Blackwater 53393

Ionospheric!

The titanium doesn’t set off the detectors in the airport, but the ones in the courthouses and schools are off and on!! When I got the spinal implants, they gave me a card to show at airports. I’ve never had to use it! I don’t even know where it is anymore, but I don’t care because I will no longer fly willingly.

A master at the craft!!

I don’t fib!! I FABRICATE!!😜

I can certainly relate!! My visit Monday with the infections doctor was as usual, except that I informed him of the six new screws in my foot! He thought for a moment and then said, “They won’t bury you! They’re gonna take you in and scrap you out!” The count is up to fourteen screws eight nuts and eight washers, two rods, four carbon fiber “cages” and three artificial discs with attaching hardware! The titanium is worth more than a good engine overhaul!! 🤣

^^^^^^THIS ^^^^^^^ If you’re not using a scale to determine what you are dropping, you’re risking catastrophe!! Major or minor depends on which side of the right weight you err. Get your drops to the correct WEIGHT by checking them on an accurate scale REPEATEDLY!! Then recheck at regular intervals during your loading process to verify that your loads have not changed!! Whether I’m loading a dozen rounds or a few hundred, my scale stays on the bench and gets used throughout the process!

MOI??

I had kinda hoped that we could meet up and ride some this summer, but I’m still looking at at least five more weeks in a cast on the foot and I’m not supposed to put ANY weight on it until then. That means that I can’t even get out in the shop and get the old thing apart and ready for paint before the end of May or first of June! The worst part is that we’re not sure that this will work! The chances are improving, according to the sawbones, but this has been a long ordeal and I’m a little less than totally confident. For now, the plan is to get it on the lift and strip the tin for the painter to get to work on while I go over the brakes, clean up all the chrome and stainless, replace the front tire and battery, and change the fluids and filters. With everything else I need to get on and get done, I’ll be sometime late fall getting anything finished. “The hurrier I go, the behinder I get!!” 🙄

And sure!!

I never owned a new one, unless you count the 2000 Sportster 1200 Custom that I bought for Schoolmarm. The only work I ever had done at a dealership was having a new tire mounted and balanced on a front wheel and the dealer service to protect the warranty on the Sportster! That damned thing has been bulletproof! Tires and a battery, oil and filters, and a few light bulbs is the extent of repairs done on it. Somewhere around 30,000 miles so far! I DID have a couple of warranty recalls handled by the dealer on my ‘98 Buell White Lightning. They changed the battery mount and the rear master cylinder under recalls. I had a great friend who was a past master Harley mechanic who helped me with my own bike, which is/was/has been extensively modified, mostly to suit my fancy! He passed a few years ago and I doubt there are three more of his caliber still living and still working. Other than cosmetic changes, I will probably just maintain the old iron and fix whatever is needed from here on out. It’s been twenty years since I had to have anything more than service to do on it! I had planned on cleaning it up and getting it painted to ride this spring, but health issues have gotten in the way!

I certainly hope you’re correct. Remember!! The nation is only guaranteed freedom until the next election!!

From an email I received from NRA: “Yesterday, April 22nd, the Tennessee General Assembly adjourned its 2025 legislative session. Two pro-gun bills received final passage and have been transmitted to Governor Lee’s desk for consideration: Senate Bill 1318 / House Bill 1332 – Clarifies that the minimum age to obtain a concealed handgun carry permit in Tennessee is 18 years of age. Senate Bill 1360 / House Bill 873 – Protects the firearm industry from civil liability when their products are criminally misused by third parties, making Tennessee a more attractive environment for firearm-related businesses. The NRA thanks the lawmakers that championed these bills along with NRA members and Second Amendment advocates for their engagement this session. “

🤣 I quit taking anything said by Consumer Reports seriously the second time they rated the Corvette as having “average body rust through”! Any bunch of idiots that doesn’t realize that fiberglass doesn’t rust doesn’t deserve any kind of respect or recognition!! 🤣 I don’t know if it’s really the way it seems, but the CR crew appears to hate almost any vehicle made or sold by American companies and they particularly despise GM, whether they deserve it or not!! The in crowd drove the prices up so far on new Harleys that nobody who bought one at the zenith has any choice but to ride their money out of them. I bought mine used with 12,000 miles on it and paid $3,000.00 for it with a factory fresh engine, (the original owner was a junky and he ran the bike with no oil) two new tires, and a new chain. A couple of months later, the “Harley Craze” hit with all the stars and celebrities buying them up like hotcakes!! I’ve gotten a dozen times my money’s worth out of that old relic!!

Harley Davidson spent a number of years in development and testing of the “Evo” engine and related accessories that were released during the time when the company was bought back from AMF and “taken public”. Literally millions of miles were ridden in the process and stuff was tortured to develop the reliability that brought the marque back to the peak of demand and performance. Unfortunately, later “improvements” didn’t receive the same attention to detail and subsequent releases have not been up to that standard. A lot of derision was heaped on the AMF bikes and they were not as popular with the “RUBS”, (richer urban buyers) who drove the market for a decade and more, but AMF SAVED HARLEY DAVIDSON’S CORPORATE ASS from extinction, carrying the brand and appreciably updating and modernizing the bikes. Better electronics, disc brakes, more modern ignition and fuel delivery, and better materials were all AMF improvements. When the Davidson family repurchased the company and took it public, the groundwork had been laid and they took it and ran with it. Since then, the usual corporate malaise and arrogance allowed the level of quality to slip, (I hesitate to say TUMBLE) just like most major companies/brands have done! SAD!!

Don’t know if I’ll be back on both feet again by then, but I aim ta’ visit, even if I ain’t allowed to play! This is one of the purtiest ranges in SASS and the banquet and evening events are absolutely astounding! Whiskey, Randy, Imis, and the gang put on one more fine fandango!!