Breakfast at Betsy’s

Breakfast at Betsy'y

Donna and I arrived at Greg’s Gas Plus about 15 minutes early, so we would be there before anyone else. We were, but not for too long as Hal and Trudy Scott joined us. We chatted for awhile about the usual stuff while we waited for other Miatas to arrive, but mostly marveled at the shear amount of traffic that stopped at Greg’s and 90% of it was pick up trucks. The mix was 50/50 with lawn care trailers headed south to the lawns of the cities and boat trailers headed north to Clarks Hill Lake.

At one point the lot was so full that a truck hauling a boat stopped directly in front of us. The passenger disembarked and headed into the store for ice, a rest room break or maybe just a cup of coffee. The driver came out and called to us, “You guys don’t need to go anywhere in the next 5 minutes do you?” So I asked, “What time is it?” He dug into his pocket, pulled out his phone, unlocked it, pulled up an app and said, “Seven thirty-seven.” “Actually, we probably should be gone already,” I said, “But you don’t have to move, we’re small and can get around you.” He got back in his truck and by the time I finished a quick Drivers Meeting1 and the four of us got in our cars, he was fully out of our way, so we drove off with a wave.

We arrived at Betsy’s about 10-15 minutes later than advertised and there were three Miatas already parked outside. Inside we found John & Pat Clark, Rita & Larry Garner and Tom Varallo at a table with enough empty seats for the 4 of us plus a walk-in2. The nine of us ordered our food and in typical Miata Club fashion one plate was slightly late, one plate needed to be returned for fixing and a couple of dishes weren’t piping hot.

Counting today’s group we had a total of 14 people for Breakfast at Betsy’s if you count the 5 members who ate there last week too after I published the detail’s of this month’s breakfast on the front page of the web site without the date in the post.

All and all, Betsy’s is a splendid spot for breakfast in Aiken on a Saturday morning3, the food is good and the prices are not that expensive.

1 I handed Trudy a map she didn’t need and told them, “Follow me.”
2 No one did.
3 The only day they are open for breakfast.

55,000 Gazinta 150,000 How Many Times?

French Toast

Last night Donna and I took a drive to confirm my wholly online Google Map planned route for this morning’s MMC Breakfast At Betsy’s event we were leading. Half way to I-20 I noticed the Sonata’s ODO read 55008. We were only about 4 miles from the our driveway so the Purple Whale must have passed the 55,000 mark on our way home from work on Monday. Didn’t notice.

Good thing we pre-ran the course too, because Mr Google was thrown off by construction of Giant Tire Parkway and its interruption of Vaucluse Road. The map had me turning right after a half mile when it was really a left after more like a whole mile.

At the start point of the drive this morning we were joined by exactly one other Miata. Had this been any other Club event besides breakfast we would have called the thing off, but because we had to eat anyway and the restaurant was back in our own Fair City(R) we lead one other couple on a convoluted route through Edgefield & Aiken Counties to Betsy’s. I had the trip counter up because I needed it for keeping track of the miles between turns as called out by my navigator along the way, but once we were just one familiar turn from our destination I flipped it back the odometer. It read 149999. A few feet before pulling into a parking spot the Emperor hit 150,000 miles.

There were three other Miatas already there.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1482

Stuck In The Past

That 70's Show

That 70’s Show

Kind of seems like it don’t it?

A discussion on height came up with a co-worker the other day and when the conversation turned to high heels, I mentioned that at one time I had a pair of high-heeled sneakers. Well, not actual high heels, really, but more like platform sneakers. Photographic proof was required.

This sent me looking through some old photo albums1 to find this one picture Donna and I remember from a trip to the northeast way before we were married. We found the right album and even found the right page, but the picture we both remember with the two of us in it at a snow covered rest stop somewhere along the NY State Thruway wasn’t there. We must have pulled it out to show some one along the way and it never made it back in or it ended up in a different book. So I scanned the above image of me that sort of showed my high-rise kicks.

Then I did get a little marooned in the past and decided to scan a couple more photos, one of Donna from that time frame and one of the two of us. Man, we were cute as all get out 40 years ago.

1) Back when people used a thing called a camera to expose chemically treat plastic film to a scene they saw, which was then taken to a drug store where it was turned into a 4 inch by 6 inch glossy piece of paper and displayed on the pages of something resembling a notebook.

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1481

Nothing But Net!

Smart Ass

I went to Delgado College for 7 semesters, 3 spring, 2 falls and 2 summers. I took at least one drafting class each semester and took two in 3 of them, for a total of 10. Aced every one of them. In those seven semesters I took a total of 28 classes and got A’s in all but one, that one I probably would have gotten an A, but I had a side drafting job one semester and couldn’t do that and take 5 full classes at the same time. I know, what a slacker.

To say I was a bit more mature at 28 than I was at 17 in high school is an understatement. Go back and look at yesterday’s high school transcript and squint a bit, I bet you can made out the two F’s and several D’s in there. I started out pretty decent in 10th grade, but that was my peak, it was all downhill from there. I still managed to be in the top 40 of my high school class.

The top 40% that is, I was graduated 238th of 624. Thirteen years later I graduated college Manga Cum Laude, 1 of only 3, out of a class of 670.

Started up, went down, still down.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1480

Here Is Proof

High School Drafting Transcript

Over the weekend I decided to clean out the 2-tier file basket that is on a table in the computer room. I’ve been dumping stuff on the top level for quite some time, mostly the monthly, semi-annual and annual statements from State Farm with updates on all of our policies we have with them. The pile had grown taller than the basket and the top forms were sliding out onto the table. Every single one of the Sonata’s 6 month bills were in there, which was 8 documents of 6 pages each. The Miata’s stuff of similar size went a little further back than 2011, plus the homeowners policies and life insurance policies, it was a mess. I keep the most recent of each and shredded the rest.

In the other tier of this basket was a treasure drove of stuff that I had forgotten I even had. Including the copy of my high school transcript proving my post from the other day. I blurred out everything but the Drafting grades as there is some stuff I’m not too proud of there. The grades reading from left to right are the 4 semesters and the fifth is the average grade for the whole year. Where I’m from high school was only three years, so they tacked on my final year of Jr. High in the upper left (no drafting there.)

Another great find was in a business sized envelope were the cardboard templates for the Pigs In Space sweatshirt I made back in the 80’s. I may have to recreate this. I’m going to need a different medium though, the original was made of felt pieces layered on top of each other then sewn on and we don’t have a sewing machine anymore.

I also found a Calvin & Hobbes Time Machine sticker that I didn’t know I had. There used to be one on the rear bumper of the Emperor, but it went away when the back of the car had to be repainted after the Great Dented Trunk Lid Incident of 2006. I must have had two made … took the newly resurfaced sticker out to the garage and applied it on the Emperor’s rear.

Plus my Junior College transcript was there too, so tomorrow’s treat will be a glimpse at further proof my drafting prowess.

Started down, went up, still up.
Miata Top Transitions since 10/24/08: 1479

Happy Birthday Sandy

Birthday BalloonToday is Donna’s sister Sandy’s birthday. Sandy’s husband Paul and his mom planned on going out to eat at an Italian restaurant in her honor, sort of like the three of them used to do for Paul’s father by going to a Mexican restaurant.

Donna wanted to do a little something different in her honor, so this afternoon we went to Kroger and bought one of those Happy Birthday balloons filled with helium and stuffed it in the trunk of the Emperor. Later in the evening we drove the 40 miles up to Clarks Hill Lake and set it lose from a boat ramp at sunset.

I Lettered In Drafting…

Drafting Alphabet

..in both high school and college.

I stunk at both Wood Shop and Metal Working in high school, but did manage to get a industrial course that I was not only good at, but liked as well when I got to Drafting. So I kept at it, taking couple more classes in it during my time at good ol’ NBHS. After getting out of the Navy I took a Blueprint Reading in my first semester in college and realized that being a Draftsman was what I wanted to be when I grew up.

Every drawing has something called a Revision Letter that is used to keep track of any changes made to a drawing. Some places start with an A, some start with no letter before going to A, but the Valve Store(tm) starts with a – and then the first change is an A. In the beginning of my training as a draftsman I was taught that there are 5 letters that are are never used as a Rev Ltr because they might be confused as a number, I, O, Q, S & Z.

With out using those five you still get 21 revisions before you have to start over again at AA. Because ASCO has been in business for 126 years now, a few of our older drawings have the honor of dual letters. Even though there is now a prefix, those five letters are skipped again the next time around. One of the sets of drawings I was working on the other day had a B as the first letter, meaning it has had over 40 revisions. This particular drawing’s previous Rev Ltr was BH, so naturally the BI letter combo was skipped and next pair in line was used – BJ.

Now, maybe because I was in the Navy or maybe because I’m a guy or maybe I have a dirty mind, but I think there are a few 2 letter combos that don’t include the fab five that should not be used as Rev Ltrs, that’s one of them. The next one is less likely because a drawing would have to be on its 122nd revision for it to occur, but FU probably should get a pass. The next one my dirty mind comes up with is at 177and that is HJ.

Got any more?