It's just all so crazy.

It's Zimbabwean. We cain't win for losin' in this rigged game. What we had invested in their stock market is gone, and the cash we didn't have invested will be drastically diminished by hyperinflation.

We cain't win for losin' in this rigged game.

The FED has been buying up all of the short term debt that has been sold into the secondary markets in an attempt to keep the Dollar afloat a while longer.

Not so sure it can go on indefinitely since there are so many dollars and short term notes on the market now that implosion seems inevitable. ;)

I just need one second of your time.

Thank you in advance.

What we had invested in their stock market is gone...

No, just a bunch. Stocks is gambling and the house "usually" wins.

...the cash we didn't have invested will be drastically diminished by hyperinflation.

Yeah, that's why I hedged with physical PMs, Au, Ag. I keep about a quarter of my money in the bank and CU. I don't keep it all at home in the event of a scrip change. I do keep a couple k in small denominations at home, just in case.

If you're really worried about hyperinflation, now's a good time to give it away to someone who needs it now.

I'd recommend an individual, rather than some crooked charity in a glass tower. It's not tax deductible, so friggin' what?

If you're really worried about hyperinflation, now's a good time to give it away to someone who needs it now.

I like the way you think.

I know a guy who bought $60,000 maxed out pickup truck (for a toy, not for work) about 7-8 years ago and was so proud of it. I told my wife I would rather buy a $5,000 truck and give the other $55,000 to my kids. I've been driving a truck for 43 years and the most expensive was $5,200. (Well, we bought our daughter a $6,200 truck as a wedding gift, but that was too nice for me.)

I've been blessed with the ability to fix vehicles, so have always been able to drive and maintain old and inexpensive vehicles. Never had a car payment.

Spent the last 2 weeks fixing up another daughter's 2002 Avalon, again as an upcoming wedding gift. Brake pads, rotors, a rear caliper which was stuck, rear struts, front and rear sway bar links and bushings, spark plugs, air filter, battery terminals, headlight and tail light assemblies, and fixed the trunk lid gasket which was leaking. 241,000 miles, drives and stops straight, steering is tight, AC works perfectly, doesn't smoke or use oil. Well worth the $500-600 in parts and my free labor while I'm out of work anyway.

The guruist car guru I know likes and recommends Avalons. We've had three here in our little house on the prairie, and all were superb. A '99 we finally sold after #4 banged it up, the 2002 just described, and a 2008 we helped #3 get a couple of years ago. Tout était très bon!

If you're really worried about hyperinflation, now's a good time to give it away to someone who needs it now.

I'd recommend an individual, rather than some crooked charity in a glass tower.

My twin sister croaked and she gave all her retirement money to some animal welfare outfit. You know, screw her brother.

She forgot when I was living in her attic flat, I kept her from driving drunk by hiding her keys.

She always was a sucker for animals, especially dogs since she was allergic to cats.

She hated going by my Paternal Grandmother's since she had cats and would even buy cans of Jack Mackerel for a quarter and go out and feed the alley cats.

One time I ask her if she wanted to buy a rifle. She said yes. So I grab a box from storage locker and drive to Chicago. She worked in a bar in the evening.

When she saw it was the Ruger 10-22, she ran back in the bar and locked the door and locked me out.

What in hell did she think I was going to sell her, the .308 Belgian FAL? Too much rifle for her.

One time she had an M-1 Garand. She told me there was something wrong with it, but she didn't know what.

I knew these guys out in the suburbs that were into guns. I told her I would take it out there. She did not have a box to put it in, so I wrapped it in a blanket and was walking out to the pick up. A cop pulled up and said, "What do you have in the blanket?"

I said, "Curtain rods. You should know better than even ask."

What could he say? I didn't hesitate with the answer.

It turned out it was a parts gun. Those guys told her to go to Lake County Gun Show and find someone with parts and trade for one that fit right. No idea if she ever did.

She's dead and buried from cancer in Kentucky. ;)

Brother-in-law was not happy when he found out that she left $5000 to the little Christian bookstore down the street!

My twin sister croaked and she gave all her retirement money to some animal welfare outfit. You know, screw her brother.

Sounds like you got along with your sister as well I do with my estranged older sister.

She's dead and buried from cancer in Kentucky.

My younger sister is with my maternal grandparents, Dad, Mom and her stillborn baby brother now. Sepsis.

My younger sister is with my maternal grandparents, Dad, Mom and her stillborn baby brother now. Sepsis.

Doo-doo happens. :-/

When my wife's wealthy aunt died she left all her nieces $1000 each.

My Dad had a rich, old spinster aunt in Toledo, Ohio. I remember going there with the family or just Dad when I was a shaver and didn't really understand what was going on with relations.

Dad died in 1976 before "Aunt Helen" (I guess she'd be my great-aunt). Well, I guess there was a big friggin' trust fund that was supposed to go to my dad and the other siblings of his generation in his family.

I don't remember the terminology, but this thing ended with those people and was not transferable to "non-family" through marriage. You had to be suckin' air to get it. It was weird.

Mom could've really used that money after the stock brokers and lawyers f^cked her over after Dad died.

Doo-doo happens.

That it does, my man.

You had to be suckin' air to get it. It was weird.

I think that suckin' air requirement is actually pretty common in that sort of estate thing.

final mileage

You mean when they give up the ghost? They're all still running!

Sold the banged up one -- after I considerably unbanged it -- to an old patriot's son and daughter-in-law. She's still driving it. As are my two their two.

Dear Mr. Powell,

I just need one second of your time.

Thank you in advance.

lol ~ my initial thought, exactly, although I was gonna ask for a couple minutes for a brief visit and thank you.

Sold the banged up one -- after I considerably unbanged it -- to an old patriot's son and daughter-in-law.

Seems we've got more in common than I would've thought.

Except that thing about selling them. When the time comes, nobody's ever got any money, so I just give it away.

Sometime part of the job (life) is knowing when to bow out.

Except that thing about selling them. When the time comes, nobody's ever got any money, so I just give it away.

After I fixed it up -- straightened the front fender, replaced a headlight assembly, put the front bumper back on -- I would have kept it. But we had already helped our daughter get another car, because she was studying at the local tech college and needed immediate transportation -- couldn't miss classes, and I couldn't fix hers fast enough.

And a friend's son and daughter-in-law really needed a good cheap car. So I sold it.

Toledo, Ohio

I was riding the Greyhound bus when I was young, maybe 50 years ago. I passed thru Toledo and there were porn shops across from the bus station.

I recently talked to someone who lives in Toledo and she told me the porn shops are still there. :-/

Nothing about OH excites me

I have been across much of it on interstates and U.S. highways when driving trucks. Also was out to the Amish country there and picked up a few things at one of their stores. It was a long while back and hard to recall things exactly because of meningitis. ;)

So they have some Amish -- there must be other redeeming traits.

Yes Amish are in a lot of places, even here in Missouri.

When I drive trucks for Vestal out of Niangua, we would go down Hwy A south of Marshfield. One time when I was driving I look left and the kids were giving me "blow air horn" sign.

I grabbed the lanyard and tugged on it. I didn't see the horse on other side of road. He was raring back.

I wonder what the Amish had to say about that? Likely something like, "Razza frackin' English." ROTFLMAO!

But up north in Cleveland, you'll get mugged if you venture more than 50 feet off the campus of the Cleveland Clinic.

Because I would rather work on something than oay interest to a bank

Like you I too will wrench on cars. 378K on my Jeep.

That's cool. 378K! Whoa! Inline 6?

I wish I knew how to weld; just never learned. Spent some time in the machine/fab shop at work, and always admired good welding.

Have you noticed how cheap -- as in bad -- a lot of auto parts are these days? A few days ago I ordered a Moog front sway bar link for my daughter's Avalon -- that's how the part was described: "Moog" -- from Amazon. It just arrived -- an extremely cheap and cheesy Chinese knockoff -- not a genuine Moog part. Doesn't even have the grease fittings as shown in the photo. Wife is sending it back on Bezos' dime.

Week before last I ordered the 2 rear sway bar links from Amazon -- on the rear the L and R are the same part number, so qty 2 of the same item -- and they sent me two completely different parts. Two different size and shape boxes stuffed into a single bubble envelope - - when I ordered qty 2 of the same item!

I would normally buy local, but in this case the price difference was considerable, and because I don't handle flu or pneumonia well I'm voluntarily staying out of town as much as possible for a while.

up north in Cleveland

On the bus ride home from working security at Woodstock 94. There was a crash in construction zone on bridge over the Shanango River in Pennsylvania. I bailed out the window of the bus. Someone handed me a cell phone and I called it in. It was three busses and two trucks but the stories in the paper got it backwards.

A lot of my friends were evacuated by helicopter or ambulance.

A pumper truck went down to the river. On the near side of bridge there was broken concrete and rebar. So I went further over. A little black guy on the crew named Doc wanted to help. I hollered at him, "Don't go that way. You'll get messed up. C'mon over here."

One guy when the excitement was over, sat down by a guard rail and went onto shock. I hollered, "We got a man down over here." A Medic came over and put an IV in his arm. I was on other side of guard rail. I stuck my hand in the air and he put IV bag in my hand. That guy got the good looking nurse in the ambulance.

The volunteer firemen said if it had been three bus loads of Seniors coming from Atlantic City it would have been a disaster.

I am very lucky to recall any of this since the meningitis wiped out so much memory. ;)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAGVGNWQ2Hc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUwPqUmnP6g

Was Woodstock 94 pretty hellish?

It was kind of drizzly most of the time and that meant the mosh pit was a muddy mess. Girls were body surfing naked and guys were reaching up with muddy hands and trying to cop a feel.

Plus there were cooling tents with mist sprayers. This created the "mud people".

First day I was at the TV tower. I saw some commotion over by the tower with the sound board. So I went over there. Some guy had a camcorder and they were removing the batteries.

So I went to go back to my spot. The crowd splits and here comes the mid people. I held up my hand and shouted, "STOP!" They froze in mid stride. I got over to the side and hollered, "GO AHEAD!" It was like a freight train going past.

Later that day there was this guy body surfing. The crowd was thinning out and he was going head first for the corner of the barricade. I took two giant steps and gave him a straight arm in the head. He went down. I leaned over the barricade and said, "Hey man, are you ok?" He gave me the thumbs up and said, "Yeah man, cool."

Then one morning when I was working on front of main stage, they called us in early since the bands started early. When we got in there this guy had his girlfriend on his shoulder right down front. They were yelling at him to get her down. He wouldn't get her down.

There were these two old hippies down front that were at the first Woodstock. I hollered at them, "SPEAD OUT! I'M COMING IN!" I jump into the crowd.

Someone reached out and pulled that girl off the guy's shoulders. I circled around in the crowd, He was taking off for the mosh pit. I grabbed him by the wrist before he got in there, reeled him in and threw him up against the barricade. I put my hand under his behind and then the guys pulled me out.

We were not supposed tot throw anyone out. So they took those two to the boss so he could set them straight.

Someone threw a wad of muddy straw and hit me in the face. There was a black guy hosing down the crowd. I tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and hosed me off.

I saw him again a couple years later at Lollapalooza in Des Moines. He was on the crew cart. When he saw me, he stopped the cart, jumped off and ran over to give me a big hug. He said, "Tex, how ya doing?"

He remembered me. And I am lucky to remember any of the story I just told because of the meningitis that wiped out so much memory.

But the bus crash on the way home made it "the road trip from hell". Many of my friends were evacuated by helicopter or ambulance.

A fire department pumper truck went down to the river. I knew my way around construction sites. There was broken concrete and rebar on the near side of the bridge so I went further down,

There was this black kid named Doc. He wanted to help too. He started to go down on near side of bridge. I hollered at him, "Don't go that way. You'll get messed up. C'mon over here."

One guy, when the excitement was over he sat down next to a guard rail and went into shock. I hollered, "WE GOT A MAN DOWN OVER HERE!"

A medic came over and put an IV in his arm. I was on the other side of the guard rail. I stuck my hand in the air and he put the IV bag in my hand. That guy got the good looking nurse in the ambulance.

One of the bus drivers was pinned in the wreck for an hour. When they got him out he gave us "thumbs up" and we all cheered. We found out later he lost both legs at the knee.

We stopped at a truck stop later to get some food. There was a big story on the TV about the bus crash. The stories in the newspaper got it wrong though. They said it was two busses and three trucks. But it was three busses and two trucks. ;)

'Body surfing' -- over crowds or in water?

That poor bus driver -- I guess he felt it was worth it cuz he 'fought for our freedoms' >;-}

'Body surfing' -- over crowds or in water?

Body surfing was done over crowds.

We were supposed to get two Peace Patrol T-shirts. But someone stole one set and was selling them to people in the crowd.

One time I was out in the crowd with another guy. We saw someone wearing our shirt. We said, "Come here." And he said, "What do you want?" "You mean you're not on our crew? Get that shirt off." LOL

Strangely enough, I still have that Peace Patrol shirt here. It has amazingly survived all these years. ;)

Wotta yet further great story ;)

You WILL post a pic of yourself wearing it!!!!?

I will work on it. ;)