I visited Sheehan this weekend in Muncie before going to Indianapolis to take my MacBook to the Apple Store for repairs (won't get that back for 7 to 10 days). The fireworks and hanging out on the fourth was awesome, and likewise Saturday was great; fulfilling my need to see Super Mario Bros. 3 beaten for the first time. Sunday was an alright day too, though fairly lackluster in comparison to the previous two days. After one or two hours of sleep interrupted by a loud fan and fridge (and probably the occasional pop of fireworks that never seemed to totally cease), Sheehan and I ventured to Gas City to attend Exit 59 church.

Something I heard there struck me. But first, I guess it's time for me to be open. I've been faltering as a Christian lately. Not necessarily in the sinful sense, but just that I've lost touch. I've strayed. Prayer is few and far between. Until Sunday, I hadn't even touched a Bible in months. Even though I was struggling, the thought of God, Christians, and faith never was far from my mind. I was always thinking (and still am). Turning ideas over in my mind endlessly until a conclusion might be reached. Without Scripture to back myself up, I had myself cornered into believing that the average Christian was wrong. That most of their beliefs were distorted and twisted trying to justify themselves and the disasters that we hear of. And it's not that they're always wrong; there's the possibility of them being right. The thing that bothers me is that they truly believe that they know.

The thing that struck me was that the Sunday school table was reading Hosea and talking about fires and being consumed by flames and what fuels those flames. When talking about sin fueling fires, one of the older men at the table seated left of me said or implied that the wildfires that frequently plague California are due to the sins of Californians. I wouldn't be surprised if this man went on to imply that Hurricane Katrina was sent by God to wipe out the sinners of Mardi Gras filled New Orleans. And if something were to happen to Las Vegas, I would bet that he'd sit back with a smug look on his face thinking that they got what they deserved. He even had the audacity to praise God for a pastor getting cancer because it spurned so much prayer and outreach from the congregation. Of course that second part is great, but don't you think it's a little sad that it takes something as horrible as cancer to wake us up and become active? When will the body of Christ not need such a dramatic catalyst before it jumps into action for something? Why can't we keep the momentum going even after the cancer or whatever goes away? In times of plenty, we feel no need to join together for something. It's only when we are faced with an immediate threat that action is taken.

It's frustrating. Especially when you're trying to decipher what's real and what's dogma.

Troy

Yesterday, my mom, sister, and I went back to my great-grandpa's for a final round of helping out before the auctioneer takes over. We got very little done given that they've already done quite a bit, but we got the 1916 Model T out and fired it up again so my mom and sister could get a ride too.


My great-grandpa's Model T and I.


I don't remember making that gesture, but I must have been saying something to Alison about spark plugs or something.


Showing Alison the engine.


The engine. I think it's like 20 horsepower or something.


Demonstrating to Alison how to start the Model T. It wouldn't start like this because the coils weren't turned on, and even if they were, we haven't been able to get it going any way other than pulling it behind a truck to get things moving faster than we can by cranking.


Of course, the obligatory in-driver's-seat picture. Gotta have it.


This was taken as we rode past my parked car in the Model T. I thought it was a cool reflection.

Finally, we have the video, but I can't get it to go from the selection menu down into the weblog entry. This is pretty disappointing. Well, since most of you are subscribed to me, the video probably shows up in your Universal Inbox. Go there or go directly to my videos and you'll see it. You can leave comments about the pictures here, and comments about the video under the video itself. Maybe I'll get this resolved.

Troy

Learning and being busy. That's how you could describe my last few weeks. Honestly, I can't believe I hadn't already posted some of this stuff.

My great-grandpa's auction is at the end of the month on June 27th and the 28th, and as always, we've been busy working to get all of that stuff ready. A couple weekends ago, Ball Auction brought a crew of guys over and we pulled the Ford Model T's out of the garage. Things are getting a little more organized, but there's still a long way to go before we're done. Fortunately, the week after this one, Ball will have an even larger crew to help with the garage, and many family members will help as well. I plan on being there every day for the next two weeks.

Our latest project there is to get the two Model T's running. One day we washed the cars and cleaned the side curtains (for when it rains). Another day, we cleaned the interiors. Then began the work on the engines. So far we've had to pull the spark plugs and use a bench grinder/wire brush to clean them, then clean the timers, clean coils (things that power the spark plugs. Old tech; I'm not very familiar with them), replace a radiator hose, and then hook up a battery to help us get running. Normally you would be able to hand crank them to start them, but since they've been sitting for a long time, they need to run to get things operating properly. Before I go on, here are some pictures of the Model T's.


This is the 1916 Ford Model T Touring car. It's unique in two ways: it has a brass radiator and is the last model year to have that due to World War I, and it also has three doors.


As you can see here, it looks just like any other four-door model, but the driver's door is actually not a door. Apparently it was customary for the driver to exit the car on the right side, probably so they don't get run over by an entire world of brand new automobile drivers. This picture makes it look like I'm just hanging back to take pictures while I let an old man push the car, but there was actually another person on the other side pushing, and those cars really aren't very heavy.


My great-grandpa put a lot of time and effort into this car. Even my great-grandma did. She shined that brass radiator until you could see yourself in the reflection. The wheel spokes were painted black, but they both took broken pieces of glass and used them to painstakingly scrape the paint from each and every spoke. The wood has a nice aged look to it now. In the back you can see the "bug"/racer.


This car is made up of a 1917 engine, 1920-something radiator, and the rear portion of the body is made of a 1940-something Hudson (car company from way back) hood.


The interior of the "bug." This car is unusual due to the fact that it has a transmission. Normal Model T's have 3 pedals, from right to left: reverse, brake, clutch/speed shifter. On the steering wheel (as you can sort of see), there are levers on both sides. The left side controls the spark advance (engine timing) and the left controls the throttle. Needless to say, these are a trick to drive. The "clutch" pedal itself is kind of unique. When pressed half way, you're in low gear and it will cruise at slow speeds with your foot on the pedal. When you press it all the way down, it locks into high gear and from there you control the throttle to determine speed. It's pretty much like cruise control. The bad thing about this particular car though is that my great-grandpa's one mistake was using a short man as a way to design the size of the interior. I sat in it and when my feet were on the pedals, I had a knee sticking out over the metal edge and another knee on the dash. Definitely not built for me.


This car has nothing to do with the auction and it wasn't my great-grandpa's; it was my cousin's, but I'm showing it because it's a Model T race car (designed from a 1925 or '26) and it's pretty high on my list of favorite cars. I wish he wouldn't have sold it...

Anyway, we got the "bug" to run on Friday, and now we just need to put water in the radiator and maybe take it for a short drive. That would be pretty cool! I'd love to drive it, but I don't think my body size makes that safe, so I'll have to wait until we get the 1916 running. We have the three essentials to make it run (spark, gas, and compression) but it's being very stubborn. My grandpa, uncle, and I have been trying to figure out this problem since Thursday and none of us have any great ideas except to put more gas in the tank, double check that it's getting to the carburetor, and possibly pull it with a truck as we try to start it in an attempt to get the pistons going faster than we can with the hand-crank.

Work resumes tomorrow on that car, so if anything happens, I'll be sure to keep you updated.

Troy