BruceB
10-23-2013, 10:39 PM
Usually, "nostalgia" is a vague yearning for times long past, generally overlaid with a gentle disregard for the less-pleasant conditions of those bygone days.
On February 1, 2012, I finished a graveyard shift at the mine, and by the time I made it to the company bus 200 yards and one long staircase from the workplace, I was having severe breathing difficulty.
I saw my Doctor that morning, was in an ambulance to Reno within the hour, and had open-heart surgery the following morning. That graveyard shift was the last day I worked in a mining career that began in 1962. Within a few months I also lost my left leg and am still having surgical treatment on my right foot, which is now 2/3 its former size and has no toes.
My casting and handloading shop is in an insulated shed, about 10' x 14'. I had not even been IN that shed since January of 2012..... until TODAY.
NVCurmudgeon drove over from Reno for a visit and some (very rare) range time. Afterwards, we opened up "the tomb of the mummy" to see just how bad the conditions were in that shed.
In a word...PRETTY GOOD. A bit dusty, jammed, crammed, STUFFED with "stuff".... but the tooling, moulds, dies etc. appeared to be in good shape. This was a great relief, of course, not having seen the goodies for such a long time..
In the fairly-near future, NVC will be bringing a rental van from Reno, and we will pack up all that "stuff" plus some furniture etc for a change of location. All the casting impedimenta will go to NVC's home, and the loading gear will hopefully be installed in my as-yet-un-located bachelor digs somewhere in Reno/Sparks. This will be a MAJOR job, I assure y'all!
Most of my vehicles have sat without running since early 2012 as well. We put a 24-volt charger on the "bobbed" deuce-and-a-half truck, and I will try to start it tomorrow. The Escalade is stone dead and will require a new battery, as will "Der Scheutzenwagen" and the Arctic Cat ATV.The Suburban and GMC 1500 truck are doing fine.
At this point I don't know if I can even get a driver's license. I will have to take a driving test, but I'm reasonably confident I can pass that. One more "bullet to bite".... seems like I'm having quite a diet of such bullets lately
Mobility is improving a bit... I left the wheelchair at home today and navigated with my 4-footed "walker" into two restaurants, the firing line at the range, into my shed....AND I CLIMBED INTO THAT MONSTER TRUCK, which sits very high indeed.
Anyway, perhaps you folks can see why I'm getting my "nostalgia by installment".... I am gradually revisiting or regaining ground that had been lost over the last 21 months. It does give me some hope for the future, and maybe something for which to LIVE. All those months, this Board has been a huge factor in retaining my mental health and stability. I spend hours here every day, and greatly appreciate all the lively discussion and ever-changing topics.
On February 1, 2012, I finished a graveyard shift at the mine, and by the time I made it to the company bus 200 yards and one long staircase from the workplace, I was having severe breathing difficulty.
I saw my Doctor that morning, was in an ambulance to Reno within the hour, and had open-heart surgery the following morning. That graveyard shift was the last day I worked in a mining career that began in 1962. Within a few months I also lost my left leg and am still having surgical treatment on my right foot, which is now 2/3 its former size and has no toes.
My casting and handloading shop is in an insulated shed, about 10' x 14'. I had not even been IN that shed since January of 2012..... until TODAY.
NVCurmudgeon drove over from Reno for a visit and some (very rare) range time. Afterwards, we opened up "the tomb of the mummy" to see just how bad the conditions were in that shed.
In a word...PRETTY GOOD. A bit dusty, jammed, crammed, STUFFED with "stuff".... but the tooling, moulds, dies etc. appeared to be in good shape. This was a great relief, of course, not having seen the goodies for such a long time..
In the fairly-near future, NVC will be bringing a rental van from Reno, and we will pack up all that "stuff" plus some furniture etc for a change of location. All the casting impedimenta will go to NVC's home, and the loading gear will hopefully be installed in my as-yet-un-located bachelor digs somewhere in Reno/Sparks. This will be a MAJOR job, I assure y'all!
Most of my vehicles have sat without running since early 2012 as well. We put a 24-volt charger on the "bobbed" deuce-and-a-half truck, and I will try to start it tomorrow. The Escalade is stone dead and will require a new battery, as will "Der Scheutzenwagen" and the Arctic Cat ATV.The Suburban and GMC 1500 truck are doing fine.
At this point I don't know if I can even get a driver's license. I will have to take a driving test, but I'm reasonably confident I can pass that. One more "bullet to bite".... seems like I'm having quite a diet of such bullets lately
Mobility is improving a bit... I left the wheelchair at home today and navigated with my 4-footed "walker" into two restaurants, the firing line at the range, into my shed....AND I CLIMBED INTO THAT MONSTER TRUCK, which sits very high indeed.
Anyway, perhaps you folks can see why I'm getting my "nostalgia by installment".... I am gradually revisiting or regaining ground that had been lost over the last 21 months. It does give me some hope for the future, and maybe something for which to LIVE. All those months, this Board has been a huge factor in retaining my mental health and stability. I spend hours here every day, and greatly appreciate all the lively discussion and ever-changing topics.