Free Wheelin'

I got a text message late one night from my friend Tim. He had just finished completing his ‘new’ garage, and like many riders, he was probably more excited about finishing the new ‘Garage Mahal’ than he was about closing on his house or the birth of his children.

Hey…priorities here.

Still, this message came in just as we were finished watching Exploding Kittens on our brand new, first in over a decade, television that we had just gotten and set up that day.

Before I get into the gist of this Free Wheelin’, and to fill some space, let me tell you Smart Televisions are way smarter than me – and setting it up and working, all well and good, and bright, and sharp and WOW - does TV really look like that? What else am I not aware of?

Anyway – just as I was feeling that I was King of the World (as far as I know), Tim sent me images of the new garage.

Ahh – beautiful.

Phsssssss – I could almost hear the hot air, of which I am so full, leaving my happy blissful balloon.

About an hour later I found an excuse to go out to the barn, the dim light of the garage door opener casting faded shadows across the cobwebbed corners of the uninsulated T1-11 walls, clutter and disarray. 

It reminded me of the hidden passageways in the Arconia.

Although it is a bit of a mess, it is my mess and I know – kinda – where everything is. Generally. Kinda.

Then there are those bright and beautiful days – when my T1-11 non-insulated, metal-roofed barn is absolutely perfect temperature-wise, and I take advantage of that one week in May and again in October to put things right in my world.

Put the wrenches, not only in the proper drawer, but in the proper order. All the bit-piece electrical harnesses, wires, and plugs (all thrown into a box, and then promptly tangled into some crazy Gordian knot by the Garage Gnomes who cheerfully screw all these things up when they are done twisting up your Christmas lights) get slowly and methodically untangled and separated by use. 

Shelves are moved and the tool cabinet rolled away from the wall so I can get behind there with a huge shop-vac, only to find the mummified remains of Mickey, Mighty, and Jerry. Oh, a snake skin. Large snake skin – Like Frank Frazetta-size snake skin. I love where we live.

In truth, after every project, all of which either dove-tail or cause additional projects, I try to tidy up; but the only part of the barn that seems to be well-manicured is the workbenches that also serve as the "proving grounds" for the Backroads Hot Wheels Speedway.

When I was putting the BR-HWS together, there was a semi-snarky remark from a certain redhead that I was “too messy” to have a track there. “It’ll get buried under your cra…stuff”

Well, ha… it is still in semi-ordered shape. Two straight, yet steep, downhills into two separate loops, hard left bank, through the Stargate (Yes, the Chaapa'ai), and then the finish line. For the record – stock-like late ‘60s Hot Wheels run better than over-the-top "Hot Wheels."

But once my buddy sees this, he’ll have 1/64 garages, a grandstand - and probably pit girls too.

But he’s an FFP (Friggin’ Fighter Pilot), and they get everything, and his toys are usually 64 times bigger. 

But… the fuse was lit.

Every project and task can only start with a first real step, and as Joe Jackson sang – You can’t get what you want… till you know what you want. Finish the barn? How hard could it be?

Like calculating the exact angle, speed, and motion in correlation to wheel speed and drag coefficient of the Hot Wheels car (See above, as heavy calculus brought to bear here); I will handle it one task at a time.

Careful not to overdo any forthcoming tidiness, as I know where everything is in my first class disarray.