[AT] What's doing during the crisis

[STEVE ALLEN]

What am I involving myself with?

As you all know, I am hip deep in getting that JD A running, but I am limited by wretched weather and work.  I am not stuck home--my wife is--but we're both working.  I still work in the office every day, and I still teach every morning/evening.  Fortunately, both my classes were already online this session, so I didn't have to uproot any in-seat students.  But the 45 hr work week combines with the two online classes (one of them the senior capstone course) to leave me with precious little free time.

With what little time I have, however, and when the weather is pouring liquid sunshine on me, I also do the train thing inside.  I have a thing for steam engines and old JDs:  they are both horizontal, 2-cyliner engines!  (Yes, I know about all the exceptions, but they don't matter.)    They also both are about as cantankerous as can be at times.  O scale, both 3-rail and 2-rail, both standard gauge and narrow gauge.

This time of year, I would normally be gearing up for the Civil War re-enacting season (remember my thread about cannon repair last year?).  Well, the spring and early summer events are already wiped off the calendar, and I am not holding my breath about high summer.  Maybe we can hang onto the fall events.  I *should* be working on the frame for my new limber, but I need access to woodworking equipment I don't have (a *big* bandsaw that can handle 6" of oak), and no one is real eager to have me come by for a work session, ya know?  Actually, I haven't even asked, partly because no one I know has that saw, either.  After I get the cutting done, it's merely a matter of drilling and bolting (I also need to order some ironwork, but that's the easy part), but I am stymied at the cutting phase.  So I am unfortunately *not* getting my limber done right now.

In fact, despite working long hours, I am not getting much of anything done.  Furthered along, yes, but not *done*.

No local cases here in the Middle o' Nowhere, MO, but some not far to my west around Ft. Leonard Wood.  My wife works in IT for the local hospital--they are in the middle of transitioning to a new electronic record system, and she is one of the analysts (with a degree in PSYC, go figure) making it happen.  That staff is all at home to keep the process going and to reserve a trained cadre of people in case of severe staffing exposure.  We had not been keeping much extra food around, but we're good for a couple weeks without too much distress, twice that on short rations.  So long as the electricity stays on, we have water.  Most everything else is in reasonable supply (except the TP, of course).  One of the advantages of being in the Middle o' Nowhere is that people tend to be just a little smarter and less panicky.  There are silly claims that various undesirable elements from the big cities are gonna come down (we are actually higher in elevation than all of them but anyway) and raid us, but we really aren't concerned.  This is still Missouri, and I still have a cannon :-D

The "original" Steve Allen
Hunkered down and trusting in the Lord

----- Original Message -----
Message: 3
Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2020 23:25:03 -0400
From: Spencer Yost <spencer at rdfarms.com>
To: Antique Tractor Email Discussion Group
	<at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Subject: Re: [AT] The list is really quiet
Message-ID: <E89E67FD-A8F9-4224-AD20-C33C1DFE42E1 at rdfarms.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

I agree.  Also the ?curve? in Washington state is well ahead of AZ.   By the time things ramp up in Az maybe WA will be in the downslope and you can make your move then.

The trains reminded me to ask.  What other non-tractor activities are you folks involving yourselves with?   I mentioned my motorcycle.  Figured I should have it ready if I decided I need to self isolate on the Blue Ridge Parkway because I am stir crazy.

Spencer

Sent from my iPhone