a legacy of sorts

What do we have and hold of any real value in our lives? Maybe some property, some financial accumulation, any number of valued possessions and the accomplishments we’ve achieved throughout our journey. On a different level, there might also be a worthwhile message, a legacy of sorts to offer, if anyone ever asked. One that simply worked as needed and might be of value to be shared.

Like most of the rest of the world, my life had its ups & downs, sideways segues, and steps backwards. Most steps taken were in the right direction, but some were choices that I still regret. That said, I’ve lived long enough to have, for the most part, failed my way to an acceptable degree of success and am currently enjoying a large measure of happiness and optimism.

My inspiration always came from knowing that if I kept my mind focused on something worthwhile it would somehow unfold and be made mine. This is not an uncommon concept unique only to me. It’s a common trait shared by many throughout the world. The adage - Seek and ye shall find. Knock and the door be opened. Ask and it shall be given has always helped. When you make up your mind, believe that something can be done, and work with patient intention you can make your dreams happen or at the least, end up with a way better than good enough result. This guiding principle has continued to be a lifelong tool along with the adage 'a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’.

In a nutshell, as grandson Augie recently said to me while helping him build a working fork lift toy truck from bits and pieces in the workshop, “Put your mind to it Pop! You can figure this out.” He knows me well.

If it’s going to be it’s up to me. Hope is not a strategy, but if you believe that something’s possible, and want it strongly enough, focus on it, and work methodically toward the chosen objective, there’s more than a strong likelihood it will be yours, in time.

So what valued thoughts would I try to communicate with our grandchildren when conversational opportunities arise? Along with making or providing materials for building furniture forts, making safe small fires, using hand and power tools, reading stories, playing board games, creating the best paper airplanes, and cutting out cardboard swords and shields, whatever, there are times when mindful encouragement is not only helpful but also necessary.

Other (parents) from the past provided wise counsel (as noted in Shakespeare) when Polonius spoke to his son Laertes about how to behave when leaving home as a young man and venturing out into the world. “Neither a borrower nor a lender be & to thine own self be true,” are two of many thoughts Polonius offered as advisement. (Hamlet I, iii, 55-81)

Or from Charles Dickins’ book Oliver Twist, the Mr. Micawber good advice principle about finances, “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six , result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”

There seems to be a need, an expectation, and a precedent to offer advice to our kin. Who knows? If that opportunity ever presented itself and knowing my thoughts about current events it might likely include some of my following cautions and convictions.

The way you think and the beliefs you hold are key to what you do and achieve. Your belief system guides your path. Be reminded that there are many misguided, immoral, bogus paths and boneheads all around us ready and wanting to not only coral us but also use our time and take our money. The childhood story of Pinocchio first come to mind. In addition, we’re told that Donald Trump has told more than 30,000 documented lies over the past 5 years. Yet he has a loyal following. How can we truly evaluate thoughts like - we are told that a lie repeated 14 times becomes believable. So beware. Fact check. Seek the truth.

Don’t be afraid to fail your way to success. Never give up. Seeing is believing and believing is seeing. Do your best to be a friend. Ask for help. Cautiously evaluate and avoid hearsay, gossip, dogma, and political propaganda. Honour your commitments. Say what you intend to do and then do what you say. Seek clarity amidst the constant chatter around you and also with the seemingly endless chatter in your mind. The list goes on.

Let your life be filled with music, physical activities, your work, literature, theatre, study, art, and friends.

Remember that recess still works. Don’t always wait for the bell. Get out and on the road, the trails, the pitch, the courts, the hills, the wind water waves, the course, the track, the snow, wherever and whatever gets you heart beating, your lungs filled with air, and your senses rejoicing.

Build it, create it, BUY it, drive it, fly it, work it, whatever it takes, practise and progress, and simply be the best that you can be, always!

Your choices will define you. Davey Crocket said, “Be sure you’re right, then go ahead.”

So if the opportunity to give advice ever presents itself, and my mind is still somewhat intact (tuh dah!), I’ll be ready…

the legacy continues…

After driving a few budget priced Kia/Hyundai/Chev/Ford/Toyota/Chrysler whatever rental cars over then past few years Nancie and I immediately recognized their benign lack of road feel. Not only did the steering feel dead and unresponsive but the ride and overall handling was uninteresting and lifeless. Average and many upscale motor vehicles today have been made hugely safer with all of the computer assisted traction control, start engine, ABS braking, all wheel drive, memory functions, etc. etc. Layers of insulation here the there help to quiet and hide the many troubleshooting noises and sounds we otherwise should be acknowledging. Shiza. The list goes on and on. But all in all, we find that most of the domestic automotive lineup sitting out there today simply isn’t fun to drive anymore.

Our first cars in the late 1950s early ‘60s were English sports cars. Older MG, Triumphs, Austin Healy’s, etc. were affordable and easy to work on as needed. Regular maintenance was indeed necessary. In addition to being fun to drive there was a satisfaction in not only working on your own car and also be able to understand the fundamental technology of how internal combustion engines, drive-trains, and all of the accessories worked together as you kept finding and fixing whatever failed. With interest, limited experience, a few tools, and a shop manual you could put your hands on faulty car parts and change or fix them.

It was a different time and culture back in our day. We mostly kind of understood the dangers involved in top down, open road, no seat belts, whatever the issue, and kept driving with safety in mind, for the most part. We drove through rain and snow, winter and summer, did pretty much all our own maintenance, and looked forward to the adventure of it all as we motored about.

I guess Nancie and I are still die-hard motor heads. No doubt about it. It shows when we go looking for a new vehicle. Road feel, steering response, ride, all of the driving characteristics we remember quickly surface as we doodle about in the purchase of a potentially new family sedan.

Still in my mind it would be huge fun to help our grandchildren find a car when they are ready. It would be fun to help them diagnose and fix whatever the mechanical issue that presented itself. It would fun to help them build a special. A special was a frame up restoration of a favourite car with a souped up/beefed up/modified engine and upgraded drivetrain that performed and handled way better than it did when it was new.

For sure this motoring culture has rubbed off on our own children. They love to drive and still consult with us on most anything automotive. They learned to drive early sitting on my lap, going to the beach in the back of an open roadster, sitting on the workbench with me watching eveyrthing from carburettor rebuilds to rear axle upgrades. And knowing when to call home and describing in detail whatever the mechanical issue clearly and concisely.

It would be fun to redo it all with the grandchildren. But unfortunately, it’s an unlikely and improbable legacy considering today’s rather complex computer dominated automotive technology. Sigh.

Back to the past for a moment.

I clearly remember driving my reworked, upgraded, 1959 Volvo B16 engine/transmission installed into a frame up restored 1950 MGTD and being able to conceptualize every working component within the vehicle as we motored down the road. And yes, I could get rubber in second gear. And, it needed a second electric SU fuel pump to hit 3 digits because of a 4.89:1 rear axle ratio…

I fondly remember Nancie being able to file burned ignition points in her Rudd equipped 1959 Austin Healy 3000, that stalled in a snowstorm on the 401 one night, by herself, with flashlight, using a matchbook striker strip. She was heading to our rendezvous point in Toronto. When she arrived and retold her adventure I realized - Wow, she’s a keeper!

looking ahead…

rethinking simple…