Amsterdam Mission trip!

[hermes2015]

We need Dave and his toolbox in case anything gets broken and for his moderating influence.

Me? Moderating influence? WTF?

And there would be only one tool in my box . . .

Be aware that the overweight and oversized baggage charges are exorbitant.

[Dragonia]

Weill it sounds like we have quite the group of volunteers as I show the following HAF individuals are going so far: we have Davin, Tom, Hermes, Tank, Mags, xSP, Guardian, Bruce, Books (Yes you are coming with us Books, you can be our cultural advisor).
Am I missing anyone?

Dragonia.
I'm not going if she's not included. 

He just missed me, I'm so totally coming.

Since I have been chosen, I have some demands: 1) first class flights and accommodations - since this is a divine mission, nothing but the best will do; 2) unlimited cheese and stroopwafles; 3) Red Light District passes and coupons - the sex workers need our ministry; and 4) free weed. If our needs are not attended to, it will reduce our effectiveness.  Can't have that - we have high standards to uphold.

Heh heh, you said HIGH.

My wife Elaine is most pleased with Amsterdam. She has been there two times to go on a river boat cruise. She loves the place. They also make good cheese and grow some lovely tulips.

What a delightful pipe dream that several of us could meet there....I am not a traveler. I dislike travel because I was kidnapped by Gypsies as a small child.  In this case I could make an exception......but then maybe the regulars would not want to be saddled with a dude who is stoked by windmills.  I like windmills even though I also admire Don Quixote and his tilting efforts. ( I once had a boat that I named Dulcinea)

Icarus, are you really serious? That you were kidnapped by gypsies as a child? I mean, maybe you're joking, but if you aren't, I'm now insanely curious about this. Of course, I don't want to overstep boundaries or anything, but can you tell us more?

[Dave]

We need Dave and his toolbox in case anything gets broken and for his moderating influence.

Me? Moderating influence? WTF?

And there would be only one tool in my box . . .

Be aware that the overweight and oversized baggage charges are exorbitant.

Absolutely no problem there then   

[Icarus]

Dragonia, I was not kidnapped by the Rumanian type gypsies with the colorful attire and the covered wagons.  I was the child of parents who could not stay in the same place for very long.  I was born in 1930 during the great depression. My father was a professional race car driver who, because of his chosen line of work, had to move from one town to the next every week.....going to the next race track throughout the midwest, far west, and even into the southern states.

I lived in the back of a Dodge Victory Eight automobile that pulled a trailer with a race car and the necessary tool boxes.  ....one of the tales that were told by the family was this: we pulled into a town somewhere in Kentucky... Barbourville maybe....there was a race track there.....My dad parked the car and trailer somewhere in the downtown area and we all got out of the car.  A nice man, perhaps a local citizen, thought that I was a cute little five year old. He said: "where do you live little boy?".  I, having been around the racer types, knew some words that were commonly used but  not fit for Sunday school.  I innocently replied; "I don't live no god damned place". I lived in the back of that Dodge car and for me that was not a permanent place that could be anchored. 

In the depression days one did what one could do to make a living. Right or wrong my father thought that moving from town to town was a suitable method for managing to survive. After a near fatal crash at a track in Deland Florida, my mother issued an ultimatum. No more race cars.

My dad was a marvelous craftsman something of an entepreneur. He formed a steel erection contracting business that kept us on the road at all sorts of places. At least we stayed in one location for a month or two while the stele went up. Then of course we were off to the next construction site, wherever to hell that might have been.  One of the rememberable sites was at Parris Island South Carolina.. The US Marine basic training base.  He built the framing for a bunch of barracks buildings there. We did not stop moving from place to place until WW11 broke out.  .........at last we landed in a place, Tampa Florida, where he worked as a welding supervisor for a shipyard that built "victory ships".  The ships built at McCloskey shipyard were actually concrete but the armatures...or basic frameworks were welded steel....like re- bars. and some plates for engine mounts and that sort of thing.

Dragonia, as  a Moto Cross mom, you might understand that having been weaned on the racing mentality, I could not simply become a semi intelligent young man with common sense. Hell no!  I had to be a racer. For several years I was a professional motorcycle closed circuit road racer.... Laconia... Thompson...road Ohio, and such places. I was also a pretty fair scrambles rider. Scrambles morphed into Moto cross which I managed never to address, That is a brutal sport that emphasizes physical endurance as much as it does speed and skill. ..................well you get the general idea.... I was a little kid who had no permanent home for a long time....so I call it; Kidnapped by gypsies.

It has been a helluva good life but at times I did not realize it,. Sometimes it was not really good but I survived and here I am, as old as dirt, telling tales of past glories and inglories. Gypsies indeed!

That is not the end of the peregrination opus, but that will be enough for now.

[Tank]

I love it when you share parts of your life story.

[hermes2015]

What you said here made me stop and think:

It has been a helluva good life but at times I did not realize it,.....

Thank you very much for sharing with us.

[Dave]

Icarus, from this side of the Pond you have lived a part of "The American Way", the sort of life we only see on the movie screen. It us easy to just think all that stuff is just cinema hype, fantasy. But people with memories like yours nake it very real.

We fon't have the wide open spaces in Britain thst America (and Austrslia, which has its own form of roving eork force) has, and our roving tinkers, gypsies, herders etc were a different sort, on a much smaller scale. I remember gypsies as a kid, even ate hedgehog with one family!

I doubt that thst form of life was all easy, but could be good character building dtuff - if it did not kill you.

Thanks from me as well.

[Dragonia]

Icarus, thank you! Your life is fascinating, with, I'm sure, much more to tell! One little extra question, if I may: did you have siblings?
And yes, I'm familiar with "racing mentality". It's a drive that gets into your bones (sometimes breaks them!) And more mundane work becomes intolerable.

[Biggus Dickus]

That is a great, no sorry,...that's an incredible story Icarus, and thanks for sharing...I read it twice. First earlier while enjoying my cup of coffee, and just now prior to replying to you.

Have you ever thought or considered writing a autobiography, or perhaps a personal memoir of these early years with your family? If not maybe you should consider it, because just the little you wrote here, and as Tank said some of the other bits of your life you shared with us before would make a fascinating read.

I would also love to see an early photo or two of you and your dad, especially him with one of his cars. That is if you don't mind sharing.

It's little personal moments like this, in some silly obscure thread like this one that make online communities like this so meaningful...I just love this line from your story Icarus, I don't live no god damned place"...I can envision some sandy haired, dusty little boy with dirt smudged on his face, standing on a dirt road saying this like it was out of a movie.

Awesome.

[Tank]

Talking about racing. My son is Fernando Alonso's performance engineer for the last 5 races of the season (3 left to go). It's a try out for next year.

[Tom62]

Talking about racing. My son is Fernando Alonso's performance engineer for the last 5 races of the season (3 left to go). It's a try out for next year.

Could that perhaps be the reason why Alonso is performing so badly lately ?

[Tank]

Talking about racing. My son is Fernando Alonso's performance engineer for the last 5 races of the season (3 left to go). It's a try out for next year.

Could that perhaps be the reason why Alonso is performing so badly lately ?

'uck off! 

It is true to say that he and Alonso really only care about doing one thing at the moment and that is beating his team mate.

[Recusant]

Just to add my thanks for sharing that delightful vignette from the life of Icarus!   

[Bad Penny II]

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[hermes2015]

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I see you've made your point.