nvrbdn

[Fred]

No offence nvrbdn ..............how do you pronounce that? mostly I'm running around calling you Merv!  
I'm wondering what it stands for? And yes I've had a few drinks which has made me bold enough to ask the question in the first place!
Fred

[440]

I was under the impression Never Beaten ?

Have some more grog Fred... 

Whats your drink of choice anyways, I'll have whatever your having

[Fred]

Come on over and share my secret 

[skip68]

never be done ?   

[Fred]

never be done ?   

Well that's sad!!

[doctor4766]

never be done ?   

Well that's sad!!

Yep I think that's it, but it how lots of us feel sometimes about our projects.

[41husk]

Well Jim, What does it mean?

[nvrbdn]

yep, never be done  my son wrote that in the dusty glass of the charger a couple years ago. it stuck

he wrote NVRBDN1  dad here is your license plate #

[nvrbdn]

of course my son watched as i purchased this charger like 14 years ago.  i started gangbusters,and as the years went by, each task took longer. then i had to wait for money for some things.it hit the road about two years ago, but the new motor had no power and was pinging. pulled the motor back out and found the new timing chain the problem.but a chance to put the new cam and lifters i just bought in there. it was close last fall when the gas tank rubber seal was torn and leaking.ordered it on line but missed the last of the car shows because of it. so i wil hit the shows this year

[Budnicks]

of course my son watched as i purchased this charger like 14 years ago.  i started gangbusters,and as the years went by, each task took longer. then i had to wait for money for some things.it hit the road about two years ago, but the new motor had no power and was pinging. pulled the motor back out and found the new timing chain the problem.but a chance to put the new cam and lifters i just bought in there. it was close last fall when the gas tank rubber seal was torn and leaking.ordered it on line but missed the last of the car shows because of it. so i wil hit the shows this year

I put in a new fuel tank in my 68 RR the stupid freaken sender seal is leaking all ready... I can relate, been working on 2 cars the past 6 or 7 years I had to git rid of the one finished 68 RR Race car, now I have to do almost all the same stuff on my other 68 RR HT, it seems to never get done, now with very little money & now very little enthusiasm it seems... "Never Done" instead of "get r done"...

[A383Wing]

my cars are "Never done"....

Bryan

[nvrbdn]

  seems like an epidemic 

[Fred]

Thanks for clarifying. Now I can think of you as  neverdone instead of merv!!

[nvrbdn]

  no more merv  or jim will do

[nvrbdn]

heck i got me a thread, ill just tell my story.

                           i was born in st.louis mo. in 1956. we moved to granite city il. when i was 2. my mother ran off from my dad and got pregnant and dad took her back. she had my sister.i was 4 then. after that, she ran away for good. never seen my mother again.my aunt would watch us kids while dad worked.dad met a wonderful person and married when i was 7 and they built a new house in a nice neighborhood. dad did everything himself. he was a talented person.through the years i had a good life. mom was a school teacher at bethalto high school. i went to roxana schools. mom made me take piano lessons (which i hated). at 55 i still play the piano to this day. thanks mom. i loved music. in jr high i played the trumpet,coronet,french horn and the trombone. fell in love for the first time. got my heart broken. made alot of friends. seen the play "jesus christ super star" for the first time. went to alot of concerts. we lived a couple miles from a place called the MRF. mississippi river festival to be exact.man it was cool. all the biggest bands played there. we would just walk there if we couldnt get a ride. 2 bucks to get in for brownsville station,the who,david crosby and grahmn nash, rare earth etc............. i seen alot of concerts at that place.also got a few habits there too.

[nvrbdn]

one thing i loved as i grew up was frog gigging. dang that is fun. we would walk creeks, find ponds, sneak onto golf courses. anything we could do to get frogs. then a place came up. it was to be a summer home neighborhood built on a 480 acre lake. close enough from our home that we could use that for skiing etc. dad decided to get a lot out there and we quit going to the river for boating fun and used the lake. this lake was awesome for frogs. by the start of high school we would go out there at dark and stay out all night getting frogs. of course in the years to come, progress would eliminate the frog population due to sea walls and what not. but it was great for several years. through high school i was considered as a parking lot hang out. there were the jocks, the nerds, the un popular, and the parking lot hangouts. i played football 1 year and got my chin split open. i played basketball 1 year and was the 6th man. the week before the opening game i jumped against the starting center and actually blocked his shot. but he came down on my foot and chipped a bone in my heel. out for the season. well it didnt take me long to realize that while the sports guys were playing the game, all the girls were in the stands. thats where i wanted to be.

[nvrbdn]

i decided also that i liked playing music and joined the high school band. i was on the trombone in the marching band and the pep band. we traveled to play at half time at colleges and stage band at grade schools. those were pretty good times.i didnt go steady in high school. i enjoyed more having a group to hang with than 2 people just being together all the time. drive ins were the thing and we spent alot of time at them. always in the back row.my dad had a ford pick up and mom had a chrysler newport. i got my license at 16 which was easy cuz my best friend bob was a year older but held back,and he would let me drive his car everywhere. so by the time i turned 16 i had been driving for a year. we hung out at this place called Jive Land in wood river il. it was a park like place in the middle of town. i could carry a boat load of people in dads pickup so i didnt mind driving it. we would hit jive land every night and cruise town hit jack in the box, life was great. well then dad says if you get a job, i will buy you a car. i was in the clouds. then he says, the car doesnt have to be your dream car, just get a car. the next day after school i went to i hop and applied for a job. dang man they hired me on the spot. i couldnt wait for dad to get home that night to tell him the news.

[nvrbdn]

he got home, and i was so excited. he goes, gotta keep the grades up. i said i would. so he has my brother take me out looking for a car. we went all over the place looking for something. nothing tickled my fancy. we searched all day saturday at every car lot east of the mississippi. that night dad says, dont worry, you will find something. well sunday morning we went to church and in pulls the most beautiful thing i have ever seen. a light blue 68 dodge charger with white vinyl top and white interior. buckets,console.383 4 bbl. i was in love. it belonged to a single guy with 2 boys. i was talking to the boys and they said it was for sale. they were moving back to florida and didnt want to take the car with them. i ran to dad. he got to their dad and cut a deal and i had my dream car. 700.00 for a 68 charger with 76000 miles on it. i was king of the hill baby. i remember one time i was going to the football game at school. i was at the corner getting ready to pull into the parking lot and as people were walking infront of me this kid says, wow dad look at that car thats what i want when i can drive. my head swelled so big i was lucky to get out of the car.lol any way i had a job and a car. i was a free man,or almost a man, and almost free. i had been studing classes like algebra,biology,geometry all by my sophmore year. taking summer school with typing and history.

[nvrbdn]

i just woke up one day and decided i didnt want to go to college. it wasnt for me. mom and dad said ok, its up to you. so i took 2 years of classes i wanted since i already had the requirements out of the way. i took woods,crafts,functional arts,welding,and pe. i aced the last 2 years. after the jr year i quit playing in the band also.i was into the drums now and rock n roll instead of jerimiah was a bullfrog. still hittin concerts like poco,wishbone ash alice cooper and grand funk railroad.well, graduation came and i hated it. i loved high school and my friends and the home life i had. i knew it would have to change. one night i was cruising with bob. we wnt to a party on a hill and a guy named mark was there. he was a year younger than us, but cool.(we were the long hairs)lol. anyway mark says lets go to town and i will get some girls to come back to the party with us. me bob david and mark jump into my charger and haul azz into town. well we drop mark off and he says come back in 15 and ill get the gals. we cruise town and head back to get him and see him holding something in his arm with his thumb in the air hitchhiking. we spin around at the taco place and go back to get mark. he jumps in and says get out of here.

[nvrbdn]

well it turns out that mark just busted the door down on the cheese shop. we pull into jack in the box and bob and david jump out. the next thing i know cops come from everywhere. they grab me and mark out of the car and throw us in the cop car. then a few minutes later they open the door and say scoot over and throw bob in. i said what you doin bob? he says well i asked the cop what was goin on (since mark hadnt told us what he had really done up to the point of us all sitting in the back of the cop car or i would have kicked him out at the time he got back in the car) the cop says none of your business son. and bob says oh yea, well what ever he did, i did too. so they arrested him also. well they tow my charger and haul us off to jail. now to make it worse, it was my birthday.sucks, turning 18 in jail. well the next day they are to take us infront of the judge. i walk in handcuffed to two other guys. bob and a guy buyin beer for minors. mark had told the cops he worked alone and we didnt do or know anything about the theft. i told the cop that night i didnt do anything, and bob told them he didnt know anything cuz he was drunk and fell asleep in the back seat of the car. well david went to my house the next day and told my parents what had happened so they were there when we walked in.

[nvrbdn]

the judge asks me guilty or not guilty, i look at my dad and he asks the judge for a moment with me alone. the judge oks it and they take me to a rear room in the court. i tell mom and dad that i am not guilty. and how it took place. dad says ok. we plead and bob says yep me too. they take me home and bail the charger out. its friday night. dad gives me some money and says go to the football game at roxana and have a good time, tomorrow we talk about your future. well i did just that. since i was in jail, my boss fired me. so i was out of a job. dad and i sit down the next day and talk about options. i decide to go air force and get away from my friends. so bo gets me a job working at a local fancy restaurant. an itilaian owns it with alot of connections (if ya know what i mean). well louie takes good care of me.im actually making good money at this place and enjoying life. then the phone rings. the air force has an opening and if i want to, i could go on to basic instead of waiting till spring. oh man that was hard. its almost christmas. ive never been away from home except for camping. but i say ok, and make the jump. bob was supposed to go with me on the buddy plan, and he backs out. dang bob. for the first time we will really be seperated. my compadre. partner in crime is stayin behind.

[nvrbdn]

well, i leave for basic. how scary. im leaving home. on the way down there they let me drink on the plane. then we have a short layover in dallas where i figure it would be a good time to hammer down a couple more. then we get to san antonio tx and the air base. basic training. all of a sudden people start yelling at me. hey im half blitzed and tired from traveling all day. and you want to yell. some guy is yelling "get your hands out of your pockets" lookin right at me. then after a while we are on the march. now its midnight and we are tired and we are marching to a dorm. at this time they decide to teach us how to put our luggage down at the same time. one thump. i thought we would never get it. finally we go to the room. a bunch of unmade beds in a dorm room. this is our new home. here i got a hair cut learned how to fold underwear,make a bed. shave if you need to or not. we did it all and learned how to march. well we were lucky. our flight made honor flight our first time up for it. we got a special flag and got to be first in line for chow. when going anywhere the other flights had to move if we came by. that was cool. well i graduated basic and on to tech school.

[nvrbdn]

i pulled chanute air base in illinois for tech school. got home and had truobles with the charger. ok guys now will be the time to scream at me. i took the charger to a car lot and traded it for a pinto. damn that was hard to say, but it was true. i went to tech school and got with a few musicians.we had fun playin music. well we found a place to play on base. it was the religious building and in the evening was pretty vacant. after we played for a couple weeks there we started packing the people in to watch. it got so packed they booted us out. on base everyone can drink. they sold beer out of soda machines. chow halls you could go to almost any time you wanted. it was great and school only lasted 3 1/2 hours a day. while i was there the U of I  (illinois) was right there so we would go to the college bars and meet chicks. also went to jethro tull concert there. that was awesome. well all good things come to an end, and it was time for my orders to california. george air force base, mojave desert. that was wild.i loved the desert. i would go to silverwood lake, big bear mountain, san berdo to cruise. it was awesome. i learned about c b radios there too. no one had phones. we all had c b radios. and van clubs.mini truck clubs. 1975 was the year and i was young. had the world open to me and i was havin fun.

[nvrbdn]

i was an egress tech in the airforce. that is pulling ejection seats for those who dont know. it was a good job. we would sit in the shop and play poker till a job came up. it could be dangerous also. well one night we were working 12 hour shifts for the last 2 weeks and this was to be the last one. it was about 4 in the morning and a job came in. well me and 2 others jumped up and said we would do it. we hopped into the truck and went out to pull the seat on a 105 jet. one on each side and one straddles the nose of the jet. the guys with me were unhooking everything while i straddled the nose. these seats are heavy and you have to sit down to lift them. they slide on rails till you clear the top. well this seat wasnt wanting to come out.i lifted it and it just stoped. the guys were trying to see what was holding it from sliding. the seats are full of explosives which propel the seat out of the craft. after a couple minutes i say get back boys im droping this one (incase the explosives go off) and i let go. well i guess trying to hold that seat up for so long, after i let go the blood mustv'e rushed to my head cuz i pass out and back flip off the jet. yep, 18 1/2 feet to the asphalt. i land on my head and my left shoulder. i was out cold

[nvrbdn]

as im laying there my sgt comes out and moves my arm from behind my head. (these have all been told to me cuz i have no memory of from here till i wake up in an ambulance headed down the hill to san bernadino) i open my eyes and look at my sgt and he asks if i know what happened. i say no. then someone says look at the blood and i go back out. i wake up in the base hospital with one of my buddies there. they tell him i wont make it too long cuz im really messed up. they are trying to talk to me but say that i made no sense at all. well after a few minutes they decide that if i have a chance to make it i need to be in san berdo. so they pack me up and put me in an ambulance headed down the hill.i call it the hill, but on cajone pass you drop 1000 ft elevation. thats a hill.anyway they put me in a room and drain fluids from the head and put some kind of thing on my skull to put it back together. it was cracked into 4 pieces. i was paralized from the chest down. they would wake me up and stick needles in my feet and ask if i could feel it. id say no and they would knock me back out. after a few days, they woke me up and put me in traction. all of a sudden i could feel again. that was a good feeling. now at this time, i had been in the hospital for a while. my parents still didnt know.

[nvrbdn]

so i called them collect from my room and told them what had happened. then told them i was fine now and dont come out there. so a couple days later im erady to get out of there. the doctors had said that i may not walk, then well i may not walk normal. it kept changing. so the doc says if i can walk from the bed to the door he would let me out. so i did it. it wore me out, but i did it. so he checks me out and sends me back to george afb. when i get there they have me on 15 days convelescent leave. i tell them i want to go to illinois. i had to fight for this. but they agree with a back brace i can go. i had 3 paychecks waiting for me so i forget the brace, hop in my 69 roadrunner(that i traded the pinto for) with the back end jacked up, and head for illinois. after several hours of driving, its late and im tired. so i pull over at a rest stop and try to lay down. i was so sore i couldnt lay down. so i decide to try to sleep sitting up. that didnt work either. so i decide to keep driving. i get to oklahoma and need gas.so i pull into this station. i fill up and walk up to pay and cant remember how much i put in. i walk back and look again and when i get to the window i forgo again. he sends his girlfriend out and thinks im playin with him.

[nvrbdn]

well i finally get my gas. i guess my brainwasnt back 100% yet. anyway that was my first time i drove non stop on that trip.34 hours straight through. i got to mom and dads and stayed in bed for a day and a half. recoupin was slow and i had to check in at scott afb here in illinois as agreed upon. time ran out for vacation and i headed back to california. they wouldnt let me work for a while so all i did was wake up and tell them i was alive and the day was mine. they said i couldnt drive for the air force(i transfered to motor pool due to a fear of heights now) cuz the hospital had me on drugs. they had me takin darvons and perifon forte. dont know about the spelling, but they would mellow you out. i had actually qit taking them long before just didnt tell the hospital. well my driving career was on hold so i went to the commander and said get me off the drugs and in my truck or get me out of the af. he calls me back into his office after a while and says you are the responsibility of the hospital and they say you have to take the medication. so he agrees to give me my walking papers. a doctor that took me under his wing got wind and called me into his office. go to the hospital and copy all your records. tell them i need them. i did he said that when i was to get out the records would disapear.

[nvrbdn]

well he was right. when i got my day they said there was nothing wrong with me. i said there was and when the hospital couldnt provide my records, i did. the commander rode them guys hard for lieing in his office. a captain dropped a rank and a sargent got his walking papers also. i got my disability and honerable discharge. i decided to stay in california for now. started growing the hair and going to college. military scolarship. took automotive tech at victor valley jr college. it was great. then a guy walks into the unemployment office one day while i was there and asks if i want a job. he hired me to help him building buildings in hesperia for a strip mall. i jump right in. that lasts 6 mos. then a guy renting two of the units hires me to tear out a wall between two stores so he can put a napa parts store there. then he hires me to work in the store. well while im there i find out my high school sweet heart is at her uncles in anehiem. so i truck on down there (into the van scene) and visit lisa. it didnt take long to fire things back up, but he ships her back to illinois. oh well. meanwhile bob joins the af and is now at george afb. holy cow.thats cool for him to be out there. he already met a cool girl thats in the af too and doing good. well im partyin every sat night but im broke. i have the apartment, but no power. i live from a cooler and hang my car sterio on the wall and pull the battery out of my car so i can have music.

[nvrbdn]

everyone likes to party there and the lady next door doesnt yell cuz her kids get all the empty cans. well one day they all show up at the apt and hand me some money.this is for power and gas. wow i will have lights. the parties always were by candle light. so sat night cames and everyone is there. all of a sudden they are turning the lights out and lighting the candles. guess old habbits..............anyway i liked the electricity. so one night after a party i was sitting in the kitchen makin a pot of coffee and bob shows up. he says you know where that coffee would be good? i said where bob, he says illinois. we filled up the thermos,turned out the lights and left for illinois. i missed a couple finals at school. lol  lost a job. oh well. anyway, we stayed gone almost a month. while back in il. i got a call from lisa so i went to see her. she decided to go back to califorina with me. the three of us load up and head to victorville. when i get back, my apt was empty lost everything. had to find a place to live. found an old run down house in adlanto that i could have for free for 6 mos if i worked on it. so i took the deal. we had nothing and were so happy it was great. then she got preg.so we had to move to a nicer place.i was out of work and we didnt have but 20 bucks for christmas. so we waited till christmas eve and went and got a tree after the lot closed.

[66FBCharger]

Then what happened??

[nvrbdn]

we got turkey t v dinners and went to the store and got each other a gift. took the tree home and decorated it with paper ornaments. we had a wonderful christmas.next i got a job. i started bowling on a league that roy rogers was on. that was cool.and here it was. time to have a baby. my daughter amy came into the world. she was a little early and had to stay in the hospital extra time from jauntis. how ever you spell it.life was good out there in the desert, but all good things come to an end. i was offered a good job in il. so we packed up and left for better things. yea right, money isnt everything. i get here, get a job, have to work shifts, she gets bored,next thing i know she wants to be with an ex boyfriend cuz im at work too much. well she leaves me and i get the big "d".then i get laid off from work so i decide to head to cali to visit some friends. im gona just slip out, but lisa calls and says what ya doin. well i tell her i wont be pickin up amy for the weekend., she bugs me on why, so i tell her and she says i have friends there too. so i finally give in and say if the bags are on the porch at 6 in the morning you can go. they were there and she went.

[nvrbdn]

we make it to california ok. get a hotel and visit everyone including bob and his better half. the trip went well. we didntr even fight.on the way back hame we were on the turnpike in oklahoma. lisa was reclined back with amy laying on her lap. all of a sudden she is screaming. amys body is jumping around turning colors then nothing. the movement just stopped. she turned purple. i was freaking out. all i could think of was stopping someone with a c b radio to call a cop. well i slid the car to a stop and jumped out. there was a semi and a few cars commin at me and im jumping up and down in the middle of the freeway. a van pulls over and i run to it and the guy says ( get ready for this)  whats wrong, im a doctor. i tell him what has happened and he comes back to the car. when he checks her out he says that she had a seisure from something that she picked up. keep her feet up and get her to a hospital. so i put it on 85 mph and figure if i get stopped ill explain my way out. no cops the whole trip and we get to tulsa medical center where they take her in and check her. she gets fevers from normal to 104. they do a spinal tap and she was crying  and i wanted to punch a docter. didnt want my baby to hurt.

[moparstuart]

 OMG its turned into a skip 68 thread   

[nvrbdn]

well we spent a whole week in that hospital. they let us stay in the room with her the whole time. never did come up with anything, but told us up to the age of 5 to keep her temp down if she starts having a fever. the body is like a computer and will just resort back to the same thing it did before. the body got a fever and went up so fast it didnt know what to do so it decided to shut down. after that time, we ended up back together. we were scared to death and didnt want to be apart while our kid suffered. so we get a house for rent in wood river. things went well as we did the living thing for a few years and had another kid. then the big layoff came. i tried everything to get work. even sold vacumn cleaners dood to door. but nothing was paying the bills. so we sold out everything we could and packed our bags for georgia. her sister was down there with her husband and said they could help us. we found a trailer to rent in acworth ga. and went to church down there. they were having a picnic that day and asked us to go. while there a guy aproached me and told me he would give me a job painting houses. bam, we were back on our feet again.

[nvrbdn]

we lived in ga. for a couple years with not much excitement when the mill called and offered my job back. i flew home worked two weeks and went to get the family. (we had another kid while there ) we got an apartment, worked and bought a couple lots in the private lake subdivision. built a house and moved in. through all the struggling all was ok, but as soon as life got good, she got bored again.off she went with her truck and i bought her out of her share of the house. now im alone with the 2 oldest and she took the youngest with her. my time was busy with kids and all.didnt have much time to myself.i just went day to day and my friends helped me. well it didnt take long for her. she wanted back and yep, she was pregnant. well i tried to help her out by giving her a place to live and store her junk when one day i caome home from work and she has a preacher at my house. she needs insurance. oh well i give in and do it and we are married again. for 1 year. she ups and runs again leaving all 4 kids with me. i grew a brain that day. i stayed single for 10 years. mostly dating one person over most of it. spent alot of time at sporting events. got my kids through school.

[nvrbdn]

i bought my charger somewhere in there. then one day decided to get married again. well we are still together today. she likes cars, fishing, camping, me. we have been together 13 years this march. we raised all these monsters plus 2 of hers. we have 7 grandkids from 1-13 years. well thats 55 years of life. its been fun. ups and downs.more action in the younger years, but i mellowed in my later years. now i chill. dont get overly excited. enjoy the ride. we like to take vacations. like anything built around the car world. hopefully we will meet a bunch of you guys this year. like allen my friend 41husk that i met while working deals for parts,and again at monster mopar, and then again at the mopad, which is an awesome place to hang out and talk cars.

[Brock Samson]

  Thanks! 

[Fred]

Wow! that was a wild ride I just went on (yes I read it all) Life's something else isn't it?
Brought back memories of my own along the way. Some quite similar to yours. The music, the cruising around, the hanging out at favourite joints.
You had great parents...............that's the best start you can get.
You've had your ups and downs but you've made it this far and I wish you many more good years.

I enjoyed the whole story but I have to say ( and you know what it is) my favourite bit was............ (( i remember one time i was going to the football game at school. i was at the corner getting ready to pull into the parking lot and as people were walking infront of me this kid says, wow dad look at that car thats what i want when i can drive. my head swelled so big i was lucky to get out of the car.lol . ))

Good on you Mate!
Fred  

[41husk]

All that and nothing about your friend 41husk

[nvrbdn]

sorry allen i kinda rushed the end.

[nvrbdn]

ok allen i fixed it.

[41husk]

Now it is a great story Jim!!!!

[autodynamics]

Wow someone wrote a novel

[Inked_Ghandi]

That was a great story. I didn't want it to end.

[nvrbdn]

thanks.

[Inked_Ghandi]

If only my life had that much excitement. But then again I am only 22 almost 23 so I think I have a ways to go.

[Fred]

Yes you do..................I wish you well 

[nvrbdn]

yep, you have tons of time in front of you. and you need to work on getting home to your family. as far as that part of my story,i dont wish that kind of stuff on anyone. i wanted to get married once forever.she had different life plans.hope yours turns out better.

[Inked_Ghandi]

Yeah that part of my life was growing up. And I don't talk to anyone about it. Not even my wife. And I agree with you. I do not wish that kind of thing on even my worst enemy. But everything is a learning experience and honestly I would not be the person I am today and its probably the same with you, if these certain events didn't happen to us.

[nvrbdn]

true

[PocketThunder]

Holy Crap what a story..   

[Old Moparz]

Thanks for clarifying. Now I can think of you as  neverdone instead of merv!!

I didn't think of Merv, my eyes kept seeing it as Never Mind.   

Holy Crap what a story..   

I'll read his story later, unless you or someone can condense it down to a paragraph or two. 

[Inked_Ghandi]

IMHO there is no way to just cut it down. An absolute must read.

[nvrbdn]

thanks.

[RallyeMike]

sorry allen i kinda rushed the end. smilielol

Ya it was. I was reading about hard times after getting your walking papers and then BAM: Grandkids. 

Everyone has an interesting story to tell.

[PocketThunder]

Holy Crap what a story..   

I'll read his story later, unless you or someone can condense it down to a paragraph or two. 

Actually Bob you have to read it from start to finish.  It would be a nice life lesson to some younger members on here wondering where to go with life.   

[nvrbdn]

there was a time i didnt include in this story that im not real proud of. after lisa left me again, which she did like to do, i was devistated. i would go to work and when home sit in a dark room and stare at the black. hours upon hours. well one friday a week into my misery the kids were gona go over to my mom and dads for the weekend. my oldest boy was about 6 i'd say and he came to me sitting in a dark room and said, dad i dont need to go to g-mas, i can sit with you. i said you go have fun buddy, im fine. well i decided to go blow some anger off and a buddy calls me to go out. i get in my white t/a with the gold bird on it and cruise to granite city. we hit a bar called cadillac jacks and start hitting the beers. now this chick i know comes up and talks to me and all of a sudden there is a shot in front of me so as im talking i slam it. we keep talking and another shot is there and i down it. then the third and she says, you dont want that. its tequilla and you shouldnt mix with beer. i said im fine (you know, the man thing) and i drink it too. well she wishes me luck with my drinking choices and heads off. my buddy comes back with a couple other guys and says lets go to cramdens. (its a bar in another part of town) so ok we head out. now im starting to feel the effects of the alchohol and we smart guys decide to drag race his 4x4 truck and my trans am through town.luckily no one got in our way and we make it to cramdens.

[nvrbdn]

we party there for a couple more hours and by now im blasted and its after 1. luckly one of the other guys wants to leave and i offer to take him home.we pull out and arent doin too bad but then we are going through a neighborhood with long straight roads. he says how fast will it go? punch it. so i do and we are frigging flying. i look at him and say, isnt maryville road around here somewhere? and right then we are flying over it. it had a light lift as you entered the road. a four lane road from one end of town to the other. luckily no cars were there when we got there or there would be nothing left of us. i freaked out as i suddenly realized how stupid what i was doing was. i found this guys home and drove that trans am the 25 miles home to my house and put a for sale sign on it and never drove it again. got it sold in 2 days and was happy to see it go.lucky for me nothing happened to take me away from my kids that night and ended my drinking and driving days.  after i met kitty i got into the harley days. i picked up a bike and started doing the poker runs and rodeo's. that was fun, but i couldnt believe how we would get to the first bar and these guys would already be drunk and get on them bikes and ride all day.

[nvrbdn]

we have seen a few scrapped off the pavements and decided to let the harley go since it got to the only time i rode it was to work. that money got me toward my camper and 3/4 ton quad cab pickup. we got a 30 footer with a slide.we enjoy camping quite a bit. even though some will say thats not camping. i still call it camping and have a lot of fun with it. life has mellowed over the last few years as we spend time camping with the kids and grand kids. those young buggers tend to pull on the heart strings. and im a sucker for the "i want this grandpa" line. between the charger and the camper we seldom have an open weekend. but its a good life

[Paul G]

What a story. You are a good writer my friend and  btw, I thought it meant "never board"

[Budnicks]

nvrbdn the Lisa thing I went thru 10 years or so ago, also with a girl named Lisa, moral of the story is "no more Lisa's"..   the camping thing is RV-ing, not really camping, I know it very well, luxed out 28ft Jayco 5th wheel trailer, with a slide out..   the bike deal, "been there done that" for many years from age 12-45, bikes, 3 wheeler's & quads you name it I had it, no longer do that either, "there are old riders & bold riders, but no old bold riders" , the final straw for me was, I was hit by a 72 Ford Esquire Country Wagon making a left turn right in front of me, at like 50+mph, that's the last time on a bike, the Quad also went shortly after that   I will no longer ever drive after any drinks, even if I only have just a beer, "it's just not worth it"...

[nvrbdn]

you are right. definately on the drinking and lisa's, rv-ing, the bikes. we quit shortly after we were coming up to a red light on a 2 lane road. there was a gas station on the right. we started to pull in with our turn signal on when a woman decided to pass us on our right. there was no road there. just the entrance to the gas station. as i was almost sideways pulling in, she slammed on her brakes and ended up about an inch from my leg. im just staring at her and she kinda smiles and says sorry. i just shook my head and pulled on into the gas station. i didnt mention that there was already 3 cars stopped at the red light, so there was no where for her to go. oh well, after that we just decided to get a different hobby.

[Budnicks]

  wise move...

[nvrbdn]

yea, we are also a no helmet state. and i never wore one unless i was goin to missouri for the bikers for babies run. other than that i never wore a helmet and neither did kitty.

[Budnicks]

yea, we are also a no helmet state. and i never wore one unless i was goin to missouri for the bikers for babies run. other than that i never wore a helmet and neither did kitty.

you were tempting fate for sure... the only thing that saved my dumb a$$, was I was wearing a helmet & it was split almost in half when I flew 50-60ft thru the air over the back of the wagon & hit a Stop sign post with my helmet... I always wore a helmet, even when I was a little kid on my mini bikes, my parents wouldn't let me ride with out one, GOOD THING I HAD THAT HABIT, DRILLED INTO MY BRAIN...

[nvrbdn]

i was talking to a friend taday and remembered something in my life that was actually pretty big that never got into the story and i thought id go back and add it. when i was 15 i thought my life was miserable. yea right. well i figured id teach my parents by running away from home. my cousin was on board and so we set a date to leave and had it all figured out. we were going to minnesota where we always went on vacation. nisswa minnesota. good fishing there. so on the morning we were to leave he got a cab to my house. then we went to the bank and i took my money and he posed as my brother and took his. then back to my house to get our stuff and hit the road to leave.  when i snuck back in the house my sister that was 2 years younger was still there. so i had to tell her what i was doing. she was broke up about it and when she went to school she went straight to bob and told him. he called my parents, but we were already gone.

[nvrbdn]

 we hit the road and got a ride quick. the woman took us to springfield il. and let us out. we quickly caught a ride with a truck driver that got us all the way to iowa, but then turned the wrong way letting us off on a road to no where. we couldnt get a ride and camped out on the side of the road in the woods. it started pouring that night and we got soaked. we walked to the nearest town and found a bus station and decided that was a better way to go. so it was on a bus the rest of the way. when we got to nisswa we met a couple girls that we communicated with. they took us to a hotel and spent the night with us there,. then the next day one of the girls set us up to stay with her sister (a college girl) and her room mate.  they turned us on to smoke and kept us hid for a while. then the girl we first met said rons dad had called and that him and my dad were on their way to get us. well they took us to a park in the middle of the night so they wouldnt find us. but when they got there, the girl that ronny liked cracked and told where we were. next thing i know we were sleeping in sleeping bags in this park out of town and being woke up by my dad. now my dad is the best kind of person you will ever meet in your life and i will never understand why i felt i had it bad, but when he got me back to the car, all he said was lets go home. are you hungry?  he took us to a restaurant and we all got breakfast. then we drove all that way back home not mentioning the ordeal once. after we arrived back at home he asked me why i left, then told me that i really needed to learn how to get along with my family. that was my punishment. still today my dad is with me. he is now 80 years old. he still cuts his own grass and works a garden and goes out in the boat fishing every day. thanks dad for coming to get me. you are my hero.

[Fred]

Who knows what makes us do the things we do as kids. Thank God for loving, caring parents.

[Budnicks]

NVRBDN Lifes a funny thing sometimes... I didn't get along with my Pops for many years, after H.S. kind of though of him as just a sperm donor for many years, kind only cared about his new wife & family,got along with my step father much better... Then years latter after my mother died, I wanted to get closer to both my Step father "Bob" & my Pops "Harvey", I live with Harvey & take care of him now, we get along great, who knows why we had such a hard time when I was younger, part of it was I was so independent & on the road all the time, thought I knew everything..LOL.., but I think we were just like 2 pees in a pod "kind of", my step father "Bob" got me into cars, welding, body repair & fabrication, he taught me allot, but he is a weird dude now, kind of a child in an old mans body, since my mother died, 10 or so years ago... "NVRBDN great story", long but interesting....LOL...

[Fred]

Yes when Jim get's going he writes Epics!!   

[nvrbdn]

thats one of the problems with being young. you think you know it all. rules dont make sense. i really thought i had it bad as a kid. dang man, i have heard stories from people as children that blow me away. some of the things that parents did to keep their kids in line. i bet there are some stories with the people on here. when i heard these, i must've had the greatest parents in the world. nice home,new clothes, a car (68 charger) never had a belt put on my a$$. my dad believed in talking not hitting. and believe me, i needed one once in a while with the things i did. its good you have had a chance to get to know your dad in the later years budnicks. i admire you for stepping up and taking a shot at getting a relationship. most people would carry anger through the rest of their lives for what happened early in life. good for you

[Budnicks]

Not me, I got beatings, today they would be put in jail for... I never really did anything really bad just typical kid crap... I remember making my Mom chase me around the pool, she would hit you with a wooden spoon, a hair brush, those ball & rubber string with a big paddle on it, what ever she had at the time... Or I would make her laugh & she would just leave it to my step dad to punish me, he was use to beating me on a regular basis, after coming home from work, he got tired of the ordeal & would sometimes just tell me, I'm tired of doing this & to just  yell like I was getting a real beating & just make me stay in my room for a while, to appease my mother... But I will say 1 thing, I did respect the authority of my parents, for fear of what would happen, if I screwed up bad, I would have a choice of a whooping or my bike, mini bike, go-cart, motorcycle, swimming privileges or even sometimes the car keys taken away, I would take the whooping every time, it's over much quicker... I lived with my Pops in HS, he had a big ass paddle from his Fraternity "Corinthians", he would say "grab your ankles boy" & whack away, that thing hurt, until I was in my later teens, I was 6" taller & 75 lbs heavier than him, he choose to take my car keys, make me do yard work, house painting {I really hated yard work}, work at his construction site for free, as punishments instead, "I would much rather had the beatings"... I will say one thing, they never let us go with out food, shelter, new shoes or cloths... As an adult, I never raised a hand in anger to a young child, "ever", I scare the crap out of them just talking or yelling, so it taught me a great lesson.... The adults from that generation, weren't afraid to discipline children, much like their parents did, when they messed up, now the kids today will just dial 911 or call child protective services or something... Some could use a good whooping, in my opinion....

[nvrbdn]

i agree, there are kids out there that could use some ahem..... attention to the rear side. i never used any device on my kids. never abused their butts. took my fathers approach with disapline. i was lucky though. i am thankful that i had pretty good kids. i hear nightmares from people i work with about how their kids treat them.

[Budnicks]

i agree, there are kids out there that could use some ahem..... attention to the rear side. i never used any device on my kids. never abused their butts. took my fathers approach with disapline. i was lucky though. i am thankful that i had pretty good kids. i hear nightmares from people i work with about how their kids treat them.

Raising kids when they are young, the girls are great, little angles, the boys are trouble, little devils, then teenage girls was the absolute worst, teenage boys were easy, with sports, cars, motorcycles, mini bikes/go-carts, bicycles, video games, etc., the girls were so moody all the time, they had all the same type toys or what ever sports they wanted too, but barely came out of their rooms or off the phone/computer, boys were easily entertained & would help on the cars & yardwork...Did I mention, "I hate yardwork", that gave them "props" in my mind, I loved them all, but glad they are all out of the house too....