It's a Heartache

 

The day before Thanksgiving two National Guard soldiers are shot in the nation's capital and as I write this, they are in critical condition. Things in this country just keep getting crazier.

On the homefront, I went in search of a "MC" acetylene tank Tuesday. I thought it was going to be a long haul but about halfway I went by a welding shop that had a sign advertising the fact they are a drop point for the company my tank came from. I did a quick turn around in the middle of the road and "sho nuff", they had what I needed and saved me some drive time. 

While talking to the owner he asked me if I knew Joe B. who was a high school shop teacher and a steel purveyor. As a matter of fact, I worked with him for 14 years and we had a couple of classes together at Purdue. In fact, his shop was right next to mine at the career center and we became good friends. Joe was quite the critter but burning the candle at both ends led to him having a heart attack and passing away at the young age of 42. He left quite an impression on me and I'm sure everyone else who crossed his path, just like the weld shop owner.

When I got home I went to open up the tank and the stem on the valve twisted off. Now I had two full tanks that I couldn't use. So yesterday I head back out to the welding supply. They gave me two tanks with small hand wheels on them, rather than the tanks requiring the wrench. Since I don't do too much soldering with the air-acetylene torch, these two tanks might be a lifetime supply.

The automotive machinist checked in and the cylinder head is going to require a lot of work, which translates into a lot of money, but I told him to go ahead. Again, since I'm working a five-year plan now, old Allis should be serviceable at least that long.

The next few days I plan on getting the tractor radiator finished, painting the hood and grill, and putting the front end back together on the vintage trials bike. They're forecasting snow coming in Saturday along with colder temps. Since the tractor won't be running, might just be hunkering down here for a few days and get some work done.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I hope you're able to spend some time with friends and family and truly give thanks for all your blessings.