The car was missing if I pushed more than most gently on the throttle, so I took it in for repair ... they said likely new spark plugs or wires, put them on and it worked better ... ... but ... ... there was low pressure in one cylinder and they thought that it needed to have the valves ground ... ... educated guess probably $600. - 700. When I took it in the following week they lent me a van while they were working on mine - gas gauge didn't work, probably about 1/4 tank ... so I put in $10.00 worth. Friend had said he'd like some straw for his garden and I figured that I could get several bales into the van, and only one or two into my little car ... and the back hatch has to be opeend by baler twine. Loaded a bunch of tarps into the van to collect the straw bits, it's old and breaks easily. I've been watching the female canine of a friend who's having surgery for a growth on his neck, and a boisterous canine and a half dozen bales of straw in the same van aren't a recipe for a good game. The tarps covered most of the necessary area, so I was able to get it reasonably well cleaned out without too great effort. When I went to check on the car ... it seems that a valve was a bit bent, so more work necessary. When they were finished, bill was about $1,200. So I can't let the car die for quite a while, yet! I don't think that I've seen the lady since - she'll get a kick out of the dilemma, I expect! Her uncle who died at 91 had been a major executive in a large Canadian supermarket chain ... ... she recently installed real granite counter tops and top of island which includes counter for eating and bar stools, in her kitchen: shiny ... and shiny bits that appear deep into the structure. Was it on the video that I was characterized as, " ... a sweet old dude"? She says that I remind her of her grandfather. Time to bring this literary masterpiece to a close, I think. ole joyfuelled ... was that gas?

Hi Jannie, If one of your daughters, at age 15, invests One Whole Dollar ... ... and manages to have it earn 5% rate of return throughout ... ... through 50 years of time ... ... when she hits the ripe old age of 65 ... that dollar will have multiplied 2-1/2 times - it'll be worth $11.00 and change. If she can manage a 10% return, it'll grow to $117.00 and change. No allowance in either case for the erosion of annual income by income tax, and of the value of one's dollar-denominated assets due to inflation. And when she buys a pack of cigarettes - she pays a lot more than a Buck for each one of them. Most of which goes up in smoke - though some stays in her lungs. And the residue can cause a lot of trouble. Can she imagine what people would think of her were she to stand on a main street corner in town and set on fire as many dollars as she spent on smokes that week? And do that at that street corner - every week? People would say that she was nuts. But - that would do her a lot less harm than using those dollars to buy smokes. Trouble is, though - in the U.S., I think that she'd go to jail: it's a Federal offence to destroy money, as it is Federal property. I do hope that your daughters decide that it is a destructive habit - and one of the worst addictions. I don't want to be a slave to a person - much less to a white paper tube filled with dead leaves!! That sounds some stupid, to me. As Dad used to say, "Looks like that person drove their pigs to a darned poor market"!! Good wishes to you - and especially them - for a New Year filled with common sense. ole joyful

Hi sock-it-to-'em, You don't even need to put me on your list - if you come here and ask, and I feel that I have anything useful to offer (or just want to have some fun with it) ... no doubt you'll hear from me, anyway ... unless I don't show up for a while. I'll be happy to be on your list: my email address is on my profile - all that you need do is go there. You're the first person in about five years that has made that request, if I recall correctly. I've even offered my phone number to a few, and on a rare occasion, especially if someone seems rather hard up, or deeply distressed, have offered that if someone gives me their phone number, I'll call them. Will you be on my list? Tell me about your training, skills, interests, contacts, vacation destinations, hobbies, experience in maintaining various home, auto, computer, leisure, etc. issues. You've probably become fairly familiar with a number of my training, skills, interests, etc. so that you may have an idea of what kinds of concerns about which you might feel it relevant to contact me. Plus - your email address, if it isn't on your profile. Good wishes for a really fine New Year. ole joyful P.. My friend gave me 5 pair of white sport socks for Christmas ... but no one gave me any underpants: will have to buy some for myself, I guess (if I want to stop the binding-around-the-knees by the half-dozen or so lazy-elastic ones). o j

Hi (again) Amer Auto Ass'n. ("A A A" for short) It has, so far ... ... now all I have to do is avoid getting into "scrapes" (or bang-ups) ... ... and I'm good to go for the next two ears. (Dang keyboard - that was supposed to be "years"!). Hope I can keep the equipment between those "ears" - and function, as well - in half decent shape for those two years ...for in recent times increasingly it seems as though I can't remember a darn thing. ole joyfuelled