Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
On 07/08/2014 10:09 PM, Meade Dillon via Mercedes wrote: It was our winter plow vehicle, and was reasonably safe to drive with a snow plow mounted that you could drop and use as an anchor when you needed to stop. Back in high school, I had a friend who built a go cart. I don't recall all of the details but basically it had a chain saw engine and rack and pinion steering that had been scavenged from some source. There was a junior high school just up the hill from his home and the yard was paved all of the way around the school so they would go up there and take turns roaring around the school and timing the runs to see who was the fastest. They had not managed to scavenge anything that would serve as brakes so ... They tied a boat anchor onto a length of rope and would throw that out and hope it caught on something sturdy enough to bring the vehicle to a stop. I never got the chance to try it out as I lived out of town and had to climb onto my school bus to head home after school but I did enjoy the stories about it all. Randy ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
WILTON wrote: True, but as the character was abuilding... Yes, but all of us enjoy what was being built in them thar cigarette fields back then. My observation has to do with the ease by which seeming success happens today *because* some wise invention makes ease happen. i.e. without experience in red mud hills, nice modern designs lose perspective. ABS etc are all fine, but skill is gained without ABS, perhaps. Interface between man and machine is part of the joy of transportation, not just ease using ABS, etc. I like the character and skill that red mud hill experiences lead to rather than whatever is built today as we zoom along on the interstate with ABS. Today, we get distracted persons, incompetent persons, etc - all because of the ubiquity of ease rather than the attainment of many and varied transportation skill. It breaks? - yeah, just call AAA. Not for Curt/Wilton/mercedes-at-okiebenz - we cut off our belt to make-do with temporary fix to get to a better place to complete the problem resolution. DIY rocks. mao ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
Agreed. Wilton - Original Message - From: Mountain Man via Mercedes mercedes@okiebenz.com To: Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Friday, August 08, 2014 7:41 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill WILTON wrote: True, but as the character was abuilding... Yes, but all of us enjoy what was being built in them thar cigarette fields back then. My observation has to do with the ease by which seeming success happens today *because* some wise invention makes ease happen. i.e. without experience in red mud hills, nice modern designs lose perspective. ABS etc are all fine, but skill is gained without ABS, perhaps. Interface between man and machine is part of the joy of transportation, not just ease using ABS, etc. I like the character and skill that red mud hill experiences lead to rather than whatever is built today as we zoom along on the interstate with ABS. Today, we get distracted persons, incompetent persons, etc - all because of the ubiquity of ease rather than the attainment of many and varied transportation skill. It breaks? - yeah, just call AAA. Not for Curt/Wilton/mercedes-at-okiebenz - we cut off our belt to make-do with temporary fix to get to a better place to complete the problem resolution. DIY rocks. mao ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
[MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
Yep, 'nother one already. THE RED HILL By Wilton Strickland On the dirt road where we lived in 1941, '42 and '43 near Nashville, NC, was a small, red clay hill. I think not only I, a boy of only 7 to 9 then, but the entire family dreaded having to travel this part of the dirt road from our house out to the paved road when it was wet. The hill seemed quite steep to a little boy - it was especially steep and long after a little rain or snow. Deep ruts of slippery, red clay made this part of the road especially hard to navigate, even for the most skillful and experienced driver. My brother, Carson, about 16 to 17, was usually our driver. (Though Daddy had cars and drove during the teens and '20's, I never saw him drive. Carson or another brother was always our family driver while I was a child.) Carson would try to give the little '37 Ford a good running start before getting to the worst of the red mud and try to make it over the crest, slipping and sliding (sometimes violently) from one side to the other without going into the ditch. The trick was to have just the right momentum to make it over the hill without having to apply so much power to cause the rear wheels to spin excessively sending the car out of control. Daddy always occupied the right, front seat and would sit way up on the edge of his seat, leaning forward, and holding onto the lower, under-edge of the instrument panel (dashboard, it was called then) as if to lighten the load and urge the car forward as we negotiated the red hill. I don't know if it were a result of Carson's skillful driving, our good luck, Daddy's expert pull on the dashboard or our strong thoughts on the matter that got us over the red hill, but of the many times slipping and sliding from one side to the other, I remember going into the ditch only once. Daddy or Carson got a neighbor with a pair of mules to pull the car back onto the road. On a Sunday afternoon in 1995, I took Mama for a short ride along the road that used to give us such trouble. The black Mercedes SDL glided smoothly quietly up the slight incline. I said to Mama, You feel that - 'you notice that - do you feel anything? She replied, No, I didn't feel anything. By then, we had crested the slight incline, and I stopped, eased back down the hill and tried it again. Again, we glided smoothly and quietly up the hill. Again, I asked Mama if she noticed anything; again, her reply was negative. Finally, I said to her, That's the point - we hardly notice anything, now. Isn't it amazing the difference 50 or more years can make? Then I asked if she could remember that same hill on the family's '37 Ford during or after some rainy weather in 1942 or '43? Oh, my, she replied, I certainly do! The hill under the Mercedes was almost nonexistent - hardly any hill at all. The crest had been graded down and pulled into the valleys to each side of it. We rolled easily, solidly and securely on asphalt pavement, with hardly a sound nor quiver from the vehicle and the road, quite a change from the same ride on the little Ford so many years before. Whenever we forget to be thankful for improvements to our transportation system and too many other things in our lives that we take for granted, we should remember the red hills that have often impeded our way but have now been transformed by somebody's ingenuity, hard work, persistence and perseverance into hardly any hill at all. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
I won't go into the detail that Wilton has but he made me recall our trials and tribulations with a white hill. We lived in a spot where one had to climb a fairly decent hill in order to drive out to the highway. It was fine in summer but come winter, it was a bit of a beast to climb. If the snow was deep it was trouble and if the snow was hard packed from travel it was also trouble as it would be slippery. We would have to back up to the top of the other hill on the south end of the roadway (think down rather than up with it - if one was coming to us and by on the way to the highway, one would climb a long hill and then cross a short fairly level bit on the way by our yard on the way to the next hill going up some more) and make a run at the hill on the north side. Often we would have to back down and try again. We were always concerned that there would be another vehicle coming the other way on either or both of the hills and they too would be trying to make it up so maybe not going all that fast but reluctant to brake to avoid us. Tires were not as good then as now and rear wheel drive was generally not as good as many of the front drive cars today in snow. My father never had a 4 wheel drive until near the end of his life and then it was not a daily driver but a 2 ton Dodge Power Wagon with dual wheels on the back. The rest of the road into our place was not so great either. It has been much improved during my lifetime but I remember it being not much more than a trail through the bush when I was a child. It has been straightened and flattened quite a bit and is now hard as it is an oiled surface. When I was young, I would have to get off and push my bike up the hills as I could not ride up them. I might have if I had a bike with more gears like today but I only had a basic bike with the coaster brakes. Randy ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
I've got a hill story too. Headed into camp you could just drive up the camp road through the trees but for a bit more scenic trip you could break left just before going into the trees. Travel a little along the headland of the field and turn right, pass through a small stand of spruce and into another field which you could cross and catch back onto the camp road. The trip through the spruce stand is a pretty steep hill made worse by the 90 degree right turn. To avoid the turn you could drive out into the field but the transition from field to headland is a helluva bump so you can't carry much speed. In May 2013 we took a trip to camp where it rained 7 days out of 9. On day 7 the ladies went shopping in town and called the men out for lunch. On our return dad was with me in the Ranger and Angie was driving my mom's Jeep. Angie and my mom were getting nervous of the deepening ruts in the soggy camp road so they decided to go through the field. Dad and I paused to watch and we saw the Jeep go up through the trees and then come back down the hill again with the brakes locked. I decided we ought to make a try, the Ranger has a limited slip rear diff and is better offroad than my mom's stock Jeep Liberty. We went out into the field and I opted to carry much more speed than was sensible. Angie swears we caught a little air when we hit the bump at the end of the field and I kept hard on the throttle up through the spruces. We made it but only just, I knew the Jeep had no chance. With the windows down we could hear the Jeep but they never showed, then things got quiet. We walked back down to where Angie had slid the Jeep sideways into a spruce tree. Fortunately nothing was broken and I was able to back it down the hill and go up the camp road. On day 9 when we left to go home the road had gotten so soft we watched the Jeep drag badly as we followed along behind. We knew that this was definitely out last trip out. That summer we had a guy come in with a dozer. He smoothed the ruts out and cut some drainage which should help. We've owned the camp since 2003 so having it repaired once every 10 years isn't so bad. -Curt ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
WILTON wrote: ...we should remember the red hills that have often impeded our way but have now been transformed by somebody's ingenuity, hard work, persistence and perseverance into hardly any hill at all. I will argue au contraire. The story you tell is part of the character build that you exhibit! Ease does not create character as easily. mao ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
Well said. Grant... On Thu, Aug 7, 2014 at 5:27 PM, Mountain Man via Mercedes mercedes@okiebenz.com wrote: WILTON wrote: ...we should remember the red hills that have often impeded our way but have now been transformed by somebody's ingenuity, hard work, persistence and perseverance into hardly any hill at all. I will argue au contraire. The story you tell is part of the character build that you exhibit! Ease does not create character as easily. mao ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
My hill story. I grew up in kettle moraine hills in central Wisconsin, just a few miles from the highest point in the state, Timm's Hill. Our house was at the end of a gravel road a little less than a mile long. The drive was all hills and turns, and many drivers ended up in the ditch, most in winter but some when there was no snow. Leaving highway 86, it is a ninety-degree turn onto our road. The first hundred yards or so is a mild uphill, a long sweeping turn, with a steep bank to one side, and trees on the other. One summer day, a neighbor called for help pulling a stuck truck at their place, several miles away. We had only one four-wheel drive vehicle, a rusted-out Willy's Jeep, circa 1945, with no brakes. It was our winter plow vehicle, and was reasonably safe to drive with a snow plow mounted that you could drop and use as an anchor when you needed to stop. It also had a high-low range transfer case, so in low range with a little clutch action and engine braking, it could be slowed considerably. The decision was made to remove the plow, and I would drive the Jeep, while Dad and my little brother would drive one of our other vehicles. Last crucial detail: the transfer case was worn out, so a big thick rubber band was used to hold the lever in low range. We set out, Dad in the lead, and just as we started down the last hill of our road, which ended at the highway, the rubber band broke and Jeep was free wheeling. Gulp! Try as I might, it would not go back into gear. I tried to slalom in the loose gravel to kill speed, swerving back and forth, but that wasn't too effective. As I overtook Dad, I had to straighten out. I flew by him on the right, gathering speed toward that T-intersection with the highway. Thinking fast, I decided to use the ditch on the right side of the road like a banked curve at the intersection with the highway. Wouldn't you know it, as I sped up to the highway, there was a loaded logging truck, stacked high with trees, passing from left to right. If I'd gone straight through the intersection, he would have creamed me. I turned hard right, into the ditch alongside our gravel road, which immediately banked right to run parallel with the highway. The Jeep made the turn without flipping, and I ended up running right down the shoulder, right next to that logging truck, maybe five feet between us. I coasted to a stop, put the Jeep in gear and shut it off, got out and was just so happy to be alive... Max Dillon, Charleston SC ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
True, but as the character was abuilding, I surely wished for the build to be a little easier. I doubt that I ever wished for a harder build to get more character. Wilton - Original Message - From: G Mann via Mercedes mercedes@okiebenz.com To: Mountain Man maontin@gmail.com; Mercedes Discussion List mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2014 10:11 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill Well said. Grant... On Thu, Aug 7, 2014 at 5:27 PM, Mountain Man via Mercedes mercedes@okiebenz.com wrote: WILTON wrote: ...we should remember the red hills that have often impeded our way but have now been transformed by somebody's ingenuity, hard work, persistence and perseverance into hardly any hill at all. I will argue au contraire. The story you tell is part of the character build that you exhibit! Ease does not create character as easily. mao ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
The decision was made to remove the plow, And _that_ was the only mistake made that day. That wasn't a plow, that was the brakes. -- Jim ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
'Nother ATTABOY! Wilt - Original Message - From: Meade Dillon via Mercedes mercedes@okiebenz.com To: Mercedes mercedes@okiebenz.com Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2014 11:09 PM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill My hill story. I grew up in kettle moraine hills in central Wisconsin, just a few miles from the highest point in the state, Timm's Hill. Our house was at the end of a gravel road a little less than a mile long. The drive was all hills and turns, and many drivers ended up in the ditch, most in winter but some when there was no snow. Leaving highway 86, it is a ninety-degree turn onto our road. The first hundred yards or so is a mild uphill, a long sweeping turn, with a steep bank to one side, and trees on the other. One summer day, a neighbor called for help pulling a stuck truck at their place, several miles away. We had only one four-wheel drive vehicle, a rusted-out Willy's Jeep, circa 1945, with no brakes. It was our winter plow vehicle, and was reasonably safe to drive with a snow plow mounted that you could drop and use as an anchor when you needed to stop. It also had a high-low range transfer case, so in low range with a little clutch action and engine braking, it could be slowed considerably. The decision was made to remove the plow, and I would drive the Jeep, while Dad and my little brother would drive one of our other vehicles. Last crucial detail: the transfer case was worn out, so a big thick rubber band was used to hold the lever in low range. We set out, Dad in the lead, and just as we started down the last hill of our road, which ended at the highway, the rubber band broke and Jeep was free wheeling. Gulp! Try as I might, it would not go back into gear. I tried to slalom in the loose gravel to kill speed, swerving back and forth, but that wasn't too effective. As I overtook Dad, I had to straighten out. I flew by him on the right, gathering speed toward that T-intersection with the highway. Thinking fast, I decided to use the ditch on the right side of the road like a banked curve at the intersection with the highway. Wouldn't you know it, as I sped up to the highway, there was a loaded logging truck, stacked high with trees, passing from left to right. If I'd gone straight through the intersection, he would have creamed me. I turned hard right, into the ditch alongside our gravel road, which immediately banked right to run parallel with the highway. The Jeep made the turn without flipping, and I ended up running right down the shoulder, right next to that logging truck, maybe five feet between us. I coasted to a stop, put the Jeep in gear and shut it off, got out and was just so happy to be alive... Max Dillon, Charleston SC ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
Bad judgment (bad decisions) build experience. Experience builds good judgment... The trick is too live through the experience! Growing up in the country with a father who was _always_ looking for adventure, I can think of more than a few times when one of my siblings or I could have been maimed or killed. Thank God we made it, a few scars, broken bone or two, but lots of great memories, and eventually if not good judgment, at least better judgment. Max Dillon, Charleston SC On Aug 7, 2014 11:22 PM, Jim Cathey j...@windwireless.net wrote: The decision was made to remove the plow, And _that_ was the only mistake made that day. That wasn't a plow, that was the brakes. -- Jim ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
Re: [MBZ] OT - 'Nother boys tale - The Red Hill
No seat belts in your Jeep either, I'll bet! Max Dillon, Charleston SC On Aug 7, 2014 11:23 PM, Mitch Haley mi...@mitchellhaley.com wrote: Meade Dillon via Mercedes wrote: My hill story. And I thought driving a 1960's Jeep with a weak driver's door latch and a broken door check strap (or maybe there was no door check, anyway it folded flat against the fender so I'd have to stop and get out to retrieve the door) was bad enough when I was a teen. ___ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
