Mystery Leaks And Nasty Smells: Ghosts Of The Little Shop of Horrors And Its Mechanic From Hell

[BonzaiDuck]

In previous threads, I mentioned how I was searching for a replacement of my now-retired veteran mechanic of 15 years. I conversed with him briefly when he was closing down his operation. He spoke of the new owners, saying "they should be OK." So I'd decided to give them a try. And as I detailed in those previous threads, their Mechanic From Hell proceeded to create a cluster-f*** of damage after the service manager had pressured me to replace my valve-cover gaskets this year. That service could have been deferred for two more years.

The vehicle in question was my fabled 95 Trooper. My retired mechanic echoed the remarks of my smog-test man: "This engine is perfect!" and "Don't do anything to this engine -- this is a great engine!"

To replace the valve-cover gaskets, the intake manifold must be removed and then re-installed as a final step. The manifold has fittings for several sensors, the throttle-body, throttle position sensor, EGR valve and EGR VSV, MAP sensor, Intake Air Temperature Sensor, Fuel Pressure Control Valve and so forth. There are several vacuum hose connections which must be properly restored.

Immediately after the car was returned to me last summer, I discovered that the Mechanic from Hell had broken one of the pipes on the heater core when he removed the intake manifold. Worse -- he deceptively looped the ports on the engine to contain the coolant, leaving the SUV with no heat in the passenger compartment. When he proceeded to replace the heater core under repair warranty -- requiring dashboard removal -- he damaged the wiring harness connection to the steering wheel horn-switch and blew a fuse for the windshield washer/wiper. He had also failed to secure a small hose that ports coolant from the intake manifold to the radiator intake pipe.

After correcting all of these items, and about six months and ~2,000 miles later, I thought to monitor gas-mileage on the Trooper. It is supposed to be 14 mpg for city driving, although some had reported it as low as 12 mpg. My measurements put it at 10.7.

I investigated -- digging into my PDF factory shop manual. And then I discovered likely causes. The Mechanic from Hell had failed to reconnect the fuel pressure control valve to the intake manifold vacuum nipple provided for its hose. And he had broken my PCV valve in half -- a three-dollar item. Again, as an act of deception, he had merely fitted the two pieces back together, leaving another vacuum leak and PCV failure. With equal likelihood, the vacuum hose was accidentally disconnected either when the spark-plugs were replaced by the Shop of Horrors because of the hose's close proximity to the wires, or it was pulled off during the twice-repeated operation of removing and restoring the intake manifold.

Web-searches turned up lists of symptoms for both or either of these items: "Reduced fuel economy"; "dipstick smells like partially burned gasoline"; "Oil leaks -- arising from pressure build-up in the crankcase"; "The smell of pollutants (partially burned gasoline) from the tailpipe with engine idling". I was surprised that the smog-test results of late December showed nothing of higher HC ppm, CO% or higher NOx emissions. If I had continued driving the vehicle only for my confidence in these smog-test results, I might never have caught the problems, because the Trooper otherwise continues to drive and perform perfectly. Choosing to measure my gas mileage was a stroke of luck; I had dismissed the exhaust smells as something normal; and I had never bothered to smell the dipstick.

Even so, I gave myself three oil changes in the last 60 days. I was surprised at the color of the oil during the first oil-change: it was too dark after 2,000 miles since the last new oil. I also attended to sources of leaks, and installed a Valvo-Max drain-valve with thread sealer (see my thread about Fumoto and Valvo-Max). The leak had now been staunched so that I could identify the remainder of it coming from the rear main-seal or the pan gasket.

I ordered a new PCV valve for $3 at RockAuto and installed it. I reconnected the vacuum hose for the fuel pressure control valve. Then, I disconnected the battery and turned on the lights for 30 seconds to drain the charge in the engine computer. The exhaust gases disappeared; there is no smell of partially-burned gasoline on the dipstick. I am still evaluating gas-mileage, but I already see positive improvements looking at the fuel gauge and the odometer. When I deplete the tank and refill it, I'm confident that it will show stark improvement.

In addition to the basic symptoms, I had noticed after the Summer of Horror that my "Fuel Empty" dashboard light would go on frequently, even with a full tank of gas. While the Owners' Manual suggests that it will occasionally go on for reasons unexplained as "normal", this was a new phenomenon and much more frequent. This behavior has also now disappeared.

The prevailing advice suggests that the two items of concern can lead to damage in addition to the $20/month hit on my pocketbook: sludge build-up in the engine; corrosion of engine parts; damage to the catalytic converter.

If I drove the car for 2,000 miles before I discovered the disconnected hose and broken PCV valve, how much of such damage would be expected?

I'm guessing that the three oil changes may have mitigated the problem for another 1,000 miles since I started troubleshooting. But since all my knowledge has been gained from the shop manual and online advisories, I wouldn't know for sure. I wouldn't know for sure if damage had been done already. I have limited experience only with the vehicles I've owned.

As for the Repair Shop of Horrors and the Mechanic from Hell, I had deferred posting a searingly critical review on Yelp and other sites, because the shop-owners had at least been honest about their own mechanical experience, they honored their repair-warranties, and they were "nice kids" trying to start a business only in operation for six months when the carelessness occurred. One is a bookkeeper; the other had been a smog-test employee; but neither of them had the experience of my retired mechanic and his staff. Their problem is the Mechanic From Hell.

Should I post my review? Or should I just move on, warning people who ask me about it to "stay away from that place"?

UPDATE: The dipstick now smells only of fresh engine oil after 60 miles of driving. I continue to monitor MPG, but the fuel gauge and odometer provide hopes of 14 mpg.

 

[nakedfrog]

Wow, that sounds terrible.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Wow, that sounds terrible.

Yes -- it was incredible because I'd approached the shop's new owners, explaining my strategy for finding an honest, reliable and competent repair shop that could attend to any major needs when required.

I'd grown complacent with the previous shop owner. And I let him do things for $300 that I could've done myself for $60. What do you mean by that, you ask? Once upon a time, when the CV-joint-boots were damaged, they'd remove and disassemble the old one, an operation that was labor intensive. They'd fit a new rubber boot, fill it with moly grease, tighten the bands and reinstall the CV axle part. In the last couple decades, they simply order a new CV-joint with the boot and grease already added, and replace the whole enchilada. BUT -- NAPA has for years offered a lavender-blue "split-boot" which is more plastic than rubber, with a solvent-glue which actually fuses the plastic. Now, it seems that the Neoprene item is a Dorman product. The boots last much longer than the rubber ones, the seam never comes apart. But repair shops won't use them. The kits are probably $60.

If my residential garage were equipped with an hydraulic lift, I would've paid more attention to leaks, boots and other things. I'm half-way into my 73rd year, and don't like getting down on the cement floor so much. But this last year, I was determined to take the reins in my own hands for several things. I was driven to do it because of my once-in-a-lifetime encounter with the Mechanic from Hell.

It takes time. The freaking factory shop manual is 2,000 pages long. So you want a repair shop that is (a) nearby, (b) honest, (c) competent and (d) respectful to the factory spec requirements. Here, at the Shop of Horrors, I found a mechanic who just assumed that "it's an old car; you're an old retired guy; you should get a new car. And -- f*** your Trooper anyway. Troopers?! We don' need no stinkeen Troopers! Whadda we need stinkeen Troopers for?!" That was my impression.

I"m not a slug in traffic. I've occasionally noticed that youngsters in some of the newer, sportier jelly-bean cars will come up on my old Isuzu, see the fresh silver paint on the spare tire cover's lettering, and zoom around me just to show the maneuverability of their recent-model rides. People either hate these cars, or they love them. A professional mechanic should not have such biases or assumptions.

Even if I probably couldn't get $4,000 for the car if I were trying to sell it, it's worth the original MSRP of ~$30,000 1995 dollars to me, because -- in its pristine condition -- it dismisses the need to buy a five or ten-year-old 4Runner to replace it, or even (and especially) a new 4Runner.

Independent repair shops do not take so many customers with new cars under factory warranty. They take customers with older cars. Among older cars, there are "very old" cars. It's their bread and butter. So one has to ask how they can treat this or that customer with such cavalier support. For my Trooper, the assertion that "parts aren't available because it's an orphan" is not just partially untrue -- it's entirely false. I haven't yet found a part for the 95 Trooper that is "unavailable."

When one loses a reliable and experienced mechanic and repair shop, the priority imperative is to find a new one. Market search is always a matter of trial and error. Information costs money; mistakes are inevitable.

Of course, as you see, I've taken matters into my own hands. It's not so bad, even for an oldster. Last week, I replaced my front and rear axle gear-oil and the transfer case oil without so much as putting the car on jackstands. With careful preparation, I might as well have been James Bond in his tuxedo -- ready to pop up from under the vehicle and boink Miss Moneypenny as if he'd just had a shower and sprayed himself with lavender shaving lotion.

Anyway, I'm more determined than ever to have it my way, as money piles up in my savings account so that I can buy a Tesla or an Acura MDX Hybrid -- outright -- leaving me only the monthly insurance bill. There aren't much in choices of a fully-electric, mid-size SUV. Subaru may be going fully electric soon -- I could probably "live with" a fully-electric Forester -- if one ever becomes available.

Or -- I could die first, and insist on being buried in my Trooper. My Super-Dooper Trooper.

Anyway, I posted my worries at Reddit's "Mechanic Advice" forum today, and quick, assuring answers came back.

That ol' 3.2L SOHC engine should run for another 100,000 miles, despite this . . . recent abuse that I had to pay for.

the US Air Force deployed a flight group of B-52 strato-fortresses on the lone Indian Ocean outpost of Diego Garcia this January, responding to the tension in the Middle-East arising from the so-called President's chest-thumping damage to the Iran nuclear agreement and the targeted assassination of Suleimani. What did I say? WHAT did I SAY?!
I said "BEE-FIFTY-TWO" bombers. Why were they named that? They were built by Boeing. The maiden flight for the aircraft occurred in 1952. That was sixty-eight (68) years ago.

Why should I not be able to retro-fit and maintain a 1995 orphaned SUV as long as gasoline is legal, even if it costs $10 per gallon? Another five years? Another ten years? Why do I not find enthusiasm among repair shops for helping me do that?

"Troopers?! Troopers?! We don' need no stinkeen Troopers! Whadda we need stinkeen Troopers for?!"

I'll want my electric mid-sized SUV, for a bargain price, and I'll want it, too, to last as long. I might not even make it to my eightieth year. I can pass on the money or the car. But I want my cake, and I want to eat it, too.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS SO FAR: The trip-meter is showing 60.0 miles; gas-gauge still points the needle at 3/4 tank. I need to verify, but if it's a 16-gallon tank -- that's closer to 15 MPG. Dipstick smells pleasingly like fresh oil. No oil drops in the drop pan, but I'll check again within the hour after the engine has cooled down. . . .

SO FAR, IT LOOKS LIKE I'VE "NAILED IT", THOUGH . . . .

I'm trying to question my own conclusions that the vacuum-hose and broken PCV valve arose from the carelessness of the Little Repair-shop of Horrors. It used to be the case that I'd take the car to the now-retired mechanic, ask for certain things, ask him to examine the car and report anything else. He would come back with a preliminary shop-order that included items-of-discovery. Thus, he would not have missed an opportunity to make a few extra bucks replacing the PCV valve. This infers the same behavior regarding the vacuum hose.

At this point, the objective of this self-criticism is really to assure that the accumulated mileage with the broken PCV and disconnected vacuum hose was less than 3,000 miles. For if my longest-serving mechanic and shop-owner had been responsible for it, the deteriorating conditions boding engine damage would have persisted for 3 times longer or greater.

It's also significant that the "Fuel-Empty" light does not come on for lengths of time as it had since last summer. So the vacuum hose problem originated at that time, since fixing it has made the light stay off.

Looks like I still have a "Stand-up Ride".

The fuel-tank capacity seems to be 22 gallons. But to my experience, the gauge needle can point to "E" with at least a couple more gallons left in the tank. So I'd expect the gauge to measure a lesser portion of the 22 gallons. Those things aren't accurate, anyway, so I'll just consume enough gas to put the needle at 1/4 full, and do the arithmetic. However, another way to look at the observations made this evening is a personal comparison with the trip-meter/needle-position set which I'd seen several days ago. Stark difference there!

UPDATE [Trooper-Trek Star-Date 3-6-2020 -- Captain's Log]: Minor oil leak is getting smaller. Fuel Gauge needle still at 3/4; trip-meter at 75.0. Dropped by my New Mechanic/Shop-Owner's facility today. I had sent him a Franklin/Benjamin in the US mail last week -- compensation for "consultation". He had enlightened me about transmission flush with an extraction tool. ATF cost me $100; he would've charged $250; useful information should be compensated. It looks as though this business connection will work out. I told him, if the gas mileage doesn't warrant any additional concern, I'd run the Trooper into his shop nevertheless during the fall months.

Looks like it's runnin' Gurrr-reat!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

O-O-OOO--KAAYYYYYY!

Mileage has now improved from 10.7 mpg to . . . .

12.51 mpg

I used 7.2 gallons of gas, driving 90.15 miles. And here are the EPA numbers for the Super-Dooper Pooper-Trooper:

Fuel Economy (dot) gov -- Isuzu Trooper 1995

Adding my Pooper Trooper to make five observations, I'm in fourth place. I'm a half-mile-per-gallon less efficient than the second best.

Keep in mind that our cars aren't just doing the task of "fuel-metering". The individual gas pumps at various gas stations also do it. If the pump shuts off and won't pump at Valero station A and it's pump #1, it may top off to a slightly different level than Valero station B and pump #2. I also tried extra hard to squeeze out as many last drops as I could this time before hanging up the pump-hose. So you wouldn't know for sure. Suppose today's pump allowed for a half-gallon more gas in the tank than the last fill-up? Suppose the proper amount of gallons were 6.5 instead of 7.2? That would give me an mpg of 13.86.

So I'd probably best continue making measurements. Certainly, 7 gallons and 90 miles is enough, but less accurate than 14 gallons and something more, less or equal to 180 miles. An average in a time-series is desired here before making outlays with my mechanic/shop-owner for more extensive work.

The mechanic can "test stuff". I have less enthusiasm for that discipline. I could pursue the strategy of just replacing sensors critical to fuel economy, or those which deteriorate and cause a richer mixture. For instance, the most expensive MAP sensor I can buy is around $40. I already have a new IAT sensor (Intake Air Temperature). The ECT or Engine Cooling Temperature Sensor is hard to reach, unless you can put the car on an hydraulic lift. The HO2 Heated Oxygen Sensor could be a bitch for the home mechanic, while my good man the shop-owner says he doesn't even need a special tool. Common narratives describe a need to use WD-40 and a torch to heat up the area in the Intermediate (Y-shaped) exhaust pipe to loosen the HO2 sensor, and they sell a special tool for it so removal doesn't damage the wiring pigtail.

There's also the Throttle Position Sensor, which is a $28 item. It's accessible -- in plain view. I could also consider removing and cleaning the EGR valve, but there is no symptomatic indication that it is not doing its job.

Tim knows I'm going to run the car by him just to get an evaluation with a nihil obstat and imprimatur, and I'm willing to pay. I can also shell out for a $40+ and buy the MAP while using the new IAT sensor already purchased, and while Tim would say "Don't do that unless they've gone bad!" -- the parts are aged over 189,000 miles.

Any thoughts about a strategy are welcome. In the meantime -- spend money on gas and get a time-series. A block sample. And -- an average.

 

[RLGL]

Might to be cheaper to move on to a new shop and upgrade to a vehicle in the 2015 + vintage
My Honda Civic gets about 36 mpg, wiill be better when the weather warms up.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Might to be cheaper to move on to a new shop and upgrade to a vehicle in the 2015 + vintage
My Honda Civic gets about 36 mpg, wiill be better when the weather warms up.

That's a reasonable conclusion in some respects, but I have to diverge based on additional details. We only drive this SUV an average of 3,000 miles per year. So, even if it's an older car with lesser gas mileage -- better than a current-day Hummer but slightly worse than a 2010 4Runner -- the carbon footprint is small.

I've kept a spreadsheet of the repair and replacement history, with columns for "Date", "Odometer", "description/parts/service", and "expense". As a used car owned for 18 years, assuming a new-car strategy entails a trade-in every six years, I've spent -- over all that time -- about $5,000 less than the 1995 MSRP. This expenditure includes what I paid for it in 2002. A series of three new $30,000 vehicles which each depreciate to $10,000 would've cost me $60,000 over 18 years plus a portion of the repairs I've made to this single vehicle. In addition, my insurance policy doesn't include full-comprehensive coverage or compensation for damage to my own car for which I'm primarily at fault. I just assume the risk for the ballpark residual value of the most recent repairs over say 5 years, with each item given a straight-line depreciation schedule. So I figure I'm at risk for losing $5,000 if I total the car in my own carelessness. As for the insurance bill, I estimate I've saved another $14,000 over 18 years.

The motivation for repairs undertaken over the last three years is actually a plan and anticipation to obtain another vehicle with automatic transmission -- either used, or new. That is, keeping this Trooper road-worthy allows me to pile up cash in savings for "that day". If I pay for a new vehicle outright, then I only need to accommodate the monthly full-comprehensive insurance bill on a new car, and I might consider my existing strategy for a used car. And as that savings balance builds up, a mortgage on an east-coast rental property will expire in another year -- adding another $600/month in NET revenue to my income.

Finally, I've had this Trooper from a time when it had 96,000 miles on the odometer, and it now has 190,000. The spreadsheet tracks the usage in miles on all the subsystems that have required repair and refreshment. I shouldn't have any significant trouble with this ride for another five or ten years. My annual outlays may be repeated over the next few years at maybe $300 to $500 as a generous estimate, and I'm doing my own oil changes.

The Mechanic From Hell and many others don't know these facts. To them, it's just an old car with so much mileage that I could just flip it to the tow-truck and junkyard. While I have friends who brag (and do they ever brag!) about their Falcon airplane and four-car garage with top-end roadsters, I have the quiet satisfaction for living high on little, while being generous with those who deserve it.

Let me say I had a whole fleet of Honda Civics -- all '79s, including the 1200 (x2), the CVCC 1500, and the 1500 CVCC station-wagon. Yes -- they were good cars then and good cars now as 21st century products. But I don't want a Civic now. Don't even want an Accord now. Don't want a Toyota Corolla. No desire for a Nissan Maxima. I want a mid-sized 4WD/AWD SUV with the luxury features I got with the Trooper when I paid $8,500 for it. I could go for a 4Runner, a Land Cruiser, maybe a Forester. But I'm not that keen on investing in internal combustion. The days of the Great Petroleum Culture are coming to a close.

You should've been in the passenger seat as I went on my errands today. It's like a well-greased roller-skate. Shifts smooth; responds to the throttle with no hesitation; straddles the bumps and gutters like an SUV with fresh suspension should. Quiet! Stops on a dime. It's never been this good, I tell ya . . .

Oh. About the "shop" -- yes -- I agree. But that has been the whole point of this last year's restoration. I had to "try out" three shops. The first one ripped me off for $700. The second one employs the Mechanic from Hell. For the time being, the third one -- father and son team in business for 30 years -- looks like a winner. I think they're flexible to working with me as a semi-DIY-er, supporting my plan to retrofit my Trooper like a 21st century B52. And they always -- so far -- tell me that "you don't have to do this now, you don't have to do that now", letting me choose to either do it myself, countermand their opinion and pay them, or simply follow the advice.

But especially, their advice is reliable, based on knowledge and experience. I need a repair shop that will inform me that my PCV valve has been broken, or who will simply take care to reconnect an important vacuum hose. For that -- the Little Repair Shop of Horrors was a waste of time. It was a waste of money in the sense that the valve-cover-gasket service could've waited for two years, or might have been treated chemically with Blue Devil. And it was an unnecessary inconvenience for waiting 13 days as they prayed and waited for a refurb junk-yard heater core so they wouldn't have to shell out $430 for a new one. They broke it! They should fix it! They should've ordered the new heater core right away!

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Amazing what a little extra reading and web-search will turn up . . . [heh-he . . . heh-he-he-heh]

CRC Mass Air Flow Sensor Cleaner

How to Clean A MAP Sensor

. . . . And THEN we'll continue to monitor gas-mileage! This could save me a net $30 in outlays for being a spendthrift about small-potatoes auto-parts . . .

[He-heh . . . chuckle . . ]

UPDATE (again!) -- I couldn't see that the innards of the MAP sensor were dirty, but cleaning it gave noticeable improvement, even if it was incremental. I suspect the improvement came from cleaning off the contacts for the signal wires that connect the MAP to the ECM/ECU. It had to be that, because there was no obstruction or contamination in the vacuum hose, nor any at the intake-manifold port/nipple. The rest of the MAP just seems like a small circuit-board that is inaccessible except for the vacuum port on the little plastic enclosure.

 

[Micrornd]

I also have an older vehicle (2003 Honda Element) I wouldn't part with (paid for, dependable, "fits' me )
Finding someone reliable to work on it is difficult, so what few repairs it has needed have been handled by the Honda dealer.
Is that an option for you or are the dealers just too pricey in Cali?

I said "BEE-FIFTY-TWO" bombers. Why were they named that? They were built by Boeing. The maiden flight for the aircraft occurred in 1952.

FYI - That's not how it works
That was purely coincidental.
"B" is for bomber, 52 is for the order in which the requirement/proposal was issued or accepted by the US government.
(The B-51 (by Martin) first flew in 1949, The B-53 (by Convair) cancelled in 1949, etc.)

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I also have an older vehicle (2003 Honda Element) I wouldn't part with (paid for, dependable, "fits' me )
Finding someone reliable to work on it is difficult, so what few repairs it has needed have been handled by the Honda dealer.
Is that an option for you or are the dealers just too pricey in Cali?


FYI - That's not how it works
That was purely coincidental.
"B" is for bomber, 52 is for the order in which the requirement/proposal was issued or accepted by the US government.
(The B-51 (by Martin) first flew in 1949, The B-53 (by Convair) cancelled in 1949, etc.)

Thank you for correcting my misunderstanding of it! I scanned over all that R&D contract history too quickly at Wikipedia. I was looking at Wiki because I wanted just to know when the aircraft became operational, thinking it was around 1957.

I remember the Cuban-Missile Crisis in October, 1962 -- the 13 days. Our family has never lived any different distance from March AFB beginning in 1958, occupying three different homes in different parts of town all along the same radius. I remember one afternoon I was walking home from school, and had the very common, frequent sight of two B-47s after takeoff. Maybe we'd grown used to the noise, but these were flying low and the sound was deafening. I just remember that day, and not sure on which of the 13 days it occurred.

 

[Micrornd]

I remember the Cuban-Missile Crisis in October, 1962 -- the 13 days. Our family has never lived any different distance from March AFB beginning in 1958, occupying three different homes in different parts of town all along the same radius. I remember one afternoon I was walking home from school, and had the very common, frequent sight of two B-47s after takeoff. Maybe we'd grown used to the noise, but these were flying low and the sound was deafening. I just remember that day, and not sure on which of the 13 days it occurred.

I didn't realize the notable effects of it were that far reaching.
I've lived in central FL since '57 and it was certainly much more than 13 days here. Watching planes and identifying them was akin to birdwatching then for us kids. There were more air bases than you could shake a stick at. Some new Air Force and many "older" Naval Air and Army Air from WWII, some still on line and many "reserve". I remember mine and my friend's dad's taking us for Sunday drives past many air bases so we could see the planes.

I remember AA missiles on the beach by Patrick AFB, and along side Hwy 50 in Orlando by McCoy AFB, Radomes being constructed virtually over night, and fallout shelter sales lots taking the place of some used car lots. If my parents were worried, they certainly never let on. And all those "duck and cover" videos they show of the kids in schools on YouTube, we never had none of that. I guess since we were in the prime target range of what the missiles could reach, it really wasn't needed as it wouldn't matter.

Ahh the good old days, life was simpler then, eh?

 

[BonzaiDuck]

I didn't realize the notable effects of it were that far reaching.
I've lived in central FL since '57 and it was certainly much more than 13 days here. Watching planes and identifying them was akin to birdwatching then for us kids. There were more air bases than you could shake a stick at. Some new Air Force and many "older" Naval Air and Army Air from WWII, some still on line and many "reserve". I remember mine and my friend's dad's taking us for Sunday drives past many air bases so we could see the planes.

I remember AA missiles on the beach by Patrick AFB, and along side Hwy 50 in Orlando by McCoy AFB, Radomes being constructed virtually over night, and fallout shelter sales lots taking the place of some used car lots. If my parents were worried, they certainly never let on. And all those "duck and cover" videos they show of the kids in schools on YouTube, we never had none of that. I guess since we were in the prime target range of what the missiles could reach, it really wasn't needed as it wouldn't matter.

Ahh the good old days, life was simpler then, eh?

Life was simpler!

In grade school during the 50s, kids got sick all the time. There was a joke about the puke-puddles you'd find on the playground and even in the school-building hallways during the winter months before the janitor gave them his attention.

"Wait! Save me the big pieces!"

Polio worries? I remember in the small city of Decatur Illinois, there was a totally public effort to get kids vaccinated with a substance called Gamma-Globulin. They arranged for it in a local school gymnasium. It was packed solid with people! For a few minutes, I lost track of my parents. And that shot? Call it the gluteus-maximus or just yur-ass -- that sucker hurt! It hurt!

Another thing I remember, just after we arrived in (Riverside) CA and put up with my uncle while we looked for a house. He was career-USAF. Despite the fact that he had a swimming pool, we stayed indoors because of the heat that summer. AC was always good in So-Cal among residential housing. So we were indulged with model-airplane kits, put together with Testor's glue, and eventually, the little bottles of enamel paint. With fishline and tacks, I had World War III in progress above my bed.

If we didn't do that, there was always "Million-Dollar-Movie" channel on the TV. Errol Flynn in "Captain Blood". All the war movies and horror movies . . .