From Wooodsterman's 1st Annual Wal-Mart Car Show II:
More HERE and HERE and HERE. Guaranteed to make you smile!
As did most high-school students and newlyweds back then, I drove junkers in my younger days. "The Beast," a 1964 VW convertible, had a wooden bumper; the bumper was good enough to pass state safety inspection. My 1964 Dodge Dart looked good at first glance but had holes in the floorboards such that, one day, I stepped into the vehicle only to have my foot go completely through to the pavement; my father and Mr. AOW welded a plate to the chassis. Problem solved! I drove the vehicle for several more years. Now the high-school parking lots for students here in Northern Virginia are filled with new cars or nearly-new BMW's, Mustangs, Hondas, and Toyotas.
Improvisation! That's the American spirit! Thanks for the laughs.
ReplyDeleteSometimes deciding between a $90 replacement side view mirror and food for the kids this week is just that simple.
ReplyDeleteAmerican ingenuity. WE are certainly the most practical people on earth! :)
ReplyDeletePoverty sucks but you gotta do what you gotta do to keep doing it.
ReplyDeleteHey, about that snow-covered ramp, here's some suggestions:
A phone call to the local jr. high or high school to see if there's any kids who want to earn a couple dollars. You never know. That, or asking if anyone there is doing stuff for the elderly.
A lot of kids in school now have been put on probation and are required to do hours of community service. Get on that list.
Perhaps a surer bet is to simply call the local Boy Scouts club and ask if anyone wants to earn a merit badge by cleaning the snow off, for a disabled person.
Failing all that, if it's a wood ramp, put a cheap electric Walmart heater w/fan under it, set it on high, and plug it in whenever you need the ramp cleared.
Lastly, there's always local handymen looking for odd jobs, retired guys who need to supplement their SS income. You can find them advertising on Craigs List and on laundromat bulletin boards, maybe also at the local convenience store bulletin boards.
One or more of these will take care of the problem.
Black Sheep,
ReplyDeleteThanks for those ideas!
I'll check with a few of the local schools and with certain service organizations, including the BSA.
Mr. AOW and I HATE being dependent. Just a few short years ago, we couldn't have imagined the situation we're in now -- not so much poverty but rather the consequences of illness and aging. **sigh**
Beamish,
ReplyDeleteI had to replace my side view mirror on the Crown Vic less than two years ago when somebody wallopped it off while my car was parked in front of my house. Hit and run.
Cost me over $200 -- a power mirror.
All of those items -- and MORE -- were sent to me a least two years ago in an email entitled THERE! I FIXED IT!
ReplyDeleteFunny -- and not so funny -- in many ways.
Of one thing you CAN be sure:
If someone improvises a cheap, easy solution to a practical problem, sooner or latter lobbyists will d their darndest to make sure a LAW is passed AGAINST it forcing you either to
A) shell out big bucks for an unnecessarily expensive product,
B) face stiff fines and a possibly jail sentence, or
C) do without it altogether.
COERCED CONFORMITY is the NAME of the GAME tday.
Tehre is one good thing to be said about aging. It really beats the hell out of the alternative.
ReplyDeleteHAHA! I love it! That is exactly the kind of MAcGyver-ing I do, and highly approve of. Who cares if it was never meant to do that, replace that, or work that way? Its a heck of a lot cheaper, easier and less-breakble to do it the American way. We are known for doing this sort of thing- something I hope never dies.
ReplyDelete-Wildstar
Thank you kindly. Silly is what I do.
ReplyDeleteNo problem is beyond solving when you have duct tape!
ReplyDeleteGorilla Tape is good too!
ReplyDelete@Thersites
ReplyDeleteYou have not heard of jugaad, then.