Unknown Soldier & New Safety Glasses

 

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I was remiss in not posting Veterans Day as well as this. I have nothing but respect for all who have served in the Armed Forces but the soldiers who guard the Tomb are in a class by themselves. Rain, shine, hot or cold, they are out there. There are some weather conditions where they can be excused from their posts but it's super rare that one of them would bow out. They also have a code they must live by for the rest of their lives after leaving their duty. 

The Missus and I were fortunate enough to be able to visit years ago. While sitting on the risers we were watching the precision of the guard's steps and his demeanor while some little shit was running around being totally disrespectful and his parents made no effort to rein him in. The Missus and I were getting more and more pissed by the minute and then the little demon ran head first into the bronze railing you can see in the photo above. It sounded like someone rang a bell, the kid opened his mouth and for a couple of seconds nothing came out but then he let out a blood curdling scream about the time the knot started popping up on his forehead. The Missus and I enjoyed the karma payback, the kid's parents scurried him off and the guard never changed his expression or his cadence. Well done sir and God bless each and every one of you soldiers.

Kind of a crappy day yesterday. I got out of the house pretty early to get a bit of walking in before it rained but I was about 10 minutes too late. It started sprinkling about the time I went outside, so I aborted the mission and jumped in the truck to start my trek north.

First stop was the work clothes store to see if I could find a new work coat like I want. I had checked the Key, Dickies and Carhartt sites and found something close to what I wanted at Carhartt. Key had a couple they called chore coats but they weren't like a traditional one. Dickies did have a couple of traditional styles but not with the blanket lining like they used to have. They did have something in their "1922 Collection". A hickory striped traditional style for $250.00 and some other reimagined coats for hipsters, as if those cats could Heli-Arc two beer cans together. 

The nice lady at the store looked up the product number for the Carhartt and said my size wasn't available but I could order directly from Carhartt. She also said she hasn't received but about half of what she ordered for the store even though it's been on order for months. Kind of like computer chips. Maybe you should make your product in the US of A like you used to. 

I did buy myself a new fitter's cap while I was there - made locally and made well, I might add. If you look close you can see the cap is made from a fabric with Purdue logos. While I'm not a boilermaker by trade, I've done a bit of that work and I'm a Purdue grad. My buddy Kevin will be impressed. He's all about Purdue - or at least he was before he left there to take his new gig.

I picked up the groovy sunglasses at a race in Terre Haute, if I remember correctly. The Speedway had a spin and win thing set up promoting some race at the big track. I won a pair of sunglasses and Cuzzin Ricky won something of value but I don't recall now what it was. Before I had the cataract surgery I didn't have any use for the glasses with my poor eyesight but now my distance vision is damn near perfect so I can actually use them. I've been wearing a pair I got at the high mileage contest out in California. Not the kind of thing I normally would wear but I usually only wear them on the bicycle or when walking with the boxing group on Sundays. The checkered flag motif is a slight improvement.

These babies here are the cat's pajamas, though. You can't really tell from the photo but these are wire-framed safety glasses with side shields and the curly ear pieces that wrap around your ears. I've had these things for years - don't remember where I got them. One screw was missing holding the ear piece on and, again, since I couldn't see with them, they've just been a display piece on my desk in my upstairs room. However, I stopped at the eye doctor's office while out and they found a screw that fit the hole. It didn't tighten up well but they clipped it off and there's a little stub there. I'm going to peen the end over and turn the screw into a rivet so it won't fall out. These are going to be just the ticket for riding the Himalayan next summer.

I went out to the shop later and made a spacer plate for the steering shaft support bearing on the jitney project. This will go on the backside of the beautiful walnut dash (thanks again Brother!). I ground a bit of a slot in it as well as a bevel on the backside to add some clearance in case I need to angle the shaft a bit - should be set on that now. I also started on the bracket to support the end of the steering shaft opposite the steering box. When I get that made and tacked to the frame, I'll have to bite the bullet and see what I can do to make the two ends come together.