RE: Re: cj7 trannies: T5, World Class T5, gearing
Greetings and salutations, all, it's... *insert term less than good, but better than awful, signifying that I would rather be up north still* to be back in lovely Madison Heights... Well, besides the fact that my Jeep, and associated brakes are behaving themselves perfectly, the trip up north also did me well... People in Northern Michigan are just so much friendlier than the Metro Detroit area... Little mom and pop party stores where the person behind the counter is willing to make small talk with you, so that even if you entered in a horrible mood, you cannot help but leave with a smile on your face. As if you could be in a horrible mood in a land of 2 lane asphalt highways weaving in and out of trees, where roads are created of dirt, and the biggest concern is " do I need to put a log on the fire now, or after I finish this shot... " Where your home away from home is a little tarpapered mish-mash of everyone's odds and ends from the last 50 years or so... A little thing called Glen's Market, the Krogers, Farmer Jack, Albertsons, Meijers, Food Lion, or whatever supermarket you are familiar with of the Northern Michigan area, where the people are nice, 10 cents of every dollar you spend goes to a local high school, the produce is fresh, and shopping is something that you can take your time with, because you are maybe one of 15 people in the whole building, and you are not in a hurry... Or the Mio Ace Hardware, where we are looking for fuses and other odds and ends, and the clerk asks us if we need help like 3 times, not because he thinks that we are stealing, but because he wants to make sure that we find everything that we need... Or Ray's Mug and Jug, formerly Ma's Mug and Jug, formerly Liefs Mug and Jug, a place where you can find anything you need, mind-altering beverage is a Michigan Driver's Licence away, and the lady behind the counter is more than willing to listen to your life story and give you hers, because she is in just as little a hurry as you are... Or the Mio Dam, on the AuSable river, which is not only generating power in a joint venture of Consumers Energy and the Presque Isle Electric Co-op, but also creates Mio Pond, where there is a campsite and pump open to the public for the procurement of water... That's something that I have not seen in any of the states that I have visited, an actual device that pulls water from the ground for you to drink, or take with you, free of charge... Yes, with things like this, I don't see how one could be in a bad mood...
Sitting there in the cabin, listening to classic rock on the Bear (105.1, Cheboygan, Petoskey), sipping on either Crown Royal, or Emmets Irish Cream with Eggnog, reading my books, writing about what I am thinking, while it snowed outside, and just shooting the breeze with my buddy Kevin was extremely therapeutic, both for my damaged back, and my tormented mind. Upon midday Tuesday, my back and shoulders had subsided to a dull ache, by that night, I felt back up to 100%. I was able to relax like no other, problem is, I have not been up there since April, and in case you can't tell, going up north is very important to me. So, besides a sore throat due to the dust, and cold weather, I am back to my good old self, wish I could take you all up there to get a glimpse of what my words, articulate though I am told, cannot possibly touch upon. A little nothing-much-to-look-at shack full of old furniture and miscellanious crap, on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, in one of the poorest counties in Michigan to the untrained eye, but everything that I have described, and a billion times more exist up there.
Well, my patient Jeepzters, I have taken up enough of Terry's hard drive with this one, so I vanish mysteriously... Re: those whom this post was originally written about, Tonka is home and well, the Jeep looks awful, it's totalled, but we're working together on that one, and BigRuffToys4X4 is in the process of reconstruction. Thank you all for your kind thoughts on my mending, I'm glad that all of you are the first ones that I get to share my good mood with. Stay cool, dear friends that I have not yet met, but look forward to doing so someday.
