11/16/09

As y'all may know, being an Anglophile, a lover of obscure English TV shows, and an owner of a Lotus Seven (albeit a replica), I was somewhat excited that AMC was doing a remake of “The Prisoner.” It aired last night. I'm going to be a big enough man to not bash the show because, in all honesty, I slept through most of it. It bored me so badly I fell asleep. Needless to say, I was disappointed with the effort. I was going to pick nits about the few things I did notice, and didn't like, but I think I'll let them go. OK no, I can't. First off, a Subaru WRX instead of a Lotus? That’s just wrong. Second, he should be called “NUMBER Six” not just “Six.” It flows better. For that matter, everyone should be called “Number X” because it flows better. Thirdly, where was the grilling for information? It seemed that it was all about trying to convince him he was crazy, that there was nothing other than The Village. Don't even get me started on The Village either. A bunch of A-frame buildings in the middle of the desert is no Portmeirion, Wales. I was glad to see, unless I dreamed it, Rover being used to return Number Six to the Village. At least they got that right. Again, unless I dreamed it. And finally, how does Jim Caviezel keep getting “acting” jobs? You would think he was Jesus Christ the way his career keeps rising from the dead. Oh, now I get why they had to film in the desert. Portmeirion didn't want him chewing their scenery. No, I will not be watching the rest of the miniseries. And that is all I have to say about it. For now. Moving on, remember how we were supposed to go pick up Nadine, the car, from Nadine's, the location, on Saturday? Well, one thing led to another and... we did go pick it up. Ha, I had you going there for a moment didn't I? OK, I probably didn't because the only people who read this are me and John and we both knew the truth. Anyhoo, John called Friday evening, or sometime, and suggested that we meet at my house whereupon he would drive Shichi to the shop while I followed in Fifi. This would shave a few hours from the process Saturday, we assumed. I got up Saturday and began moving cars. I rolled Shichi out and got her warmed up. When John arrived we headed out. I followed, asbestos I could, while he rip-snorted his way through the gears and such in Shichi. I got a good laugh when he bounced out of his seat over the railroad tracks and again when he was inundated splashing through the water crossing under the railroad bridge. At one point I saw/heard a silvery thing go flashing/tinkling down the road next to me. I did a quick inventory of the possible parts that could have fallen off Shichi and decided it must have been something in the road. When we got to the shop, John informed me he’d lost his Zippo. That was the silver flashy/tinkly thing I saw/heard. We parked Shichi, after building the last two skate thingies and clearing a spot, then hooked up the trailer. We dropped Aaron’s HL-A10 Violet off the trailer and headed to Nadine's. They had spent the morning clearing out the route in front of the car except for a washing machine. John moved that and we were in business. We checked the parking brake and were relieved to see it was off. We rocked the car a little and saw that the wheels looked like they would roll. That made me very happy. We “rolled” the car forward enough to get some jack room and put it up on the dollies. Then it was just a matter of controlling it while we rolled it down the driveway and out into the street. We stopped and took some pictures then winched it up onto the trailer. It went much easier than I expected. John might not believe that statement, but it is true. I expected to still be winching on it at noon. We were ready to head to my house at 1045 h! John made me stop at a car wash so he could hose the thing down. I sighed and rolled my eyes at the time, but am glad he did now. We got to the house and met up with Gregg who helped us unload it into the garage. That was a bit more of an ass-whip than picking it up. Of course, I might have just been running low on steam at that point. With Nadine secure in the garage, we all headed to the shop. I took Gregg for a quick run in Shichi to show him how “his” engine ran. We all agreed that it is a balls-out race motor, not suited for the street. He cut me a check. While I was piling up Triumph parts, John and Gregg talked wheels and tires. Gregg cut John a check for four “Six-Spoke” Z wheels. We loaded them, and some A-series engine parts he was going to need, into his truck and then parted company. John and I went to lunch while Gregg went to pick up his daughter. After a few more hours running around with John, which I may tell y'all about tomorrow, we went back to my house. I declined an offer to dine with the Ropers and went to Outback Steakhouse with mom. I crashed pretty soundly Saturday night. OK, that is enough for today. I'll talk to y'all again tomorrow.