Aloha,
Well listers, it looked like I weathered more than one storm after being
evacuated to Honolulu. First off I'd like to thank the people that sent
off-list notes to me about the storm and if I don't reply to please keep
in mind that I may NOT have received it due to the island mail server
having been disconnected from the internet for close to a week.
Suffice it to say, I'm back on Johnston Island which was none the worse
for wear fortunately. I wasn't looking forward to being without work
which could have been a stark reality if nature hadn't changed its mind
on where to send hurricane Dora.
Having just finished reading the last of the triumphs-digests that were
to my delight re-sent by MJB's list server I also appeared to have
missed a storm with more impact than Dora had.
I am of course referring to Henry Frye's "State of the List" post.
Sadly I am guilty of frequently running off at the mouth (keyboard?)
when it comes to posting things to the list. Unfortunately Henry has
raised some valid points. Worst of all, there is no easy answer to some
of those points.
I can safely say one thing, having spent a very enjoyable afternoon with
Henry as my navigator during the TSD rally in Portland I'm glad I
finally got the chance to meet him and his wife, they are both wonderful
people.
Henry helped bring home the point to me that these cars (my spitfire)
were made to be driven, not coddled. Prior to driving in the rally I
was hesitant about doing anything in my spitfire, not because I was
pampering it but because I was "afraid" of it breaking down. However,
after roaring (well, ok putting along is more like it) through the back
roads around Portland with Henry yelling encouragement I finally
realized that if I didn't drive the car I might as well get rid of it.
Guess what, I elected to drive it. I can't think of the last time I
enjoyed myself so much while driving a car (parked cars however are a
different matter!).
If it hadn't been for this list I would never have meet Henry, Andy,
Fred, Dan, Brian, Michael, Tom....., and well I hope you all get the
picture because the list goes on and on. I can also safely say that
without this list and the Spitfires list my spitfire still wouldn't be
on the road, simple fact. So I for one would be saddened if Henry
should decide to leave the list.
I don't remember who mentioned it this past week but the fact that new
people are constantly joining the list and each of us are in various
stages of development (repair, resurrection?) its tough to manage the
volume and variety of mail and still find something that pertains to
your own level of progress or interest. I haven't found a solution for
it and probably never will. I will however continue to read and post
and hopefully make new friends (and probably enemies as well) from this
list. I apologize if anyone has taken offense to any of my posts. My
current situatin doesn't allow me to contribute as much to the technical
end of things as I would like. When this stint on JI is over with I
hope that can be changed.
Sorry if it sounds like I'm rambling here, guess I'm just tired after
dealing with the military and their **#%^$#) evacuation procedures!
Thanks for listening.
Mahalo
Brad
64 Spitfire Mk1
59 TR3A
59 TR3A (not sure what to do with it)
59 TR3A (parts car?, trailer?, money pit?)
61 TR4 (currently undergoing the knife)
64 TR4 (mostly complete parts car for sale)
51 Dodge 1/2 ton truck (also under the knife)
xx Mayflower (hopefully someday!)
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