G'evening fellow collectors.  Ya' know those kinda nights when
you're so $@#%$ tired & you just want to "crash & burn" til noon
tomorrow, but you just can't get to sleep no matter how much you
try?  Well,........guess what!?  I was layin' there thinking about some of the difficulties a friend was having, the fact that my 16 year old daughter is on the verge of buying her first car (yes; SHE is buying it), & wondering when things will settle down enough for "Boss Lady" to update the site, when I got to thinking about my day today.  Interested?  Too bad; I'm gonna put it out there, anyway.
.
For starters, I was playing "Dad" this weekend, so I picked her up
close to midnight after her sitters job last night.  Straight home to
bed.  Then the morning started at 5:30 when I woke up; then again at 7:45 when I finally got up.  Had to wake her up to get ready.  Out of here by 9:05 & off to the Credit Union to pick up the necessary papers for her 2nd job.  Did I mention she's an Honor Roll student, too?  Passed by a yard sale where I caught a glimpse of some toy trucks.  Boys toys!  Maybe HW's or MB's?  Instructed daughter to make "safe" U-turn back to yard sale.  Found a few common HW's but nothing to write home about.  Then ran across a die cast Model A Truck bank with the 84 Lumber Co. logo on it.  I asked the freezing lady what she'd take for it. (oh, it was like 40 degrees outside)  She tells me a quarter.  All I have is a buck, so I said to call it 50 cents to          simplify the change. (I'd have given a buck for it, though)
.
Then it was off to Chic-Fil-A for a "quick" bite to eat.  Yeah right; I
never knew that place was that popular for breakfast!  Come on,
people; it's just a piece of chicken stuck inside a biscuit, for crying
out loud.  After 20 minutes in line, we finally ordered & sat down to eat.  Then it was to the mall, to the card store where she'll work part-time, to fill out the forms & stuff.
.
Passed thru Dillard's on the way (I never even go INTO Dillard's), & saw something interesting. Mental note.......stop back here after card shop for possible Christmas gift purchase.  After card shop business is done, go back thru Dillard's & leave with wallet about $40 lighter.   Did I mention I don't even shop there??  (well, at one time I didn't)  From there to Wally World
to get the $7 headlight bulb that went out on my van a couple of
nights ago.  Always buy a second one; that guarantees that the other "original" will NEVER burn out & you'll be stuck with a spare bulb you'll never use, because your next car/truck will require some other type bulb!  Naturally had to go thru the toy "cars section" to get to the "real" car stuff.  Nothing, of course....
.....except for the new Revell Lowriders cars.  Interesting enough to look at, but not enough for me to buy.  May be "cool" for the kids to play with, though.
.
Then it was down to the used cars "strip" on the highway so she could sorta get a feel for what is out there this week (did the same about 3-4 weeks ago).  Not "shopping", mind you; just "looking".  Ever try to find a decent, 92' or later, non-Ford, non-smoker's car, with automatic transmission, with less than 82,000 miles on it for $5000 or less??  Rots o' ruck!  So we stumble upon a nice, truly immaculate, well maintained 97' model with 30,006 miles on it.  No fancy bells & whistles, but it does have an electric sunroof & 6 disk CD changer.  More importantly, it has excellent rubber all around, is solid, & doesn't seem to leak a drop of anything.  Of course, its slightly higher than the 5 G's, but she's in love at this point.  So, we hop in & drive to her mother's house, so she can see for herself. Then its back to the car lot to try and talk them into holding the car for about a week, til she & her Mom can get all the details worked out. The short of it......they schedule an appointment for two days later to try & work things out.
.
Ok, now I have exactly 25 minutes to get my daughter from there to the nursing home where she & the rest of her BETA club members are playing Bingo with senior citizens for 1 1/2 - 2
hours for some sort of extra credit at school.  But first, I got to stop at Mc D's for an order of fries, because she's hungry (after all the car excitement, I suppose).  Naturally, I have to get the Mc D's employee to check & see which of the Hot Wheels they have now.  :-) Still no blown Mc D's Wagon around these parts.  :-(
.
Her friend brings her back here at 4:35 pm, she finds a quick "there's nothing here to eat" snack, changes into her work uniform, goes across the street to see her old baby sitter to try & sell some of that "Support My School" stuff, then comes back & announces she's ready to go.  So then its off to run her to work for her 5 - 5 1/2 hour shift.  Drop her off, swing by the house to shower & change, rapidly wrap a gift, & head off to a "couples" bridal shower.
.
A couple hours there, then back to the girlfriend's house.  A kiss
goodnight & I'm off to my place to wait for the call from my daughter I'd hoped to have gotten earlier on my cell phone.  Fortunately, she has been successful in arranging a ride home from work.  Now I just have to wait til she gets home, which ends up being about midnight. So I check my email & maybe a couple of "educational" sites & hit the sack.
.
And THAT, my friends, is why this page has been written at this time of nigh......er..uh....morning.
.
Oh.........I discovered later in the day that the truck bank had 84 (go figure) pennies & a Chuck E Cheese token in it. I kid you not;.........I'm not making this up.  Ever been given a truck bank at a yard sale & been paid 34 cents to carry it off?
.
Happy hunting to all & remember to count your blessings,   Stoneman
.
BOY TOYS!!!!!!!!!!??????????  Oh boy are you in trouble now.  If I mail you a package be VERY careful opening it.  ;-)  Moi
NON FORD????  Ok the gloves are off now.  As a person with five Fords sitting next to the house (waiting to be restored), one in front of the house in the restore stages, one we drive daily and one on the waiting list to be purchased (and ultimately sit in the center of the Museum), I take exception to that remark.  What are you, a proud Dodge owner??????  ;-)
STONEMAN