Month: April 2010

Posted on

Hath Hell Frozen Over?

We are once again a 3-car family.  Yesterday we picked up another vehicle to round out the Disher fleet.

Wait for it…

 

 

 

A Mini van…

A gently used 2003 Pontiac Montana.

1410

Keeping on the Ramsey debt free strategy we added another clean used car to the stable, and paid cash.  This puppy is fully loaded and well cared for.  Every option, including DVD stuff for the kiddos.   We really only need to get 2 years out of it to break even, but it should last longer.

If you know me, I know what you’re thinking.

“What the hell?  A Mini van? and a GM product no less?“

No I didn’t bump my head, and I’m feeling OK.

This is a strategic move.

(a) It gets Claudine into something more fuel efficient for all the driving she does.  It’s actually easier for her to get Matthew into the car seat in this thing.  If Molly decides to resume gymnastics, all the driving that Claudine does will be better in this over the Excursion.

(b) It allows us to park the Cirrus for a while.  It’s been nickel and diming us to death, and quite frankly I’m just completely sick and tired of driving it.  It’s still a decent vehicle and Maggie will be 16 soon so she’ll need something to learn in.  The Cirrus is a good choice for this but if I had to drive it much longer it may very well have ended up in a lake or river.

(c) It allows me to take over the Excursion and recoup some man-points that have been lost from driving that Cirrus for so long.  Since I ride as often as I can the fuel burden won’t be as bad.

(Sorry tree huggers, we will never, ever, get rid of the Excursion, it is the Ultimate utility vehicle for hauling people, vacation/trips, and pulling the horse trailer, etc, etc.).

The most interesting part of this is that it is a GM product.  I’ve been anti-GM all my life, but this thing fit the bill and we just didn’t like anything Ford had to offer in this space.  Time will tell if that’s a mistake.

Posted on

Saying goodbye to a friend.

Phil was our auto mechanic.  He lived down the street from us on Radabaugh right over the ‘dip’ in the road.  His house was commonly referred to as the Cracker Barrel house because it always had a TON of stuff on, and around it.  It wasn’t junk though, it was ‘decorated’.   I’m somewhat saddened that I didn’t get to know Phil better.   Most of our interactions involved car repairs, though we did have the occasional neighbor chat, about happenings in Trenton.  He took an annual fishing trip to Canada in the fall and I was looking forward to joining him for one of those trips.  Phil was a laid back easy going guy, always cheerful and honest.  The kind of guy that comes and plows your driveway in the winter and doesn’t ask anything in return.  Heck for the last two years we didn’t have any idea who shoveled our driveway but we caught him in the act this year.  He was also restoring an 80’s Kawasaki K1000 and we frequently talked about riding when he got it back together.

Phil, you’ll be sorely missed.

His Obituary from the Journal news follows:

  morris_phillipstanley_SM

News Death Notice
MORRIS, Phillip S. age 61 of Trenton passed away at Atrium Medical Center on Tuesday, April 6, 2010 at 12:06 PM. He was born in Hamilton on September 29, 1948 the son of Elmer and Nellie (Chaney) Morris. Phillip was employed as an auto mechanic. He is survived by his mother, Nellie Morris of Hamilton; a brother, Kenneth (Gail) Morris of Pleasant Hill; three nephews, Shawn Morris, Jason Morris, and Marcus Christy; and a niece, Michelle Christy. He was preceded in death by his father, Elmer Morris, and a brother, Dr. Marcus Christy. Funeral service will be held at the Brown-Dawson Funeral Home, 330 Pershing Avenue, on Saturday, April 10, 2010 at 10:00 AM with Pastor Shawn Morris of Salem United Methodist Church, Wapakoneta, Ohio officiating. Burial will follow in Millville Cemetery. Visitation will be held at the funeral home on Friday from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM. www.browndawson.com