HOWARD’S DAILY CHRONICLE
NUMBER 7 VOL 7
FEBURARY 8TH 2008
WEATHER; FAIR, LOW HUMIDITY, 34/68 DEGREES
GAS STILL HOLDING
ANOTHER SLOW DAY, NOT MUCH TO REPORT!
SHANNON IS LOOKING AT A 1997 TOYOTA 4 DR. AVALON LX! SHE HAD IT OVER HERE YESTERDAY AND I GAVE MY APPROVAL FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH! SEEMS TO BE A REAL STRAIGHT CAR, 133,000+ MILES, NO BODY DAMAGE, ALL FOUR TIRES ARE THE SAME MAKE, AND DON’T SHOW TO HAVE JUST BEEN MOUNTED, NO FEATHER EDGING ON FRONT TIRES, BUMPERS SHOW NO DAMAGE JUST A COUPLE OF STONE CHIPS, DOORS AND WINDOWS FIT TIGHT, NO HIGH WATER MARKS UNDER FENDER OR ON FIREWALL! WILL NEED SHOCKS AND STRUTS IN MAYBE 50,000 MILES EVEN THOUGH THEY LOOK TO BE ORIGINAL, NO OIL LEAKAGE FROM THEM FROM WHAT I COULD SEE! ENGINE COMPARTMENT AND ENGINE CLEAN AND DOESN’T LOOK TO HAVE JUST BEEN CLEANED! WINDSHIELD HAS A CRACK ON PASSENGER SIDE! TAIL PIPE HAS BLACK DRY SOOT NOT WET WITH OIL! INTERIOR REAL CLEAN AND DOESN’T SHOW A WHOLE LOT OF WEAR, ORIGINAL FLOOR MATS IN PLACE! I DIDN’T TRY THE A/C BUT IF THE REST OF THE CAR IS ANY INDICATION IT PROBABLY WORKS FINE, I’LL HAVE SHANNON TURN IT ON AND CHECK IT OUT OR TAKE IT TO B&B AND HAVE EDDY CHECK IT OUT FOR HER! ALL IN ALL I THINK IT’S A GOOD BUY! I DON’T KNOW WHAT THE CASH DIFFERENCE WILL BE AFTER THEY FIGURE IN HER TRADE!
MOM’S GETTING READY TO MAKE SOMEMORE APPLE PIE IN THE CROCK POT THE LAST SHE MADE SURE WAS GOOD! IF ANY OF YOU WANT THE RECIPIE I’LL GET IT AND PUT IT IN THE CHRONICLE! MOM HAS A LOT OF GOOD RECIPIES IF ANY OF YOU WANT SOME LET US KNOW AND WE’LL INCLUDE THEM IN THE CHRONICLE ALONG THE WAY!
I’VE TOLD YOU ABOUT ONE CELEBRATY I HAVE HAD AN OCCASION TO MEET, ERROL FLYNN AND THE CAPTAIN OF NELSON EDDY’S YACHT! HERE’S ANOTHER ONE MY COUSIN FRED AND I MET WHILE SWIMMING IN BALBOA HARBOR; WE SWAM FROM BACK BAY WHICH IS ABOUT 3 MILES FROM THE FUN ZONE IN BALBOA! IN THE SUMMER OF 1944 WE WERN’T ALLOWED TO SET UP THE TENT IN THE CAMP GROUND ON NEWPORT HARBOR BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER CAMP SITE WHERE MY FOLKS USED TO GO WHEN THEY FIRST GOT TO CALIFORNIA FROM NEW YORK, IT WAS CALLED BAY SHORE AND WAS NEXT TO HIGHWAY 101 AS YOU HEAD FOR SAN DIEGO!
FRED WAS SPENDING THE SUMMER WITH US AND HE AND I SWAM A LOT, HE WAS A BETTER DIVER BUT ON THE LONG HAUL I COULD OUT SWIM HIM! ON THIS ONE DAY WE HAD SAVED SOME MONEY FROM SELLING POP BOTTLES AND CLEANING OUT BOATS FOR FISHERMEN AND DECIDED TO GO TO THE FUN ZONE AT BALBOA! A LONG THE WAY SOME BOATERS WOULD COME UP AND ASK IF WE NEEDED TO REST AND WE WOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT AND HOLD ON TO THE BOAT FOR A FEW MINUTES THEN HEAD OUT AGAIN! WE GOT TO THIS SMALL ISLAND JUST ACROSS THE HARBOR FROM THE FUN ZONE AND CLIMBED UP ON THE DOCK TO REST BEFORE GOING ON! WE HAD OUR BACKS TO THE HOUSE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN A VOICE SAID;”CAN I HELP YOU BOYS?” WE TURNED AROUND AND THERE STOOD JAMES CAGNEY IN HIS SWIMMING TRUNKS! WE QUICKLY STOOD UP AND INTRODUCED OURSELVES AND HE PUT HIS HAND OUT SO WE SHOOK IT! WE EXPLAINED WHAT WE WERE DOING ON HIS DOCK AND HE SAT DOWN AND PUT HIS FEET IN THE WATER SO WE DID TOO! WE TALKED FOR A WHILE THEN SAID WE BETTER GET GOING IF WE WANTED TO SPEND ANY TIME AT THE GAMES AND RIDES! WE SHOOK HANDS AGAIN AND HE HELD ON TO MINE AND SAID;”I KNOW THE NAME MAHONEY, WHO IS YOU FATHER?” I TOLD HIM MY DAD WAS LUTHER MAHONEY AND HE SAID YEAH, YOUR OLD MAN WAS WITH RUDY VALENTINO BEFORE HE DIED, RIGHT? I SAID YES AND WE DOVE OFF THE DOCK, AS WE WERE SWIMMING AWAY HE YELLED,”COME BACK WHEN YOU CAN SPEND MORE TIME, ME AND THE MRS. WOULD LIKE TO HAVE YOU!” WE NEVER GOT TIME TO GO BACK BUT SOMETIMES I WISH I WOULD HAVE, HE WAS A NICE MAN!
ANOTHER THING FRED AND I GOT INVOLVED IN AT BAY SHORE; THE SEA SCOUTS HAD GOTTEN A SMALL LANDING CRAFT (LCVP) FROM THE COAST GUARD AND THEY MOORED IT NEXT TO A SAND BAR IN BACK BAY! FRED AND I SWAM OUT TO IT AND CLIMBED ABOARD AND STARTED LOOKING FOR HOW TO START IT! I KNOW NOW IT HAD A DETROIT DIESEL ENGINE! WE FOUND THE STARTER BUTTON AND IT TURNED OVER REAL FAST LIKE IT HAD NO COMPRESSION (I KNOW THAT NOW TOO) SO WE WENT LOOKING FOR ANOTHER REASON! FRED FOUND A KNOB STICKING OUT OF THE INSTRUMENT PANEL AND PUSHED IT IN AS I PUSHED THE STARTER AND IT STARTED! WE LET IT IDLE FOR A WHILE AND SHUT IT OFF! WE STUCK OUR HEADS UP ABOVE THE SIDE OF THE HULL TO SEE IF ANYONE WAS COMING? NOT A PERSON!
NOW WE WENT LOOKING FOR THE GEAR SHIFT AND THE CLUTCH (WE DIDN’T KNOW BOATS DON’T HAVE A CLUTCH) WE FOUND THIS LONG LEVER AND GUESSED THAT IT WAS THE GEAR SHIFT SO WE STARTED THE ENGINE AGAIN AND LET IT IDLE AS WE PUSHED THE LEVER FORWARD AND THE BOAT STARTED MOVING SO WE PULLED BACK ON IT AND THE BOAT BACKED UP! OK, NOW WE NEW HOW TO START IT AND MAKE IT MOVE BUT HOW DO YOU STOP IT? WE FIGURED WE HAD LEARNED ENOUGH FOR THE DAY AND PUT EVERYTHING BACK LIKE WE FOUND IT AND SWAM BACK TO THE DOCK AT BAY SHORE! WHEN WE GOT THERE WE WENT LOOKING FOR SOMEONE WHO KNEW ABOUT BOATS! WE FOUND THIS YOUNG GUY WHO WORKED ON THE DOCK SELLING BAIT AND GAS! WHEN WE TOLD HIM WHAT WE FOUND HE SAID HE’D GO WITH US IN TWO DAYS TO SEE WHAT HE COULD DO WHICH HE DID! THE THREE OF US WERE HAVING A BALL RUNNING THIS LANDING CRAFT ALL OVER BACK BAY! ONE DAY WE WERE JUST COMING BACK TO THE MOORING PLACE WHEN A COAST GUARD BOAT PULLED OUT IN FRONT OF US AND WE HAD TO SWERVE TO MISS IT! WALLY STOPPED THE LANDING CRAFT AND THE COAST GUARD CAME ALONG SIDE AND ASKED WHO WE WERE? “WE’RE JUST HAVING FUN!” WALLY TOLD THEM. “DO YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO BE USING THIS CRAFT?” ASKED THE OFFICER “NO, WE JUST FOUND IT FLOATING IN THE BACK BAY AND WERE TAKING IT TO THE DOCK AT BAY SHORE SO IT WOULDN’T HIT SOMETHING FLOATING AROUND LIKE THAT!” SAID WALLY
“YOU THREE GET IN THIS LAUNCH WITH ME AND ONE OF OUR SEAMEN WILL PUT IT WHERE IT GOES!” SAID THE OFFICER
THEY PICKED UP THE ONE RUNNING THE LANDING CRAFT AND THEN TOOK US TO THE DOCK AT BAY SHORE AND LET US OFF WITH A WARNING NOT TO EVER USE A BOAT WE DON’T HAVE PERMISSION TO USE! “WE WON’T WE ALL SAID TOGETHER!”
THAT’S “30” FOR THIS ISSUE.
HOWARD
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