HOWARD’S DAILY CHRONICLE
NUMBER 24 VOL 8
MARCH 24TH 2008
WEATHER; BEAUTIFUL, LOW HUMIDITY, 31/63 DEGREES
GAS: OKLAHOMA; $3.08-$3.22
ANSWER TO POP QUIZ; “WIL WHEATON” PLAYED CADET WHESLEY CRUSHER, THE SON OF THE ENTERPRISES HEAD MEDICAL OFFICER.
POP QUIZ; IN THE TV SERIES “HOGANS HEROES” WHO PLAYED THE GERMAN SGT. HANS SCHULTZ?
TODAY WE PICKED UP HALEY JO AND WENT TO R&D TO PICK OUT ANOTHER TRANSMISSION FOR THE INTREPID, I FOUND WHAT I THINK WILL BE A GOOD ONE, GOOD LOOKING FLUID, NOT BURNED AND THE DIP STICK WAS STILL IN THE TUBE. ALSO, THE PAN HASN’T BEEN OFF! THE ENGINE WAS BAD IS WHY IT’S IN THE YARD! THEY’LL PULL IT WHEN I CALL AND TELL THEM WE’LL NEED IT IN A COUPLE OF DAYS!
I WISH I HAD ENOUGH CONFIDENCE IN THE ONE I’VE BEEN USING CHEMICALS IN TO GET IT TO PULL WHICH IT DOES TILL IT GETS WARMED UP THEN IT STARTS SLIPPING, YESTERDAY IT WENT ALMOST 3 MILES BEFORE IT STOPPED PULLING!
THE GUYS AT R&D ARE GOING TO FIND US A RADIO WITH A CD PLAYER OUT OF A 94-05 CHRYSLER PRODUCT, THEY SAID THEY PULL THE GOOD RADIOS BEFORE THE CAR IS TAKEN BACK IN THE YARD AND LOCK THEM UP IN A PARTS ROOM! I ALSO NEED THE PLASTIC THAT GOES UNDER THE WIPER ARMS AND FOUR HUB CAPS WHICH THEY LOCK UP ALSO IF THEY’RE A MATCHED SET AND IN GOOD SHAPE!
IN 1943 MY SISTER RUTH, HER HUSBAND HERB, AND KIDS DIANE, TOMMY, HERBS NIECE SHIRLEY HAND AND I PACKED THE BOX TRAILER MY DAD HAD AND SOME STUFF ON THE FRONT FENDERS OF THEIR MODEL “A” FOUR DOOR SEDAN HERB WOULD TEACH ME TO DRIVE IN LATER, AND HEADED FOR MAMMOTH LAKES ON A VACATION! MAMMOTH LAKES IS ABOUT 300 MILES FROM VAN NUYS CALIFORNIA UP THE NOW HIGHWAY 395! AT THE TIME OF OUR TRIP WE HAD TO GO ON ALL THE SIDE ROADS AND BACK ROADS! I’LL NEVER FORGET THIS ONE INCIDENT, HERB TOOK A WRONG TURN, RUTH WAS THE NAVIGATOR AND HE SAID HE KNEW A BETTER ROUTE THAT HE USED WHEN HE AND HIS BROTHER TOM CAME UP TO MAMMOTH LAKE AREA DEER HUNTING! THEY MADE THE TRIP IN A BUICK WITH JUST THE TWO OF THEM IN THE CAR! WE GOT TO A RAILROAD TRACK AND HAD TO UNLOAD THE TRAILER AND CARRY EVERYTHING UP AN INCLINE AND OVER THE TRACK AND DOWN THE OTHER SIDE, ABOUT 1000 FEET IN ALL! THE MODEL “A” DIDN’T HAVE ENOUGH POWER TO PULL THE LOADED TRAILER AND US UP THE DIRT INCLINE SO WE DID IT THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, WE CARRIED EVERYTHING OVER BY HAND THEN RELOADED THE TRAILER!
WHEN WE GOT TO MAMMOTH LAKES AND SAW THE NEAT CAMPGROUND AND OLD FAMILY STORE IT WAS ALL WORTH IT! THEN WHERE WE PITCHED OUR TWO TENTS WAS RIGHT ON A SLOW MOVING ROCK BED CREEK! THE MAN AT THE STORE TOLD US THE WATER COMES RIGHT OFF THE CLACIER PACK UP THE MOUNTAIN, HERB MADE WATER TIGHT BAGS OUT OF SOME STUFF HE GOT FROM THE STORE AND WE KEPT OUR MEATS, MILK, SODA POP, AND YES, HERBS BEER REAL COLDIN THAT CREEK! YOU HAD TO LET IT WARM UP BEFORE EATING OR DRINKING ANYTHING FROM THE CREEK! I TOOK A GLASS AND SWALLOWED IT AND GOT A BAD HEADACHE LIKE YOU GET FROM EATING ICE CREAM TO FAST, IT WAS COLD!
THE NEXT MORNING HERB AND I GOT THE FISHING GEAR TOGETHER AND HEADED UP TO THE TOP LAKE, IT WAS NAMED “MOON LAKE” BECAUSE FROM WHAT THE MAN AT THE STORE SAID WHEN A FULL MOON REFLECTS OFF THE WATER IT TURNS IT INTO SILVER AND IF YOUR UP THERE AND FAST ENOUGH YOU CAN SCOOP SILVER OFF THE TOP OF THE WATER! WE NEVER TRIED IT BECAUSE THERE WAS NO FULL MOON WHILE WE WERE THERE! MOON LAKE HAD SHEER CLIFS ALL THE WAY AROUND EXCEPT FOR ABOT 50 FEET WHERE YOU COULD SET AND FISH! WE CAUGHT 6 WHITE BASS (I THINK THEY WERE BASS, I’M NO FISHERMAN UNLESS ITS ALBACORE OR TUNA OR A SEA FISH, I DO KNOW SOME OF THEM) THAT WEIGHED ABOUT 2LBS APIECE FROM WHAT HERB SAID AND RUTH AND SHIRLEY COOKED THEM FOR DINNER ALONG WITH BISCUITS AND CORN ON THE COB!
WE STAYED THERE FOR A WEEK AND IT WAS AN EXPERIENCE I’LL NEVER FORGET, FISH EVERYDAY FOR OUR DINNER, COOK HOT DOGS ON A TREE LIMB HERB SHAVED DOWN, FRY HAMBURGERS IN AN OLD MINERS SKILLETT RUTH BOUGHT FROM THE OLD STORE!
RUTH AND SHIRLEY WALKED SOME OF THE TRAILS WITH THE LITTLE KIDS AND DID ALL THE COOKING, TOMMY AND I WASHED THE TIN PANS WE ATE OFF OF AND DID THE CLEANING UP OF THE AREA TO KEEP THE LOCAL ANIMALS AWAY! HERB MADE A NET TO HOLD OUR FOOD IN AND PULLED IT ABOUT 20 FEET UP IN A TREE ON A ROPE! THE MAN IN THE STORE WOULD COME TO THE FIRE AT NIGHT AND TELL STORIES ABOUT SOME OF THE OLD MINERS AND TRAPPERS THAT WERE IN THE AREA FOR YEARS! TRUE OR NOT, THEY WERE INTERESTING!
RUTH MADE SCRATCH BISCUITS AND GRAVEY FROM THE HAMBURGER GREASE AND I’M STILL ALIVE, UMMM GOOD! SHE MADE CORN BREAD AND A CAKE, PUMPKIN PIE ALL IN AN OLD TIME OVEN THAT SAT ON THE HOT ROCKS AROUND THE CAMP FIRE! IT’S AMAZING WHAT YOU CAN DO IF YOU WANT TO!
AT NIGHT EVERYONE WHO WAS IN THE CAMPGROUND SAT AROUND A GREAT BIG FIRE BUILT BY THE RANGERS WHO WERE THERE AND POPPED POP CORN, ROASTED MARSHMELLOWS, COOKED HOT DOGS AND JUST HAD A GREAT OLD TIME VISITING AND GETTING TO KNOW EACH OTHER!
WE WENT BACK ON A GOOD HIGHWAY AND MADE CAMP OFF THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, WE MADE IT IN TWO DAYS, THE TRIP UP TOOK 3 ½ DAYS BUT WE ENJOYED THE CAMPING OUT FOR TWO NIGHTS AT DIFFERENT ROAD SIDE STOPS! HERB ONLY HAD TWO WEEKS VACATION SO BY THE TIME WE GOT BACK HE HAD TO GO RIGHT BACK TO WORK AFTER WORKING ON THE CAR AND TAKING ME AND THE TRAILER HOME!
THOSE WERE THE BEST TIMES OF MY YOUNG LIFE! THAT AND THEN GOING TO NEWPORT BEACH! I SAID FOR YEARS I WANTED TO GO BACK AND DO LIKE WE DID ON THAT VACATION BUT I NEVER DID AND NOW TO MUCH TIME HAS PASSED ME BY TO DO IT! I WAS TALKING TO MY BROTHER JERRY THE OTHER DAY AND HE ASKED HOW I CAN REMEMBER ALL THESE THINGS, I TOLD HIM I USE WORD ASSOCIATION, ONE WORD LEADS TO ANOTHER THEN I PUT IT ALL TOGETHER AND PUT IT IN MY COMPUTER THEN ON PAPER!
THAT’S THE KIND OF MEMORIES THAT KEEP ME GOING!
DEBBI, DIANE AND TOMMY SHOULD REMEMBER THIS TRIP I KNOW I SURE DO! UNCLE HOWARD
THAT’S “30” FOR THIS ISSUE.
HOWARD
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