PLAYING HOOKEY...

Okay, the regular readers of this nonsense have probably noticed I haven't been doing my usual thing the past couple of days.  THAT'S BECAUSE I'VE BEEN GOOFING OFF!!!

Well, the truth actually is I got infected with Mustang-itis when I rented that Mustang a couple of weeks ago out in Vegas.  Gawd, I love those things.

I had one 43 years ago!  Yeah, I had a 1967 Mustang, not the 2+2, but the square back 'coupe'.  It had a 289 small block Ford V-8 with a 2 barrel carburetor, 4 on the floor and a 2.71 rear end ratio.  During the summer of 1968 my college room-mate and I averaged, averaged I say, 108 mph across the entire state of Nevada.  (They didn't have a speed limit back then and we took full advantage of that mindless lapse in the law and quaint expression of individual freedom!  Unfortunately, that August heat in Nevada before our college classes began 'foray' flat ate the BF Goodrich Tiger Paw tires on the little red pony down to the cords.  I had to buy 4 new tires in San Francisco just to get home and like any good college kid I hadn't figured on or budgeted for that one.  I borrowed money from my cousin, who is the older Uncle of the cousins I rented the East farm to this year.  I don't think I ever paid him back, but see how this works?  We DO take care of each other.)

So for the past 2 days I've been the interweb junkie looking for dark blue Mustangs with the 315 hp overhead cam V-8 motor.  I found one down in Miami that was absolutely cherry.  It was an '09 model with only 9,000 miles and the price was absolutely judicious, but by the time I connected all the dots (VIN number plus the required Car Fax report) someone else beat me to the punch.  No surprise there.  Okay, some friends started helping and we found candidates in Colorado, Alabama and Texas.  None of them, however, were outstanding in terms of condition, extras, finish or price.  Then we stumbled, almost literally, on this one in Pontiac, Illinois.  It's a 2010 model and it only had 15,000 miles on it!

Several phone calls and emails later, I put money down on the example you see at the beginning of this post.  Of course, we had to do the usual dance of money versus status, but the bottom line is I own the above vehicle and the farm 'assault van' is now history.  (It did have 185,000 miles on it, so it WAS time for it to go.)  It was a 2 hour drive over this morning and then back this afternoon.

I realize this is a totally impractical vehicle for someone of my age and experience, but you know what?  I don't really care.  In fact, I could give a Shit what anyone thinks. 

This thing is a hoot.  It's fun to own a vehicle that will knick a 100mph in a heartbeat just when you 'punch' it to pass a slow semi-truck on a 2 lane backtop.

A girl over at the insurance office this afternoon after I got back accused me of going through a 'mid-life' crisis.  I said, "Oh NO, Honey, I've GONE WAY THROUGH A MID-LIFE CRISIS!  I'm on the other side and WELL PAST the dividing barrier.  We just don't know how far I've got to GO..."

All The Best,
Frank W. James