Hmmm - interesting feedback... Im thinking it would be a slick little toy, it just looked so vintage with that rounded metal work and darkened gold paint... It just whispered to me ... "buy my"... with that little mower deck it sure would be handy in the small areas where my 46" scotts cant get... Its really sad that we cant buy something like this new - and yes It would be nice if it were American made... With a small 7-10 hp motor... And offer them in cool colors like Hemi-Orange, black, robin-egg blue, and maybe something like a custom shop request like a flame job, racing stripes, etc type thing... But more seriously - and I think this question will be better answered by the older members out there... I am curious to know : At the point in time where these units were being sold new, figure around 1960's-70's (regardless of brand), was there a distinction between a junky lawn tractor and a ground engaging GT? I recognize that there were models which maybe were bigger - or had more HP... (but I perceive - the smaller one was not a bad machine - just a smaller machine). And I realize there were more whimpy models out there - but I think the difference was obvious to someone who had half a brain... As opposed to my dingle berry neighbors buying a JD from HomoDeblow and thinking they got a JOHN DEERE... This is not to say that a Box Store model is a POS... But lets not be calling a daisy a rose. Was this type of trickery going on back then ? Thx Dave.

How fun! I love Disneyland and we go almost every year. Here are some things to consider: 1. Rides for your 7 yr old: Don't worry, nothing goes upside down. Check the height requirements online to see what he's tall enough for. I would skip the big fast ones like space mountain to start. My younger DD is sort of timid about rides and at that age the only faster ride we could get her on was the Thunder Mountain Railroad. It's fast, but in reality pretty tame as roller coasters go. Then she warmed up a little and we tried other things. She was okay w/Pirates (she is fine w/that one, but does NOT like the haunted mansion) so I still think that's worth a try--it's played more for laughs than it used to be. You can play spot Jack Sparrow. Kids this age love the Autopia cars (get a Fastpass for sure) and the Astroblasters in tomorrowland. The Indiana Jones ride is lots of fun, and not scary in terms of the ride aspects, but can be scary in terms of the "theme", as it seems you are in jeopardy. You mentioned he was timid about high fast rides--this isn't really, but it can be scary as a "story". DD is scared of Splash Mountain too, so I'd skip that one. And in Cal Adventure, the best ride of all (a must) is Soarin' Over California. Get the fastpass. I have not seen the new Carsland there, but I'm sure a 7 yr old boy would love it. Kid rides tend to have slow lines, though, so try those early while waiting for your fastpass return for Soarin'. For your 3 yr old: Hang out in Fantasyland. Our favorites are Peter Pan, Dumbo, and It's a Small World. Steer clear of Snow White, which seems to scare everyone, in spite of it being a "kid" ride. Your son would also enjoy the Fantasyland rides. As was mentioned before, you can avoid the characters if you want, so no worries. Lots of young kids don't like them. I have not spent much time in Toontown, but it might be worth a look as well. Another fun ride for young kids is the Nemo submarine one. That has a slow line, though. Timing-wise, Fantasyland gets SLOW, so pick up a fastpass for something such as Autopia, then do Nemo, then head to Fantasy land. I agree w/others to leave the park for a rest in the afternoon, then go back at/after dinner. Food: I think the Blue Bayou always looks so fun, but the one time we went it was disappointing. For regular kid-friendly food, we like the Hungry Bear restaurant. It always seems to have seats, and it's next to the river. We also like the French Market in New Orleans square. These are fast places--not full table service. We don't always watch the parades (sacrilege, I know) so I have no advice for you there. We did see the World of Color and enjoyed it, but had to stand for the majority. It looks like the Howard Johnson is about one-quarter mile north of the main park entrance, so a little walk, but not bad. I hope you have a lovely trip!

My DH has a small insurance policy through his employer, which I am named as primary benificiary, with his 3 kids named as contingent benificiaries. He has no other policy. There is no policy with them listed as primary benificiaries. And remember, his pension has already divided in half with his ex at the divorce. I am listed as primary benificiary on his IRA account (and he is listed the same way on mine). His pension is no where near enough to retire on, mine either. I feel if he died, I would need his pension; and if I died he would need my pension. My home was 95% paid the day we married. The assessed value (which was done in 2008) is $195,000. That is what a home of comparible worth in our area would sell for today. He has not and is not investing in the house since our marriage. Do you mean paying monthly bills like utilities, or what do you mean? The house is already paid for. Neither one of us is investing in it. The investment was already made before I married him. Do you mean the yearly taxes? Or what do you mean? If it's fair for me to pay 100% of the taxes, because I own the house, then it's fair for me to charge him rent. This gets ridiculous. If he didn't move in with someone who owned a house, then he would be paying several hundren monthly for either rent or a mortgage. So I don't think that because he helps pay the yearly taxes that that entitles his kids to inherit a portion. I think sharing the maintainance costs of the house, the taxes, and the insurance is fair. This does not change the fact that I am still owner. He gets the benifit of living there without making mortgage payments. Alot of my coworkers are paying $2000 monthly in mortgage payments, he doesn't have to do this because of me. As far as the airplane goes, it's value is about $40,000. I feel that if he died, that it goes to me. Like I said in my last post, our joint money pays the $3000 yearly needed to maintain the plane. His kids won't even come and help him wash it. Why should they inherit it? It would be different if suddenly we both were killed together in a car accident. And suddenly there were assets to liquidate. Then by all means, sell it and divide the money with his 3 kids. But if he dies, I may need the money from the sale of the plane to live on. The airplane really doesn't depreciate like a car does, they hold their value much better. As far as the college payments to his kids. Well, that all didn't happen prior to our marriage. The only part that happened prior to our marriage was his agreement with them to pay their college. He had loans out on them when we married, and those loans were brought into the marriage. So, the way I see it, some of the money that we both together today are bringing into the marriage, is paying off the remainder of his kids college loans. The loan for SD24 hasn't been started to be repaid, she is still in college. He won't start repaying for another year or two. I was not at all suggesting that my kids get something worth $120,000 to even the score. If he took his kids to Disney Land when they were 8 years old, then does that mean that my kids are owed a Disney Land trip too? Of course not. I just look at it like he chose to give his kids a start in life, and this is the way he/they chose. I don't think that I shouldn't be able to give my kids a start in life too. I was thinking something more along the lines of helping with a downpayment on a first home, or something like that, maybe like an amount of $10,000 or something like that. I don't have that much cash to give any of my kids, and would need to take out a second mortgage to do it. But I don't see this as different than taking out a loan for college. 15 years from now I'm afraid that our 6 children will look back on things and feel that 3 kids got a start in life from their parent, and 3 didn't. I don't think that because they don't want to attend college, that it is fair to pass judgment on them and say because they chose to not do what I wanted them to do, that they get no help. Mind you, my kids are not asking for help, and when I've offered, they say they don't need it. They don't feel entitled to cash from me or anyone else. When DH and I talk about what would be fair to designate in a will, he says that neither will die untill we are elderly (that runs in our families). And that after 25 years of marriage together, that it will seem more like a blended family, it will seem like "our house", and our money. Then anything left in the estate when we both pass would be divided 6 equal shares between all children. In other words, his kids would get an equal share in all of our assets (including my house). I told him that I don't think this is fair to my kids, and he disagrees. Since we haven't agreed on anything, we haven't written a will. I know that I can just go to an attorney by myself and write up whatever I want, but what would that do to the trust and communication that we are building in our marriage? I feel that whatever we do, we have to agree, and go in together to do wills. I just feel like, he basically started over from scratch when he divorced. And because he divorced that he was screwed financially, and his kids also. Had he not divorced, his kids would have inherited his house. It is unfortunate that it happened this way, buy why do I have to share my kid's inheritance with his kids, to compensate for what he and his kids lost at his divorce?

It must be from wayyyyy back...I've been here since I think 98 and I don't remember ever reading that... I'm glad you kept it. If you've had it that long...that must mean you've taken good care of your computer and never had a crash....LOL I've lost it all a couple of times. patti