Grumpa Joe

The Worst and the Best

Posted on 31/05/2023 by Grumpa Joe

Today I gambled and paid to license my car for another year. All it will take to make it totally worthless is to crash one of the bumpers. Although it runs great and does not exhibit any symptoms of an aging car like overheating, loss of oil, or knocking noises from the engine it is still an aged auto. Most of the repairs I have had to make were on parts like tires, windshield wiper blades, batteries, hood shocks, and brakes. All total I must admit this is the most reliable car I have owned in my lifetime, and I have owned thirteen. The last car was an Oldsmobile which gave me good service for ten years but when it reached 90,000 miles the trouble began.

The Worst Car I ever Owned-1969 Toyota Corolla

The worst car I bought was a 1969 Toyota Corolla which needed a new crankshaft after twelve months and twelve thousand miles. The absolute best car I have owned is my 2006 Toyota Avalon which is seventeen years old and has 184, 000 miles on it. The amazing thing is that nearly every gadget on it still works, The lumbar seat crapped out too early, and the useless rear window shade gets stuck in the up position, but everything else still functions. The interior is still clean and fresh looking, and the exterior paint is just a little faded. I am not ashamed to own it or drive it. My previous cars were rusted, faded, and not functioning 100%.

What bothers me most about the idea of buying a new car is my age. Just to replace my Avalon with a new one will cost over fifty thousand dollars. I would have to take an seven year loan to pay for it with my current fixed income. When I was sixty-seven a seven year loan didn’t seem like much, but at my current age there may not be seven years left.

In a few weeks I have to take some tests at the department of motor vehicles to retain my driver’s license. It’s not a big deal just vision, and a driving test. By law, I must prove that I am capable to drive every two years, and in another couple of years the test interval changes to every year. So in my mind I ask myself why spend such a huge amount of money on another car if I am suddenly unable to drive it anymore? In the meantime, I’ll continue to run my trusty Avalon until one of us dies.

Filed under: Aging, Biography | Tagged: Cars, Oldsmobile, Reliability, Toyota | 4 Comments »

For Every Vegetable There Is A Bug

Posted on 30/05/2023 by Grumpa Joe

At the beginning of May I began to take the baby steps necessary to double the size of I.’s pickle factory. I am proud to announce that today, I completed the final baby step. It was a pleasure to pack my tools, to clean the work area, and to vacate the site. Lovely has already seeded 80% of the new area, even though I continued to put the finishing touches on the fence. The next step is to put the garden under surveillance for Wabbit intrusions. My design for the Wabbit barrier is several steps above the original design. I learned a lot from trying to beat the fluffy-tailed vermin at their game. Time will tell if I succeeded.

In the meantime, Lovely and I look forward to a mid to late summer harvest of some delicious, organically grown vegetables free of pesticides and nasty chemicals. It will be interesting to see how faithful Lovely is to her determination to stay “green” and organic. I fully expect her to complain to me when some nasty bug descends into the yard to have a feast. Over the years, I have learned that for every vegetable there is a bug. Some are scary like the tomato caterpillar. This rather large creature can strip a mature tomato plant of its foliage in a couple of days. When discovered he will scare the bejesus out of me before I pick him off the plant and squash him. It is also a sad moment because the caterpillar morphs into a chrysallis that eventually becomes a beautiful butterfly. By killing him, I have affected the universe in some small way.

I remember as a kid watching my mother’s father, my grandfather, walk the rows of potato plants to pick off the potato bugs. He plinked them into a coffee can filled with kerosene. I often found his cans stashed around the house and in the yard near his favorite yard chair, all of them with with a solid layer of dead potato bugs floating in kerosene. Although Mom’s potato plants remained organic, the bugs met their end drowned in the same stuff that propels jet airplanes through the sky.

Filed under: Biography, Garden, Gardening | Tagged: Bugs, Organic, Rabbits | Leave a comment »

Cow Farts Are In the News Again

Posted on 24/05/2023 by Grumpa Joe

A friend of mine just wrote in his blog that BIDEN’S Climate Czar John Kerry is proposing to reduce greenhouse gas emission by taxing cow farts. This is about as effective as using an eyedropper to purify the oceans. Back in 2009, Obama proposed a special tax be placed on all cattle as a way to reduce methane gasses being emitted by cows. Where in the world do these guys come up with these ideas? What John Kerry has omitted to tell us is that modern dairy farms capture cow produced methane to power their milking barns. If anything is an example of going green that is a big one. Leave the problem to the American entrepreneur and he will find a profitable way to solve it, as did the dairy farmers. The Left doesn’t believe in entrepreneurship. They only believe in inventing new ways to destroy capitalism.

I believe that when someone proves to me that John Kerry abstains from beef, and eats only bugs to get his protein then I too will consider giving up beef.

Filed under: conservatives, economy, Food | Tagged: Cow Farts | Leave a comment »

My Reaction to A New Car

Posted on 22/05/2023 by Grumpa Joe

I never thought I’d see the day, but it has arrived, and I’m blown away. This is just another reason for me not to waste my money by buying another car.

Filed under: Aging, Humor | Tagged: Old Guys & New Tech | Leave a comment »

PSA-230515-Poking Fun At Other People

Posted on 15/05/2023 by Grumpa Joe

Today, I received a message from my cousin Rick. In it he sent me some educational material which I would like to convey to you. I learned three things: