If this makes no sense to you go read my original post here on my shoes.
Traci bought some shoes at a yard sale and did not relize until she got home that I had officially brainwashed her. My son is in big trouble…….
funny
Archived Posts from this Category
June 12, 2008
February 15, 2008
Six years ago today I was in a hotel room in San Francisco. I pulled out my cell phone and a small piece of paper with a phone number on it. I dialed and began talking to the person I would have my first and only blind date with, and spend the rest of my life with. Date #1 was the following weeknd. The rest is history…. except,
I was a super bachelor at the time… so what day was it for me? It was a work day of course! Anything special? Of course not. Valentines day had been removed from my vocabulary. Still to this day my wife and her best friend still tease me about being the “creepy blind date guy” who makes his first call on….. Valentines day!?
What a dork…… 
January 2, 2008
With anticipation I pull up to my Dad’s house. It was cold this AM. I had made sure and put on my long underwear, beanie, sweatshirt, etc. He was already waiting so we hopped in his Jeep and headed out. What would the day hold? Would we find what we were looking for? This journey may be a prediction of our general successes for the rest of the year.
We were pretty sure we know where we were going, but we had not been there in almost a year. So as we turned off the freeway and made a couple of turns we began scanning the horizon for our destination.
The sun was till low in the sky so we had to squint to see as we drove along. My Dad spotted it first, “Turn in there!”
Following his direction I ended up in a parking lot with very few cars….. We had beat the crowd. A big plus for us. We got out of the jeep into the crisp cold of the morning. The back hatch was lifted and we pulled out our gear. Everything got locked up and we headed for the main gate.
We signed in, got our hands stamped and proceeded through the turnstyle.
Here is were the real journey began. Hundreds if not thousands of cars in front of us waiting to be the donor of some needed and necessary part….. Yes we were at the Junkyard….
If you are a gearhead, keep reading. If you are not….
We came to find a big part for his jeep. Now skip to the end…….
The goal for the day was to find a rear axle for his Jeep. Not just any old axle, and actually not even a jeep axle, but a ford 8.8 out of a 95 or newer ford explorer. And today was not any old day at the junkyard either. Today was 1/2 off day!
Rear axles in most Jeep cherokees are usually a dana 35 or a chrystler 8.25. Neither of these axle are very strong and even if upgraded have flaws that cannot be worked around. When building a 4×4 capable vehicle with bigger tires you need axle strength, both in the axles themselves as well as the ring and pinion and the housing. The ford 8.8 out of a newer explorer provides much bigger axles (31 spline) a bigger ring gear and a much more stout housing.
Along with these advantages it has the same bolt pattern for the wheels, it is the right width for the cherokee and comes with disk brakes instead of drums.
We did not go up unprepared. We had sent a scout ahead of time to see if we had a chance to find one of these elusive beasts….. (actually we just knew a guy that had gone up a couple of days before and asked him to look for us). We thought our chances were good. He had seen at least 2 of the newer explorers with the rear ends in tact.
The yard is organized by section so all our look would be confined to a smaller area than the whole yard. On our initial scan we found at least 5 or so potential cars. We checked for completeness and then picked the one with the lowest mileage.
With tools in hand we began the extraction process. In no time at all we had everything loose and it was ready to pull out. We made sure that we had all the little accessory bolts, brake lines, calipers etc and then hauled it out to the road about 30 feet away. This junkyard has a big forklift that drives around and pickes stuff up for you. So he came by and picked up the axle to take up to the front for us.
Once it was paid for, we put it in the back of the jeep and headed for home. Now there is still quite a bit of fab work to do to get it ready for the jeep, but it well definitely provide a good building block for his jeep build up.
I know we may be the black sheep, but for this part of the Lumsden clan, it was a great start to the new year.
And for those of you who read this whole commentary and are sitting there thinking, “I can’t beleive I just read this whole thing about going to a stupid junkyard.” well…. hahahaha
December 18, 2007
This chrismas I have 4 generations at my house… of Shoes. While not the most important post, it will give you a little look into the systematic, oddball, slightly obsessive person that Traci has to put up with…
Its become an annual ritual for me to get a traditional pair of black vans shoes each year for my birthday or christmas. When I find a good thing, I stick with it.
This year I have 4 pairs at my house, each with a purpose. I may have had more but my wife decided that my last pair needed to die with dignity and she did the honors….. No need to worry though, I know they originated from the evils of skateboarding, but I converted them before their demise…. so they are in shoe heaven.
#1 – The oldest pair – well broken in, have seen everything from desert sands to snow. Been doused in water, oil, peed on by someone’s dog while I was at the dog park (yes the shoe was on my foot), and who knows what else. These are in retirement mode now. they are relegated to mowing the lawn, slipping on to run out and get the mail, or to be the sacrifice if I am going to be doing something godawful greasy, muddy, or dirty.
#2 – 2nd to oldest pair – these are probably the most comfortable. The rubber and material has been sufficiently worn so that it is soft and formed to my foot. These shoes see the most use. Any time I can get away with wearing this pair I will. They are a little faded, with a few spots, but can still slip by most people’s ‘ugly shoe’ radar.
#3 – Next to newest pair – This pair has been my standard good shoe for the last year. They are just starting to show some wear and at the same time just starting to get comfortable like the above pair. These are my go to church, go out to eat, wear with my good clothes shoes. But soon they will move ‘up’ a category as my newest pair have arrived.
#4 – The newest pair – have not been worn yet. Good for weddings and funerals. Well maybe thats an exaggeration. They will appear with the good clothes and when I know there will not be dirt around.
Still here? Scared? Just pray for Traci!
