What NOT to do with a Mixie Frame!!!

UGH.  The duldrums of summer!  Things are getting so quiet around here, the other day when I came to work all the crickets were sunning themselves in itty bitty lawn loungers and one of them looked at me and said lazily "why bother, man, aint nobody listenin'!"
BUT, at least it gives me time to work on the special projects.  Got the repairs done and done, even though most of them won't be picking up until next week, but I figure while I got the time, what the hey!
Did have one mind blowing visitor yesterday, though.  Gent called me earlier in the day, saying he had some bikes to get rid of, as he and his family were moving back up to New Hampshire.  Well, of course at the mention of the old homestead AND the very familiar accent, the conversation went right into talk of familiarity. That's one unique phenomenon about Yankee's, once you meet a fellow Northerner, the tenor and lilt of your voice and the conversation becomes one of  great comfort, as if you were old friends who were genuinely glad to see each other and needed to catch up.  Turns out, he was moving back to Fremont NH, although he had grown up in Manchester! Of course he attended high school there, graduating one year ahead of Angela!  Well, now, my curiosity peeked, I inquired as to whether or not he remembered her name.  Of course, after 20 odd years, it didn't ring a bell, but once he came to pay us a visit peddling his wares, he took one look at the family photo near the door and declared "OH....I remember HER!!" 
No, I did NOT press him to expand on the emphasis of "HER"  As the old saying goes "What happens in High School, STAYS in High School!"  After all...there are some experiences in MY upper classman years of my career (most interesting six years of my life!) best left to the obscurity of time (although...I was aware that my high schools Drivers Ed teacher used me as an example of what NOT to do when driving for well over ten years after I left!) But that visit was ONLY the beginning!  When I got home last night, Angi was brimming with excitement.  Seems that chance encounter opened up a whole whirlwind of yacking on Facebook.  The visitor went home and looked up Angi, and as it turns out, he was also friends with many of their old classmates, whom Angi had lost touch with years ago.  So for several hours it was old home week as they all reconnected.  Of course, she had to contend with all the incredulity about "had she REALLY had nine kids" and "barefoot and pregnant" quips, as well as some thinly veiled jealous commentary about how she was able to retain her skinny figure after that many youngins!  It was really sweet to see how much fun she was having reliving old memories.  What I found REALLY funny was, there was a friend she had all through those years, who was by her reckoning, quite the bad boy with a real chip on his shoulder and a penchant for bucking authority at each and every turn (hmmmmm.... sounds vaguely familiar!) After High School, meeting me and shortly thereafter leaving the North, she lost touch with him.  Yesterday she found out, that of ALL the careers he could have chosen....He's running for CONGRESS!!!   Although, truth be told, maybe that's just what we NEED in Congress, someone that doesn't take any $#!+!!
Ah...Good times, GOOD times!
OK, now staying on the homestead, a new feature we'll be calling....


WHAT WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH!!!!
Having started on the Truck in gusto, I had laid out everything we had here to work with in order to determine what I would need to finish the Box for the truck.  With list prepared, I called Angi to have Elijah, one of our runners, come up to the shop to go to the Hardware store.  She woke him up, and as she needed supplies for the house, was going to send him to the grocery store first then he would be up, post haste.
two hours later....
Him having not arrived, and me quickly running out of things to occupy my time, I called back to see where he was.  She was perplexed, as she thought he was already long since here, having already brought the stuff to the house quite some time before.  She asked me to wait, as she checked, only to find that he had brought the stuff home, then under the guise of leaving, slipped back into the bedroom and fell asleep!! 
re- rousing him, he begrudgingly came to the shop, but not without his friend along in tow.  Ugh, we are becoming a temporary half way house for the "lost generation" and this young man is the latest visitor to crash for a couple days on the boys couch.  He had no bike with him, so he was jogging alongside Elijah as he had a brilliant idea in  how to help him get around.
The following is an example why you DO NOT put pegs, on a mixie frame with single walled, aluminum 700c rims!!!!
Yes, anyone who knows ANYTHING about bikes, can see where this is going, but bear with the narrative as it is depressively funny! 
AGAINST my urgent cautions, Elijah, being a teenager who, by divine bestowment of grander wisdom and intelligence then any "older" generation curmudgeon, knew better then I, and was completely assured that no ill would become of his ingenious solution.  SO, with dull orange pegs, mounted to his snub nosed 3/8 rear axel, this 260 pound Monolith of a nineteen year old took position in the drivers seat, as another 180 pound teenager mounted the pegs, and off they went!
....one hour later...
Got a call from Ace Hardware
(don't jump the gun, let me get to the funny part)
from Elijah, informing me, they did indeed get everything on my list...
BUT...
They would be later in returning as they were going to have to WALK back to the shop.  For some COMPLETELY UNKNOWN reason, his REAR tire had a "massive blowout" while they were in the store and he had NO idea what could have caused it
(at this point in the conversation a very audible SLAP could be heard as the palm of my right hand impacted with my face, being forcefully dragged, slowly, in frustration down it's length, resulting in a very heavy sigh)
THIS is the result of what was labeled a very MYSTERIOUS blowout!





(hard to see, but the weld was completely GONE!!!)


Seriously....SERIOUSLY!! The ONLY thing that keeps my insanity in check, delaying the inevitable trip to the Laughing Academy and donning one of their sporty jackets that ties in the back, is having to constantly REMIND myself, that at one time in EVERY young man's life, we were THAT clueless as well! 
My Mother smiles herself awake EVERY morning, knowing full well, that the curse she placed on me so long ago is working to it's fullest fruition!
ANYWHO!
As the old Chinese proverb (at least I think it was Chinese) "a small pebble, in a big pond sends out many ripples" so too does the delay of building materials!  Hell bent on getting the box DONE, we stuck around until almost nine to complete it (which didn't really happen as there is still more to do) and this of course, had the household in an uproar as we were so off schedule!!!  But, by eleven, everyone was fed, clean and in bed, and hand on face, I passed out on the couch!
So today, we are hoping for the best, as we have already sent some parts to a new home for a DIY'er to rebuild his ride, and sent the really sweet Pacific Dual Shock to a new family as well!
NOW, I best jump back on the truck project, as I still have a ways to go!
Hope to see everyone soon!!


OH, Special shout out to the newest country to join us here, Malta!  Took a Google Earth virtual tour of the place, very pretty!