Archive for the ‘California’ Category

Maxwell School

They’re restoring the old Primary School in my hometown.  I’ve always thought that it was a great looking building;  plus I went to kindergarten there.  Looking at the photo I can’t help remembering the day when a skunk wandered onto the play ground.

We were at recess and it began ambling towards us.  We instantly spotted him;  and all the kids became eager to see what it was, and what it was doing.  I, on the other hand, having spent some time on a ranch, knew that this was not something to mess with.  But I didn’t know that we really shouldn’t be seeing it in daylight hours.  It may likely have had rabies! 

Some of the boys then began to approach the little guy.  It was unafraid and moved closer towards us.  But then suddenly the teacher appeared, grabbed the ringleaders, and marshalled us all inside.  I have no idea of whatever became of the little invader.

1932 two door sedan

There’s a radio show that I listen to from time to time, and the host once asked a question of those of us who have a few miles on the odometer.  He asked, ” When you look back is there some time in your life  that pops up more frequently than others?”.  The answer of quite a few was that it was some period in high school, and then years may go by where nothing actually stands out.  The host suggested that these episodes may be transforming moments in one’s life.

For me no one time stands out above all others, but I do recall this time in high school where I used the money that I had earned during the summer to buy this 1932 ford 2 door sedan.  It had no engine or running gear, so my friend Ranse and I took a trip to San Francisco and towed it back to town.  I had a $50 box of tools from Sears, and absolutely no automotive knowledge.  After much difficulty I did manage, however, to install an engine, drive train, and whatever other mechanical stuff that it needed.   But now , although it was  mechanically complete, this thing had absolutely no wiring whatsoever!  My electrical knowledge consisted of the time that I almost electrocuted myself sticking a key into an empty lamp socket.

None-the-less, I borrowed a book on electricity from the local library and then proceded to wire my 32 ford.  Basically, it all came together quite well.  I drove the sedan for several years before turning it over to my younger brother.  Maybe because it was a “transforming moment” that it sticks in my mind.  It was a time when you say to yourself   ” Hey, I can do this!” and you do it.

1949 Ford two-door coupe

Recently a train broke down while crossing the English channel in the “Chunnel”. They later found out that in the exceptionally cold weather some extremely dry powdered snow had blown into the engine compartment, and caused the engine too fail when then snow had melted.
It reminded me of the time that we took a 1949 Ford up into the Dakotas in the dead of winter. The old Ford actually did quite well on the trip, however the heater left something to be desired. When it got really cold you could only see through a small six inch diameter circle in the windshield. On the other hand, it started more easily when it was cold than when it was warm.
Several days after we had arrived at our destination, somewhere near the Canadian border, I went out in the morning to put the battery in the car. I had been taking it out at night because the temperature had been getting down to twenty below. There had been a strong wind, and it had been lightly snowing all night. There were some drifts of snow, but none on the ground to speak of. So you can imagine my surprise when I lifted the hood and found it packed full of snow! It was nearly solid as an ice block.
I was informed by Robin’s dad that this was quite common under these conditions, when the dry powdered snow gets packed by the wind into an enclosed space. It took a lot of chipping and scooping to free the engine from it’s frozen prison.
I’m thinking that perhaps if I had not taken the battery out, and the engine had somehow started that the “49″ would have met the same fate as the “Chunnel” train.
After that the old Ford gave us quite a few more adventures before we made it back to California.

I was driving down N street in Sacramento, when I saw this enormous chicken on someone’s front porch. I thought that it was kind of interesting so I took this photo. Later that evening Robin, who loves chickens, says “Hey, you ought to post that photo.”. I’m thinking, sure it’s a great image but what can I say about it? Well, nothing really; but it reminded me of another chicken episode.

One morning I heard a rooster crowing, and he sounded like he was very close by. I didn’t think that my neighbors had any chickens, so I went outside to look around and encountered a very lively rooster in the vegetable garden. As I got nearer, he took off and started flying around the garden. He then started to fly right at me, whereupon I ducked and he sailed right over my head off to who-knows-where.

From time to time I still hear him crowing in the morning. The crowing comes from different directions; sometimes far, sometimes near. I suppose that he’s foraging in someone else’s garden now.

A big chicken on the porch!