Nature's Revenge

Nature’s revenge for a mild spring has been over a week of 100F -plus heat. Not that it’s uncommon in North Texas to have stretches of temps over 100, but the last two weeks of June were drier in our immediate area, and July so far has had spotty precipitation. It was about ten years ago that it was over 100 for 45 consecutive days, and we are still far from that this current year. Not time to complain too much yet!

Despite having a lawn irrigation system, it’s been dry and hot enough to require watering shrubs. Mine are four years old, but still need supplemental watering, so I’ve been dragging hoses around for the better part of three days. Oh, well, I’m the one who decided to buy a treeless lot and create a place that looks like it was landscaped decades ago.

The A/C in my workshop cools fine when temps are in the 90’s, but works too hard when it gets hotter, so I’ve chosen to stay in the house when I’m not watering. Next week the afternoon temps are forecast to drop 8-10 degrees, so I should be able to work on the car then.

I have been working on interior hookup details for a few hours while I’m stuck in the house, but now I need to spend time inside the car verifying my plans before I transfer the info into a MS Publisher drafted format.

The lousy television programming  today has convinced me to watch more old movies, and I'm amazed at how may cars were provided by Chrysler Corporation. A black and white movie...with a quickly forgotten title...starring Jeff Chandler as a county sheriff featured lots of '56 Mopars. His patrol car was a '56 Belvedere that was a little upscale for a cop car, and the main bad guy drove a '56 New Yorker station wagon, so Chrysler didn't go cheap cars on the cars they provided. A '56 Dodge pickup, '56 Dodge wagon and a '56 Imperial were others that showed up in several scenes.

Speaking of other '56 cars, this one-of-none Minnesota-licensed Fury convertible was interesting. While I yearned for a set of "cruiser skirts" for my '53 Plymouth in about 1958, I don't like them on a '56. I don't mean to criticize the owner's choice, and they do accurately portray the era, but my mind has changed over the years. The stock lines are too graceful to deviate much. I know some will think the same about mine, so I guess I shouldn't judge.