To expand ...

Technically she is my step-daughter, as is my step-son. We merged when they were that age, last year in high school, the first year in college. Tracey is 10 years younger than me, my wife 10 years older. Since my mother was 40 and father 60 went I was born, I would have to say my generational early training and earthly gene pool tends to be older than Leslie. I never tried to be "Dad" as the last iteration was such that a Nun and Nunery helped Leslie and the children escape from the drama where Les almost died. Trying to be Dad had a lot of potential on the downside and wasn't what they needed.

Les and I never had our shared offspring. She was at the end of her reserves and had a miscarriage, but really wanted us to get help with the process. I hesitated and it became a lost opportunity quickly. About 15 years afterward we were sorting out my aunt's estate when Les saw a portrait of my maternal grandparents and said we would have had beautiful children together. I guess that trait skips two generations. While she said that nonchalantly I felt like I just got sucked into a black hole, realizing the lost possibility was so easily recalled and that I never gave her the opportunity she wanted due to my own failing. Someday I might find the courage to tell her how sorry I am.

 

Thanks for sharing that, Jack... My Ex-Wife was really ready to start a family, but our relationship was headed for the rocks and I swore I'd never do to my own kids what happened to me (early in life divorce). So we split up and when Sally and I got together, part of the "interview" process was if we each wanted kids. Well it is easy to say yes, but the follow though never happened. Siblings having afflicted children others having kids and divorcing, etc. So while we hadn't made a conscious decision to Not have kids, we were slowly realizing how we weren't all that good around others kids. Time marched on and one day we had "the talk" and agreed neither of us had some deep seated need -- Sally would have gone for it if I wanted and likewise me.

As I get older, I wonder about "what if", and see friends with grand kids and being all excited about the holidays and getting together with them and their families... Oh well, there's no changing the past and we did retire incredibly young, so there's that side of it...

Scott

Sure is starting to feel like winter is coming around here -- means cleaning drainage ditches and a bunch of other prep work before the rains really set in...

 

There's a movie out there, can't remember the name, but the less then ideal people have tons of kids and the concerned people keep waiting until too late. Or something to that effect.

Leslie is fantastic with kids, the grandchildren keep asking for grandmother days, even when out of college. She does the same in her salon and often ends up counseling women who are in a rough place as she was, a good life coach. Me, honestly am too authoritative, so maybe the universe knew better. My daughter would have had me following her on a date, not only my viewpoint, but Leslie's too.

Maybe it's keeping the universe in balance. My fraternal grandfather had 13 children of the ones that lived, although one of my relatives who also did a family tree said it was actually 16. He had a business and lived in Brooklyn most of the week, my grandmother and all the children lived in Millville, NJ, a long ways away and they only got together monthly. I would say those GTG were productive. He was a slacker though compared to my great grandfather in Germany based on agreed numbers from several trees. I would say television, and now computers upset the idle times.

It is what it is.

 

 

 

just kind of curious.. but has anyone ever considered doing a drop pitman/steering arm on their trucks to help get the drag link off their lower radiator hoses?? mine seems to rub it all the time with the adjuster sleeve...

 

No because the original was not even close to rubbing & either is the new motorcraft one. What year? On 05+ there is a plastic clip that holds the hose to the fan shroud up out of the way of the steering.
Dropped pitman arms add stress to the shaft bushings wearing them out sooner.

 

mines early 04.. no clip holding the hose... drag link rubs right across the bottom of the hose... i was hoping to find one that dropped the drag link just an inch more but couldnt find one... theyre all like 4 - 6 inches for vehicles with monster lifts...


Edit: apparently looking at other forums the early 04 (03 build date years like mine) didnt come with that plastic retainer... we had a nylon sock (which mine does have) that was supposed to move with the steering to keep from rubbing on the hose... (but didnt really work)... like others complained of on those forums mines torn in 2 as well from being rubbed so much... it wasnt until later years ford did the fanshroud clip to hold it up and out of the way... some suggested just buying some larger diameter hose to wrap around the hose and zip tieing/worm clamping it in place where the hose is getting rubbed... but no ones mentioned what the plastic clips number is...

 

The clip your talking about is part of the hose you get when you get a new lower hose from Ford and maybe others.
I don't know if I still have the old hose. I'll have a look and see if I can find it. If I don't have the hose I for some reason
think I may of removed the clip and saved it. If that is the case it will take a few days to dig through the mess.

 

no worries... if you find it good... if not no biggie.. dont want ya to tear apart the whole garage looking for it... lol saw with the later years when i looked them up had that clip with them around the pipe... but my year didnt when i searched it... i didnt even get a new nylon sock with my hose... had to reuse the old one which is doing a "great" job...

 

I added the webbing from the old one to the new one. I was not happy with the fit and contact.
I'll look around a little tonight. I wanted to look at something anyway.
You can text me.

 

my beers almost done... textings outta the question atm... latpops being a challenge in itself...

 

OooK,
I didn't find it in that short search. But I did find ty manual for the steering wheel control adaptor and the missing rear view camera
I had gotten to mount in the grill so I could see the little card I am about to squish as I am parking.. Then I come in and Xander won't
quit with the nut show and howling. So I get him upstairs and into the bathroom where he sleeps and what is he doing. Blowing farts.
Then it gets quiet and you can hear his little tummy rumbling. More farts to come. I think for bad smells cat farts top the list.

He has this one habit of jumping up on me and letting them fly ever once in a while. You never know if it just wanting to be close OR...
Looks like he settled down and no blasters.

 

Took the cat to get stitches out

l