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Tarheel

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4 hours ago, Tigerman said:

WOW!   ................and, those are HUGE windchimes on the left !!    Bet they sound nice when pleasantly 'blown'.....   :emotion-21:  (in from the storm for sure !!)

And HEAVY.  They have no place in a storm though.  I had to be sure to hang them off a joist.

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21 hours ago, Tigerman said:

Remember, that Buick had their own version, the Apollo...

 

In 1975 I was a teacher and assistant wrestling coach at Annapolis High School in Annapolis, MD.  I also taught drivers-ed.  One of the cars assigned to me was a Buick Apollo with the 350.  It was totaled while I was driving on Duke of Gloucester St.  

 

The streets are narrow, with buildings right up to the street. I was stopped at a red light.  The stop-line was several car lengths from the intersection.  The light turned green, so I proceeded into the blind intersection.  A drunk physician in a Tempest  ran the red light from my left, slammed into the brand new Buick and then came to rest against a brick building.  The sodden doctor was trying to start his car when a fireman reached in to grab his keys.

 

He was ticketed, but it was embarrassing standing in the street next to a spanking new wrecked car with a "Student Driver" sign on it.  The worst part was that students who knew me suddenly materialized to join the gawkers.  The good part is that I was just blocks from my apartment, so I walked home.

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14 hours ago, Davis said:

That is a great story, thanks for sharing such a character building moment.

 

The drivers Ed cars around here now have so many decals and advertising on them they look like NASCAR.

 

As you might imagine, teaching drivers-ed is a fertile source of stories.  Your comment about decals is interesting.  The cars we used in Annapolis were almost stealthy.  The Buick had the largest sign on the roof.  There were never graphics on the bodies.  No magnetic or vinyl ads for the dealerships that provided the new cars.

 

The first car assigned to me was a 75 Pontiac Grand Prix.  The only sign was directly above the rear license plate and about the size of a National Geographic magazine.  Only the people in a car directly behind could read "Student Driver."  The students loved that, and so did I.  There were more problems from other drivers reacting to a student driver, than when we flew below the radar.

 

The car assigned to me that was the students' favorite was a dark blue Firebird with a black vinyl top. The F'bird replaced the GP, so the same small sign was on the F'bird.  We NEVER went out one on one with a student, males or females, there was always a witness.  That protected students and instructors from inappropriate conduct or false accusations.  All the more reason for me to be disgusted with the conduct of PSU and MSU regarding their respective monsters, Sandusky and Nasser.

 

The F'bird had one flaw.  The radio would not play immediately upon turning it on. The delay gradually grew longer as the car aged.  What was first a few seconds, grew to minutes before eventually refusing to come on at all.  The common reaction was to turn up the volume when no sound came out, so that eventually, if it did work, it was blaring.

 

One day the students were two girls.  The radio did not immediately play.  Several minutes into the trip the first sounds to roar from the speakers were, " jock itch," from a commercial for some remedy.  The girls and I were startled and embarrassed.  IIRC, the F'bird was replaced by the short-lived Apollo, which was replaced by a Nova.

 

Sometime I'll tell you about the adventure created by having to park a drivers-ed car and my 442 in crowded downtown Annapolis.

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I am surprised the cars were mid size and smaller 2 doors (at least the Grand Prix and Firebirds).

I learned in a 1977 Delta 88 4 door with 3 or 4 kids and the instructor.

It just had the orange "Drivers Education" sign on the vertical surface of the trunk lid.

One cool thing we did have at our High School were the simulators that you drove to a movie with.

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51 minutes ago, Tarheel said:

Mike if there is a Costco near you look for Mayorga coffee beans.  Have been enjoying it for four years and haven't felt the urge to try anything else.  LF has a Keurig and uses those little prepackaged cups.  Nowhere near as good.

8 o'clock is really good as well.  We kerp trying different brands and coming back to it.

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On 8/30/2017 at 3:49 AM, DizRotus said:

 

In 1975 I was a teacher and assistant wrestling coach at Annapolis High School in Annapolis, MD.  I also taught drivers-ed.  One of the cars assigned to me was a Buick Apollo with the 350.  It was totaled while I was driving on Duke of Gloucester St.  

 

The streets are narrow, with buildings right up to the street. I was stopped at a red light.  The stop-line was several car lengths from the intersection.  The light turned green, so I proceeded into the blind intersection.  A drunk physician in a Tempest  ran the red light from my left, slammed into the brand new Buick and then came to rest against a brick building.  The sodden doctor was trying to start his car when a fireman reached in to grab his keys.

 

He was ticketed, but it was embarrassing standing in the street next to a spanking new wrecked car with a "Student Driver" sign on it.  The worst part was that students who knew me suddenly materialized to join the gawkers.  The good part is that I was just blocks from my apartment, so I walked home.

Did the Tempest have metallic mint green paint?

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1 hour ago, dwilawyer said:

Did the Tempest have metallic mint green paint?

 

I couldn't swear to it, but that sounds familiar.  I have a vague recollection of that metallic green that was available in the late 60s.  Why do you ask?

 

FWIW, IMO, driver-ed is a serious waste of $$$.  Whether a person will be a good driver, i,e,, patient courteous, cautious, etc., is already pretty well ingrained by age sixteen.  Very little that I, or anyone, could do in a few weeks would overcome those first 16 years.

 

c0410ec544f040dd7e93247227e727a0--pontiac-lemans-le-mans.jpg

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1 hour ago, DizRotus said:

 

I couldn't swear to it, but that sounds familiar.  I have a vague recollection of that metallic green that was available in the late 60s.  Why do you ask?

 

FWIW, IMO, driver-ed is a serious waste of $$$.  Whether a person will be a good driver, i,e,, patient courteous, cautious, etc., is already pretty well ingrained by age sixteen.  Very little that I, or anyone, could do in a few weeks would overcome those first 16 years.

 

c0410ec544f040dd7e93247227e727a0--pontiac-lemans-le-mans.jpg

 

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1 hour ago, DizRotus said:

Very little that I, or anyone, could do in a few weeks would overcome those first 16 years.

Well, that's just a lovely defeatist attitude.  My brother and sister, both of whom have been teachers for over 25 years would beg to differ.

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5 hours ago, Tarheel said:

Mike if there is a Costco near you look for Mayorga coffee beans.  Have been enjoying it for four years and haven't felt the urge to try anything else.  LF has a Keurig and uses those little prepackaged cups.  Nowhere near as good.

I tried one of the keurig things...

it made coffee taste like  mold injected plastic coffee...and I don't

have enough $$$ for the k-cups...

especially how I drink coffee...

 

there's a Costco about 50 mile from me...if I can get a 1 day membership.  

 

 

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3 hours ago, dwilawyer said:

 

 

I love that scene from  My Cousin Vinnie.  It's embarrassing that I didn't make the connection immediately when you asked.  I was thinking perhaps you had a drunken physician client in Annapolis, MD back in 1975.  This was not the the good doctor's first OUIL offense, nor, probably, his last.

 

Of course, you realize her testimony is inaccurate.  There was another 1964 American car with posi-traction and independent rear suspension. the Corvair Spyder.  Whether through ignorance or artistic license, that fact was better left out of that great scene.

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