Todd, The oldest, had his last day of work at Hilltop today. I am happy but also sad. It was a pain for me to work late at nights and then have to get up at 0630 and take him to work, come home and try and get a couple more hours of sleep, then pick him up and bring him home, and go into work and try and get my shop duties done. (fell asleep in Sams club parking lot on Wednesday night before my last pick up)
Tyler had his first day back to school and he is now in high school. (seems like so long ago I was holding him as a newborn and crying my eyes out hoping that his mother would make it through the night)
Rebekah, had orientation today at Longfellow. Everything seems to have gone ok. got to sit with her at supper time and she told me about her new teachers.
Contractors were here today and got a few things done. New door on Todds new bedroom is up. hope to get started on the painting this weekend. want to have Todd moved in by Sunday night. Rebekah, (bug) just doesn't understand that her brother would like some privacy. And Todd is not at all understanding that he is a "Big Brother" and needs to set an example. Hopefully we can resolve most of the fighting issues with more square footage.
I tried to find a Barber that would shave my head and face. But no one will do it because of risk of exposure to hep. or aids. guess I don't blame them. Was able to get hair cut almost smooth and found that Shorty on birch street would do a shave but by appointment only.
I went into work today with the idea that I would be replacing a cylinder hydraulic line on van 40. But as usual, when I got there Tom was on his way in with minibus 44 or 45 (i don't remember (Harlows bus )) with a lift problem. Tom went out and swapped vans with Harlow because it wouldn't stow properly and he claimed was low on fluid. I took the cover off and verified that it was full of Smurf juice and the pump was not cavitating (sucking air). But I did notice that the pendent rattled when I was operating the lift. opened it up and low and behold a wire was off the "UP" switch. I don't Get to enjoy this part nearly as often so when it happens I savor it. So I went to tom and said to him Guess who was right for the first time this month? and his reply was even a blind squirrel can tell time with a broken watch twice a day. ( or something like that). Had it fixed and back on the road in 15 min.
It is very enjoyable working with Tom, It isn't always just fix things, he wants to share his knowledge and make sure I understand why we do things the way we do and why the simplest fix isn't always the right one. We not only repair company equipment but we talk about things like politics and religion. and usually these are subjects that shouldn't. We don't always seem to see the same views politically, but religion (the bible, Christianity in general) is a subject that we do talk about a lot. I guess I look up to Tom as an older brother that I never had.
Then on to Van 40, I started in on the dissassembly of the lift and noticed that the new line that I had in inventory was the wrong one. I went out to Van 48 (my storage warehouse) and hoped that I had a lift out there that had one on it. But no luck. Showed Tom my problem and we ordered a new hose from hydraulic shop here in town. My only concern is that the hose that was on the lift was replaced by Brent a few years ago and was done wrong. Wrong outside diameter caused the hose to pinch and wear down to the braided casing, and then rupture.
I removed the old hose so they had the correct length and example of the ends that we needed and sent the wrong hose which had the correct diameter hose but too long. While waiting for the new hose, I replaced the locks on the lift and removed all the W/C tie-down hardware and threw it in trash, and put the new Q-straint hardware in the van.
While waiting for my new hose, Jeff (TC-49) drives up with 79 and says his lift is running real slooooooow. I checked the lift and when you ran it it drew enough power to kill the lights and radios in the bus. checked the battery and verified the alternator was cooked. Tom ordered a new alternator, and I started to get the few tools that we needed. (damn thing was so hot the wet rag that I used to grab it with was steaming by the time I set it on the bench) Took forever to get new alternator. and my hose was back yet. I needed to get lift stowed so we could park vans in garage. so I used my hose that was too long and put that in so I could at least stow the lift and clean up the garage. (I had 3 children with hair appointments at 1600 and I wasn't gonna be late) by the time I got van 40 put back, the alternator arrived and I started on the installation (this is part where Tom comes over and points out that I let ground strap off. Thank god Tom checks my work over. Had bus back together and Jeff back on the road just a few minutes behind schedule.
Tom was still fighting with van 27, seems that the steering linkage was just wore out and would be down even longer then planned (Sherri would not be happy) But he did get M 34 working, a broken wire that took almost 3 days to track down. (like I said earlier, simplest fix not always the correct one)
Went home and got granny and the children and wife and went to RCU and then haircuts. 60 bucks for 4 haircuts and tip. Thank you Terriann Halvorson Gallati .
Stopped at Bob the corn mans veggie stand and got more corn for tomorrows cookout and a cantaloupe for breakfast.
I do not remember much else other than I woke up about 0230 friday morning. I be damned, I slept for almost 8 hours!
And my life being compared to hair-care, wash, rinse, repeat.
