vanscottbuilders

That's a very studious look you have there with that hammer.

Obviously there's something really important going on in the

carpenter's head. Like "Which side of this thing do I use?"

And how did that board get that short?

Don't quit your day job.

Now, if we could get this letter on the front page of the newspapers,

and read completely on the news channels, we probably could make

some significant progress.

I am also in awe of the genuine ignorance and pompous attitude of

our elected officials. The same ones who are giving out the hundreds of

billions of dollars to poorly run businesses. Why?

In a matter of months, there will be other car makers, and other banks

and probably better ones at that.

The stop-gap "bailouts" probably will not last a year before the same companies

are in the same trouble again.

Think about welfare and other government hand-outs. We now have four or five

generations of people who have never worked, and don't ever intend to because

the system is geared to work for them.

Handing out money simply does not work on several levels.

No good will come from this.

So, for 2009, I propose that each of us reading this resolve to be a little more vigilant,

and a little more aware of what's happening around us. And resolve to find out who your

elected officials are - and send them at least one letter or e-mail voicing your concern.

I think it's the least we can do to safeguard our lifestyle and protect our country.

Paul Van Scott

Here's something that only the government could think up ----

I have to have both FAA and DOT physicals.

They are both due at the same time.

The two exams are almost identical, and are done by the same doctor.

So - I thought I would get them at the same time.

I always offer to pay full price for each.

But - The government is involved here don't forget.

The two exams cannot be done together, and you actually need a

separate appointment for each. All the data must be retested.

In fact, the FAA recommends that you use a different doctor!

The two agencies do not even recognize the data from the other's report.

You could technically fail the DOT exam, and pass the FAA exam and continue

flying, even though you couldn't drive. Or vice-versa.

The doctor is a nice guy, and scratches his head every time we go through this.

I've tried for probably twenty years to get the two exams done at the same time.

But it must be just too simple.

And - We pay for this kind of service. A lot, and getting more expensive by the day!

Glad to hear your gettin to work Paul, the way i see it every little bit helps. Sounds like your coming along nicely on the b model. Hopefully i'm gonna acquire a '55 H-67. Gotta wait on the buyer for my old ford and the 3-53 detroit is already sold so hopefully i'll pull this off. You and the family have a good christmas and a safe one.

Joe,

That's a good truck to have. Pretty rare,

and rarely available for sale.

Good Luck!

I've got the exact same hat for running the snow blower.

Perfect for that job!

Gotta love that rabbit fur.

Paul VS

It seems that no matter how bad things in our lives look -

we don't have to look far to see someone with worse things

to deal with.

At least your friend passed quickly, and doing what he loved.

Sorry for the loss.

Paul VS

I appreciate everybody's support. It probably will be a little

challenging for a while.

But, I really believe that things happen for a reason.

Maybe you have to look for it, but something in the mess

is actually a good thing. You just have to find it.

That's where I am now.

James is right - there is construction work out there, if we

want to uproot our families and go chase it.

And there some related industry possibilities that have been offered to me

in the past two weeks.

Even with the current business, a couple of the right phone calls could end all of the concern.

It's a little bit far fetched, but I could get my latest R model Mack in roadworthy,

good looking and dependable condition with very little effort, and put it to work developing a

"light freight" business around this area. Lots of industry and machine shops that

must need materials, products and equipment moved locally. The single axle Mack,

with a single axle flat trailer, or a short step deck would be pretty versatile at making

deliveries of all types up to maybe 25,000 lbs. I've got the lowboy, and two 40' high flats,

and access to Jimmy's 53' step deck already. Plenty of capability to get started with.

Operating at a fraction of the cost of a full size 5 or 6 axle unit gives me a competitive advantage.

And - no truck payments! It sure would be fun, if it could actually work.

Maybe I could add a 32' van sometime down the road, if there is a market.

Selling and promoting the smaller truck service is probably the biggest challenge.

So - who knows. There are a lot of possibilities!

Maybe you could get that "master" to continue

his upcoming road trip down to Gladys from southern Ohio.

Or think about delivering the hood to Larry (Freightrain),

before Rob shows up to get his new tools.

Then have it shipped back by Yellow or someone like that.

Tom,

It's hard to say what caused the clear to lift,

could have been almost anything.

But - I wouldn't wax the hood at all.

Try rubbing compound and follow it with a buffer and

buffing compound. But no wax.

Wax has silicones in it, and is very hard to remove from porous

paint surfaces. That makes successful re-painting almost impossible.

Rubbing compounds and most polishing compounds don't have

any siliconizing agents - so no re-paint troubles.

The best restoration and body shops don't even keep wax on the premises.

I tried the rub on some scallops yesterday - perfect!

I was putting it on turkey sandwiches too. Real good stuff.

Paul Van Scott

Thanks guys.

I'm not giving up James. Just making the changes I have to.

We are known for uncompromising quality and building integrity,

whether it's a large home or small. The way it is built is always the same.

(Mostly my father's reputation by the way, before any of you get to wisecracking)

And today very few people are willing to pay any extra for those things that last.

I haven't been able to bring myself to slam together houses like the tract builders,

so we have become a dinosaur in the building business.

The jury is still out on what is really going to happen. But what we do know for sure

is that something is going to have to change and soon.

Well said James.

The quality of, particularly, the older Macks speaks to

a lost ethic in our society. It's not "just good enough",

it's really "Mack Tough". And I think the Macks, unlike

most brands, evoke a "can do" attitude that is largely

missing in our bail-out ridden, no responsibility, no fault society.

So - the Mack truck makes a statement, not only about

the truck and it's legendary durability, but also about the

people and the country that built them.

Not to mention that they kind of fit like old shoes.

Man - we ought to be in marketing!

Paul Van Scott

Dropping the turkey in salt water sounds like a real good idea.

I'm going to to do my own on Sunday, and I'll have to try that.

Won't be smoking it. (No smoker) But I'll slow cook it for a good

long time with plenty of butter under the skin to keep it moist.

Had to have the in-law's turkey today - so I'm still hungry.

PVS

A cook shed sounds like a good idea.

I could do one off the end of my barn at home,

pretty close to the back door.

I've got an old gas grille that I was thinking of

converting to a rotisserie. Along with the regular

gas grille and the charcoal grille, they would pretty

well fill up a cooking shed.

I'm just thinking of a lean-to roof to keep the rain

and the snow off. Maybe with a light too, although

the light won't really help the quality of the food too much.

Nothing will except a new cook.

Got one of the 16' long rack sections assembled and

lifted into place today. It will sure be nice to get all of

the parts and stuff off the floor.

Joe - how's the family? Probably growing like crazy!

The chicken looks good!

Not so sure about putting the squirrels on a can

for dinner - but, it might be worth a try.

...and you were asking ME about cooking ribs? I could take a few lessons from you! But I usually only do one rack at a time, since there's just the two of us.

There's only two of us too - I'm just bigger than you.

I agree - charcoal is better, and the flavor can be

"adjusted" with different wood chips, either wet or dry.

There is nothing like de-strapped ribs slow cooked over

charcoal with a lot of carmelized "customized" barbeque sauce.

And beer. Can't forget the essentials.

I've been experimenting, and the best method I've tried yet is

layering the racks of ribs on top of each other, two or three high;

turn the bottom one to the top often, and rotate the sides facing down

for a really slow, even cook. Brown each side up real good before adding

any sauce. Then keep on cooking with the sauce just getting nice and dark.

Mmm -mm.

Gotta go - I'm heading out now to get charcoal. Made myself hungry.

Hi Joe,

I am gathering some "fleet" photos to prepare for a big truck sale.

I'll get you those R model pictures ASAP.

I've decided to sell a few of my old trucks to fund a B73L project that

keeps calling me.

Paul Van Scott

It's getting toward turkey cooking season.

Time to start passing around those lies ....

I mean recipes.

Got a few new ideas to try. And hoping to put

a couple of wild birds in the freezer this fall.

I like them a lot.

And I still think that mixer would make the absolute best portable

pit BBQ cooker in the world!!

If not a cooker, then we could use it to dispense the sauce!!

Johnsonville Brats owns the best cooking grille I've ever seen.

They took a 45' or so stainless tank trailer - split it horizontally,

hinged one side, added a catwalk on the other side, put the proper

hardware & grille racks in for gas burners, and it is about as cool as you can get.

It gets pulled from site to site with a nice looking tractor. Not nearly as cool as as

an antique hot rod Mack, but not too bad none the less.

Something to think about ---

Paul VS

So let's get right to the important stuff -

How was the pork loin?

PVS

Joe,

One of the things I haven't told anyone about is -

I am driving home a second R model tractor tomorrow.

A really nice 1969 single axle with a 237 Maxidyne and a direct

5 speed.

Not sure yet how healthy everything is, but I know it starts, runs and drives.

This has been a yard tractor for at least twenty years, and kept inside.

There is no rust in the cab at all, that I have seen.

And I'm driving it home. Very important detail.

So, to answer your question, I'm not sure what I will do with the R models.

I think I will probably sell them both to get a B73 with an L cab that I know of.

The truck is available, it's close by and it keeps calling me.

If I keep them, one of them might become a dump truck.

Look at picture #32 (I think) in the Macungie 2008 photos that Barry posted

in the Shows forum here, you will see an R cab done exactly the way I picture

these done.

I think a matched pair of trucks, one as a dump truck, would be pretty

good looking.

And the colors match the AC Mack being kept in our shop. The whole package

would look pretty good going down the road. (You know - with the dump truck in

the rear to pick up the parts that fall off the other two)

But - I can't get too distracted from the B-67 project. Need to finish that first,

before anything else gets started.

Man, there is nothing like a computer to make you feel

totally helpless. At least at my level of expertise.

But it's even worse, I'd say, if someone is doing damage

to his friend's equipment.

And - he's probably laughing about it too!

Sound like we ought to put out a warning - that we

could be marching on Tennessee real soon!

PVS

We've had several hard frosts already, so we had to get

in our garden stuff a couple of weeks ago.

Hoping to gather a bunch of different hot peppers on

Saturday at the farmer's market - then it's off to the lab

for experimentation.

I'll keep you posted.

Ugly pumpkin - by the way.

Have a good week.

PVS

well..ok then, if that's what you really want to do. The b-model cab is very small. Amazing how Old Bill drove one for so long, and slept in it, being well over 6' tall.

One of the things about being older, under high stress and half nuts is that

you never really know what things I might do!

Just know that I might do something. Someday.

3000 miles makes for a pretty good week!

And - that tire didn't look like it just went flat.

What's up with that?

PVS

I hate when that happens.

Best not to talk about it though.

Just hope it doesn't get worse too quick.

Paul VS