I mentioned my high school friend Stephen in my last blog and since then I can't get this incident out of my head.

Our High School was in an old building in a residential neighborhood in uptown New Orleans. The campus was so small that at lunch students were allowed to leave campus and go wherever they liked, officially we were supposed to stay within 7 blocks of the school.

Parking was very limited. The businesses near by would tow student cars if we parked in their lots so we had to find spots in the neighborhood. I worked the midnight shift at my brother-in-law's brother's gas station. After I got off work, I would go to my sister's apartment for a quick nap and then to school. I got to school early and so did one other friend who drove in from the westbank and so we would park our cars together so that as other friends arrived we could squeeze their cars in. This worked for everyone who showed up relatively early but Stephen was seldom early. One exam day morning Stephen was last to arrive so he parked his RX7 at the very end of the block on the corner. Probably illegally, not leaving enough room to the corner. His RX7 was a gift from his dad. It was his dad's midlife crisis car and Stephen loved it. He was a real car buff. RX7's by the way, are cool little wedge shaped sports cars.

Well, Stephen parked, found the rest of us on the steps of a nearby classroom (Many of the classes were actually trailers lined up around the old building). We were all studying for the days exams. Stephen said "hello" and then headed off across the main road to the Winn Dixie (Grocery Store). Fifteen minutes later we heard tires screech, a bang, another bang, and then a blood curling scream from the middle of the main road; "My car!!" Looking over at the neutral ground (Median), standing on the streetcar tracks was Stephen with a yoo-hoo and a honey bun at his feet as white as a ghost staring at the corner where he parked his car.

Someone had run the stop sign and hit an oncoming station wagon. The station Wagon swerved and hit Stephen's RX7. Stephen's RX7 slid forward and hit Bart's Toyota Corolla. Bart's car then slid forward and hit Gary's Mercury. Gary's Mercury didn't budge, so Stephen's RX7 then slid under Bart's Corolla. Definitely a sight to see. 

Well, Stephen, Bart and Gary all got out of exams that day. Stephen spent the rest of the morning worrying about how the tow truck driver would lift Bart's car off of his. Well he didn't, he hooked a chain to the RX7 and yanked it out from under Bart's car. I don't know what screeched louder, Stephen's hood or Stephen.

Kind of hurts to think that it was more than 20 years ago.

Just got home from a business trip to Denver. Its a touch chilly in Denver at the moment. It was snowing pretty hard when we left. First time I have been on a plane when it was de-iced. It was an interesting process, they pressure washed the plane with hot water that had some sort of chemical in it and then they sprayed the wings with antifreeze.

Well it was a very educational trip but I am very happy to be home. Before I left we got the new A/C and heater installed. Then the boys and I removed the window units and put them away. We then reassembled Beth and Ben's closet. We had the shelves and closet bar removed because there is an attic access hatch in the closet. We also put back together the whole house fan in the hallway. I had to install a new thermal safety switch, straighten and install the blade. Then Beth, Ben, Jacob and I sanded the cover and I painted it white with rustoleum. Jake helped me get it installed after it dried. C loves having a whole house fan for our week of spring when she opens the windows and airs out the house.

I need to get some pressure treated wood to work on the roof. It is forecast to rain this weekend but hopefully I will get a chance to get the one spot I am working on repaired.

We went yard-saling this morning. Its been a little too windy to get up on the roof and start working. I am also still designing and pricing what I want to do. We really enjoyed it. At one sale the lady had a daughter and she gave us a lot of cloths for beth for three dollars, saying that it was just going to go to Goodwill if it doesn't sell.

Ben and I had to retreat to the car for a while and I pointed out the sky. It was a typical fall day in New Orleans. Of which we get like four days a year. Bright blue sky with fast moving and changing white clouds. Ben looked up and said, "There is a spider, and a skull, and a dragon with no wings and no legs." At least he has a good imagination. We ate lunch at Canes (A local chicken finger franchise) which cut into the savings of the day a bit and headed home. The kids all want to know when we are going "Junk Yarding" again.

When we were in a rental and I didn't have any tinkering to do with the boys, I purchased a few things for my truck. Then we bought the house and the exhaust I had purchased has been sitting ever since. I pulled it out and installed it today. The install went really well. Then I checked tire pressure in the cars and kids bikes and spent the rest of the day hanging out with the kids. C got in a Walmart trip right after supper, Caleb went along to take care of his mother and we are all setting down for bed. Looking forward to a cold Sunday morning. Guess I will have to get heaters installed and working next week.