Jack Habich

Not the TF, Jerry, but the MGA, similar to the one below, but beige.  It had removable plastic side windows with posts that fit into the door.

The trip down was fantastic, but the trip back, with 3 of us in the car, one guy riding the hump, was torture.

Dave Holt caught a ride to Myrtle Beach with Dennis Alexander, then hitchhiked to Daytona where he met up with Huber and me.  He rode back with us.

In Bainbridge, Georgia, we stopped at a Tastee Freeze, were identified as Yankees by a couple of locals, and a verbal altercation ensued.  Since they were outnumbered, they said they would get a bunch of their buddies, and if we weren’t chicken, we would still be there.  We decided to hold our ground, but recognized that the odds were not going to be good, so Huber had the idea of getting the tire iron and other self-defense equipment out of the trunk.  Trouble was, all our belongings were strapped to the back and it was a nightmare trying to undo the belts to get to the trunk.  All our stuff fell all over the place.  After the Rebels didn’t show within half an hour, we had to re-pack which was at least another half hour.

The rest of the trip was top down, cold weather, and no sleep…. with 3 guys in that small cabin.

Jack Habich

That trip did inspire me to get my own MG as a second car..........a more civilized MGB, shown here in 1971.

A great fun car, great handling.  Now and then on weekends, I'd put on a headband and head up to Madison, WI, where a co-worker sang in a band.

Ed Stanfield

Pretty little waterfall in a back bay off the Tennessee River. Water is about 40 feet deep just in fromt of the fall.

Marilyn Evans (Tate)

Ed

Love the pictures. That's my kind of country. Except for the snakes and other vile critters that either want  poison you or eat you for lunch.

Rodney (Rod) Hayes

Jack  -  Going back a few days, the X-Mas card was a classic.  Just one mistake.  The guy appears to have  a watch or some kind of jewelry on his wrist.  That's a no-no.  Not gonna happen.  Things are a little different here in Texas.  Orange jump suits indicate you're a 24/7 guy or a trustee, or both.  Green is for overnight or weekend stays.  Then there is the wide orange and white stripe suit, often referred to as, the Whataburger guys.  These are for the guys who have tried to live a better life through chemicals. 

Jerry - Hang in there with the 49'ers.  Look what happened to the Steelers.

Marilyn - Those pictures ya'll mention are beautiful.  But that's it, pictures.  I've played golf in all those states and seen my share of snakes and gators to last forever.   Myself, I'm not gittin n any body of water in the SE regions of the US.  I'm not gittin on any a those nice roads that Ed points out.  Those roads look like places ya'll might run into people who play the banjo, without ever taken a lesson.

Now Ed.  About that LSU - Alabama game this past Monday Night.  Everyone is talkin about the great Alabama Defense.  Maybe one of the best ever.  I don't think so.  You may want to check this out, but i think Alabama only played one team this year that was ranked in the top 100 teams of offense.  And LSU doesn't exactly have an offensive powerhouse.  I would have liked to see Bama play Oklahoma State, Stanford, or even Oregon for the title.  I don't think the BCS will ever let a dynesty form.  They are already talking about changes to the system.  Too much TV money lost this year.  I mean, who wants to watch two teams from the same conference play each other AGAIN.   Tell the wife to keep fighting.  She's doing great

Milan Jackson

Buy a share of the Packers but read the certificate carefully. :)

Gerald (Jerry) Plummer

I'm with you, Rod.  I hate snakes.  Kathy knows if it's a snake, I'm doing my best girly man scream and running the bleep out of there.  She's on her own.  Wimpy, yes but unafraid to admit it.

Of course we'll hang in there with the Niners, I have for 60+ years but as a long time Niner fan, one has to be prepared for a certain amount of reality. 

Additionally, agree with your assessment of the BCS championship game.  Oklahoma State or Stanford (hard to say, Hollie) would have made the game much more entertaining but as it was...boring.  However, one should appreciate the skills of those highly paid SEC athletes.  Anyone care to comment the next national champion will come from the Pac 12?  By the way, the top 3 schools with national football championships since 1896 remain Princeton, Yale and Notre Dame although I think Alabama tied Notre Dame with this one.  I know it's not Kansas State.

Jack, loved the picture of  your MG.  Ours was white.  What a fun car but terrible for an expanding family with infant seats.  We've thought about buying one when we retire at the end of this century but I still think you have to own two, one for the parts, correct?

Rodney (Rod) Hayes

Jerry - I have always said, The best snake, is a DEAD snake.  I don't care how they help the enviornment.  Since moving to Texas, I've had too many experiences with rattlers, copperheads, and a couple others.  I know all about reality Jerry.  I'm still a hard core Cubs fan.  I think their motto is "wait till next year".  However, since they did away with double-headers, the reality doesn't come as quick.  Ha!  I always have thought that when someone passes on over the age of 90, there has to be some levity at the funeral.  When my father passed on in late "09", at the age of 92, almost 93, I made this comment at the funeral.  I said, " My father had said for several years that he had seen and done everything he wanted.  But, if he were really truthful, being a Cubs fan forever, he would have to admit that he would have sure liked to see the Cubs win a World Series.  But, no one lives 150 years." 

Milan - one of my best friends up there is a Packer fan.  How much of a fan.  How about season tickets.  Anyway, I don't have to worry about the fine print, because I don't have, and never will have any shares of the Packers.  Not even a penny worth.  I'm a Bears fan.

Jack Habich

Rod,

Did you ever hear of a wrist bracelet?  That's one of the jail accessories, you know.  If the thing around his wrist is a watch, then the picture is a fake.

And Rod, to supplement my income, I'm selling Bears certificates.  Let me knopw the amount, send me a check, and you'll have your shares quickly.

Milan,

Can't contemplate the fine print if you can't read it.  Is there some kind of trick play on the certificate?

Jerry,

Huber had some mechanical quirks on his MGA.  My MGB wasn't too bad.  My brother-in-law wanted it for college, so I sold it to him, and he drove it off to Norman, Oklahoma and had it for 5 years, I believe.  Then, used to good handling, he became a Porsche kinda guy. :)

Ed Stanfield

the thing about snakes is that you have to grow up with them.. I did. There is spot in the backyard at my grandmother's house ( sold and resold several times since her death) where I would just about bet that one could go and find a copperhead. They would be the direct descendants of the ones there when I was a boy.  You do learn very quickly about watching where you step and being doubly careful around the edges of the water. That is why I always have a pistol when I am down there.

Oh, and one of the perks is the availability (if you know who to call) of some good 'shine...called "Wildcat" in that area.

Milan Jackson

Happy Birthday Mike Conley !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Milan Jackson

Happy Birthday Jim Altemus  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ed Stanfield

Rod,

You made refrence to some of my pictures reminding you of "Deliverance"

there are/were actually a number of similarities.

In Deliverance the river is wild and will shortly be damned up. In my pictures taken just off the Tennessee river (Pickwick Lake) the river is already tamed.

The topography, less the wild river, is very similiar to to what is shown in the movie... There are some magnificient bluffs in the area, but alas, no rapids.

It is/was an area of small cleared fields where dirt poor (barefoot in the '50's) farmers grew just enough corn to bottle. The last team of mules I remember seeing in the area was in the late 80's. Many of the residents of the hollers ( only 2 families in our holler) had innumerable children. Drinkin water came from a spring, clothes, dishes and small children were washed in the creek accross the road. Therre were no telephones, electric lights, or newspapers. As a general rule you did not see anyone outside the families mentioned above and those in your party... No one on the river either except for an occasional barge.

The shine is excellent, but it will burn a hole in your stomach if you drink it on an empty stomach... and a little goes a LOOOONG way..

To get an idea of where the pictures were taken, look at the waterfall. It is in Mississippi. Go directly accross the river and you are in Alabama. Go downstream a mile or 2 and you are in Tennessee. I have a smallmouth bass on my wall at the office. I put my boat in the water in Alabama, went directly accross the river and caught the fish in Mississippi.

It is without a doubt, my very favorite place on earth. God was in a good mood when He made North Alabama!

Terry (Max) Maxwell

Jack...  Don't need to look at the fine print.  It large print it says,

"GREEN BOY PACKERS"

The only big problem I remember with the older MGs was the electrical system were terrible.  Think it included the TD and B... not sure about the A. 

My brother bought a new Triumph TR-6 and it had similar problems.  Today if I wanted to relive those cars, I would buy a Mazda MX-5 and not have the problems but have the quick handling.

Michael (Mike) Franks

Max, that Miata is a fun drive, but real anemic when it comes to HP. Drop in a small block V-8.......then you have a hot rod! There are some conversions out there, but pricey. As far as mpg, who cares? I guess I like American iron. The sound of a big block Chevy is music.

Terry (Max) Maxwell

Mike... I picked the Miata because Jerry and Jack mentioned the small sports cars of the past.  That would be a similar vehicle in size and handling characteristics, but much more reliable.  I've driven an MX-5 and they are really fun in the twisties.   I'm with you on the small block V-8s when it comes to horsepower, torque, and sound.  Better 0-60 but maybe not any better on tight curved roads.  Drive what pulls your trigger!

Maybe a Ford Cobra would be the best of both worlds ???  There are some out there, but kind of pricey.

Michael (Mike) Franks

I know it's apples compared to oranges Max. I do like the Miata. It is a seat of the pants drive, (the older ones). Cram that V-8 in there, and you're right........It would have trouble turning a corner. Those guys at Mazda are pretty smart. That  thing does just what they designed it to do. Americas never were into going around corners, unless it was a right or left turn at a stop sign. Reminds me of Larry Elliott. He loved to blister the tires on that GTO, while he was on the sidewalk at BHS.

Terry (Max) Maxwell

Now there are two blasts from the past... the GTO and Larry Elliott  ... and they were combined !

Jack Habich

"Green Boy Packers".  Duh!  Funny how you (or at least me) can miss the obvious by looking for some hidden mystery.

Marilyn Evans (Tate)

Okay guys, If you have ever been on Iron Mountain Road or Needles Highway in the Black Hills you know what crooked and tight places are. Our old 55 Chevy made it fine.

Rodney (Rod) Hayes

Jack - No wrist bracelets.  You're thinking of ankle bracelets.  No matter.  The picture is still a classic.  I'm pretty sure there are no shares of the Bears for sale.  If there were and you had some, I'd for sure buy them from you.  That's because McCaskey doesn't know he owns the Bears.  I know if I owned 51%, there would be changes in personnel quickly.  By the way Jack, all this talk of Huber and the MG.  As I recall, the Huber family owned many VW's back in the day.  How did the MG come into the picture?

Ed - You're right.  You would have to grow up in the area.  I've met a couple of copperheads that were very aggressive.  They don't slither away, they come to you.  You will love this story Ed.  My wife, (girlfriend at the time), went with this other couple to see her Dad, Mom, and relatives, who had come in town from Arkansas, Kentucky, and Tennesse.  They had brought some of that home made shine with them.  Oh, and we just had to try some.  We did, and I thought I would never speak right again.  I couldn't breath at first.  I just knew it would take days before I could swallow again.  They all got a real kick out of it though.

Mike & Terry - Back in the day, I actually got to set in a Ford Cobra, (not Mustang - Cobra), and drive it about few hundred feet.  Living not too far from me is Thee Mr. Shelby.  He has more of a ranch, with his own little test track, and lots of Mustangs.  He has proto types and all kinds of modified Mustangs.  I ran into a guy who was a really good friend of Shelby's son.  He went out there all the time and drove cars.  Had some great stories.  But , as he said, there were a few certain cars that ONLY the old man drove.  Nobody else could get around them  From what I hear, Mr. Shelby is quite the wild man behind the wheel.

Did anybody know Mike Craig, who died a short time ago.  He was older than us, but I used to love to watch him play Basketball.  He was a friend of my uncle and a really great guy. 

Michael (Mike) Franks

Marilyn, what part of Alabama are the Black Hills in? I'll have to ask Ed. How in the world did you guys get through that little hole in that rock? You must have knocked the door handles off of that old '55?

Jack Habich

Marilyn,

If you've ever descended Mt. Tamalpais in a Porsche driven by a crazy racing school graduate (my buddy Ray), you understand tight handling and fear.  An experience Dee never wants to repeat.  Jerry will understand.

And as far as '55 Chevys and Larry Elliot, I once beat Larry in a drag race in my dad's stock '55 Chevy....he had a green '56 Chevy at the time, I believe.  He was beside himself.

Terry (Max) Maxwell

Rod... you mentioning the Hubers having VWs brings back a memory.  Bill Alexander's (class of '62) uncle was a member of a local car club in Bloomington.  They were having a road rally one weekend and invited Bill to join in.  Bill had no sports car to drive in the rally, so he, John Huber and I took the Huber family VW bug and entered the rally.  It was timed and they gave you a set of instructions that included speed to drive and where to go.  Each car set out at a timed interval... so if you caught the car in front of you, you were going too fast.  Well, we got lost and drove around for awhile trying to figure out where we were supposed to be.  We were out west of town, probably 10 miles and figured out from the clues that we should end up at Lake Bloomington.  We drove straight up there, not going by the listed directions.  Some guy with a flashlight came out on the road from behind a tree and stopped us.  He took our entry name and told us to keep going.  It turned out to be the final check point and thus took our time.  Later back at the party after, they awarded the trophy for best time.  We won it!  The "expert ralliers" were all discussing "downshifting their Vettes, MGs and Austin Healys through tight corners under the bridges", etc.  Some of these guys had double stop watches, compasses, and area maps.  We had a VW with 3 guys that had never been on a road rally before.   We just kept quiet and let them believe we had experienced the same in the old VW.  Kinda funny in hind sight... I guess even a blind squirrel finds a nut now and then.

Ed Stanfield

Max,

When I was in college in Jacksonville, I worked at the Blind school. One year we had a rally with the local car club providing the cars. Each car had a blind kid as a navigator and the instructions were in Braille.

Kids could not see the road and driver could not read the instructions...

#1 rule was the driver had to do what the kid told him to do, within the bounds or safety.. those cars wound up in som einteresting places...

And the kids had a ball