I spent a month in a VW one day....

I made it to my dad' s house in Mesa, finally. It was an eventful Saturday, let me tell ya.

I picked up the car in St. George Utah at 9pm friday. Went to bed. Got up to see that the front tires are trashed, and won't make it very far, (thanks for telling me steve) . I went to the tire store and the car is so low that no tires will fit under the fenders, and the size of tires it had were a special order item that nobody carries. I thought I was going to be stuck there for a couple of days.. frustration was an understatement... so, I just stopped, sat down and prayed for a little bit..

God calmed my heart, then I got my thinking cap back on. I remembered that the front suspension on this VW is adjustable, meaning that I could raise the car up, put on the different tires, and be on my way. Well, the guy I bought the car from was sure that it was already raised up (idiot) but it was actually at it's lowest setting. So, I finally got some tools, and stuck the nose of it up in the air. Then I drove to the tire store and put some new kicks on the front, and I finally left St. George at noon.

I didn't get the speedo hooked up before I left, so I was guessing the speed. Whatever speed I was going, it was about 25 mph slower than everyone else on the freeway... when I looked in my mirror, I felt like the pacecar at the Daytona 500, watching all the swirving to get around me. In my defense, I'm pretty sure I was doing at least 70, which means everyone else was hauling some hiney yesterday.

But the car ran pretty good, except the idle was a little rough.. no biggie...

After getting through Las Vegas, I drove over the Hoover Dam, on the dam road. It was quite impressive... I was sad that I didn't have a camera, or anyone with me to enjoy it.

Anyways.... I got to Wickenburg, Az, which is only about 60 miles from my dad's house when....

I stopped to talk on the phone, dropped the clutch to leave and heard the nastiest grinding and breaking metal sound. I thought that I'd fried the clutch. After some investigation, it wasn't the clutch, but the rear axle had stripped out the splines in the brake drum..... causing the axle to spin free inside the wheel.. Praise God because that's a much easier fix than a clutch.

So I called my Uncle David, and he brought the trailer, and we rolled in about 8:30 pm. Then scott came over and brought a used brake drum and we jacked it up on the trailer and fixed it in about 20 minutes.

Geez. What a day. God is good, I could still be in Utah or stuck on the road a lot farther away..

Despite the problems, I'm happy with the car. It does have a few problems that need fixing... like, no lights work except the headlights and tailights. So I need to fix the brake lights, turn signals, dash lights and license light.... whew.

See you guys late monday- early Tuesday morning!

Dan

Another song (from childhood)

Well, when I was a kid I'd take a trip every summer down the Mississippi
To visit my granny in her antebellum world
I'd run barefooted all day long climbin' trees free as a song
And one day I happened to catch myself a squirrel
Well, I stuffed him down in an old shoe box, punched a couple of holes in the top
And when Sunday came I snuck him into Church
I was sittin' way back in the very last pew showin' him to my good buddy Hugh
When that squirrel got loose and went totally berserk
Well, what happened next is hard to tell
Some thought it was heaven others thought it was hell
But the fact that something was among us was plain to see
As the choir sang "I Surrender All" the squirrel ran up Harv Newlan's coveralls
Harv leaped to his feet and said, "Somethin's got a hold on me", Yeow!

Chorus

The day the squirrel went berserk
In the First Self-Righteous Church
In the sleepy little town of Pascagoula
It was a fight for survival that broke out in revival
They were jumpin' pews and shoutin' Hallelujah!

Well, Harv hit the aisles dancin' and screamin'
Some thought he had religion others thought he had a demon
And Harv thought he had a weed eater loose in his Fruit-Of-The-Looms
He fell to his knees to plead and beg and the squirrel ran out of his britches leg
Unobserved to the other side of the room
All the way down to the amen pew where sat Sister Bertha better-than-you
Who'd been watchin' all the commotion with sadistic glee
But you should've seen the look in her eyes
When that squirrel jumped her garters and crossed her thighs
She jumped to her feet and said "Lord have mercy on me"
As the squirrel made laps inside her dress
She began to cry and then to confess to sins that would make a sailor blush with shame
She told of gossip and church dissension but the thing that got the most attention
Was when she talked about her love life and then she started naming names

Chorus

The day the squirrel went berserk
In the First Self-Righteous Church
In that sleepy little town of Pascagoula
It was a fight for survival that broke out in revival
They were jumpin' pews and shoutin' Hallelujah!

Well seven deacons and the pastor got saved,
Twenty-five thousand dollars was raised and fifty volunteered
For missions in the Congo on the spot
Even without an invitation there were at least five hundred rededications
And we all got baptized whether we needed it or not
Now you've heard the bible story I guess
How he parted the waters for Moses to pass
Oh the miracles God has wrought in this old world
But the one I'll remember 'til my dyin' day
Is how he put that Church back on the narrow way
With a half crazed Mississippi squirrel

Chorus

My Song (not about Amy)

Well, I was raised in a sophisticated kind of style.
Yeah, my taste in music and women drove my folks half wild.
Mom and Dad had a plan for me,
It was debutantes and er-symphonies,
But I like my music; I like my women wild.

Yeah, an' I like my women just a little on the trashy side,
When they wear their clothes too tight and their hair is dyed.
Too much lipstick an' er too much rouge,
Gets me excited, leaves me feeling confused.
An' I like my women just a little on the trashy side.

Shoulda seen the looks on the faces of my Dad and Mom,
When I showed up at the door with a date for the senior prom.
They said: "Well, pardon us son, she ain't no kid.
"That's a cocktail waitress in a Dolly Parton wig.
I said: "I know it dad, ain't she cool, that's the kind I dig."

Yeah, an' I like my women just a little on the trashy side,
When they wear their clothes too tight and their hair is dyed.
Too much lipstick an' er too much rouge,
Gets me excited, leaves me feeling confused.
An' I like my women just a little on the trashy side.

Instrumental break.

I like 'em sweet, I like 'em with a heart of gold.
Yeah an' I like 'em brassy, I like 'em brazen and bold.
Well, they say that opposites attract, well, I don't agree
I want a woman just as tacky as me.
Yeah, I like my women just a little on the trashy side.

Yeah, an' I like my women just a little on the trashy side,
When they wear their clothes too tight and their hair is dyed.
Too much lipstick an' er too much rouge,
Gets me excited, leaves me feeling confused.
An' I like my women just a little on the trashy side.

Yeah, I like my women an' I like 'em on the trashy side.

Cool

Thrilla

Watch for the honky in the white tee-shirt... I like his moves.