This is the original cover of Grandfather’s geneaology of the Cartter family. Pretty cool – we have a family crest/coat-of-arms thing going on!

Good news – we got the J30 back from the transmission shop. Turns out the case was cracked, which was causing all the problems in the first place. Luckily, we were at a reputable repair shop, so it didn’t cost us anymore than we had already spent. Unlike our experience at Lee Myles Transmission in Phoenix, Arizona, we were actually pleased with the service, once the root cause was found. Lee Myles just kept replacing parts, without really making any advances – and the last time I talked to that shop, they basically told me to take my business elsewhere. Well, I’m glad I did.

Bad news – now that we have had this much trouble with the car, we don’t really know if we want to keep it or not. We own it, free and clear, but we have lost a lot of confidence. Is it mechanically sound? Could be – heck, it might run another 100,000 miles without another hitch. Or, it could be like every other time, and it will break within two weeks. We just don’t know.

So, the discussion between the two of us is whether or not The Most Beautiful Woman in the World will be riding around in the J30, (which, by the way, is a very nice ride when it’s running) or if we will be buying her a new car and using the J30 as a down payment. The problem with using the J30 as a down payment is that we will never get out of it what we have put into it – even if we sold it outright to anyone, we wouldn’t get “enough” for it – but selling it to a third party would net us more cash for the down payment on the new car.

As a concerned and loving husband, I am leaning toward putting TMBWitW in a new car.

What do you think?

P.S. Want to buy a 1994 J30? You would look really good in it…

I used to own weapons. Quite a few, at one point. I have since divested myself of quite a collection of oft-used pieces, including a nifty little hidden carry (don’t worry, I was licensed) snub-nose .357. I used to drive a truck, and there are some areas in these United States (hard as it is to believe) that are not exactly friendly to white guys with a 48 foot trailer loaded with electronics.

Besides the little guy, I had a S&W model 657 (6 1/2″ barrel, blued and trued, Pach grips) stashed on the floor to my right while driving. I picked that one up just before I went on a government sponsored trip overseas, into an area where hostilities were scheduled to break out. (Starts with a “B”, lots of Marines killed in one cowardly act…)

For close work, I had a nice little 12 gauge that had been – um – modified a bit, to allow for shorter arcs and faster cycling. I didn’t have that one for very long, since a peace officer friend of mine insisted that it was not prudent for a law-abiding citizen to own such a weapon.

I also had a very nice, almost collector’s item, Sharps .44/.40 rifle that I would use for long range target shooting – long range in this case being 3/4 to a full mile.

This is by no means a complete list, just some of my favorites.

Over the years, they have all departed – some by choice, some by necessity – and I no longer have any gunpowder-fueled protection. That is just fine with my wife, who abhors the thought of me even carrying a firearm for any reason.

Huh – I think I may be loosing some of my edge. I don’t really miss having them around. And, I’m not anxious to obtain any more.

This line of thought was brought to you by the influence of Len’s writings about trap shooting. That took me back to a time when I would go out with some buddies while we were stationed on Okinawa at Camp Hansen, and we would go to the skeet range for a cheap weekend of shooting. Good times, good times.

Thanks for the stroll down memory lane, Len!