This weekend was the first time I've really had a chance to hang out with Gordo. I may have lost a tranny, but I gained a friend!
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weekend, Gordo and 'Tweety' (Ernest) Gonzales and I went up to the
ranch. The goal was to finish fixing that stupid suburban and drive it
back. We didn't get away from Phoenix until between six and seven (pm),
so it was going to be a late night. It got later when we pulled into
Show Low. As I was pulling into the big Circle-K, CEL began to jerk.
Then, the tranny started to make all sorts of really funny noises
(which was not so funny). We had to stay at the Day's Inn in Show Low
that night, but at least the room came with a free all you can eat
breakfast at JB's (all for $80). I called Nettie and told her to be
ready to drive up to Show Low the next morning. The next morning, I
managed to get a
ride to the ranch from one of my neighbors, Kat. Nettie was happy that
she would not have to drive. When we finally got to the ranch, we
started to work on the dumb truck right away. We weren't working too
long when I found that I was missing a caliper bolt, a part I had no
idea I was missing! I was sure I was going to have to leave the truck
there, again. I called Nettie and told her to get ready to drive up the
next day. Nettie was not happy. When I woke up Sunday morning, I
thought that maybe, just maybe, one of the bolts I had laying around
could be used on the caliper. I got out my bucket of bolts (yes, I have
a bucket of bolts at the ranch), but none of them worked (poop). I
wandered off to tend to last night's dishes. Meanwhile, Gordo got out
of bed, and saw the bucket of bolts by the Suburban. That gave him an
idea. He started looking inside the engine for a suitable bolt, and he
found one! Specifically, the alternator pivot bolt. He took the pivot
bolt out, and replaced it with one of my bolts from the bucket of
bolts, then used the pivot bolt, along with a socket (for a spacer), a
washer, and a nut on the caliper. We took the truck for a test drive.
It worked. I was happy. I called Nettie. She was happy. We were all
happy. This weekend was the first time I've really had a chance to hang out with Gordo. I may have lost a tranny, but I gained a friend! |
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On Saturday, we shot lots of bullets. We even had a contest for $5. Gordo won that. Here is Gordo with the .22. |
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Tweety shooting the .22. |
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Me shooting the .22. |
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Lots and lots of shooting. |
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Gordo with the big gun (the 30-06). I think he liked this gun... |
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Here is Tweety shooting the 30-06. This was funny. The gun really pushed him around (and Gordo laughed). |
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Shootin' the pistol. |
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Before
this trip Gordo had never eaten a shmore. In fact, he didn't even know
what a shmore was (I had to explain it). For the record, Gordo really
likes shmores. |
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I
let Tweety drive the truck. I am lucky to be alive. Gordo had way too
much fun with Tweety. He was always yuckin' it up, grabbing at the
wheel, covering Tweety's eyes, and generally causing a ruccus. It was
great! |
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These two had never seen the Salt River Canyon before. For the record, they think it is pretty. |
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This
picture HAD to be taken. Here are Gordo and Tweety Gonzales, standing
in Gonzales pass. For the record, they didn't know this was here. |
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