Sunday

 

One

 

Big

 

Honkin

 

Gator!

 

Goose Island State Park

 

We’re not there now; I’m just thinking about the fishing pier.

 

I like this part of life on the Texas coast.  There are no signs, no warnings about tides or other dangers, shallow water or deep water; instead the stairs are an open invitation to walk right on in and wander off out on the oyster bar and beyond.  Do what you want.  Make of it what you will.

 

Update

 

Okay, I missed a few cars.  There was the red ‘52 MG TC.  It had a fine exhaust note.  I forgot about that until reminded.

 

The 1934 Chevy coupe with a six-cylinder GMC truck engine I barely remember.  Dad claimed it was really fast; too fast.  I think he kept it offsite.

 

…a Studebaker wagon I don’t remember, but Brother Tom does.

 

The Cadillac convertible Dad got from Uncle Dick was a ’55.

 

..and the Karmann Ghia.

Judy and I drove that for a while after we got back from the Army.

 

I don’t remember the 1949 Ford.

 

But I do remember the Fraser.

I think we had that up to the time we left Seal Beach for Long Beach.

 

The Auburn dual cowl Phaeton in the driveway I just remember as a parts car.  It didn’t look anything like this.

I remember people joking that every one of Dad’s Auburns was the same color, brown; rust brown.

 

I had a 1932 Ford, 2 door sedan I was working on as a teenager.  I rebuilt a Chevy V-8, for it, but got distracted and left for the Army before I got the engine installed.

I still love the lines of that car.

 

And there was a 1955 Chevy I got from Brother Tom that I drove.

Those were the two cars of my youth; a Ford I didn’t drive and a Chevy I did.

 

Our house

 

Dad had a thing for cars.  There was a Graham from the 40s out front.  We had a black 1941 Buick Limousine, a Cadillac convertible for a while, an old hopped up heavy-duty GMC pickup (I was impressed with how low “compound low” was.) …and it had an air horn!  We had a brand new 55 Buick Century Riviera, a DeSoto, a green Plymouth station wagon nicknamed the Green Wennie, an Auburn sedan in Grandma’s garage, an Auburn speedster in the barn/garage out back, numerous derelict auburns for parts-cars around our yard and at offsite storage, a Triumph sedan nicknamed the Puddlejumper, and a little white Lloyd Arabella sedan.  Nobody (in the U.S.) had a Lloyd sedan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah, Dad had a thing for cars.

 

Yard-birds

 

We get some pretty cool yard-birds.  Common Pauraques.  Great Kiskadees.  Groove-billed Anis in the summer.

 

Today, out the front window, Hooded Orioles.

 

A pair taking a bath in our front fountain!

 

 

 

Excellent yard-birds.

 

Gremlins.

 

We have gremlins in the minivan.

 

Judy is the midnight rambler.  She can be up any time of the night wandering around.  A few nights ago she was in the living room and the deck lit up from the minivan headlights.  They went through the delay cycle then went back out.  It has happened other times since.  In the middle of the day I was working and heard Judy start the car, but not go anywhere.  Turns out she was nowhere near the car, it just started, ran for a few minutes, then turned off.  It has happened since.

 

Electrical gremlins.  We took the car to the shop.  We talked to the service manager.  We’re standing in front of the car explaining the issues to him.  He acknowledged that it’s possible that the headlights could come on then go off again all by themselves; maybe there was a problem with the key fob.  As he was explaining how it was not possible that the engine could just start all on its own, the minivan started right up and locked the doors!

 

How cool is that!  The elusive intermittent problem, that couldn’t possibly be happening, happened while the service manager was standing in front of the car with the key fob in his hand.  His expression was priceless.  We left the car there for them to track down the problem.

 

Who ya gonna call?  “Gremlin Busters”!

 

 

 

Follow-up

 

That car in the background, behind the charming dancing boy?

 

Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth?

 

No.  None of the above.  After great research, guessing, and collaboration (with nothing of value being contributed by me), the results are in.  1936 Graham Crusader 80 Touring Sedan.

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1936-Graham-Crusader-80-Touring-Sedan-Factory-Photo-c6400-94BBMY-/350841786694

 

Not anyone’s first guess, as far as I know.  I only even know that Graham was a car because Dad had one (a 1941 Hollywood Coupe, as I recall)

…parked out in front of the house for several years while we were growing up, (along with a plethora of Auburns, his favorite car.)

 

Tonight we saw fireflies for the first time this year.  It takes a warm humid evening for fireflies.