be a good one and we were not disappointed. We hit the pavement about 8:30 on Saturday morning in Bryan and headed north. Cattle, goat and horse ranches lined the rolling highways before us. The scenery was Texas country through and through. There were hay fields littered with giant round bales big enough to make a nice snack for Paul Bunyun’s pet, Babe the blue ox and some fields that needed mowing. White clouds danced in the bright blue skies as our tires became one with the interstate. It was a good drive and the only bears we saw were already hard at work handing out their coupons for local fund raising parties. There was lots of road-kill for those that live off the land and dotted here and about were pretty wild flowers, always a welcome site for the traveler. The higher the sun rose the higher our air conditioners ran. No tops were down since the sunscreen would have melted and dripped all over our leather interiors. {Not really but it was hot)
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The Old Farts Sports Car Club had reservations at Yesterday’s, a nice old-fashioned diner in Decatur. The staff there is wonderful and they were very willing to accommodate us when a few of the folks with the SSR club dropped in. The service was first-rate in fact they went out of their way to help make a memorable birthday for one of our members. Her husband had pre-arranged for the cake and when the timing was just right they brought it out. She was given a crown, photographed with Elvis and she got to perform the Hula Hoop dance not only for us Old Farts but for the whole diner as well. The encouragement was well received by the birthday girl and she wore a beautiful smile that complimented her golden crown.
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Satisfied with our full bellies we departed the diner and went over to our hotel to check in and drop off our bags before the car show. Ah the hotel experience, which story to tell you first? Couple #one well not really a couple he was on his own {lets call him Blinky} when Blinky got his key to room #one, it was a little messed up, heck it may have even had some one else in it. In fact I think it did; humm is that why his wife showed up a couple of hours later? Anyway Blniky was finally settled in a clean room all by himself. Couple #two {lets call them the Birthday Party} like wise were given a room that was not so made up, on to room #two…oops that one was occupied by the manager who just happened to be in the bathroom. Funny by the time Birthday Party got back to the front desk a new key was waiting and they were upgraded to a room that had a private jacuzzi {party}. Couple #three {we’ll call Sweetie) wanted a room on the bottom floor—sorry Sweetie—no can do, but the couple behind you gets one. Couple #four {we’ll call Student} didn’t say anything about their room, so we will just guess all was ok there. I think I found a place y’all can send a comment, if you like, about your stay click here. I have a feeling it was the desk clerk, she looked somewhat confused, didn’t she Sweetie? Some of us got a clean room on the bottom floor the first time~ price line negotiator. At last we were all set up in our different rooms that were scattered throughout the hotel. Soon we were all off to the beautiful courthouse, not really all of us, our Student had to stay behind and study for a test on Monday. Hope you did well.
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We arrived at the courthouse and found our own little parking places. Some of us entered the show some didn’t. The number of automobiles was amazing they lined the entire square on both sides of the street and some even ended up parked in the middle of the street. The cars, trucks and one old rough motorcycle ranged in age from the late 1920’s to brand spanking new. The paint job on several of these vehicles was breathtaking; there was every color of the rainbow present including some made up colors that went all the way to primer grey. The chrome was shining brightly in the August sun. One of my biggest kicks was watching this little boy about 9 years old or so, polishing the wheels on his dad’s muscle car. He really put a lot of elbow grease into it and I even seen him do the spit-shine buff. That’s what you call love and dedication. I glanced over to my car, sure Pepper needed a good washing and I suppose it had been a month or so since the last time her chrome had been polished. Maybe that‘s why I didn’t win anything. Ah well that’s ok, it was lots of fun anyway and that’s the part that counts.
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Lets not forget the nice little shops around the square they were great. I found a few small treasures to carry home, and so did a couple of other ladies. The sun was brilliant and very warm, ok it was hot. While some of us went shopping others sat in the shade visiting and still others went to a nearby tractor farm/museum. From what I understood this old guy had lots of tractors starting with a steam operated one and ending with a new John Deer. His family has had the property for a long time and he makes his living the Texan way. No not cattle, you know Texas tea, black gold. The reviews I heard told of old cemeteries and buildings on the property, maybe well worth a future trip. I too saw some tractors in one of the shops {photos in the Web Album}. We had steaks for supper at Sweetie Pies RibEyes. The rolls were awesome, the steaks a tad thin and I saw a couple of folks douse them in catsup, nothing to write home about, but the service was good and the company couldn’t be beat.
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With all the nice little shops closed and the car show over we packed up and moseyed down the road to the hotel. We had a couple of adult beverages and a nice dip in the boiling waters of the hot tub followed by a wonderful cooling swim. After a few laughs and good conversation it was time to hit the sheets.
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The morning rose with the call for coffee and breakfast. We lounged at the tables till time to go. Blinky’s wife was off to kiss the grand babies that lived near by. The rest of us drove to the Fort Worth Stockyards. One of the first things we found was blood on the sidewalk-eew- thank God there was no body. Now don’t worry I’m sure it was just a bloody nose and nothing more, besides it’s not like none of us have never seen blood before. Waiting around the corner was the real excitement; who would have ever thought that a statue would be so funny. We ambled around a little, tried on hats {no photos allowed}, rode horses, petted a buffalo and posed for photos. If you have not been to the stockyards you should it’s a great part of Texas History. They have all sorts of things to see and do. We got to see a real live longhorn cattle drive, well really more of a cattle walk but they were real and live and longhorns, then we watched a skit {short play} which stared a John Wayne impersonator. There was candy at the candy store, yummy NECCO. Our Birthday Party couple left us when they joined up with one of their children. The rest of us had lunch at Riscky’s the food was fine but the hostess needed a few lessons in customer service. Before long it was time to head ‘em up and move ‘em out. The Student insisted that on the way home a side trip to the outlet stores in Hillsboro was in order. Seeings how it was getting late and I lacked any room in my trunk we broke off from the herd and headed home. The weather was beautiful the air conditioner worked great and traffic was not bad. It was a wonderful sleep over and a great weekend trip. I hope to see those of you who couldn’t make it due to the flu {hope you’re better} or other obligations soon.
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See y’all

OOPS I made a booboo...

2007-08-06T12:05:00.000-04:00

on the High Beams post. Small to some but maybe major to others. My apologies to all.
Mike did not work for HPD, he was with Harris County and as it turned out Kathy did not go with him to Springfield, but she had a good time anyway. So you see its all better now, and again my apologies for the error. I have also corrected it within that post.
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I have several irons in the fire right now and will post our latest cruise, Decatur Sleep Over, just as soon as I can.
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See y’all

Huntsville Horsey Back Ride and Cruise

2007-07-30T10:19:00.000-04:00

We didn’t have a big turn out Sunday, 7-22, in Huntsville State Park but I suspect most folks were afraid it would rain. Oh it did try to but the weatherman thought better of it. The warm sunny windless afternoon made for great paddleboat races by a few of the Old Farts Sports Car Club members. The water was splashing and the sweat dripped as those brave enough pushed their muscles to the limits. Unfortunately when the race was over there was no clear-cut winner. Now some one steps in says “they are all winners.”
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Those of us that stayed on the dock did not waste time, no sir. A new hero emerged from among us. A gentleman who we {I} suspect had never been in a boat much less a canoe before was trying his best to climb into one. Well one miss step and plop the end of the canoe dipped down and he slid straight into the water, thankfully he did have on a life jacket. Several folks chuckle but one was quick to the rescue, seeing that gentleman in question was in some what of a quandary (fancy word y’all) she jumped to his aide. Helped pull him out of the water, assisted him getting into the canoe and his buddy as well. At last it appeared that the two would be off for a row about the lake. OH no they paddled and paddled but went nowhere. Wouldn’t you know it our hero was quick to action she stepped up and helped the hapless duo yet again, yes folks she untied the canoe and they were finally off. When next you see our hero, Barbara, pat her on the back fore she ranks right up there with Super Woman. What a lucky man that Ric is.
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With all our members back on shore and the above-mentioned duo on shore as well the Old Farts were off for a trail ride. Nine of us climbed upon the backs of the trusty steeds. We ambled our way through the thickest of woods and deepest of mud that made the funniest nastiest noises. Why some one even had a super squeaky saddle, the birds were so frightened by the all the bizarre sounds they hardly sang any songs. But the sprits of the Old Farts rose above it all. Laugher was heard at each and every horse’s potty break why there were number ones and twos all over the place. Good news not one single Old Fart was thrown but we did have a small injury a severely broken nail, it broke way down in the middle, eeww-ouch. Hey where’s that first aid kit? Oh never mind wrong car again. Our thanks goes out to the nice folks at Raven’s Lake Stables and the fine horses that carried us especially Hercules lord knows he needs a sugar cube.
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While some of us were off playing cowboys and cowgirls the others went to WHO KNOWS WHERE. Nah they rushed off to a Mickey D’s to lounge in the A/C and sip on mint juleps (colas, water what ever). Some of us had made our request prior to departure for specialty beverages and did we get them? NO! Nobody told us they wanted money for their troubles and gas. That’s okay, yes sir, one of these days y’all are gonna need {want} me to write some thing nice about ya. With the A/C blowing like a northern gale we were off for some food. All that outdoor activity sure can make a group of Old Farts hungry. We had heard a rumor that the best steaks in Huntsville were at the El Chico. Yes I did say a Mexican food restaurant. That was the rumor, I cannot validate it as no one, let me repeat that NO ONE ordered a steak. I heard the cheeseburgers were good as well as various Tex-Mex dishes. I will tell you they had some of the best water, it was clear, cold and came in pitchers. Our poor waitress, Jasmine, was a little busy trying to keep our orders and various requests straight, but she did fine all on her own.
For those of you who couldn’t make it cause you were scared of the rain, in Mexico or maybe had to mow the jungle, we missed you and we expect to see you next time in Decatur for a sleep over.
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See ya

Club Gear

2007-07-29T12:32:00.000-04:00

I know, this is not what you have been waiting for. I'll get to the Huntsville Horsey back ride Cruise soon. See this is what is known as a cliff hanger, you will have to come back and read me again...

Phil has found some great new club gear check with him for ordering.

Here we have a nice carryall bag-great for lunch, snacks or those small purchases you may make from a festival or car show

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Visors, this one is Red (duh) check with Phil to see about other exciting colors
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How about this ball cap style topper for the kaki lover in your family, I know mine sure loves it

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The Texas shirt can be found at Cavender’s you can also check with Barbara (haha... I just volunteered you) she found one from some another store. Sorry but I don’t remember where-it must be the Old Fart’s syndrome I heard about and I’m afraid its chronic.
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Also Phil has available the window decal/sticker in Red and White lettering or Red and Black lettering

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For other club gear click here and here

High Beams on...

2007-07-25T07:56:00.000-04:00

Recently I met up with the member of the Old Farts Sports Car Club whose name was drawn from my oilcan. He kinda rolled his eyes at me as I informed him he had been caught in the head lights. I almost thought I would have to get Johnny to help me play out that old interrogation game, you know the one, good cop bad cop, but alas when he spotted the rubber hose in my back pocket he relented. His name is Mike I know we have a few Mikes in the group so your mission is to figure out which one--have fun.
Mike is somewhat on the quiet side; I think he prefers observing instead being the center of attention. He was very polite, humored me, and let me dole on and on about myself. Any-who when Mike was in high school he had already decided that he wanted to join the military, complete his tour of duty, come home and be a police officer. Yes that’s right there is a cop among us. Don’t freak out now, Mike let me know that he no longer hands out coupons {whew} even though he did like doing that. He started out with Harris County and is now with D P S, vehicle thief division. He will be able to retire from there sometime in 2008 and is looking forward to his next career opportunity.
Mike’s first automobile was NOT a car it was a green 350, 1973 Chevy Pick-up. Now back in those days cars and trucks came plain without anything extra like air conditioning or power anything. I think we were lucky that they even had seats in them. He paid cash for this beauty and splurged for air conditioning. COOL dude. He drove it for three and a half years before moving on to his second vehicle, a sporty type--Trans-Am. I’m sad to say he only had it a couple of months before it was stolen. What a bummer. No he didn’t leave it unlocked with the keys in it {I asked}. As it turns out Trans-Am’s were easy to steal back then. These days he has an SSR and told me that he really had a good time recently up at the SSR Club excursion in Springfield and his wife Kathy, who was not able to attend, had a good time anyway.
When I asked him his favorite type of music I was surprised that he doesn’t really have one. He does however like rock from the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s but chooses to listen to Talk Radio news programs. I guess we can consider Mike an informed kind of man.
He says steak is ok, but anyone can cook a steak. {CALM DOWN} Mike likes lasagna–good lasagna that is.
He has never owned a blue car even though blue is his favorite color. I pressed him for a particular shade and he said, “just basic blue” I asked “like a crayon?” Mike said, “I guess.” See I knew there had to be a certain shade.
Mike doesn’t have a favorite season but does prefer Day-light-savings time. He can come home from work and still have enough daylight to do what ever it is he wants.
I asked him about pet peeves and he has one, I’m sure we all understand and totally back him up on it; when some one sits or leans on a car especially someone else’s. He once witnessed a lady at a Stop & Go using the pay phone let her small child run up and slid down the hood of a 70’s model Corvette. She better be glad it wasn’t Mike’s or mine for that matter.
Mike confessed {don’t you love it when cops confess} that he is not too mechanically inclined as in being an auto mechanic but he does really like driving, riding in and looking at automobiles. Mike said he doesn’t usually speed, he’s not in a big hurry and think about it folks would a cop really tell me {lead foot} they speed. His wife often tells him that he is going too slow. Funny his favorite Highway Patrol car, was a 1989 Ford Mustang with a 302 and 5 speed. He says it would go “144 MPHs all day long. A really great pursuit vehicle.” {Does this sound like a slow poke?}The drunks didn’t like it the back seat it was a little hard to get to. Mike I don’t think I would let one in. They have a bad habit of brining their drinks back up, if ya know what I mean.
Mike’s favorite place to drive sounds like fun the “Million dollar Highway” between Silverton and Ouray CO. He also recommends the best way to enjoy it is with the top down or on a motorcycle.
I asked Mike to describe himself…“straight forward and to the point” and he has a low BTL. For those of us who don’t know what that means; Bullshit Tolerance Level. I plan on using that acronym at work.
Let me leave off with this little story Mike told me…
He was getting gas in a town in New Mexico, when the tank was full the woman said “What no tip?” he replied “No.” She said “Can I give you a tip?” Well, not being a fool he said “Yes.” The woman kindly smiled and said “Never fry bacon naked.” Mike told me he took it to heart and never has Mike also recommends that none of you should either.

See ya

Ha Ha!

2007-07-22T21:25:00.000-04:00

I was right... It did not rain on us today in Huntsville.
And I found out a little something about the first aid kits for your cars...
BEWARE those of you who have children that drive to school. They can not have any repeat ANY over the counter medicine in the car NOT even asprin. So remove those from the school goer's first aid kit.
More another day about the Huntsville adventure
Go Hurcules!

First Aid-if you Please

2007-07-18T12:42:00.000-04:00

With summer vacations and the cruise trips we have with the Old Farts Sports Car Club, I wanted to do a piece on First Aid. The first and foremost thing to do in any emergency, weather major or minor, is to keep your wits. REMAIN CALM AND DON’T PANIC. If you panic you may do the wrong thing, make the situation worse or not be able to do anything at all. Remember your safety is important too, if you get hurt while trying to help you are now a apart of the emergency.
We can only do what we know and no more which is why it is so important to know some basic first aid. Keep a kit in every car; sure enough you don’t have one that’s when ya need. For instance when we were on the Waco Cruise July 1st, my man got a booboo and I didn’t have a first aid kit in his car. Have and keep an up to date kit in your cars, home and even office. Here is a list of basic supplies of course you can get fancy and add more stuff
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If need be CALL 911
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· Adhesive strip bandages - assorted sizes
· Alcohol wipes
· Antacids
· Antibiotic ointment
· Chemical ice packs
· Chemical hot packs
· Cotton pad/swabs
· Disposable latex or vinyl gloves
· Elastic (ace) bandages
· Face mask for CPR
· First aid guide ***
· Flashlight
· Gauze pads - various sizes
· Hydrocortisone cream .5%
· Hypoallergenic/waterproof tape
· Insect repellent
· Matches
· Moleskin (for blisters)
· Over-the-counter pain medication [aspirin] -not on school property-
· Paper & pencil (for a grocery list)
· Scissors
· Soap
· Space blanket
· Sugar or glucose solution (for diabetics)
· Triangular bandages
· Tweezers
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For your home add…
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· 1-800-222-1222 Poison Control
· Activated Charcoal (poisoning emergencies)
· Syrup of Ipecac (poisoning emergencies)
· Thermometer - oral & rectal
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***read this & become familiar with the basics--the life you save-could be mine
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think positive-it is NOT gonna rain on us in Hunstville
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SEE YA

Where has your Old Fart Been????

2007-07-11T08:16:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to share a few photos with y’all of where my Old Fart has been lately.

Redwood Forest
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Eel River
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Crystal Palace in Tombstone
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Dropped by the court house there as well
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And on over to Boothill, but just for a short visit

Waco Cruise-WOW

2007-07-04T20:49:00.000-04:00

This was a big day filled with lots of stuff are you ready?
It started out like any other June day with the full look and threat of rain. Oh wait, it was July not June anymore-so the deluge held off. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway you can never keep a good fart down, no matter how much air freshener you pour on. About 10 cars worth of folks met in Bryan, we wadded through the puddles, with dark clouds overhead and hooked up with a few more members up the road. The rain fell after we left town; we heard it was a gulley washer in College Station. Before long we arrived in Waco.
The sound of snapping bubbles was wafting through the air, we meandered out around and before we knew it we were at our first destination the Dr. Pepper Museum. A fascinating place, small but yet it held very interesting pharmacy stuff, bottling and brewing equipment. There was no group discount for the Old Farts Sports Car Club and don’t take pictures of the items in the gift shop. No, no don’t do it {you know who you are}. We strolled around viewing the various displays and watched an electronic “man” tell us about the invention of the fabulous concoction known as Dr. Pepper. There was a television screen with chairs in front so some old farts sat down for a look see. It wasn’t really a movie but instead those things they put between the movie scenes you know commercials. New ones, old ones, funny ones and even a couple of risqué ones {not XXX more like one X}. We moseyed along and found our selves at the fountain where you can purchase a small cup of handmade elixir from the jerk at the counter. As they say 10-2-4, then there goes the time.
Off we drove around the corner, where we found the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum. Very friendly folks there we got our tickets and just made the last film showing of the day. Its a great place with wonderful displays as well as personal memorabilia from families of past rangers. There were lots of history items and guns on show not to mention a few forensic devices. All Texans should visit there at least once if not more. Bronze sculptures and beautiful paintings added a bit of sophisticated décor to the otherwise rustic setting. Like I said very friendly folks, why one ranger even personally escorted me out the door. What a nice guy.
Our next segment took us on a drive through remarkable Cameron Park. The Brazos River was really full and running fast. What awesome views we found up on a hill. The lush green valley lay below with trees lining the swollen river. There were lots of people at the park families, children couples in love and site-seers like the Old Farts. All were enjoying the break from the June monsoons. Great news for some of the rest of you citizens of Texas, we seen it the Sun, it is STILL there and working just fine!
Right across the freeway from the Ranger Museum lay our third and final destination for the day—the beautiful Spirit of the Rivers paddle boat awaited. Previously arranged just for us for was a dinner cruise. The salad came out first followed by our choice of steak, grilled chicken or shrimp accompanied by tasty roasted potatoes and seasoned green-beans. My steak was moist and tender, the kids had chicken “it was the bomb”, I heard no complaints about the shrimp. All was prepared by a chief at the Brazos Belle. The service we received from the first mate and his helper was great. Although the river was flooding and running pretty fast we were still able to sail because our Captain and boat was chartered and certified with the Coast Guard. Captain Famous, a bearded man wearing red, white and blue tennis shoe boots, of good nature, entertained us with lively information of the area and good humor. Our Captain steered us up river against the current telling us of local history. The sites were awesome with the high waters flowing over the boat ramps, stairs and embankments. The slightly white capping water flowed down over fallen trees, not to worry our brave Captain was at the wheel. All too soon we had to head back, the Captain turned the paddle boat around, and now moving down river the pace was faster {not as fast as my car but faster}. We were all witness to an early moon rise and let me say what bright white moons they were. Our trustworthy Captain got us back to dock safely. Once ashore we were able to convince him to pose with us for a group photo thank you Captain Famous. When you get a chance you need to drop by for a ride on the river boat or better yet a dinner cruise, be sure to tell ‘em the Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club sent ya. Our thanks goes out to the paddle boat owner Tony, a fine trip indeed. For those of you that missed this trip, what a shame, it really was a good one.
A superb day, filled with grand Texas sites super companions, cool cars and awesome nature.
Hope to see ya in Decatur August 4th and 5th

High Beams on....

2007-06-30T09:07:00.000-04:00

By special request a name was chosen instead of pulled from my oil can, if you want to volunteer your self or some one else just holler at me. And without further ado the poor dear caught in the high beams today is…Johnny. I will try not to answer for him and I suppose I will use his real answers and not what I think they should be. Man this sure is gonna be hard.
Johnny’s first car, as he put it “real first car” was a 1969 metallic brown with black vinyl top with wood grain and black interior, 289 hypo engine Mustang Grande. He kept it all of four years, seems that the engine was blown up, by one of his brothers. Yes I do believe him. I asked him how the car made him feel and he simply said “free”. What a great sensation, don’t you think, to be free? Pretty good answer, I’ll let him keep it.
It appears that Johnny is a Ford man through and through, {even though we only have one in the driveway}, his dream car is a 1932 Bonnie and Clyde gangster car. If you don’t know, and I confess I didn’t, the infamous couple only stole Fords, they were the fastest cars during their hay-day. Those super fast V8s whisked them off and away from the law. Humm that’s funny Bonnie and Clyde got that “free” feeling from their Ford too.
I suppose if I told you steak was Johnny’s favorite food you would not be too surprised, right? Well surprise it is his second favorite, the top and number one food for Mr. Johnny is LOBSTER, yes folks, its true. The last time he had it one of the claws jumped right out of his hand and PLOP-right into his glass of water. I sure wish I had had a video camera running; we could have won a couple of dollars with that clip.
His preferred color is blue, cobalt/electric bright or maybe red. I prefer him in green because it goes best with his eyes. {and everybody says aahhh}
For music, there is not really “a favorite” genre, in Johnny’s own words “rock-n-roll; no all music from Mozart to Motley Crew.” Again I agree with his answer, we listen to lots of different kinds old and new.
I couldn’t really pin him down to a favorite movie either but instead got him to whittle it down to three and they are Cannery Row, Friday and Young Frankenstein, in no particular order. Ok, so I let him have his own movies-I have mine-its fair. For the book question, Johnny really enjoyed a series book written by Barry Sadler called Casca. Here is what Johnny didn’t tell you, he likes books and movies about Vampires, and that is my answer for him, but I’ll let him keep his own answer too.
For a favorite season, Johnny really likes the fall. Oh yes a time of change, everything is moving from the hot humid heat of summer into the cool not so humid fall that brings a change of colors. A slow down in pace, a time to stop and remember his wedding day and the love he has for his wife. {and every one says aaahhhhh}
I asked Johnny what was his favorite time of day {even though I know he is a day person I asked for your benefit} he said, “any time I’m with my wife”. What a great guy! Then he followed that with “really a day person cause I go to bed early.”
The place Johnny likes to drive “for a short trip through and around the hill country of Texas; for long distance driving California is the place to be.”
I’m sorry to say Johnny has an allergy, but not to worry its not that horrible-well maybe it is, but its not too serious, I deal with it pretty well. He claims to be allergic to “hard work and manual labor.” Yeah tell me that again after you wash my car honey and maybe I’ll believe it.
As for naming vehicles, Johnny is good at it, that’s why I now name mine. He has had a red Ford Truck he called Robert then there was a Duke, currently one called Vanna White, his BMW is Jack. You see Jack is the brother of my BMW, Pepper. I asked him why he is a car namer and his reply was “why not?” Humm, yes why not indeed.
I have learned through the years that he has a few pet peeves, but they “don’t apply to my wife”, he said. First are the people that don’t know how to drive yet do {see not about me}. People that talk during a movie and last but not really least, “people that won’t let me finish” his sentence, again except for his wife-That’s me.
I asked Johnny to describe himself, without thinking too hard on it and his answer kinda surprised me… “Easy going and care free.” Yes I agree he is a little laid back but man-o-man can he worry about the darndest things, so half his answer he can keep and the other… well let me just say I know I’m right.
Here is the advice and recommendation y’all have been waiting for, Johnny says {and everyone listens}

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Live *Love * and 8 Laugh!

See y’all

Smart Keys BUT are they really?

2007-06-20T12:44:00.000-04:00

Before we went on vacation we visited our local AAA. I was supposed to post this before we took off, but alas I did not. Hope I’m not too late on the following information…
AAA is/was supporting a petition in regards to the electronic key problem, the high cost of a replacement, and the fact that you have to go through the vehicle’s dealership to get them. There are a lot of cars that now have the “smart key.” Does yours and if so do you know what you will have to do to get a replacement?
California has passed a law allowing AAA locksmiths to cut and program keys. Some cars however have to have a whole new key and computer replacement, instead of just an expensive replacement. Your car would have to be in the shop for how ever long it takes. Do you have one of those cars? I hope not. How much is your replacement key? If you don’t know you may want to find out. You should find out. By all means you NEED TO FIND OUT. With modern technology come new issues. When it comes to cars you need to know.
If this can pass it would be of benefit for us all. How many times have your keys been misplaced? What if they are stolen, dropped in water, slobbered on by a baby or any number of other things that can happen to keys. Humm drifts off into own imagination… You are on vacation, a driving vacation. Lets say you are going to California you stop at the Palo Duro Canyons for a look-see late Saturday evening. Wow just look at that fabulous sunset. The gallons of water you have been drinking are really starting to kick in. The only place you can find to go is a Port-a-Potty; there are hundreds of other tourist there too so you can’t use a cactus DUH. Dang it, you really gotta go and you left your astronaut undies at home. Its all you got, that tight, stinky box. You begrudgingly open the door, yuck eeww-man why did I have so much water-aahh. Then all of a sudden you hear a “Plop.” What the $#~~! Your keys just slipped out of your pocket and right down into the muck. Son of a gun! Now what ya gonna do? If only you were in California you could call and get that replacement key made. But instead you are in Texas, the nearest dealership is in Amarillo, besides they are closed for the day and don’t open on Sundays. I suppose a wrecker {Hey Phil can ya come pick me up?) can tow you into the nearest town, you hope to be able to find a decent hotel to sleep in. You get to spend the night and all day Sunday in this little town hotel with nothing to do but fume.
No, this did not happen to me, or any one I know. I just made it up-cool huh? And if it resembles any persons either living or deceased, it is just a co-wrinkie-dink. The moral of that story is “Get over to your local AAA office and sign that petition” help it to pass. If its good enough for those fancy-pants in California, its good enough for us Texicans.
If you really don’t want to sign it take a minute and remember my little story; or come up with your own worse case scenario. Could it happen to you? And if it did… That’s when it would hit ya-smack-right between the eyes. Why didn’t I take a few minutes to sign that petition they had at the triple A office.
This is not a commercial for AAA, it just happens to be the place I heard about this. I feel so stupid for not knowing before now. I didn’t know about my key issue before I bought my pre-owned BMW. But I would have gotten the car anyway vroom vroom goes Pepper. How many of you knew about the key and would it had made a difference in you buying the car? I suppose for those of you reading this that are about to run out and purchase a new vehicle you can use this info to your advantage, have the dealer throw in an extra key~ at no additional cost. Good luck with that.
We can all stock up on those astronaut undies.

Cruising on 6-3

2007-06-17T08:57:00.000-04:00

OH MY, the cruise was wonderful. Some Old Farts met at the usual place in Bryan and drove over to the Sonic in Palestine to cruise around there. It was beautiful Texas weather warm and sunny no I mean rainy, no sunny, no rainy, well you get the picture. What fun to able to share with so many folks the scenery and beauty of our country on this cruise that seemed to last only a couple of minutes for me. Over the lakes and highways everyone flew (did the speed limit I mean). **I must say as much as I like curvy roads this day was filled with way too many for me. So many in fact that I had to close my eyes and just snap pictures out of the window, ahh now I can look.

After the little drive ~wink~ up ahead, a secluded gated community beckoned everyone on. If you weren’t on the list you did not enter. Hows that for making you feel very special and super lucky to be there. Everyone enjoyed the unique visit to the Garage of Jerry Ball, whom we can not thank enough. Truly cool, this down to earth regular everyday guy (kinda like Phil) opened his doors to us. The number of cars to see was unbelievable, well let me just say it was a car nut’s ideal dream to roam among the rows of shining beauties, not to mention the awesome “engine” room. Some of the automobiles there included Babe Ruth’s Packard, Sly Stalone’s Cobra, and the Virgra Nascar(I have to mention a few just to be the name dropper that I am}**We spent a night in “Little Hollywood” in the Ann Bancroft room, no less. Any way on with the private collection... Amazingly some of cars had as few as 4 miles on the odometer, would you believe a car that hadn't been driven except from assembly line onto the rolling parking lot truck then the sale lot, to a trailer to a garage where it waited to be purchased by Mr. Ball. (I can make this up cause my imagination is sometimes vivid). Jerry, if I may call him that-ok I will, is somewhat fond of Corvettes as some of the pictures on the Old Farts Sports Car Club Web site shows, he has a few of them lining the concrete. A big giant Old Farts THANK YOU goes out to Jerry. We will see you again-pretty please- and I better be able to meet ya next time!

The never ending hunger bug hits the bellies of several Old Farts and as some of yall may know meat is on the list. Good Ol’ Texas steak. **While I have sandwich after sandwich driving down the loneliest highway in America, but thats another day and a different story. Did you see all the smiling faces at the tables in the Cotton Patch Restaurant? If not take a gander at the pictures it kinda makes me feel like I was there. Good eating and I heard not one single complaint about the service. Some folks sure know how to make a bunch of Old Farts feel welcome. Sorry for the lack of phone service on my end we missed y’all and steak.

**I missed this cruise to Palestine. My family and I were cruising around on vacation. On the 3rd we were in Utah, a very lovely state. Let me recommend that you all visit Mount Zion, just up the road from Little Hollywood (Kanab). I will confess no one has as good a chicken fried steak as we do here in Texas so order something else off the menu when you go there. We had a wonderful time on our little trek west. Lets see… we went to New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, California, Arizona and home. I love TEXAS! There is no place like home, except maybe the Rhode Inn in Springerville AZ, they have my pillow still.

See ya

Club Gear?

2007-05-26T09:37:00.001-04:00

So if y’all have not seen these yet…this is what they look like. We bought them from OfficeDepot. Specifications are: 1” x 3”magnetic tag (white); Logo # 00-298; Color # L1; Font #69 (brush script). If you want to get some that match you can. If not that’s okay too, as you may know we are not a hard-core official business like slap the gavel on the table kind of club. Just a bunch of Old Farts that want to get together for FUN friendly fellowship that has to do with driving really cool sports cars that go zrooooooommmm zroooooommmmmm. Ok so we like to eat and laugh a lot as well.
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Share a little laughter and happiness ~~ wave at an old fart today.

High Beams on Don

2007-05-20T17:39:00.000-04:00

When I first meet Don, and each time since, I couldn’t help but notice his bright smile and friendly nature. He has a great sense of humor and superior out look on life. I asked him some of my usual questions…
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His first car was a 1953 Pontiac 4 door, dark green over light green. He was able to buy it by selling a calf for $50.00. Can you image that now, a car in exchange for a calf. His dream car is a 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible. Good choice, I’d have to say and I hope he gets it. {sorry Kathy}.
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What is your favorite…
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Color -“green looks best on me”, but on a car he prefers black-the super shinny variety
Food - Steak, Don insist its because he didn’t get much of it as kid {I think its really because of all the cow lots we pass on our cruises}
Movie- Tombstone, it’s a great story
Book- the number one best selling book of all time-world over, the Bible {first-rate choice}
Season- autumn, it offers some of the best temperatures and beautiful colors
Music - doowop, he loves the harmony
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As it turns out the recent Old Farts Sports Car Club cruise that led us to Washington on the Brazos and the Barrington Farm, is Don’s favorite place to drive, “because of the farm.” {ahh a county boy at heart}
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Don is a multi talented person he spent 30 years teaching mostly high school biology and some basketball coaching for both jr. high and high school. Teenagers y’all did ya hear me TEENAGERS! For that he deserves a gold medal. Talk about an under paid position with no glory. Teachers deserve a pat on the back, and if you think about it he may have taught the next president of the United States or the next Bill Gates.
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Don has owned his own business for 25 years, Sandyland Auto. He started out by hand painting his first vehicle in 1965. It was a 1953 Ford convertible his own, he believes he paid $135 for it. He says it didn’t turn out very well and it took a lot of work. Yes my friends he used a high tech painting system it was-spray cans “ugh.” After that first paint job he was hooked and began working at a real body shop. He was mostly self taught with a little help from friends a long the way. He does body repair work and some restoration. Always a car enthusiast he was able to successfully combine the artist side of his character with the cars that he loves.
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I don’t know about you, but I would have thought Don would be a car naming type of person. But instead he usually doesn’t, it helps keep him from being too attached to any one vehicle. I was not surprised when I learned that Don is a day person in fact he says he loves the sunlight. He likes getting up early because of the energy level he has at that time. I agree, but I need a cup of coffee before I feel the energy.
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When asked how he would describe himself he bravely replied, “kind, gentle, caring, law-abiding, upstanding” followed by the comment, that is how he would like to be. And he really considers himself “just a regular guy.” Regular or not, I have found him to be just the type of person he aspires to be. You are doing a first-rate job Don, we should all aim to be better then we are.
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Now its not like this blog has a boat load of people reading it, but it could and when I told Don that this was a chance to give any advice, recommendation or warnings he wanted to this is what he offered up for y’all…
“Don’t go through life with out meeting Jesus; laugh every chance your get; obey the laws.” He not only had a response for one but one for all three.
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Things have been so busy-crazy for me lately Don was gracious and let me do this interview by e-mail. At the bottom of his e-mail reply to me he offered up a sad observation
TOO MANY CHRISTIANS ARE NO LONGER FISHERS OF MEN, BUT KEEPERS OF THE AQUARIUM. If you have not had a chance, I recommend that you talk to Don sometime. He is really a nice regular kind of guy and very well worth spending a little time with.
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Thanks again Don it has been my pleasure.
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See y’all

Washington on the Brazos Cruise

2007-05-10T21:33:00.000-04:00

Sunday dawned with the hope of sunshine and no rain in the forecast. Yep it was sunny then cloudy then sunny, the clouds were welcomed for the bit of cool shade they offered. The entire weekend was very humid in this part of Texas, but we did not let that make us hot under the collar. We loaded up in our cars and off we went to meet at the Wal-Mart in Navasota. Thanks for picking the store Phil, as I was able to accomplish a little shopping while we waited for the other members of the Old Farts Sports Car Club to arrive.
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The town of Navasota is an old one. In fact no one has even made a web site (that I could find) promoting the little town of an estimated 7,000 people. The town is located at the intersections of Highway 105 & Farm Roads 3090 and 1227. But the good news is they do have a Wal-Mart; Go Navasota! I did see a great Elvis impersonator from Navasota once. We passed through the town with a few folks waving us on our merry way. Not because of the exhast smell but because we are so atractive to look at every one wants to wave.
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It only took a few minutes till we crossed both river bridges and entered in the state historic site of Washington on the Brazos. If you have not been-YOU just gotta go see the birthplace (March 2, 1836) that made Texas a nation. They have great grounds for pick nicking, a wonderful museum and nice gift shop, beautiful out door walking tour, and a short drive or medium walk away to the Barrington Living History Farm. There they have various actives scheduled during the year where you may see folks in reproduction costume performing the chores and re-enacting life on a farm during the time period of the 1800s. It is fun, very entertaining and educational for the young and old alike. Drop by sometime and tell them the Old Farts sent ya.
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After spending a fair amount of time walking around the farm it was time to climb back in our cars and cruise. Most of us that had our tops down originally now put them up not only because it looked a bit like rain, {really it did} but for the comfort of the blessed air conditioners. We meandered our way about the amazing countryside and over to the Old Baylor College site that we had visited on a prior cruise. It was such a hit from before that our leader deemed it worthy of another visit. There we learned about the arrival of the Club Gear, for more on that see the post below titled Club Gear.
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Soon we continued on our cruise, the weekly cares and office struggles tossed to the wind. Mind freeing outdoors and sweet nature abound in God’s world. Yes I did see a bicycle but… it was strapped onto the top of a SUV, so I suppose it doesn’t count and I don’t recall any dogs running out in front of anyone-that too is a first. The wild flowers have changed from mostly blue bonnets to a majority of Black-eyed-Susans, Pink primrose and dainty little white flowers. The cows were resting in their fields, while long horns were chewing on fresh grasses.
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I can’t really speak for anyone else but by this time my belly was getting really riled up. Luckily Phil whisked us off to get some food. He had planned for us to drive around Lake Somerville and stop in at a steak house there but…they weren’t so sure they wanted the Old Farts Sports Car Club to visit them. In fact they wanted a rather large “deposit” an exact time of arrival and head count a week in advance. I won’t mention their name, but I am sure one day they will call us wanting us to stop in just so they can serve us. ~~humph~~
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Not to worry our friends over at the Sodolak’s Original Country Inn, over in Snook, were very happy to have us. They are the best and filled our bellies to the top! The food was superb as usual and our waitress’s were fantastic as if they could be anything less. Near the end of the meal what should appear but a Birthday Cake for our leader’s spouse Jasmine. Oh how she was surprised and a little embarrassed by the show. No candles were lit as we didn’t want Phil getting into trouble with the law for having such a young wife. After she cut the hugest pieces of cake you can image we ate them then it was time to waddle out and wedge ourselves into our cars to head home. And so set the big orange sun on this fabulous day of cruising the gorgeous Texas countryside.

See ya

Club Gear

2007-05-08T21:39:00.000-04:00

Is in…
How to get it… See Phil-Call Phil-post on the discussion board and tell him you want yours.
Such a great idea, having a patch made kudos to the thinker-upper of this one. Put it on your favorite shirt to show your club spirit. Put a hat on your head to protect your precious skin from the glaring effects of the sun (and the scalp of some of you fellers) Ladies, help keep that hair from flying around and smacking you in the eyes on windy days. Get your gear now!

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And yes to answer your un-asked question. I’m working on the latest cruise news for those of you could not make it this past Sunday. We missed ya, but didn’t let that stop our fun. Bear with me as I have a wedding this weekend and some pesky kids are having lots of activities this week.

Coming up FAST

2007-05-03T08:18:00.000-04:00

We have a cruise coming up on Sunday check the official Old Farts Sports Car Club web site for more information. I wanted to take a minute to wish our all May Members a Happy Birthday. I am also working on drawing name(s) out of my “oil can” for future Caught in the Headlights articles, so you members need to be on the lookout for a contact from me. However; if anyone would like to Volunteer just holler at me and I’ll be glad to get the pen and ink rolling. Now don’t be shy-it won’t hurt.
Up for a little literature? Try this link

High Beams on Phil

2007-04-28T08:10:00.000-04:00

This is what I hope will be the first of a few or many “Caught in the Headlights” A new feature, here on the blog, to spotlight club members. I recently had the chance to talk to Phil, owner and sponsor of the Old Farts Sports Car Club. He agreed to an interview and didn’t even ask me why I wanted to do it much less what I was going to do with the information. What a great guy he is, to trust me (well I have known him for a few years or so). Let me fill you in to what I found out…

Why did you start the Old Farts Sports Car Club; what inspired you? Phil has been a part of other car clubs and has experience in them. Basically, most other clubs are for specific makes or models, he wanted one that was for sports cars in general. A sports car is qualified as one that has high performance gear-you know what that is-engine, steering and or handling as well as having a sporty appearance. The reason he wanted it comprised of older people is that they are often more responsible individuals. {Here are my thoughts, they are less likely to have fisty-cuffs with each other or draw the attention of too many police officers.} Because of the diversity of sports cars we will not be limited to just a few owners in our area, instead we can have a larger group of folks to participate. That means, when a cruise and meeting are planned we are practicality guaranteed several folks will be able to participate. The diverseness of members will also offer more variety of ideas for places to see, visit and or things to do as a group.

What was your first car? Phil bought his first car in 1964 when he was a mere 14 years old—yes folks I said 14; not even old enough to have a driver’s license. Can you imagine, every boy’s, heck girl’s too, dream -- to be a car owner at 14. It was a 1957 Chevy Bellaire, black and white, red interior. I could hear the excitement in his voice when he told me about it and fondly remembered the old car. “It would be worth a lot of money now. If I still had it”, he said. But more then the possible money it could have been worth now, I heard the love of cars, the passion he has for automobiles. Phil bought the Bellaire from a local dealer, a beautiful car no scratches or dents, in excellence shape. I think he may have had a little trouble getting it home though, on account of it didn’t have an engine or a transmission. {surprise}I guess I should have asked him ‘how did you get it home?’ Why don’t you ask Phil. Any way, he found a motor and transmission from an earlier model at a nearby junkyard. Phil, with the help of a friend, was able to get them in and the car running just in time to get his driver’s license at the age of 15. Phil said, “I’ve loved every thing about cars since.”

Where do you like to cruise around? “Any forest” specifically Phil mentioned Palestine, and the Davy Crockett--Sam Houston National Forest areas. These types of great places offer some of the best sites of natural beauty in our amazing country. Beauty of one type or another can always be found regardless of the season or even the weather. I joked with Phil that the reason he liked driving through the woods so much is because he ‘could look cool while doing it and not get any bug bites.’ He said, “Pretty neat, huh”

On to some silly little tid-bits and pointless trivia type information that could motivate your conversation with Phil one of these days. Lets call it, What’s your favorite…
Food-Steak well done {Hey so do I and there is nothing wrong with it you vampires}
Color-Phil likes to say his favorite color is Clear. {I guess silver is as close as one can get.}
Season-Summer {Phil does not care for the cold}
Music-Soft music-as in not LOUD and prefers both Country and Western
Movie-at this time it is Walk The Line

What type of a person are you, a day or night? An all the time person {works day and night-business owner remember}

Do you have any allergies? Yes kind of, the IRS {one to which I’m sure we all share as well}

What is your biggest pet peeve? Phil said, “You know when you park your car way out in a parking lot, where no one else is parked. You go into the store or the restaurant then come out and some body parked right next to you when they could’ve parked a few space away. Why? There is no reason for it.”

With out thinking too hard, how would you describe yourself “Independent” was his very quick response.

Here is your chance to give any advice or recommendation you want “Short term note”

All in all I find Phil to be a fine upstanding person, generous in nature and truly a loyal friend, one I hope to have for many, many decades to come.

The Bluebonnet Festival 4-14-2007

2007-04-21T08:54:00.000-04:00

The Old Farts Sports Car Club was up for a special cruise and Phil had just the place…
The day was dim and gray, the clouds created a low ceiling that looked as if it could have been touched just by reaching up and stretching a little. The cold wind blew from the northwest as it followed the nor’easter that greeted us at Love’s Truck Stop on the corner of highways 290 and 2920. We sat, in the Arby’s, talked and waited for the other members that were coming from the Bryan area to meet us. We were a bit startled when someone tried to make a new drive-through-window. Poor ol’ feller, he didn’t know what happened to his brakes. He was very shook up, but no one was hurt and the building was intact. Shortly after this our leader called they were almost there, so we packed up our cars (yes one even had their top down), drove off to meet the others on 2920 where we merged into one group.
We drove up to the Chappell Hill Bluebonnet Festival where our grass-covered parking lot awaited us, we pulled in as lively festival-goers waived and smiled. What a beautiful little place it is. I could not believe the number of folks that were already there when we arrived. That just goes to show you that a few clouds, a little wind and cold weather cannot keep us down. In other words we were not going to stand for any thing to rain on our parade of cars. Smiling faces, good food, shinny jewelry and craft booths of all kinds beckoned us near. Old farts were everywhere but oddly enough I did not spot any at the nut house. If you have not been to the Bluebonnet Festival I recommend you go next year, or just drop in and visit Chappell Hill to see the historical side, the folks are friendly, the scenery is lovely and they make great sausage. Soon it was time to move on. We posed for a group photograph then off we went on the next leg of our journey.
Cruising through the gorgeous countryside there was little traffic and plenty to see. The bluebonnets were ready to have their pictures taken and the cars all in a row was a site to behold. We stopped near Brenham, at the site of one of the original buildings of Baylor University, columns are all that remain of the Female Academy. The wildflowers in the near by field are maintained by the keepers of the Texas Baptist Museum. A neat little place, there was this one really, really big oak tree, it was amazing and they had a restroom, (the coffee in Chappell Hill was good). I didn’t’ go into the actual museum but I’m sure it was fine as there were lots of folks in it, maybe next trip. By this time the clouds had caught our good vibes and stated breaking up, we could see bright blue patches here and there in the endless Texas sky. After a short bit we were off again.
We headed down on the way over to Lake Somerville. Again there was little traffic, even though we did see our token cyclist, and more amazing countryside. There were quaint little houses with yards of flowers, horses grazing out in the fields and some very large estates with private lakes out front on the lawn. We also seen plenty of Cow-Lots along the way, sleeping, grazing and running among the bluebonnets and other wild flowers. We drove up to the dam, parked and visited for a bit. The sun peaked out a little and smiled down onto the huge choppy, white capped lake. We were glad to be in our cars instead of water skiing or swimming. Driving though these places makes me light hearted and leaves me with the feeling of freedom. Ah, the freedom from the everyday ho-hum’ness of work, house cleaning and paying bills.
As good as the food was at the bluebonnet festival it wore off, amazing how many calories you burn while driving and having fun. Phil, our fearless leader, knew right were to go, to get our bellies full. The restaurant, a family steak house in Snook, (one of his favorites) Sodolak’s Original Country Inn. The steaks there are the mammoth kind, the “extra small” is the size of dinner plate a large is about the size of a platter and even spills over. I did say mammoth. Salads and steaks of various kinds were had. There was rib eye, T-bones, chicken fried, well, medium and almost rare. There were piles of fried taters and bakers. The waitress’ were nice, they shared in a few jokes and smiled. We were glad to have had great service and good food from this establishment. They may even let us come back again. Conversation was lively, as usual for the Old Farts. I tried to make myself the center of attention, but had a very hard time getting into any of the photographs. I think somebody was playing favorites. (I won’t mention any names or point any fingers though) I can’t tell you how proud of every one I was, not one single spill was made, that I know of, and I didn’t notice anyone with food dribbled down their chins or on their shirts. Yes, indeed a fine bunch of folks.
Did I mention several of us were twins as we wore our fancy “Texas” shirts from Cavender’s. The shirt is available in 3 styles, a polo type pull over, heavy cotton long sleeves or short. We hope to have the club patches in a few weeks. Hey no grumbling, these things take time, ya know.
What a pleasure to get to drive on clean Texas roads with a few gentle rolling hills and those oh so luscious curves that can’t be beat in a sports car. Vroom, vroom, nah there was no speeding. {wink}. We did have a little break down at one point, but it turned out to be a minor problem that took only a few minutes to correct and we were back on the road meandering here and there. You know over the rivers and through the woods to relaxation we go. I must confess these drives give me somewhat of a vacation frame of mind. Yelp, the daily cares and troubles are put in the trunk, and they are strictly told not to bother me on these club cruises

See y’all next time

In The Air

2007-04-17T10:26:00.000-04:00

We all know how bad the pollen has been so far this spring. Perhaps you have had itchy eyes, running or clogged up noses, a little annoying cough. I’m sure if it has gotten bad enough you have even sought the help of your doctor or at the very least taken over-the-counter medication to relieve your symptoms. Here’s my point-have you given any thought to your poor vehicle? If not now is the time to go take a look under your hood.

Is your engine getting enough oxygen? Have you checked the air filter lately?

Most of us can change the air intake filter ourselves, some maybe not, oh heck I’m sure even some of you have plenty of money to have it changed for you. If you are one to have it done-take your car in today and have the air filter checked and stop wasting time surfing the net. For those of us that can and want to do it ourselves let me, a novice, try to walk you through it…
Here we go, open the hood of you vehicle. Somewhere near the top of the engine you should see a black plastic box {square/round/rectangle}. Maybe your's is made of metal, it could even be painted or chrome. You will need to open said container, using a Phillips head or flat head screwdriver, maybe yours has a wing nut. Undo the fastening devise. (PLEASE NOTE I HAVE NOT CALLED ANYTHING A DO-HICKIE, yet.)
Inside the air intake container you will find {I hope} a paper like pleated filter with rubber edging. Remove it from the container, hold it up to the light, bend it a little bit, I SAID just a little, to separate the pleats-slightly. Without damaging it take a good look. Does it look pretty and clean or dirty? Really dirty or even so gross you don’t want to touch it any more? If it doesn’t look pretty it is time to change it. Assuming you have gone to your favorite gittin’-store and picked up an air filter made special just for your type of vehicle, you are ready to toss the old one and slip in the new one. If you haven’t picked up the filter yet, you still have time. Put the old dirty one, back in, fasten up the container, {remember left over parts are not a good sign} get on down to the gittin’-store or auto parts. You should be able to go in the store’s auto department, locate the air filter aisle, look in one of the books they have affixed to the shelf and find the make/model/year of your vehicle and the filter number recommended for your vehicle. Or tell the person behind the auto parts counter what you want. (If you really need to, when you get to the store go ahead and take the old dirty filter back outta your car and tote it inside to find the right one for your vehicle.) Now that you have picked up the appropriate filter, or 2 so you have a new one on hand for next time, return home and change that puppy out.
This seems like it shouldn’t be a big deal, but the engine needs fresh air to be able to fire properly. A clean air filter will allow your engine to run more efficiently and keep that bright red “check engine” light off. A good rule of thumb is to check your air filter every time you change the oil (or have someone change it for you).

Now that wasn’t so hard. REMEMBER for you to operate at optimum performance you need oxygen and so does your vehicle.

Special note: If haven’t already, you may want to become familiar with your vehicle’s manual for recommendations on maintenance and care.

This Just In...

2007-04-09T13:58:00.000-04:00

This Saturday the 14th the Old Farts will be taking a cruise over to the Bluebonnet Festival in Chappell Hill. you can find more information on the official Web Site OFSCC There you can see the newest uploaded Album from the 4-1 Cruise. Please remember this is a new Club and Website both of which are still under Construction. They appreciate your patience during this time, besides you ARE aware that all Old Farts always move at their own pace. Ok, so you don’t have to be an Old Fart for that, but it is a terrific excuse anyway, right?

I have heard through the fan motor that the club is thinking about ordering some Patches. Which I think is an excellent idea; that way the members will be able to purchase and sew them onto their own shirt/jacket/hat/whatever. Kudos to the thinker-upper of this idea!

In other News-this Friday, Saturday & Sunday (4-13, 14, 15) In the city of Conroe (located off IH-45) the Conroe Cruisers are having their 15th Annual Spring Open Car Show. You can find more information at their Web Site or Call Juanita @ 936-856-4480

First Run

2007-04-03T21:55:00.000-04:00

And the first meeting is history! It was held April 1, 2007, a great success for the new club.

Bryan is the home of the club’s sponsor Phil. The first group which numbered twenty sports cars, meet in the parking lot of Jack-in-the-Box / Krogers on the corner of Highway 6 and Booneville Road. They exchanged howdys and hand shakes, and briefly enjoyed each others company. Some of them were able to drive on to the Wal-Mart in Huntsville on I-45. Once there we numbered fifteen. Traffic was a minor issue in the parking lots as there had been many lookie-loos. Most smiled and waved as they slowly drove by the shinning sports cars parked a row. Proudly displayed cars ranged in age from 1964 up to 2007.

Each car carried at least one automobile enthusiast. There were many new people to meet, cars to see and talk about, news to share, and photographs to be taken. What fun to have seen so many smiling faces and hear the heartfelt laughter of club members.

Soon it was time to take off, and with a plan mapped out the procession started; we where off to the Texas Prison Museum for a little culture. On display they had hand made prison weapons, a slightly used electric chair (361 executions), and an example of a prison cell. In said cell several club members had tried it on for size. It was determined that none were cut out to be criminals. The cell was just too small for comfort; besides nobody wanted to sit on a stainless steal toilet.

With a movie about the history of the Texas State Prison over and a chance for the Old Farts to get a little rest it was time to take off on a cruise. Phil, the fearless leader led the eager drivers south down the I-45 service road. The cars meandered through construction zones and wild flowers ablaze in bright colors. Luckily for Phil the “fresh oil” sign was bogus. We turned west onto FM 1375, it curved and twisted as we drove through the green forest. Sun shine raced on the road before us and the wind caught in our hair (well those who were in convertibles and had hair).We came to the quaint little town of Montgomery, birthplace of the great Texas Flag. There we turned East onto State Highway 105 where we made our way past beautiful Lake Conroe.

It had been pre-arranged for us to stop and eat at a restaurant near Conroe. We were seated and treated well by the kind staff of Vernon’s Kuntry Katfish. Bless our poor little waitress, for there were 3 different Rick-s in our bunch. Most folks had the catfish some had burgers, both of which are highly recommended by yours truly. Jokes and stories were scattered across the tables. No one spilled anything and I'm proud to report no one needed a bib, we all had a great time.

As you know time passes quickly when you are having fun and soon it was time to be on our way. We all said our goodbyes as we look forward to the next meeting of the Texas Old Farts Sports Car Club.

see y’all!