199,999 Miles

              I was a happy boy today. I got my checking account statement from the bank in today’s mail. I am VERY anal about my statements. I will spend hours tracking down any mistakes that cause my balance to be off. Today the numbers clicked on the first calculation. YAY!! That is always a good sign.

The worst of my bout with the flu seems to be over. The fever is gone and I no longer feel like a locomotive has run over me. But, that run-down, blah, and achiness is still present.

The mornings are the worst, When I awake my throat is so raw. It is not until some fluids get going, the accumulated phlegm starts to work and break up. I’ll never forget when I was attending school in Lancaster, PA living in an apt with two roommates back in the winter of 1971-72. I was existing on Coricidin D’s to keep my sinuses clear, at school full time and working 30+ hours a week at the supermarket. My body was so run down. One morning I was hacking and coughing to beat the band trying to get cleared up. There was enough of a break to hear one of the neighbours say in the hallway, “Stay away from that kid in #7. His lungs are terrible!” Whenever I go into spasms coughing, I think of that long ago neighbour on Chestnut St and how terrible my lungs used to be.

It has been years since I have been hit with the Flu like this. It has run it’s course to where the side effects continue, but just lessen daily.

I met the “Boys” for our monthly breakfast this morning at Wright’s. They gave me more abuse for not wearing my Utilikilt. There were other regulars present who asked me about not wearing it! I explained that I was getting over the Flu and my Dr. told me I could not have any drafts! That got them laughing and a bit of sympathy for me!! LOL! I promised I would not disappoint them next month! I never realized the impact that garment had on people!

I drove around a bit so that when I parked in the driveway the odometer on the truck was at 199,999 miles. In a few weeks I’ll have had that truck 12 years. I have to admit it has been the best vehicle I’ve ever owned. Just for fun I was checking new trucks on line the other night. Has the market ever changed in the past 12 years. For one thing midsized trucks like my Dakota are not made any more. It is either a small truck, or a full size. Manual transmissions seem to be extinct now.

Odometer reading at 10:30 a.m.

There is some kind of “electronic box” car thieves now have that can read car computer codes remotely which will dismantle alarm systems and unlock the doors allowing easy access for instant theft. Just one more reason to keep my truck, with it’s manual keyed locks and “hand crank, roll up windows”. How many potential thieves can even drive a standard shift anymore?

No, I think I’ll keep this truck of mine on the road for as long as I can. Hopefully in six or so years I’ll be posting the odometer turning over to 300,000 miles!

The other night I pulled out my old jar of Vicks Vapo Rub. I was in luck as there was still a bit of ointment in the bottom of the blue jar. There was not much smell left. I tried to find an expiration date without any luck. The label stated this was the “New Plastic Jar”. There was no UPC code and checking on Google I learned it was in the 1980’s Vicks switched from glass to plastic jars! Checking out other old stuff in that cabinet I found an ancient bottle of Mercurochrome, along with tubes of Neo-Sporin and Poly-Sporin. These tubes had expiration dates of June 1997!

I don’t have any way to date the different shaving lotions I have. Through connections my Aunt Fran had on Long Island, she used to get invited to Estee Lauder parties at Lauder private estate to get Aramis and Devon<span style="font-f

amily: ‘Bookman Old Style’;”> products for next to nothing. I still have and use those lotions. It is 20 years now Aunt Fran has been gone. Using my new shaving brush it is quite a ritual now to finish up my shave with a cold washcloth to close the pores and then a splash of vintage 30 year old English Leather Cologne!