One year ago today: December 23, 2019, Santa Paw’s Day.
Five years ago today: December 23, 2015, maybe a decent woman guitarist?
Nine years ago today: December 23, 2011, sanitized US newsreels.
Random years ago today: December 24, 1981, my pole jockey days.
6:01AM Awoke to a freezing day in Georgia. I went for the 800 calorie platter at the nearby McD’s and got on the road. That is just at dawn this time of year and it was another cloudless day. And light traffic. This combination got me away at high speed, I now have more news on the new vehicle. It has 200,000+ on the clock, but has had the motor replaced and the rest has been mechanically checked. It needs new tires from sitting so long.
7:01PM Flying past Macon, the traditional half-way point. There is nothing doing, but we are headed for a high of 60F today. This makes happy, because the heater on the station wagon has never functioned well. Remember, it sat for 13 years. I still have no news on which version of the Town & Country we are looking at, but it is way nicer than the Taurus. In fact, this new vehcile, Unit 32, has a name. The “Smithsonian”.
8:02PM Thank the holidays and COVID for a rare easy trip throught Atlanta. But once again, that fork in the road got me on the wrong lane. Despite having that spot memorized, I still make the error 40% of the time. It’s a last minute lane change you have to be ready for. Stay in the lane marked “Chattanooga” and you get into the weeds. You wind up in another tiny city with skyscrapers, then back over to I-75 some fifteen minutes late.
9:02PM Passing by Chattanooga with no regrets. How many more years before they fix that lousy intersection? It’s the Y-shaped turn. To the west it is down a long grade into one of the worst stretches fo road in the country. I’ve learned to take the right fork, then into a town with ten lights stuck on red. It’s still faster and this must be the nicest winter day in weeks.
10:02PM Past Cagle, where the hillbilly fell asleep at the wheel. By now things are thawing and I’m just anxious to get there. If I didn’t say, the front alignment on this car was also chedked at the tire place and there is a bit of wobble developing there. If not for that heater, it would be easy to sell in Tennessee because it runs so smoothly.
11:02PM By now, I’m hungry again, but just an on-the-road snack. Nothing is open in that empty quarter between Soddy-Daisy and Sparta. I was half-planning to turn there, now that we know where Smithville is. Then I recalled the impossibility of getting even a coffee there at the best of times. Then, off to the right, what do I see? Some hipster-like vehicles parked in front of a Little Caesar’s. When have I last had pizza?
I had no choice, I got the $5 pizza with a soda. The Reb knows people who make the dough for that chain and apparently they don’t skimp on quality. Yes, it was good, man I wish I could eat the things I like. In this case, I finished the whole tray, then skipped all but coffee the rest of the day. Latr, I got that backwards, the Reb says their dough is the cheapest.
The Palace Hotel, Houston.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.
12:02PM I’m ahead of plans, so I stopped at the big thrift on Sparta. It’s okay, not the best prices, but the books are 39¢ a pound, which I like. Again, a remarkably mild day so I went through the place. Mostly clothing, no computer stuff, lots of cooking things, though the good stuff was $20. Like the breadmaker, the dough-maker, and there was an excellent baseboard heater, but I won’t use those in Florida.
1:02PM Calling ahead from west of Cookeville, the van went up in price $1,000 once the title was cleared, but five people have been unable to come up with the money. I’ve run the figures, I recall it need tires, and the windsheiled is cracked. Both are well within the budget allocations for the Taurus—if we can get the price back down to last March. That would be $2,000. He stressed a mechanic had checked everything important.
Moments later I arrived. The Reb was out, I had to flop down for a couple hours. The warm blankets contributed to that. The mini-van is a Town & Country limited, with power everything and that console down the middle of the ceiling that has two DVD players. There are 110V power outlets, heated seats, and it has that provision to collapse the rear passenger seats under the front seats, creating a full size cargo space. All door, mirrors, and seats are powered or automatic. Until tomorrow, no pics.
The Reb called in late, so I took the mini-van for a lengthy test drive. It has the big V-6 and it will easily chirp the tires. It’s got too many features to check in the dark, but I found the power sunroof, the backup camera, and instantly adapted to the onboard anti-sway system. The rear doors have built-in botte openers. And like my old Cadillac, real climate control rather than air-conditioning. One headlight is out. The bulbs are there, but a plastic panel has to be removed to get at it. That’s Chrysler for you.
