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« on: June 24, 2009, 01:11:08 AM »
RANDON THOUGHTS AND OBSERVATION from a person with too much time on his hands..
I think I would consider my self lucky. I collect engines because i like them and have little use for them for power generation/ if the power goes off I just go south or north for a few hundred miles and stay in a motel//we seldom have power outage of more than a few hours//growing up in poverty in the north Ga, mts. with out running water or indoor plumbing. I have no desire to go back to primitive conditions and live off grid. as they say done that/ I admire the people that want to do that. As you grow older it becomes more important to live with in 3-4 minutes of a good rescure unit/mine is 1 mile away/ every major hospital is less then 5 miles away/ I have had so many friends that retire and move to the country and die before a rescue unit can reach them/it will happen to all of us....even tho I live in the city, you could not tell it. Very private and only a few random gun shots..
Growing up in poverty did not stop a good education. I went to 1 room schools with out running water or bath rooms/ teaching aids were a black board,chalk and a stick for crowd control///the first t.v.the first transitor radio were beyond belief.
because of a good education and experience I was able to retire at 55 and have fun full time..I have been collecting engines,tools etc, for over 30 years, after retirement I found that I had the means and time to pursue my hobby.engine shows are the main source for most engines. I found my first indian lister at an antique engine show in 1999/been hook on diesel ever since.25 years ago it was not any trouble to find a good engine at a very moderate price.$3-500.00 would but a pretty good engine.move forward 20 years and all you can find is junk// the good engine are priced too high/ the younger generation finds that it is impossible to spend several thousand dollars for an engine that does not earn it keep/ we are losing the younger collectors/most engine shows the exhibators are in their 70-80s/ and I hate to say some are not very friendly/I have been to 6 engine shows and swap meets since January/from south Florida to Indiana/1100 miles between them/and I am sorry to say, it has gone down hill. now it is a good place to find flea market items/the economy has changed and people are trying to sell every thing just to make money/
If I lived in England, it would be hard to out bid me on some of those SOM listers/instead of selling off my engine colection,I would be enlarging it/
Now I only use my engines for fun/I grind corn and make grits and corn meal/email me if you do not know what grits are/I attend about 10-12 engine shows a year and travel 14-16 weeks of the year/ the main thing is to have fun and enjoy life. follow your dreams/ work hard but also play hard/
on a different but related subject.. in my travels I have been thru Ohio dozens of times/ never stopped until this year. because of a schedule change I spent 2 days in Dayton Ohio...the Wright Patterson museum is the place to visit//could not believe that I had passed by this place so many times and never stopped//you would need more than 2 days to enjoy it/I have never been interested in aviation. but this museum has something for every one...the best part,,, it,s free.. can not beat that/ anyway off to Denton n.c next week,,,,just some random thoughts///sid