Up at work and down for the ride to the haircut and home. Only it started to rain, so I put it up as we were coming to a red light. The rest of the cycles came when we went out to try and take a picture for the Club newsletter, Donna and I are the Members of the Month for September. See the photo here: MOTM.
Started up, went down, went up, down, up, down, up, down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 225
First and weirdest was Donna drove to get some fresh bagels for breakfast and actually requested I put the top down for her. Donna doesn’t drive that much, she says that’s the only reason she keeps me around, and when she does she will drive her mom’s Civic first (the Civic was sitting right there.) Second, if she has to drive the Miata, she always wants the top up. Then we went grocery shopping in the Miata. Usually Donna and her mom go shopping in the Honda, but today Mom didn’t want to go, so we went. Donna asked, “Did we want to take the Civic?” I replied, “Only if you are driving.” I think she was worried about running out of room in the trunk (I guess she forgot the 11 years we used to go shopping when we only had a Miata to do it with.) $100 worth in 9 plastic grocery bags, a big bottle of laundry detergent, the boot and the cockpit cover fit in with enough room left for her to toss her purse in there too.
Started up, went down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 217
Put the top up so I could wash the car in preparation for this afternoon’s Sno-Cap 38th Anniversary Cruise In. Meeting the Miata Club again today. The Sno-Cap has been an institution in North Augusta for, like well duh, 38 years. Each year they hold a party with a DJ, high school cheerleaders, games, contests and door prize give-aways. They invite all the local car clubs to come between certain hours and hang out. Free soft drinks if you wear your Club T-shirt. This year, like last, we were going to share the lot with the Corvette Club. They must have forgot or something as there were only 3 Vettes in attendance. We had 12 Miatas. Coincidentally that is the exact number of covered spots the Sno-Cap has. We filled them right up.
Started down, went up, went down, back up, still up.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 216
The chimney sweep had to do some masonry work to extract the carcass of the squirrel that had somehow managed to lodge himself into a crack in some bricks. We think he squeezed past the chimney screening, fell down the flue and when he couldn’t climb back up he tried to escape via a loose brick and failed. So instead of the $150 he added another 50 for brick work and another 50 for the tighter fitting (and hopefully squirrel-proof) chimney cap. Add that the 95 smackers on last Friday for the pest control visit. We get one expensive squirrel. Should have had the thing stuffed, rotting looking skull and all.
Still some flys appearing on the living room window and dead on the floor in front of it. Donna asked me to put a black plastic bag over the fireplace opening for a couple days, hopefully whatever flies aren’t dead by now will be when we take the plastic off in a couple weeks.
Down for the trip to work, but up for the trip back home. It went back down for tonight’s Master’s Miata Club Full Moon Rally. We had 10 Miatas and a convertible RX-7 that belongs to a member’s sister and brother-in-law. Nice little ride thru the back woods of Aiken County before ending up at Brusters for ice cream.
Started up, went down, went up, back down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/02/02: 213
The smell is gone, but everyday this week when we get home from work there have been any where from 3 to 6 big ol’ flies buzzing around on the living room window. So I know there is something dead somewhere. I call the pest control folks back and ask for a return trip. The fellow shows up and goes over to the fireplace and notices a faint smell and a couple more flies. He says you need to call a chimney sweep as we don’t clean out dead things from chimneys. I called and left a message. Later in the evening the sweep returns our call and surprisingly he says he can come out tomorrow (Saturday.) It will be $129-159 depending on the size of the animal he has to extract. Come on over, I tell him.
When Mazda introduced the car there was already a national Club in the works. The crown jewel benefit of belonging to the national Club has always been a glossy full-color magazine published quarterly and now bi-monthly. When I bought my first Miata in November 1989 I received Issue #2 free as an enticement to join the Club. The magazine was chock full of stories and letters dealing with how-tos and best of all ads for all kinds of geegaws to make your Miata faster, prettier or just different. I ordered Issue #1 and the collection started.
It has been a tumultuous last couple of years with the magazine changing hands and the first Club folding because the “President” and founder were cooking the books. They almost took the Magazine with them, but the Miata community got behind the publisher and saved the day. And now with Mazda behind it, we have a new Club and it’s members get the magazine.
My membership expired in March, and I don’t plan on renewing it. I’ve gotten the last 2 magazines anyway, but I don’t enjoy it or need it anymore. The informative letters have been replaced by the internet, the ads with cool products have been replaced by bookmarks to websites and the stories are no longer a mix of fiction and product reviews, but seem to be just quasi-ads to upgrade to high performance turbos or $2000 big brake kits. I’m sure there is a market and clamor for this stuff, but it is not me.
I guess in the 13 years I’ve owned a Miata, I have changed and the magazine has changed, so it is not for me anymore. I just hate to see the Magazine collection stop.