St Patrick's Parade, Dublin, GA

[GTRS Fiero]

Cool!  More pics!  Tell me the Formula didn't break down.

F85gtron, your pics show small, then get big when I select them.  Elsewhere, sometimes I see both a big pic and a small version of the same pic.  Below the pics here, the first one shows viewed 1 time, and the other 2 viewed 0 times, which is odd, since I'm viewing them.

Were there any other Fieros in front of TopNotch, or was he, you know, The Leader of the Pack--VROOM, VROOOOOM?

[Fierofool]

Now, for the deer story.  Because my car's clear coat is starting to flake, I drove Pat's Formula.  I'd picked it up earlier in the week so I could leave early this morning for the approximate 3 hour drive.  That's a cross-country drive through prime deer hunting territory. 

I had already seen one deer bolt across the road, a hundred yards or so ahead of me, shortly after I left home.  I was less than an hour away from home on a small 2 lane county road when I saw a sudden flash at my left shoulder and a loud bang.  It shook the car pretty hard.  I knew it was a deer.  I stopped to look at the side of the car but couldn't tell anything about it out in the dark.

I turned around to go back and find the deer.  I found a street light at a driveway so I could see the damage done, then continued on my way.  I called Pat about 8 am to let him know that I had some bad news and some good news.  He asked about the bad news first and I told him.  A moment of silence.  Then he asked what was the good news. 

I told him I had the deer laying in the front seat and when we got home tonight we were going to have some venison. 

OK, OK, I didn't put the deer in the front seat.  I told him that the only damage I could find was the small belt molding piece at the door handle and the piece between the door and fenderwell were all that was damaged and missing. 

Ron, where's that historic photo that you took? 

[GTRS Fiero]

I take it that the silver 85GT carrying the crowd is f85gtron's.

The silver Formula has the same fitment issue with the hood and fender that my car has.

How long does the parade run?

[GTRS Fiero]

I'm glad you're OK, FieroFool, and that there wasn't worse damage to the car.

[Fierofool]

I'm glad the Formula was OK, too.  I brought along some deer hair to convince Pat that I didn't wreck the car.  Darned, I had a hard time chasing down a deer to get it. 

We started about 2 miles out from the finish line.  That's why the girls were on the back of Ron's car.  We were about a mile from the official starting point, so they rode on the back of the car up to that point.  Ron's son used the sunroof opening to get a more elevated view of the parade.  You can see his head in my photo. 

[GTRS Fiero]

They'd probably take me away if I did that with my kids.  The school called ”family services” on me, because I was 5 minutes late picking up my daughter.  If course, if they would've answered the doorbell to let me in, I'd have been on time.

[f85gtron]

Ron, where's that historic photo that you took?

My wife in a fiero. Somehow, Charlie charmed her into the passenger seat.

[GTRS Fiero]

With a smile on her face.  I take it your wife isn't a Fiero fan.  Who took the pic?

[GTRS Fiero]

Rescue Fiero #2 didn't put in an appearance?

[f85gtron]

I took the pic, but with the condition that I didn't post on Facebook, so her friends wouldn't see her in an "old" car.
Rescue #2 is running, but not quite road worthy yet. Working on it as time permits.

[GTRS Fiero]

”old” is a relative thing.  The car is younger than I am.  For what it is, I bought it over other cars.  I guess it's a Fiero thing, but I find far greater cases of other newer cars burning on the side of the road, in the ditch, or broken down on the roadside.  Newer cars also apparently require more repairs, also.

I guess that's FieroFool driving.  She wasn't in your car, huh?  So, 2 Fieros in your driveway, and her facebook friends didn't notice, or your wife tells them that she doesn't ride in them?

In my old Fiero, after I gave it the anti-theft paint job, one of my wife's friends came over for an outing, and insisted on taking the Fiero.  So, she and my wife went on their outing in the Fiero.  Apparently, they drove through a historic nieghborhood, with the windows down, and this friend pumping her arm up and down, yelling ”woot-woot” at everyone.  Oddly, that friend doesn't care for my current Fiero.

[pgackerman]

Charlie's a charmer.  Has your wife been in your Fiero yet? 

You can link to this picture from facebook.  But who would do something like that?

[Fierofool]

At the end of the parade I had to take her back to get her vehicle so she could get the girls.  Quite a chore because the Police block off so many streets and won't let you back.  It wasn't charm that got her in a Fiero.  The trick to getting her to ride along was in failing to tell her that she could have driven along behind us in the parade. 

She did seem to enjoy herself, talking, smiling and waving to the crowd the whole way.  She said she's willing to do it again next year, so everyone, PLEASE don't let this get to facebook.  We'll make a convert of her, yet.

[GTRS Fiero]

FieroFool!  A white lie?  Um, she doesn't read this forum, does she?

My wife has driven my Fieros to work, meetings, and events locally.  She hasn't driven it while out of town, as it occurs to me, but then, she doesn't like to drive at all in unfamiliar areas.  Mostly, my wife has the kids during the day, and I have them evenings and weekends.  I can do what I like, but the kids are always with me.  To give her a break, I watch the kids while she has time for herself.  When we go to Fiero events, my wife drives my truck, and I drive the Fiero.  I like to have one of the kids ride with me, but she prefers both with her, so they can amuse each other, and she can drive.  She watches the kids while I do car stuff.

Not pics I've taken, but there exist pics of my kids (and sometimes my wife) in Model T's, Lamborghinis, Fiero pace cars, Shelby Cobras, Vipers, an F50, a Porsche Carerra, some old Mustangs and Chargers, a Hudson, a DeLorean, and various other cars.  Oh, and a pic of them on a Bentley Hoonordiare (sp).  At one of the auto shows, one of GM's VPs and his wife watched my kids (my wife was working) while I took a joy ride in a Corvette.

My daughter got to do her first solo go-kart race, a few months ago.  Only 40MPH.  16 cars, and she finished 3rd.  She did pin me in one turn as I was passing to the outside, which turned her sideways and necessitated a red flag to get things straightened out, but it was a good showing for her first time.

[pgackerman]

My apologies for not being able to make the parade.  I tried replacing my valve stem seals.  Didn't have the strength & coordination to get off cylinder spring keepers.  Even used my 5'2" wife and 16 y.o. daughter.  Did cylinder #1, on #4 only managed to do one valve.  Took it to a garage two weeks before the parade.  The day before the parade, Friday, they got it running but there was a gas leak.  They've fixed the leak, but now the car won't start.

BTW, the tech doing the work was having family issues which eventually turned into a death in the family.

Guess I wasn't meant to be in the parade this year.