Modern Vespa

I wish, I would tell you any exciting thing about myself, but I am not so interesting person. When I read Spuds shocking story about lightning, a horrible story came to my mind. I was about 10-12 years old. With my friends we were looking for a field to play soccer, when we found a dead man. I didn't see him too close, because first we only saw a man to lean against a wall. The older boys went closer and started to shouting: Oh, my God! I was shocked and ran home. (Later I heard, the man hanged himself.) After this, I felt myself dirty and I had a feeling that something wrecked in my life. The reality abused me very deeply.

Sorry you had to experience this LI, but I guess it's all part of life. I had a similar experience at the age of 13. I witnessed a severe car wreck and was first on the scene with a friend. The driver (a young girl) was thrown from the car and killed instantly. I ran to her, only to realize I knew her well - she was the older sister of one of my good friends. The memory and visuals still haunt me to this day.

While we are on a somewhat morbid few posts I have second hand knowledge of a couple fatal accidents.

First one was a couple years out of high school a kid I knew and was in Boy Scouts with for years was killed in a car/motorcycle accident. Kid was on his motorcycle and just as he got to where this car was parked on the shoulder driver decides to pull a u-turn. To make it even worse the State Trooper first on the scene did not even realize at first the kid killed was his best friend in high school.

The other one was one that involved my sisters husband, not as a victim but as a first responder. He started doing first aid on the people in the car that appeared to be in the worst condition. I believe at least one did not survive. Then he went to offer aid to the driver of the other car and that's when he discovered that driver was his dad! His dad did survive but was in hospital for a long time and never got back to what he was before the accident.

I have dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder).

After being in a downward spiral for most of my life, I'm glad to say the hard work I've put in over the last 8 years (in the form of specialised therapy) is starting to pay off.

Kudos to you for having the courage to post regarding your situation. I doubt many others would have done the same. The best of luck and continued success as you continue your journey Philos!

ok.....

I knew three convicted murderers. Met them all before I turned 30.

1) My cousin, strung out on drugs, killed a guy while boosting his TV out of his house in the late 70s. Spent most of his adult life in prison (35+ years).

2) The guy I bought my house from killed his wife and 2 kids 6 months later. Really freaked us out. He's been in prison 25+ years now.

3) Weird guy I worked with, a charming pathological liar. During divorce proceedings, he tracked down his estranged wife's lawyer and shot him and a cop. Never went to prison because he offed himself.

Yeah, I hang with a really classy bunch of dudes.

So do you consider joining MV a step up or a step down?

Reading these posts is fascinating and triggers so many memories. A few interesting facts about myself, not necessarily remarkable.

1. I too saw a college classmate die, in a car accident, in front of my dorm, on my 19th birthday. Very sad.
2. In my late 20's I flew a Twin Comanche from the Biggin Hill airport in London to Bangor, ME. With fuel stops in Iceland and Labrador. Very fun.
3. I've made more than 250 trips to Asia, from the US, 19 last year alone. I work in the semiconductor equipment business and that's where the customers are. I still love to travel.
4. I completed my BS degree in 25 months and my MBA in 12, including an international internship. I hated waisting time in school and wanted to start my life.
5. I'm definitely OCD.

I prefer to roll on one wheel, not two😎

Thank you. I appreciate your kind words.

Any time brother!

Dang. A fat tyre uni?!? Pretty cool. 8)

I became a dirty ol' man at a very young age...

I misplaced a Phillips screwdriver once. It caused a 1.3 million dollar problem.

I'm dying to hear more about this one...

F where did you leave it?

Left it on a pad gantry. The short end of a long story. When entering the work area all of your tools and any loose personal items are inventoried. When leaving I could not account for the screwdriver. I was all over the Shuttle pad that day. Fueling was put on hold until it was found. After hours of searching, it was found in a deck expansion joint where it had apparently rolled. Thus, delaying the show until the next day's window which gets somewhat expensive. Just got the usual written reprimand. But, from then on any tool that could roll had to be tethered or have an "adaptive anti-roll modification." This was many years ago and mistakes were always evaluated to prevent any future issue.

B

Left it on a pad gantry.[/quote]

OOPS!

And I thought pumping 55 gallons of oil into a Cat Gen set by hand before remembering I had left the drain valve open was a bad one. Just don't tell the EPA about it! That was many years ago near Fredericksburg, VA.

Reminds me of times, when I was a student at a Uni and earned money during vacations by working at power plant revisions. In many places (the big heat exhangers, turbines....) you literally had to tie the tools into you with a kind of thin rope, so that you will not forget them or drop them into wrong places. Felt a bit like being a Christmas tree, but it worked.

Back in the late 80's and into the 90's i was working (RN) for a temp agency. They were the ones that sent me to Hawaii for a year. Round trip plane ride to and from my point of hire and $750 a month for housing. Great gig. Went to Saudi Arabia for the second time 89-91. They approached me about working out on the Indian Reservations in AZ and NM. When i was a kid and we played cowboys and indians i was always the indian. With my dad's help i made my own bow and arrows and a birch bark canoe. Fun times. So the agency put me on the Navajo reservation first. A Navajo medicine man who befriended me took me out to the mesa's and told me about the area and about the medicinal herbs that grew from them. He was convinced i was Navajo in my past life. The next reservation they put me on was the Apache. Had a patient who died of cirrhosis of the liver ( alcoholism is rampant on the reservations). His family invited me to his funeral. I was the only white person there and the funeral is still the same as it was hundreds of years ago. The service was in Apache and they interpreted into English for me.Only the items that are buried with them were walkman's rather than bow and arrows. They also thought i was a native american in a past life. I never told them what the Navajo people said, Might be something to it seeing that i was into the Indian culture and ways from a young age. Very interesting.

Judy,
Reminds me of the time in the late 80's when my first wife and I were one of only two non Vietnamese couples at a wedding for one of her coworkers. We sat at the cousins table, where one of them helped us by telling us what everyone was saying, and serving the many courses of dinner (served family style at each table).

We never did get the hang of the dance that was done, but everyone smiled as we bumped into them.

Just curious but how does the disk brake help on a unicycle? Wouldn't you just face plant immediately?

I know I would face plant just trying to ride one!

I'm guessing there is some technique to the application of the brakes.
Whether light as a feather or brief as a blink, I can picture it being useful.
Not for me, mind. No, definitely not for me.

My cousin, Edward Abbey, wrote "Desert Solitaire" and "The Monkey Wrench Gang" (among other best sellers from the '70s) and inspired environmental terrorist movements (oops!).

Being in Arizona for 40+ years, that's cool.

Something surprising...?

I have a wife (39years married)...

and a girlfriend...

and five mistresses !


The story behind it. My first girlfriend and I have maintained a platonic firm friendship after we broke up romantically. When I met my wife I told her about this friendship and (in time) she accepted it for what it is. They also became friends and, should she call me, they will have a good natter first - then my wife will say: "Your girlfriend wants to talk to you..."

At my 40th birthday party, my "girlfriend" came over and asked me:
"What kind of a 4x4 are you going to buy?" I was confused.
"I know you men. You hit 40 and think life has passed you by, so you do one of two things - get a mistress or buy a 4x4. I have known you since we were 13 so I think it will be the 4x4."

Well, I didn't buy a 4x4, but I did buy a BMW R80/7 motorcycle.
The motorcycle became known as "The Mistress".
I have progressed in the past 23 years to the point where I now have 5 mistresses...!
My Vespa is the latest in the harem.

I also kept the wife... and the girlfriend too!

PS: In December we went out to dinner to celebrate 50 years of friendship. There were some raised eyebrows from adjacent tables when I was sitting holding hands with both of them...Life is good!

" .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... MODERN VESPA .............
................................................................................................................................................. "

I use invisible ink!

I used to look after the british queens mum. (In a professional capacity of course) amongst many other dignataries. I wouldn't want to name drop anymore though.

I lived aboard my sailboat for over 9 years in the '80s, toward the end of which time I raced her to Bermuda along with 49 other boats, many of which were all-out racing boats.

I was the 32nd to arrive in Bermuda, but I was the first house to finish.

You beat me to it.

When I was in high school and early college I used to ride a unicycle everywhere. I rode it once on a twenty mile ride to the local mall and back.

I still have one but am now many years older and 80 lb heavier. I could still ride it but fell off in an intersection around ten years ago and decided it wouldn't be my ride anymore.

Bill

Biggin Hill is 30 mins up the road from my place.

Bill x

Back in the 80's i got accepted to go on a Archeological dig with Texas A&M university teen in Belize. Even tho i paid they wouldn't take anybody. When i was younger i want to be a archeologist but my dad, who didn't want to support me for the rest of my life , told me to get a good paying job and do the digs on these. So off i went to Belize.We were in the jungle just outside of Orange Walk. Since we were the first team out we had to clear the area. what a PIA that was. Spent 2 weeks and eventually that site was called Colha and it was the tool making area for the Mayan civilization. A side note when i got done with my 2 weeks i had lunch in Orange Walk before i flew over to Amberis Cay for a little R&R and the menu had food items on the right and drugs on the left. The waiter told me which things (from both sides) they were out of.

I shook hands with Kelsey Grammer while we were standing at adjacent urinals.

Eeeeww...

Separately, I've peed next to Jason Kidd and Dale Hellestrae (former deep snapper for the Cowboys). In both situations, there were only two urinals, and we both had to go.

I might not be here if it weren't for my lazy dad.

Well sort of;
My dad was tired of the continual over-time he, they were putting in preparing for war so his shop decided to take Sunday off.
Pearl Harbor was bombed that Sunday, his hanger in the yard was not damaged, but, still who know what would have happened.

Rock on you porcelain cowboy!

I tried to sell some ceramic tile to Rich Karlis, Denver Broncos' barefoot kicker in the 80's. Tried and failed.