The December 2015 newsletter - Text Version Updated 24-Nov-2015 == Copyright (c) 2015 == Corvairs of New Mexico ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DECEMBER 2015 / VOLUME 41 / NUMBER 12 / ISSUE #483 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, First Place, 2005 Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, Third Place, 2010 Tony Fiore Memorial Chapter Newsletter Award, First Place, 2012 EDITOR: Jim Pittman NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, December 2nd, 2015 at 7:00 PM North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, Wyoming & Carmel NE THIS MONTH: Mechanically Un-inclined .......................... Ray Trujillo Dues Due .................................. Membership Committee November Meeting Minutes ........................... Robert Gold November Board Meeting ........................... Anne Mae Gold A Mediocre Ending (Car Council October) ............ Robert Gold Christmas Party Collections ......................... John Wiker Freddy's Custom Car Cruz-In ........................ Robert Gold Bingo Night Treasurer's Report ..................... Robert Gold Zero to $10,000 in Several Easy Steps - Part 4 ..... Jim Pittman Can You Say BINGO?! ................................. John Wiker Innocent Children ................................ Heula Pittman Birthdays & Anniversaries ................... Sunshine Committee Treasury Report .................................... Robert Gold Calendar of Coming Events ................... Board of Directors December Issues, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago .... Club Historian 1954 Corvair Corvette Concept Car .............. Corvair Houston Index to Newsletter Items for 2015 .................. The Editor COVER: Robert Gold's blue 1965 Corsa convertible rides again! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ OFFICERS and VOLUNTEERS: President: Ray Trujillo 505-814-8373 ray @ bpsabq.com Vice President: John Wiker 505-899-3076 wikerj63 @ yahoo.com Secretary: Anne Mae Gold 505-268-6878 beisbol30 @ msn.com Treasurer: Robert Gold 505-268-6878 beisbol30 @ msn.com Car Council: Robert Gold 505-268-6878 beisbol30 @ msn.com Merchandise: Vickie Hall 505-865-5574 patandvickiehall @ q.com Membership: Larry Yoffee 505-321-5909 corsa180 @ gmail.com Newsletter: Jim Pittman 505-275-2195 jimp @ unm.edu Old Route 66: Lube Lubert 505-256-9331 williamlubert @ gmail.com Past President: Pat Hall 505-620-5574 patandvickiehall @ q.com Past President: David Huntoon 505-281-9616 corvair66 @ aol.com Past Vice-Pres: Tarmo Sutt 505-690-2046 tarmo @ juno.com MEETINGS: First Wednesday of each Month at 7:00 PM North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, Wyoming & Carmel NE INTERNET: CORSA's home page: http://www.corvair.org CNM's newsletters: http://www.unm.edu/~jimp Steve Gongora's page: http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter871 Larry Yoffee's home page: http://www.corsaturbo180usa.com/ New Mexico Council of Car Clubs: http://www.nmcarcouncil.com/ DUES: CNM: 12 months $25.00 -or- 26 months $ 50.00 CORSA: 12 months $45.00 -or- 26 months $ 90.00 CNM & CORSA: 12 months $70.00 -or- 26 months $140.00 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DUES DUE DATES DECEMBER 2015 EXPIRED ============================ INACTIVE DATE 2015.01 Darlene & William Darcy 25-Feb-2015 2015.02 Frank Stadler 25-Mar-2105 2015.08 Linda & Anthony Berbig 25-SEP-2015 2015.09 Elizabeth & Mark Domzalski 25-OCT-2015 2015.09 Leslie & Kevin Sullivan 25-OCT-2015 2015.09 Lisa & Dan Thompson 25-OCT-2015 DUE LAST MONTH ===================== INACTIVE DATE 2015.11 (NONE) 25-DEC-2015 DUE THIS MONTH ===================== INACTIVE DATE 2015.12 David Huntoon 25-JAN-2016 2015.12 Mark L Morgan 25-JAN-2016 2015.12 Larry Yoffee 25-JAN-2016 DUE NEXT MONTH ===================== INACTIVE DATE 2016.01 Anne Mae & Robert Gold 25-FEB-2016 2016.01 Sarah & Terry Price 25-FEB-2016 2016.01 Carolyn & Dan Palmer 25-FEB-2016 2016.01 Nancy & Russ McDuffie 25-FEB-2016 DUE FEBRUARY 2016 ================== INACTIVE DATE 2016.02 (NONE) 25-MAR-2016 Send your Dues to: CNM Treasurer c/o Robert Gold 1301 Valencia NE Albuquerque, NM 87110 Past due memberships become inactive after a one-month grace period. The Club will mail in your National Dues if you send us the renewal form from your Communique. On 25-NOV-2015 we had 40 active family memberships. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MECHANICALLY UN-INCLINED RAY TRUJILLO Happy Holidays everyone! Can you believe it, the holiday season is upon us once again. And once again the Bingo/Potluck/Auction night was a great success with CNM members enjoying several games of bingo and also bidding on the many donated items brought in for our annual fundraiser event. I don't recall all the winners of the bingo games but I do remember that Jim Pittman who had never played bingo in the several years we've been playing won in his first attempt. Good for you Jim! I'm glad you tried it and hopefully you'll get the urge to play bingo with us every year from now on. There were many neat items to bid on for our silent auction and I bid on quite a few items. I ended up buying a lot of cool stuff but the one item I bought that was particularly nice was an RCA Victor AM radio made sometime in the 1960s. It is truly a vintage piece and I know I'll enjoy it for a long time. I believe everyone who came had a great time and thank you to all members who donated items for the auction. The potluck was a delicious variety of dishes and thanks to all who brought food to share. John Wiker, our club bingo meister, did his usual great job of calling out the numbers and keeping the games going at a nice pace. Anne Mae Gold volunteered to add up all the auction sheets at the end of the evening and she did a fantastic job of closing the bidding process. Thank you to both John and Anne Mae for their help in making the evening run smoothly. When all the money was collected, CNM made $322.50 on this fundraiser and this will keep our bank account going strong. Great job CNM members! Last, but not least, a big thank you from CNM to Steve & Rita Gongora for hosting this event through all these many years. It's always a good family event and everyone really appreciates it. Also, thanks to the Gongoras for setting up the October CNM breakfast at the New Yorken Cafe & Bakery. I understand we had a good turnout and that the food was wonderful. I am sorry I was unable to make it as there was a golf tournament that I was already signed up to play in. Let's move on to December. We will hold our Christmas party at the Quarters Restaurant, December 5th, 3:00 pm. The restaurant is located at 4516 Wyoming NE and the cost is $16 per person, so please sign up at the next membership meeting so we can get a good count for the restaurant. If you're not attending the next membership meeting but you're planning on coming to the Christmas party, please call me so we can add you to the list. This year for Christmas, CNM members will be donating school supplies to a couple of needy elementary schools in the South Valley. For more information on this please read John Wiker's article in this newsletter and as always your donations are greatly appreciated. At the last membership meeting I mentioned that I will be having knee replacement surgery during the week of Thanksgiving so I hope to be feeling well enough to attend the Christmas party. If I can't make it, I guess you'll have to sing Christmas carols without me. Either way, I'll be there in spirit, so sing loud and proud. As 2016 approaches the board and I will be putting together a club event schedule. Please feel free to submit your ideas for any activities that you'd like to be put on the schedule. I know we have our usual annual events and many of those won't change, but we still could add new and different activities. Also remember if you'd like to make a presentation, be it tech session or a slide show of some sort, just let me know and I'll arrange to have it on the agenda. Speaking of presentations, I'd like to thank Bill Reider for the three presentations he put on for us this year. As you'll recall, Bill showed us a video that was good general information from mechanics with tips for working on and maintaining our cars. Bill also did a couple of great slide shows displaying his photography work from his time in Vietnam and his professional career in the advertising field. Thank you Bill for your efforts. It's always nice to have some sort of presentations after our membership meetings. Well I guess that's enough said for now, so I hope my recovery goes well so that I can be at the Christmas party. If I can't make it then eat a barbecue rib for me! And, have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! -- Ray ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOVEMBER MEETING MINUTES - 2015.11.04 ANNE MAE GOLD Call to order: 7:06 PM Approval of previous minutes: approved. Ray Trujillo (President) talked about the starting time for the Christmas dinner at the Quarters Restaurant. Membership agreed to a 3:00 PM start time. Location is Wyoming and Montgomery. Dinner will be $16 per person, the club will pick up tax and gratuity. John Wiker (Vice President) asked us to buy school supplies for our Christmas donation. John will have his van at the dinner and we can just load supplies into the van for delivery. Old school supplies that you have on hand that are suitable for an elementary school will be fine. Enjoy your Veterans' Day. There will be activities out at Veterans' Park. Larry Blair filled us in on some of the events. There will also be speakers. John brought up the new rules for the Silent Auction that Vickie Hall wrote up for us. The person who brings in the object for the auction will write down the dollar amount of the starting bid and at what increments the bid can be raised. Anne Mae Gold (Secretary) had no news. Robert Gold (Treasurer) reported a $4,821.42 balance. Larry Yoffee (Membership) was not present. Jim Pittman (Editor) stated that the deadline for the newsletter is Friday, November 20. Jim did a semi-striptease starting with his Louisiana Levis Trucker Jacket, then his new embroidered CORSA denim shirt, then his new Corvair-design Hawaiian shirt from North Texas Corvair Association, then his Chama T-shirt and finally his CORSA tattoo. No, wait, I was just kidding about the last two. The NTCA shirt is very nice, colorful 100% cotton. You can get yours at [showseasonaccesory.com] or call the number on their webpage. Dennis Pleau sent Jim an email to say that he especially enjoyed reading the November newsletter. Robert Gold (Car Council) reported that By-laws were voted on and most passed. They will not have any more meetings until January 2016. Vickie Hall (Membership) has nothing new about merchandise. She is helping Larry Yoffee with the shirts. They will be around $18 plus tax. They will be golf polos. She will start taking orders tonight. You can choose the color of your shirt. The shirts will have the embroidered emblem of the car club. Terry Price (2017 Tri-State) reported that he and Pat Hall went on a reconnaissance trip to the Kachina Lodge in Taos to scope the area for a Tri-State. They still have a couple of questions that need to be ironed out. The banquet can be held at the hotel. Breakfast is included in the price of the room. Rooms will be $89 for one bed, $99 for two beds. Do we want a sit-down dinner or a buffet? Dinner will be $20-$25. A buffet would be less. They can do a BBQ dinner on Friday night for an additional charge. There would be a parade, the car show could be held at the hotel and there is room for us to wash the cars. We will also have access to a large room to serve as a Hospitality room. We can bring food to stock the Hospitality Room. Taos has moved to the top of the list of the three tentative venues for the 2017 Tri-State. The Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas has not returned Terry's calls and there are not a lot of facilities to choose from. He was also in contact with a resort in Pagosa Springs, but they seem to have dropped the ball. Upcoming Events: Saturday Nov. 7 5:00 PM = Bingo/Potluck/Auction House of Covers. Saturday Dec. 5 3:00 PM = Christmas party at Quarters Restaurant. Proposed club events for 2016: January Club breakfast February Unser Museum Tour March Anniversary dinner April Annual Spring Thaw April Lewis Car & Toy Museum in Moriarty May Museum car show June Tri-State Meet in Montrose, CO June Tech session July Santa Fe car show on the plaza August NMCCC picnic September NMCCC swap meet September State Fair car show October Corrales Harvest Festival October Aspencade November Bingo/Potluck/Auction December Christmas party Other suggestions included making tours to Madrid, Tucumcari, Embudo Brewery. Now is the time to tell the Board what you'd like the club to do next year. Other Topics: Breakfast at the New Yorken Cafe was fun. The club had the run of the restaurant. The staff had a great time looking at the cars. It is a family run business. The food was wonderful. Thanks to Steve & Rita Gongora for setting that up for us. Lube Lubert was not present and there was no 50/50 tonight. Adjournment: 8:02 PM. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOVEMBER BOARD MEETING MINUTES 2015.11.18 -- ANNE MAE GOLD Present: Jim Pittman, John Wiker, Larry Yoffee, Lube Lubert, Anne Mae & Robert Gold, Ray Trujillo, Dave Huntoon. We came to order at 5:03 pm. President: Ray confirmed our Christmas party with the Quarters Restaurant. We will start the Christmas party at 3:00 PM. Ray proposed that there be no board meeting for December of 2015. Anne Mae also suggested that we not have one board meeting during the summer when most members are out of town. Ray will be undergoing double knee replacement this coming Tuesday and will not be able to attend the next membership meeting. John Wiker will run the meeting. Vice President: John found 12 copies of Christmas carols. He will bring them to the party so we can sing. He also talked about the Kiwanis Club. They mentioned that they are interested in donating $100 toward buying school supplies and can include that with our Christmas donations. Treasurer: There is $5135.73 in the account and $322.50 came from Bingo night. The expense for the bingo game equipment was $30. Secretary: nothing new Editor: Deadline is Friday November 20th for inclusion for the newsletter. The December deadline will be Friday, December 25. Jim received Rocky Mountain CORSA's newsletter as a PDF and as it had an excellent report on the trip to the Fan Belt Toss, he forwarded it to our members. He also forwarded the newsletter from the Tucson club. We had a discussion about the CNM website and what information should or should not be included on the website. The Board decided that personal information (such as e-mails, addresses phone numbers) should be taken off the website. Membership: Larry talked about the club shirt order. Since the graphic artist has our logo artwork, we will avoid a $35 setup fee. They will need half of the money up front. Vickie has suggested that we also open up the ordering for T-shirts as well as golf shirts. Since the minimum order for shirts is 12, the question was asked whether all 12 had to be polos or 12 tees, or if it could be a combination of the two styles. There have been no new membership inquiries. Car Council: There was no meeting this month. Tri-State: Terry was not in attendance, but he called Ray to report that Taos is the front runner for our Tri-state. New Business: Saturday December 5 Christmas party at Quarters Restaurant, 4516 Wyoming NE. Starting time is 3:00 PM. The 2016 proposed club events list is in the November meeting minutes. John will make arrangements for the February "Garage Tour" to the Unser Museum. Dave mentioned that he has a friend in the VMCCA car club and suggested that we may want to combine with them for some events. The Corvette club also meets at Domingo Baca on the same night that we do. We may want to contact them for a joint club event. Meeting adjourned at 6:12 PM. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A MEDIOCRE ENDING OCTOBER 2015 CAR COUNCIL REPORT ROBERT GOLD I wonder if many of you CNM'ers share my aversion to all the hype that surrounds the shows now on TV. They spend sooooo much time building up the plot so that you'll watch the next episode. The result is mostly disappointment with how it turns out. With that in mind I feel I owe you CNM'ers an apology. For the last few months I gave our club members a big buildup about the drama at the Council. I told you that the climax would come at the last meeting of the year when we would vote on a number of bylaws changes. Well, that meeting has taken place and the result was, at best, mediocre in terms of drama. I never dreamed that all but one of the changes would be approved by overwhelming margins. Only the changes for the Vice President's position failed to pass. So much for hype... sorry. There is not much more to report from the meeting. Joyce Clements reported that the swap meet was an unqualified success. It keeps getting bigger every year. Someone noted that they even met someone from Sweden at the meet. Since this event finances most of the yearly operation of the Council this is really good news. One other thing, I volunteered (I know I shouldn't volunteer!) to help out with the newsletter. The good news is that with the help of the newly constituted newsletter committee, Joyce will still be involved with the newsletter. I think we dodged a big problem by keeping Joyce on the job. Since this was the last meeting of the year you won't hear from me until the February CNM meeting. I still have high hopes that the drama and excitement will return to the Car Council. Talk to you next year! --- Robert Gold ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ BIRTHDAYS IN DECEMBER: * Ruth Boydston * Dick Cochran * David Feasel * Sara Gold * Lube Lubert * Fred Riggs * Elisa Yoffee WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES: * Elizabeth & Mark Domzalski * Barbara & Gordon Johnson ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CHRISTMAS PARTY COLLECTIONS JOHN WIKER I know that Christmas seems a long way off, but if you look at our busy calendar, the 5th of December will be upon us quickly. At the September meeting the club decided to collect school supplies to help out a couple of under-served elementary schools. Anne and I have located two in the South Valley that would more than welcome a mid-year boost by Christmas Break time, as fresh supplies will be needed to start the new calendar year. So we are asking all CNM attendees to bring typical school supplies that Anne and I will collect and deliver to the two schools. We will have more information at the December meeting. Thanks for all you can bring to the "table" that evening. See you at the Christmas Party for a great time! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TRYING TO SIMPLIFY Hi Jim -- I'd appreciate you posting this. I'm trying to simplify. Thanks -- Robert NEEDS A NEW HOME -- 1964 Monza Convertible. White with a white top, blue interior. Both interior and exterior in great shape. Top in good shape, but it's old. 140 hp, powerglide, alloy rims. Well under Hagerty quote. Robert Gold 505-268-6878 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAR SHOW - 0, LUNCH - 1 THE THIRD ANNUAL FREDDY'S CUSTOM CAR CRUZ-IN ROBERT GOLD There are two things I truly enjoy... car shows and Freddy's fries. So when Freddy's in my neighborhood advertised a car event it was a natural that I attend. What could be better than hanging with a bunch of car folks while "chowing down" on hamburgers and fries? Alas, though it sounded good, the event turned out to be a dud. A dud? How could that be? Simply put, this event was not an event at all. The flyer for the "Cruz In" showed a line of classic cars parked side by side, sorta like a car show. But when my brother, Alan, and I arrived an hour after the start all we saw was a parking lot with a few classics fighting for space with cars that were not classics at all. For the record, this "Cruz In" was an example of what not to do if you are planning a car event. Here's what was missing- - 1. A special place to park your classic car so it will be safe and so you could socialize with fellow car guys. 2. Some sort of indication that a car event was taking place, like a banner or sign, and 3. Maybe some perks for those in attendance who took the time to show up, like a T-shirt or a plaque or SOMETHING. Even a discount on some fries would have been nice. The result was that if you didn't know a planned event was taking place, you would have missed it. To the public it looked like some guys with classic cars were foolish enough to park their nice rides right next to someone in the "family truckster." Freddy's did have a couple of cars parked out front, but who would know what that meant? It was all so-o-o-o sad. By the time Alan and I finished our full-priced lunch the cars had evaporated. The car event, scheduled to run from 10 to 2 was done by 12 noon. Ok, I've told you about what was wrong. Was anything nice? Sure, a couple of things... the few classic cars we saw were indeed nice. In particular, there were even a couple of really nice Miatas on display. The second thing was that we did get a chance to eat another wonderful Freddy's meal with all those glorious fries. I just feel bad that this event could have been so much more. One more thing... I gave up a chance to hang with CNM'ers at the scheduled club breakfast at the New Yorkin Cafe to attend this "Cruz In" at Freddy's. What a waste of time. -- Robert Gold ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ AND THE WINNER IS... BINGO NIGHT TREASURER'S REPORT ROBERT GOLD I should first note that the Bingo Night event has evolved into one of our most (if not the most) significant CNM fundraiser of the year. That alone would make the night important. However, to me the most important things were the smiles I saw looking around the House of Covers. Of course a big thank you goes to Steve and Rita for the use of their place. Also, a hearty thanks to all you cooks for feeding us. With that said, I'd like to describe a few things of note from this year's event. Most importantly, I want to report that the Club took in $332.50. Many thanks to all you CNM'ers for your support. Next I'd like to describe to you two of the winners on the night. As an aside, no one won more than one bingo round. That means a number of folks left the night with money in their pockets. On to the winners - I was delighted to see that the first winner of the night was a young girl (sorry I don't know her name). I do predict that from the expression on her face when she got her money she'll be playing bingo a number of times again. Hopefully one of those times will be at next Bingo Night. I was saving the most important winner for last... Jim Pittman. This is the Jim Pittman who always showed up for Bingo Night, but he never played bingo. He would be the first to tell you that he'd never played. However, tonight he elected to play for the first time, and he WON! Just goes to show you that "good things come to those who wait". That's all I had about this fun night. Hope you'll get to enjoy it next year with us. -- Robert Gold ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ZERO TO $10,000 IN SEVERAL EASY STEPS - PART 4 JIM PITTMAN The 1965 Monza sits idle under the car port for weeks at a time and occasionally I attached a 2-amp charger to keep the battery healthy. This battery was from NAPA, installed in 2009, and had never had a problem. When it was time to go to the Bingo party the weather was warm and I didn't bother to charge the battery beforehand. The car started right up. We drove to House of Covers and unloaded our items. I thought I'd move the car over next to Steve's Corvair van. It started immediately. As I got out I thought it really should be moved up about six inches more. I got back in the car, turned the key, the red lights came on as usual, turned to START, nothing. Not a click, not a sound, no more red lights. Based on recent problems with this car, I was ready to believe something serious was at fault. I did not suspect the battery -- there had been no warning signs. When the party was over Steve brought out his handy jump starter and the car started right up. Pat checked the battery cables and suspected corrosion. Tarmo checked the battery voltage: with the engine running, 14.7, maybe a little high. Everyone said, Don't turn the engine off until you get home. We got home okay. Next day, I attached the 2-amp charger. It indicated that the battery was nearly fully charged! Okay. But I left it charging for a couple hours. Then I set the charger to 10 amps and tried to start the engine. It groaned once and that was it. I left the charger on another hour. I was now pretty sure the wiring is fine and the battery was at fault. I called Morris & Comanche Auto to order a new battery. I disconnected the charger to put it away and as an afterthought I checked the battery voltage. It was 12.7, just about right. Then I opened the car door and saw that the interior light was very dim. I checked the voltage again. Now it was 9 volts. Definitely a dead battery. Probably just one bad cell, but one is all it takes. A few days later the new battery arrived so I took out the old one and hauled it to Morris & Comanche to pick up the new one. Installing the battery in a 1965 with the clamp across the top and two long threaded rods to hold it down was a tedious process! The simple and easy one-bolt holder on the 1966 and later cars was a great improvement. Too bad I no longer own a 1966. I attached my 2-amp charger and found the battery fully charged. The car started right up and ran like a champ. So, despite my worries, this turned out to be a small increment in my path to the legendary $10K! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CAN YOU SAY BINGO?! JOHN WIKER Did someone say BINGO?! Well, it was said at least six times during our Potluck/SilentAuction/Bingo night at the House of Covers. One problem was that we only played five games. We started with a game that required the winner to have a Big X on the card. The evening started with a BANG as Larry Blair was so happy that he had Bingo and finally won, or so he thought. When he showed me his card there was this nice horizontal line Bingo. His smile soon disappeared when I explained we were looking for an X not a normal Bingo. Soon one of our young guests won the correct way and then we were in to the first round of the Silent Auction. Each Bingo game was followed by more time to bid on the auction. Jim Pittman claimed that he had never played Bingo before, so I sold him a card and promised him that I would call all his numbers so he could win. Believe it or not, he did just that. He walked away with a $22 for his cost of $1. But as most smart gamblers do, he did not play again and made a nice profit on the evening. After Vertical, Horizontal, and Diagonal games, it was time to make the final bids before we ended the evening with the Blackout game. By this time, everyone had their tummies full of the excellent food that everyone made, bought or brought to the event. Knowing that I would be quite busy calling the numbers all night, I pigged out on chicken, meatballs, mac & cheese, veggies and of course a "small" selection of deserts before everyone else had a chance. At the end of the evening, the club made a profit of $292.50, everyone had a great time and all of us thanked Rita and Steve for once again hosting this great event at their place of business. We now look forward to our next social event, the Christmas Meal on the 5th of December at the Quarters Restaurant on Wyoming and Montgomery at 3:00 PM. There will be a door prize of a One Year Paid Membership in CNM for one lucky member. If you did not have a chance to sign up at our meetings, please call me at 239-3311 with the number attending so I can let the restaurant know how much food to prepare. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INNOCENT CHILDREN HEULA PITTMAN My mother was a teacher, I was a teacher, many of my friends and relatives were teachers and we have had several teachers among our members. How many times have we all heard teachers describe their jobs as, I love teaching and I love my students, but it's the bureaucracy and the rules that get in the way of teaching that I don't like. Teaching is an honored profession, but children don't just learn from teachers at school. They learn from their parents, from their friends and relatives, from the popular culture around them. Perhaps children can even offer lessons to us adults if we will just listen. There has been much television news coverage of the attacks in Paris recently. One of the news stories was especially touching to me. This particular video showed a French reporter interviewing a man stooping down on the sidewalk with his young son. The boy looked to be four or five years old. They were near a memorial that had been set up near the scene of one of the shootings in the city. The young son asked his father, "Papa, Why did the bad men do these mean things?" and "Papa, Why do the people bring flowers and light candles and put them on the ground?" and "Papa, do we need to move from our house?" The father said, "No, son, we do not need to move from our house, there are bad people everywhere, France is our home." The father said that bringing flowers and lighting candles made the people feel better and that standing together made them feel stronger. The boy said, "Oh, the flowers and the candles protect us, Oui?" The dad's reply was, "Oui, son!" The reporter then asked the boy did he feel better, and the boy smiled, hugged his dad and said, "Oui, I feel better!" As parents, grandparents and teachers we can't always answer all these "WHY" questions that our innocent children ask, simply because we don't always know the answers ourselves. But I thought that this young French dad did an excellent job of satisfying some of his son's fears. At the end of another television news coverage of the recent Paris attacks, scenes of the destruction at different locations around the city were shown. These were scenes of the cafe where innocent people were mowed down by gunmen as they dined and visited with friends; scenes of the auditorium where Parisians were enjoying a concert by an American band with sounds of the terrorists' gunfire in the background shooting young people as they were enjoying the music. They were shown in silence for several seconds, then a single voice was heard. It was the voice of a young child, perhaps as young as eight or ten years old. The child was never shown as the photos and videos scrolled across the television screen. This child's voice was so sweet, so pure, so innocent and right on pitch as he sang the French national anthem a cappella. There was no other audio except for this beautiful voice. The program ended as the videos and the child's voice faded. Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR1zjZ2Cyaw ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TREASURY REPORT ............. 10-22-2015 to 11-18-2015 ............. ROBERT GOLD DATE CHECK# AMOUNT PAYEE DESCRIPTION BALANCE = $4,771.42 ========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= 2015.11.03 +$ 50.00 CNM Dues M.L.Martinek 12 m CNM $ 25.00 2015.11.03 +$ CNM Dues J.Anderson 12 m CNM $ 25.00 2015.11.05 2219 -$ 28.19 H.Pittman NOV 2015 Newsletter_Printing -$ 28.19 2015.11.15 +$ 342.50 Deposit L.Lubert 12 m CNM $ 25.00 2015.11.15 +$ R.Trujillo 12 m CNM $ 25.00 2015.11.15 +$ Bingo Night $ 322.50 2015.11.15 -$ Bingo Game Rental Cost -$ 30.00 ========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= 2015.11.18 ********************** ENDING BALANCE ********************* $5,135.73 ========== ==== ========== =========== ========================================= ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ============================================================================ | December 2015 | January 2016 | February 2016 | | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | Su Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa | | 1 2 3 4 5 | 1 2 | 1 2 3 4 5 6 | | 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 | 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 | | 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 | 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 | 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 | | 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 | 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 | 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 | | 27 28 29 30 31 | 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 | 28 29 | | | 31 | | ============================================================================ WED 02 DEC 7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER, at Wyoming & Carmel, north of Wyoming & Paseo del Norte NE. After the meeting, we may go to "JASON'S DELI" at 5920 Holly Ave. NE. SAT 05 DEC 3:00 PM CHRISTMAS PARTY - The QUARTERS - 4516 Wyoming Blvd NE located on Wyoming at Montgomery NE Donations this year: School supplies for elementary school children. John and Anne Wiker will deliver the items after they are collected. WED 16 DEC NO BOARD MEETING THIS MONTH! CONDUCT ANY NEEDED BUSINESS VIA E-MAIL. FRI 25 DEC 9:00 PM Deadline for items for January 2016 newsletter ============================================================================ WED 06 JAN 7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER WED 20 JAN 5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE FRI 22 JAN 9:00 PM Deadline for items for February 2016 newsletter WED 27 JAN 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE ============================================================================ WED 03 FEB 7:00 PM Meeting: NORTH DOMINGO BACA MULTIGENERATIONAL CENTER WED 17 FEB 5:00 PM Board Meeting: HIGHLAND SENIOR CENTER at 131 Monroe NE FRI 19 FEB 9:00 PM Deadline for items for January 2016 newsletter WED 24 FEB 7:30 PM NEW MEXICO CAR COUNCIL MEETING OLD CAR GARAGE 3232 GIRARD NE ============================================================================ 2016-JUN-03 Tri-State == Montrose, Colorado - Sponsor Pikes Peak Corvair Club 2016-JUN-04 Tri-State == the Holiday Inn Express has been confirmed 2016-JUN-05 Tri-State == Stay tuned for phone numbers, T-shirts, other details More information == http://www.corvair.org/chapters/chapter809/ ============================================================================ 2017-JUN-02 Tri-State == Taos, NM (tentative location) Corvairs of New Mexico 2017-JUN-03 Tri-State == The Kachina Lodge Resort Hotel has been contacted 2017-JUN-04 Tri-State == Stay tuned for phone numbers, T-shirts, other details ============================================================================ See the New Mexico Council of Car Clubs Web Site for more "NMCCC" activities ======================== http://www.nmcarcouncil.com/ ====================== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ SEVEN YEARS AGO NOVEMBER 2015 JIM PITTMAN 2008 Vol 34 Nr 12 Issue 399 Our cover had a lineup of six similar late models at the TVI campus. Heula provided some history on Wendell's automotive and CNM career. President Mike predicted a serious recession on its way, suggesting we buy parts from our Corvair venders while we could. Brenda reported on plans for the Taos Tri-State. Lee and Emma listed items needed for our Christmas donation. Richard Finch discussed causes of the rash of bad fuel pumps and suggested rebuilding your mechanical pumps with quality materials. An article suggested we are all changing our oil too often and should buy better oil and change it at 7,000 miles. 2001 Vol 27 Nr 12 Issue 315 Our cover had a lineup of four similar late model coupes. At our meeting at Galles, Wendell reported we had $5,340.48 in the bank. Mark Martinek gave the Car Council report. Jerry Goffe announced that he is now an official docent and guide at Bosque del Apache. The CNM Ladies group met. President Gold told about the awesome power of his Corvair-Olds V-8 after adjusting the throttle linkage. We planned a potluck/auction in November. Tarmo and Steve received praise for our great tour to Shidoni. We hoped for improved relations with the Galles security team. From Virtual Vairs: Were there Corvair clubs before CORSA? Yes. Several were listed. Tech tips: cylinder head temperature, carb synchronizing. We had a photo of nearly every CNM member. Finally, the index to all the 2001 newsletters. 1994 Vol 20 Nr 12 Issue 231 Our cover was festive with toys, singing bears, a couple of small Corvairs. Steve and Rita reported on the auction and pot-luck.Fifty items were auctioned in sixty minutes, bringing in $270. President Larry missed the meeting because of a hunting trip but the deer eluded him. Larry told of a high-speed climb up Sedillo Hill. His Spyder's temperature gauge soared off the scale because of a separated harmonic balancer. Sylvan reported on the Palm Springs Great Fanbelt Toss and Swap Meet. He sold most of what he took and bought a few things. From the internet, What if politicians campaigned via e-mail? The Sirloin Stockade hosted our Christmas Party. Technical material included the wonder of a wandering FC which had a major crack in its unit body, leaving the steering gear box to literally float! Otto Mechanic refuted the theory that filling your tires with helium would reduce weight and increase gas mileage. 1987 Vol 13 Nr 12 Issue 147 On the cover, a cut-it-out-yourself jigsaw puzzle. We had $451 in the bank. The speaker at our Christmas party was to be the Journal's Jim Arnholtz (Jim Belshaw) of the Albuquerque Journal. President Reider suggested activities for the coming year. Jerry showed a series of Corvair-related films. Jim reported on Sylvan's Architecture Tour. Steve answered to last month's Football Quiz. 1980 Vol 6 Nr 12 Issue 63 Our new officers were Sylvan Zuercher, Bill Reider, Mary Twilley and Robin DeVore. We had $282 in the bank. We planned a "Ladies' Day" tech session to cover common car problems and fixes. How could we help out with the 1981 national CORSA convention in Denver? A tech tip suggested using a magnetic drain plug in the oil pan to catch stray metal particles. An article suggested that low-riders were superior to hot-rodders. An index for the 1980 newsletter finished up the issue. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NEWSLETTER INDEX FOR 2015 EVERY MONTH: Mechanically Un-inclined ............. Ray Trujillo Dues Due ............................... Membership Meeting Minutes ..................... Anne Mae Gold Board Meeting Minutes ............... Anne Mae Gold New Mexico Council of Car Clubs ....... Robert Gold Treasury Report ....................... Robert Gold Birthdays & Anniversaries ...... Sunshine Committee Who has What ................... Board of Directors Calendar of Coming Events ...... Board of Directors Seven, 14, 21, 28, 35 Years Ago ......... Historian JANUARY Why Are These People Laughing? ................... Low Gas Prices TECHNICAL: Frayed Clutch Cable ...................... Larry Blair Christmas Party at Highland .......................... John Wiker Declining Membership ................................ Jim Pittman Get it Out of my Kitchen! .......................... Corvanantics Some Photos Emailed to Participants During 2004 .......... Editor Roster of Club Members ......................... 28 December 2014 COVER: An Ultra Van & two great Rampsides at Sonic in 2005 COVER: Brenda, Ray and Heula at CNM's 2014 Christmas Party FEBRUARY A Caravan to the Edge (Edgewood) .................... Robert Gold Breakfast in Edgewood ................................ John Wiker Whack the Fuel Pump (1960 MG-A) ..................... Jim Pittman 1965 110-HP Engine with PG & Air ......... VEGAS VAIRS - Bob Helt Durango Tri-State Update ................... Rocky Mountain CORSA Nomination Form for the MEISSNER AWARD ......... Awards Committee COVER: Corvairs & Corvair Owners at Dough-Re-Mi Bake Shop MARCH Award Ceremony Honoring Korean War Veterans .......... Consul Kim Celebration of the Life of Wendell Walker ................. VMCCA Smart Honda Civic -- Smart Cars ..................... Jim Pittman A Sound Investment .................................. Robert Gold COVER: LeRoy Rogers' 1960 Coupe at Sonic Car Show 23-Apr-2005 COVER: Poster illustrating Wendell Walker's engineering career APRIL Our Convair Club .................................... Brer Rabbit The Ike Meissner Award Goes to ..................... Larry Yoffee Rampside License Plate LED Lights ................. Steve Gongora Headlight Bezel Has a "Little Crook" .................... Members COVER: David's 1963 Monza at the end of our mile of Old Route 66 COVER: Seriously? They replaced our eastern sign on Old Route 66? MAY Cover Story: Bakersfield Corvairs ................. Jim McWilliams Cover Story: Zero to $10,000 (or more?) ............. Jim Pittman Discovery at the April Board Meeting ................. Tarmo Sutt Late Model Headlight Bezel ........................ Fred Edeskuty Who is J. D. Forney? Why do I care? ................. Robert Gold Raffle Car from 1996 CORSA Convention ................. Bill Brown Upcoming Albuquerque Museum Car Show ................ Robert Gold COVER: A pair of Corvairs spotted in Bakersfield, California COVER: A Familiar 1965 Monza coupe, Unrecognizable in Primer JUNE The Imposter (Museum Car Show) ...................... Robert Gold Jefferson Middle School 75th Anniversary ............... Art Gold Road Trip (Tour to Grants) ........................... John Wiker Central New Hampshire Spring Dust-Off .............. Larry Yoffee Corvair Changes from 1965 to 1966 ................. Russ McDuffie COVER: Albuquerque Museum/New Mexico Car Council Car Show, May 17 COVER: Rita, Steve & Steele at La Ventana Natural Arch, April 25 JULY The Great Race vs. the City - March Car Council ..... Robert Gold Durango 2015 Tri-State Member Reports by Robert Gold, Larry Yoffee, John Wiker, Bill Reider, Jim Pittman, Curt Shimp, Larry Blair, Steve and Rita Gongora, Lube Lubert, Vickie Hall, Elizabeth Domzalski, Anonymous, Photo Captions. Mr and Mrs Bill Reider, 65th Anniversary .... Albuquerque Journal COVER: Larry Yoffee's maroon 1965 Corsa turbo coupe in Durango CO COVER: Lube Lubert received the Hard Luck Award for bearing noise AUGUST Amarillo by Morning (CORSA Convention) .............. Vickie Hall Pancakes on the Plaza (July 4th) ..................... John Wiker National Car Collector Day ........................... John Wiker Deferred Maintenance (DENVAIR NEWS) ................ Eric Schakel Wendy Walker - What a Guy! .......................... Robert Gold COVER: The Great Race didn't pass by as we waited in Cedar Crest, but John Barnhart's bright red Karmann-Ghia was there. SEPTEMBER Larry Blair's Yellow 1964 Spyder Convertible ...... Photographer The State Fair - Happy Anniversary! ................. Robert Gold Car Council Picnic Report (Photos on Page 10) ...... Jim & Vickie Windshield Washer Replacement Pump ................ Steve Gongora Get the Right Gas Cap .......... DETROIT AIRCOOLER - Pete Koehler Inside a Failed Fuel Pump ........................... Jim Pittman Road Trip! to the Fan belt Toss ....... DENVAIR NEWS Eric Schakel Deferred Maintenance (DENVAIR NEWS) ............... Eric Schakel COVER: Pat Removes Number Two Rocker Arm before Driving Home Name Your Poison: Lead? Cadmium? Zinc? Arsenic? Iron? Acid water? OCTOBER Mark Morgan's TR-8 in Autocross .................. EXHAUST NOTES Christmas Party Collections ......................... John Wiker The State Fair ..................................... Robert Gold Zero to $10,000 is Several Easy Steps .............. Jim Pittman Greenbrier and "Double Rampside" at Forney Museum ..... DRIPLINE Slide Show of Scenes from Korea in 1952-1953 ....... Bill Reider COVER: Corvair Owners Attend the 2015 New Mexico State Fair NOVEMBER The Eyes Have It (Bill Reider's photos) ............ Robert Gold Christmas Party Collections ......................... John Wiker Day at Corrales Farm Festival ....................... John Wiker Corrales Harvest Festival Part II .............. Brenda Stickler Corvairiations from the Norm ...................... Larry Yoffee A Cautionary Tale ................................. Larry Yoffee National Route 66 Caravan ........................... John Wiker October Club Breakfast: The New Yorken ............. Jim Pittman October Old Route 66 Cleanup ....................... Lube Lubert COVER: CNM's Halloween Pumpkin .. First seen in November 1985 DECEMBER A Mediocre Ending (Car Council October) ............ Robert Gold Christmas Party Collections ......................... John Wiker Freddy's Custom Car Cruz-In ........................ Robert Gold Bingo Night Treasurer's Report ..................... Robert Gold Zero to $10,000 in Several Easy Steps - Part 4 ..... Jim Pittman Can You Say BINGO?! ................................. John Wiker Innocent Children ................................ Heula Pittman Treasury Report .................................... Robert Gold My Detroit Connection (1966 Corvair Corsa turbo) ... Jim Pittman 1954 Corvair Corvette Concept Car .............. Corvair Houston Index to Newsletter Items for 2015 .................. The Editor Very Brief Summary of all the "Years Ago" ....... Club Historian COVER: Robert Gold's blue 1965 Corsa convertible rides again! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ YEARS AGO -- CLUB HISTORIAN 41 1974 March: Corvair owners meet. April 10th: CNM founded. First Winrock Corvair show. 40 1975 Mark Morgan starts the CNM newsletter in January. First election of club officers. 39 1976 Ed Black Chevrolet is our sponsor. First Tri-State. Trip to Bandelier via Madrid. 38 1977 Club dues increased to $7.00 per year. We may have had 51 to 54 members this year. 37 1978 Jim Pittman is editor of CNM's newsletter. Dinner at the Bella Vista Restaurant. 36 1979 Club participates in State Fair car show. Third (and last) Winrock Corvair Show. 35 1980 Ike Meissner's death. Newsletter moves from typewriter to Apple II computer. 34 1981 Discuss "100% CORSA" question. Tour to the VLA radio telescope. CNM incorporated. 33 1982 Trip to Trinity site near Tularosa and Alamogordo. Many tech talks this year. 32 1983 Bill Reider puts on a sports car rally. Our first Constitution is ratified. 31 1984 Econorun to Bandelier National Monument. Aspencadeto the Santa Fe ski area. 30 1985 Econorun to Elephant Butte. We have a Santa Fe dinner meeting. Z-Club rally. 29 1986 Balloon photos: Corvairs spell out "CNM." Econorun to El Morro, Inscription Rock. 28 1987 LeRoy Rogers conducts our first auction. Econorun to Valley of Fires, Carrizozo. 27 1988 Birthday party speaker: Mark Twain. Sylvan Zuercher: tech talk on carb rebuilding. 26 1989 Fifth Tri-State is to Red River. Econorun to Doc Long picnic area in Sandias. 25 1990 Sylvan Zuercher organizes Econorun to El Morro and Grants. Tour the Mining Museum. 24 1991 Seventh Tri-State is in Gunnison, Colorado. Econorun to Quarai and Estancia. 23 1992 Econorun to Fort Union. Our meeting place moves from Ed Black's to CASA Chevrolet. 22 1993 Debbie Pleau presents our bid to CORSA for the 1996 "VAIRS IN THE AIR" Convention. 21 1994 Chuck Vertrees puts on our first Photo Rally. Econorun to Mountainair and Quarai. 20 1995 Eleventh Tri-State, Red River Rendezvous II, Red River. Work on 1996 Convention. 19 1996 VAIRS IN THE AIR CORSA Convention. Start project to clean a mile of Old Route 66. 18 1997 Tri-State in Gunnison. Board discusses "Saint Francis of Corvair" Boydston Award. 17 1998 Tri-State is in Lake City, Colorado. Wendell Walker receives the Meissner Award. 16 1999 Tarmo & Kay sponsor a Corvair aspencade to Salman Ranch where we pick raspberries. 15 2000 Galles Chevrolet provides a meeting place. Steve Gongora takes over our web site. 14 2001 Award to Mark Domzalski for service as CORSA President. Spelling Checker Poem. 13 2002 The 18th Tri-State, Grand Junction. Meissner Award is postponed until March 2003. 12 2003 The 19th Tri-State, Raton, New Mexico. Sylvan has a tour to Montezuma's Castle. 11 2004 Tri-State to Cripple Creek, Colorado. Ratification of our second Constitution. 10 2005 Enchanted Corvairs newsletter wins First Place in CORSA Chapter Newsletter Awards. 9 2006 Last meeting at Galles Chevrolet due to parking. Econorun to Madrid, New Mexico. 8 2007 Road Test of Ford GT by "Windy" Walker. Jim works on developing a Newsletter CD. 7 2008 Tri-State, Pagosa Springs. Chuck Vertrees: a sports car rally and an econorun. 6 2009 Tri-State, Taos, New Mexico. Garage tour to THE COLOR WORKS in Los Lunas. 5 2010 Open House at Galles Chevrolet. Galles will no longer be able to sponsor CNM. 4 2011 Tarmo Sutt's red 1966 turbo Corsa is featured at Denver CORSA Convention concours. 3 2012 Larry's "Spring Fling" Corvairs-only Car Show. Steve's Aspencade to Los Alamos. 2 2013 Vickie & Pat Hall organize a Corvair tour to Los Lunas, Abo, Mountainair, Quarai. 1 2014 The 30th Tri-State, Chama, New Mexico. "Curved Coins" from the United States Mint. 0 2015 The 31st Tri-State, Durango, Colorado. "CONVAIRS OF NEW MEXICO" Old Route 66 Sign. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Enchanted Corvairs Newsletter is published monthly by Corvairs of New Mexico, chartered Chapter #871 of CORSA, the Corvair Society of America. Copyright by the Authors and by Corvairs of New Mexico. Articles may be reprinted in any CORSA publication as a service to CORSA members, provided credit to the Author and this Newsletter is clearly stated. All opinions are those of the Author or Editor and are not necessarily endorsed by Corvairs of New Mexico or CORSA. Material for publication should reach the Editor by the 15th of the month. Send material via e-mail ( jimp @ unm.edu ) or submit a readable manuscript. I prefer ASCII TEXT, but MS Word or RTF are fine. Photographs are welcome. I still print mailing labels with a 1989 Apple IIgs on a Hewlett-Packard LaserJet IIIp. The newsletter is composed using Apple computers. Software includes OSX, AppleWorks, Photoshop CS, GraphicConverter, BBEdit and InDesign CS. If you care, ask for more details. Transportation: 1965 Corvair Monza, 1990 Honda Civic, 1996 Mazda Miata and 2013 Honda Civic. When I'm 64, I'll get by with a little help from my friends. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ =END=