RE <VV> Into Every Life a Little Rain...

[Arjay Morgan]

Just thought I'd share how a Saturday cruise-in can go from bad to worse.
   It was this Saturday's event in Plant City, FL. As you all know, it sometimes rains in Florida in the summer.
   Car was parked in a nice spot, top was down, engine lid was up,  the usual cruise-in drill. As dinner time approached I scanned the skies and all that was to be seen was high cumulus, none of that cumulo-nimbus that means rain, so off to dinner I went.
  Two bites into my sandwich I glanced at the windows and wondered why they looked so dirty, then realized it was rain. Lots of rain. A closer glance revealed that the other side of the street was not visible. It was what we call a 'frog strangler.' No point in rushing out to put up the top on an already soaked car, so I finished dinner. By then the rain had stopped so I went to survey the damage. Yep, the corvair had been soaked. The dimple in the air cleaner was full, carpets were squishey and, worse yet, the pop up tent I carry in the back had erupted in a cascade of ants. Yes, we have lots of ants in Florida.
  One idiot spectator asked me if I was gonna pull the drain plugs. Nope. A woman pointed at the wet engine. "Probably won't start," she said. Ignored her, turned the key and the Corvair roared to life. Yes, I had wiped up the water on the air cleaner and figured I'd better keep the engine running to preclude steam inside the distributor.
  Halfway home the ants, doubtless looking for drier ground, had found my shoes and legs. Ever try driving a Corvair at 65 miles an hour on a wet road while killing ants?
  Got home, pulled the tent, the carpets and the rear seat out and hung them out to dry. The wet-dry vac got about 1.5 gallons of water off the floorpans which, happily, had been Por-15-ed. Pulled my chair and umbrella out of the trunk only to be greeted with a couple of fire ants which had climbed on the chair in my absence. Fire ant bites hurt like original sin. Vac-ed them up, then I set two box fans in the car which is where they will spend the night, hopefully finishing the drying process.
  Did I forget anything? Oh yeah, we have both ants, rain and alligators in Florida. I'm still looking for the gator. The good news is the top stayed dry.
  So, how was your day?

Arjay Morgan
damp 64 Monza convert

       
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