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Get off my LAWN! "Grumpy Old Farts"

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#1,641
I bought something a couple weeks ago that is helping to keep the grump away from me! :)

Yamamoto-MS12-114-1200-008.jpg

Photograph Copyright © Tsuneyuki Yamamoto 2001
 
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#1,644
I found it at Schoenberg Guitars while I was in San Francisco for a family event. I played some really great guitars there, 1930s-40s Martins, Sexauer, De Luccia, and many others but this guitar was IT! I have been without a 12 string guitar for a few years now and really missed having one. We even went to visit with Tony Yamamoto as he did not live too far (Dublin) and I got to play many other guitars he had at home, some prototypes and other cool 1-offs, along with Tony's personal guitar which I would love to own, too. :cool: Here is a video of Tony with that guitar of his:

 
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#1,645
Back on the car topic. Possibly my earliest memory is sitting on my Grandpas lap on his little grey Ford tractor. He let me steer and use the "gas" lever. I thought we were really going fast! Probably 3-4 mpg haha! Anyway I drove trucks on the farm and didn't realize my mom didn't know I knew how to drive till I got my drivers permit at 15. She took me out to the farm in her Anglia to teach me how to drive a stick. (I guess my dad knew I could drive already) so she pulls over in front of the grand folks house and says get in the drivers seat. So I did. She says now here's the clutch pedal, the brake pedal and the gas....put yer foot on the clutch and press in and put it in gear.....about that time I just drove away and shifted through the gears with her staring at me. She says pull over and I thought I was in trouble. She said where'd you learn how to drive and I said, heck mom I've been driving on the farm for years! She did a double take and stared at me for a moment and looked pissed off, paused and said drive home NOW. End of driving lesson. First car I bought with lawn mowing money. $45 49' Plymouth wagon. Flathead six that didn't run. When the folks got home from work and found it in the driveway they weren't too excited. My dad helped me get it running. While they were out golfing one Saturday I fired it up and thought I'd must drive it a little bit. I think I was 14. I backed out of the driveway and it sputtered and died. As it rolled down off the crown in the street back into the driveway I hit the brakes...guess what...no brakes, I hadn't thought it through. Lol just as I found the hand brake the garage did the braking for me as I took out the corner 4x4. Needless to say I was grounded and my dad was none to pleased with the repair job he had ahead. They made me sell that wagon but it was crap anyway. My first real car I bought from the high school band teacher. He was a really cool guy. I paid $125 for his 1951 Plymouth Bussinessmans coupe. It had a flathead six and Mohair interior! And it was really cherry man. I drove that thing everywhere, all over the NW all the way from Seattle to SF without a hiccup and got in my first accident in it (except for the garage) in San Francisco. That's where I learned to look both ways at least two or three times to be safe from crazyys! Still do that to this day and it has saved my ass more than once.
 
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#1,650
Your butt cheeks would tighten way up when turning hard on one brake, off a road bank, with a sickle mower hanging out the side. No wonder so many farmers managed to kill or maim themselves.
 
#1,651
My first car was a white ’58 Fairlane, 352 w/4 barrel carb, w/w tires, automatic and factory air. Nice cruiser back when gas was about $.30/gal. Second car was a ’63 Econoline hippy van that had been customized by its previous owner with tie-dyed fabric glued to the exterior, and then covered with yellow paint. It also had green shag carpeting, wood paneling and state-of-the-art cassette system (I think at least 15 watts and 6X9 speakers). I added to its chick magnet appeal by hand-painting a nearly life-sized robed wizard riding a dragon on one side. (This was before all the sword and sorcery fantasy games and films that later became popular.) It was great for hauling around my Acoustic 360, and tended to attract a lot of attention, but unfortunately mainly by local authorities. I eventually wised up and opted for greater anonymity in my vehicles.
 
#1,655
Ajapses said:
Your butt cheeks would tighten way up when turning hard on one brake, off a road bank, with a sickle mower hanging out the side. No wonder so many farmers managed to kill or maim themselves.
Click to expand...

Indeed this is sadly true.

Back in "the day" (ok, this was the early 80's), I was the house sound guy for a small club (about 150 seats) located on the edge of town. I used to keep my horse out back of the club and would often sneek a ride after sound check or while waiting for the act to arrive. It was one pf the perks of the job. Doc & Merle Watson used to play this club once or twice a year. They were some of the nicest folks imagineable. Mearle used to like to break away after sound check and sit in the pasture with my horse, just relaxing and enjoying the equine atmosphere, and we would sometimes chat about various projects he was working on around his farm. Tragiclly, Merle was killed in a tractor accident around the end of 1985. To this day, I still try to include one of Doc & Merle's songs in our theatrical equine exhibition show (we are contracted for ~20 dates a year) and like to think that Merle is joining us in spirit, as this kind of show is something he himself would have enjoyed sharing with the public (he did ride).
 
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