Oldsmobiles and No Air-conditioning

On Sunday, Momma, Claire and Stew returned from a very warm trip to South Dakota or, as Stew likes to call it, Land of the Ninety-Eight Oldsmobile. According to Stew, you cannot drive more than 15 minutes in SoDak without seeing a Ninety-Eight Oldsmobile on the road... typically moving at a top speed of 45 MPH (highway) or 20 MPH (city). In fact, Grandma & Grandpa Thullner drive this model Oldsmobile. I Googled the photo at right, which is a Ninety-Eight Olds that's currently for sale. Here are the details if you're interested in this fine automobile:

Contact : Robert Swartz

Make/Model : Oldsmobile Ninety-eight (Regency Elite edition)

Color : Red

Year : 1996

Mileage : Call for Miles

Vehicle Price : $3,995.00

Vehicle Nearest Major City : Oklahoma City, OK

Additional information : FOR SALE IS A SUPER NICE ADULT OWNED, GARAGE KEPT, 1996 OLDSMOBILE NINETY EIGHT REGENCY ELITE. 4DR SEDAN, 3.8 LITER V6 ENGINE. IT IS IN EXCELLENT CONDTION. RUN'S AND DRIVE'S GREAT. BEEN SERVICED EVERY 3,000 MILES. THIS CAR IS LOADED WITH EVERY OPTION. LEATHER INTERIOR WHICH IS GRAY IN COLOR, THE EXTERIOR IS RED, I HAVE ALL SERVICE RECORDS SINCE NEW. ALL HIGHWAY MILES. I AM THE SECOND OWNER. GREAT FUEL MILEAGE. MUST SEE TO APPRECIATE! CALL 405-642-4609 FOR MORE DETAILS. NO RUST. WON'T LAST LONG!!!!

I don't know about you, but I'd probably leave out the last three words of the description. Who wants to buy a car that "won't last long"? And this guy seems excited about it. I often imagine this is similar to how Stew sold high-quality furniture at a modest price. I can visualize Stew telling a customer, "...and this is the chair I sit in at work. My chair's actually broken and it makes a funny squeaking noise, but it's comfortable if you don't have to sit for too long. It's a bit pricey, but this chair won't last long on the market 'cause the factory is considering discontinuing this model due to a combination of safety issues and poor sales. So, how many did you say you wanted for your office?"

Anyway, while Momma, Claire and Stew (along with Aunt Karen) were traveling through the Land of the Ninety-Eight Oldsmobile, I stayed with my friend, Lily the Beagle, at her House of Mayhem... where dogs are allowed to be on the couch! Here's a picture of me taken Sunday night. I'm staring at Stew (who's behind the camera) waiting for the go-ahead to pounce on the couch. Unfortunately, I never received any such direction, so I'm relegated back to my doggie bed in the corner of the rec room. I used to be allowed on our old couch, which the Goodwill folks almost refused to take due to the amount of my dog hair sticking to the cushions. Lily's handler, Julie, has her couch covered in plastic, so I think she just hosed it off after my visit. Anyway, don't forget to visit Lily's blog... it's listed under MY LINKS on the right side of the page.

Well, Claire is about to wake up from her morning nap, so I'd best get moving. After we feed Claire, we've got some grocery shopping to do. Plus, Stew has to finish placing ceiling tiles in the basement bedroom because we have guests coming this evening for a couple nights stay. Momma's cousin, Becky, and her family (Chris and Benjamin) will be here around dinner time. So, Claire will have a little buddy to play with for a couple days as Benjamin is around 2 years old. There's talk of golfing, as well, but I'm not sure that's a good idea. Rumor has it Stew was disqualified from his round at the Dell Rapids Country Club this weekend due to a rule violation: Failure to complete an 18-hole round with the allotted number of golf balls. Stew had to borrow a couple balls from Aunt Karen in order to finish his round, so the course marshall asked Stew to "put your shirt back on, pack up your golf bag, leave the property and never come back." Speaking of golf, here's a picture of Claire with her momma and grandma...