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Can't keep a Stovebolter still
The Corvette Adventure
Continued, part Fourteen
By Steve VandenBerg
"Builder"
Bolter # 6449
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
| Part I Part II Part III Part IV Part V Part VI Part VII |
Vacation, Family, Deals, Thoughts, Troubles Planning to bring her home Seeing the sites Getting into it, finally! Let me tell you about Parts Chicks Talk of marriage Ready to hit the road home |
Part VIII Part IX Part X Part XI Part XII Part XIII Part XIV |
How hard can it be ... Doom, despair and agony on me Good ol' bailing wire Surrounded by help Lord, just get me home, pahlease! Interesting people and places Home Sweet Home |
Part Fourteen ~ Home Sweet Home!
Ever since I found the missing bolts in the bell housing and fixed the vibration, the transmission has been leaking more oil and needs to be attended to more frequently. I stopped for gas in Chamberlain, checked and filled the oils and kept driving. I arrived at home in Sioux Falls around 7 am Thursday. My trip home from Rapid City was uneventful. A week after leaving Carlsbad, CA, I was home.
I called my Uncle Carl and let him know I made it. He asked me if I was happy with the car and I replied, "Yes!" I told him that next time he was coming along to share the workload on the car. I told him I would work on the topside of the car and he could work underneath it.
I called Mom and let her know I got home OK. She told me that my dog was doing fine. I told her I would be over to pick her up this weekend.
More than just an adventure Driving without a radio, I had a lot of time to think about my life and how it was turning out. I have two small businesses that were working out quite well. I have a good paying job that doesn’t have me tied down past 40 hours a week. I have a home that is adequate. I have a wonderfully smart dog (she takes after me). I have a very nice shop (too small) to play with my cars, trucks and motorcycles in. My family is great to hang out with. We enjoy family gatherings and will get together whenever one of them comes home to visit. The message in a song that Tim McGraw sings states, that we should at least have the experience to “live life like we are dying.” What I think the song means, is that we should take some chances and have some fun in our lives. Stop living in a shell and get out and experience what life has to offer. Stop waiting for something to happen and create some excitement. Give a stranger a hand when he is down and out. Feel, care and love with all you heart. A lot of people thought I was crazy. A lot of people were wondering where I was, or if I could make it back. Some of my friends had discussed it and said that if I came back without the Corvette, that it was a stupid thing to do. If I did make it back with the car, that it was a pretty ballsy thing to do. My Mom’s motto -- “Just Do It” -- is a motto of confidence. I believe, that if you believe in yourself, the biggest part of the battle is won. If I hadn’t believed in myself, I would never have left for California. I still have faith and optimism too. The Corvette and the trouble … I mean “issues” ... that I had to deal with, are a lot like relationships. You have to work to get it moving. Some people haven’t been out of the garage for a while and may need more work than others. Relationships, like cars, take work and sometimes we get bruised and tired. There are times when we want to give up and take the easy way out to get where we want to go. Try a little preventive maintenance when you see possibilities of trouble …I mean “issues” ... down the road. Turn off the radio or TV and listen. When you have trouble ... I mean “issues” ... fix the problem and move on. Check the gauges and look for signs of trouble … I mean “issues.” Sometimes the timing isn’t just right. If you have to, get mad, and then just get over it. Don’t give up! You may be wondering why I have repeatedly insisted on referring to trouble as “issues.” They are issues because I was intelligent enough to realize getting into this, that I could expect things to go wrong. I knew at times it wouldn’t be easy. I knew that there would be times when I would be completely alone. I know that I didn’t have one bit of trouble with the Corvette. I only had issues. Not once did I say a prayer along the way that said, “God don’t let me have any more trouble.” Maybe we should all say a little prayer once and a while that simply asks, “God, just let me get home without wrecking it”, instead of asking for a blissful ride. I called Aunty Louise and let her know I had made it back OK. She asked me if I would do it again. My reply was, “For that car? ………. In a heart beat! |
Before and after pictures
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The End