Old age and winters and respect for ones self
How have I gotten so old and feeling useless ? It used to not matter how cold it was or how hot it was in the summer. If there was something to be done I did it , It was just a matter of course if one of my vehicle's needed anything I did it. Rebuild the motor on a cat dozer? did it . Rebuild the motor in the 4x4 out on the gold claim ? did it, got the T shirt, got the nod of approval from my wife when I got her home safe and sound.
I own six quads, all different. All with different reasons for being. This winter I let old age and a bad winter get me down. I have a Polaris 700, it started smoking and running bad and now won't start. An Arctic Cat 700, went into limp mode and now won't start. A Polaris 500, so much wrong I won't even get into it. A Polaris 400 4x4, a rod through the crank case. Polaris 400 2x4 built by me just to go fast ... It just quit .... nothing, no indication of why. My first quad? arctic cat 500, It won't quit. It's a 2001 model, never gave me any troubles.
I have recovered the seat twice from wearing it out. It on it's on it's fourth set of tires & It's second set of rims .... Yes I ride that much.
My problem is when one of the other quads quit for whatever reason I turned to the cat and Ignored what broke on the others. Now I have let it all pile up on me until it pissed me off and I trailed The two 700's to the shop in Carson City and threw money at them. Told them that when they get them done I got more for them.
Why do I have so many quads ???? I don't let or like any one riding behind me. If someone shows up I always have something for them to ride. Nor do I expect them to know how to ride properly so all the others are automatic. My arctic cat 500 isn't, It has almost no electronics, no button to push for 4x4, Just a leaver you pull . No button to push for low range. You have to lean down and put it in. A five speed shift on the left foot.
I remember watching my grandfather Oscar surrounded by bikers as they watched him in awe working on their bikes when he was the same age as I am. Oscar was a small man, about 5' 2" & around 130 lb. He was the only truck boss and truck mechanic for the Co. he worked for. 20 haul trucks and 4 sticher trucks. He never raised his voice, never raised his hand to any one. I have seen 6' tall 200lb truckers quit their job rather then face him.
I have rode into his driveway to find him surrounded by members of the screaming skulls motorcycle club as they respectfully watched him fix one of their bikes. And my terror of a grandmother severed Iced Tea . The level of respect Oscar And Ruth was given. And by those that never respected anyone was something I have always tried to live up to. But have always come up short. Now I lost respect for myself as I pay someone else to do my work for me.
My Grandmother ??? half black half Chocktaw. I still have knots on my head where she beat me for not getting my wife iced tea.
Comments
nytwatch1 5 months ago 2
Ah @Rigel
I guess I should explain . I was at the kitchen table , reading a western , I was right in the middle of a gun fight when my wife asked for a refill for her glass of iced tea , I said yes dear , Please let me finish this paragraph . My granny Ruth went behind me to the fridge , opened the freezer ,,,, Took out an ice cube tray ,,,,,,,, {you would think I would have taken a hint} AND preceded to beat me about the head and shoulders . All the while telling ,,, not yelling , telling , lecturing me if my wife asks for anything that I had better get my butt in gear . When the tray was empty , ice cubes all over the floor , She switched to the rolling pin . My wife fell out of her wheel chair laughing .
This was a woman that carried four roles of quarter's and a snub nosed 38 in her purse . When the cops took away her drivers license for speeding {she drove her age . 80+++++} She would ride her dirty white jackass that meaner then F@#$! . to go shopping . They gave her back her license .
My Grandmother Ruth picked me up from the hospital when I was born , She raised goats so I could have milk . Yes I was born on the Yuma Territory Indian Reservation . In the hospital next to the Yuma territory prison . Granny Ruth drove a 56 "pink" Oldsmobile . My Grandfather Oscar kept it in perfect condition .
The Neiborhood where I spent my early life ?? Ira Hays , hero of WW two drowned in the ditch next my back yard . Martian Collier a half black Sherriff/bounty hunter in the 1890's lived two door's down . Most of the old men on our road were retired Indian cops from the 1890's . Or old outlaw's
So yes I kind of was raised "rough" . A lot was expected of me that I couldn't live up to .
Rigel 5 months ago 2
" I still have knots on my head where she beat me for not getting my wife iced tea ."
That explains a lot!!!! :)