Nell's First Cruise Night

#1 Son and I took Nell to her very first cruise night on Friday.  It was a great, affirming experience!  Nell got a lot of attention, and a steady flow of compliments!  It was also great to feel like an active participant, rather than a gawker.

You may note in this picture that I installed the new V8 emblem on the grille, made from a '55 F100 grille emblem and a custom backing plate I shaped out of aluminum and painted Ford Red.   I also installed the projector fog lights in the bumper guards, although I haven't hooked them up yet.

I had a few minor disappointments on Friday morning, but my son reminded me about cruise night over lunch.  I was determined to wash the car before we left.  As I started working, I kept getting distracted by little things in the garage that needed to be fixed... the work light was broken, but just needed a little glue.  I needed to install a new outlet strip, but first I had to run to the hardware store to pick up some new #2 Phillips bits.  Then I started making little mistakes washing the car.  The hose got tangled.  All the while, I found myself getting more anxious.  I didn't get the car finished until 4 PM.

In an attempt to "avoid Friday traffic" on the freeways, we took the back roads on the 20 mile trip to cruise night.  We were quickly committed to very slow stop-and-go traffic on a narrow 2 lane road.  We got to experience first hand the overheating problem that early 'birds are renowned for.  We were stationary, or near stationary, for half an hour.  As we sat idling, stopped in traffic on this warm spring afternoon, the electric water temperature gauge continued to rise and finally maxed out.  The mechanical water temp gauge that I installed in the coolant bypass line also climbed to over 220 degrees.  I was getting more and more anxious, but there was nowhere to go.  I pulled the hood release, which opened the rear-facing hood a few inches and let the trapped air out of the engine compartment.  My son turned on the heater.  Eventually, I resorted to shutting the engine off... which I should have done much sooner but is a bad idea if the car is already overheating!  At this point, the engine was so hot that it dieseled a little after I turned the key off.  That was rather unnerving!  But, there was no steam, no geyser under the hood.  I'm not familiar enough with the car yet to know what is normal, or when I should "panic"!

Once we got the car moving again, it cooled right down to normal levels.  I really don't think there is anything wrong with the car.  I may invest in a "pusher" electric fan to mount in front of the radiator, but first I need to flush the coolant and run some experiments.  Perhaps just popping the hood and revving the engine a little would increase the flow of air and water enough to cool her down.  That is something I can try in my driveway.
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I've set a date for my Dad's memorial service.  I've gone through old pictures, and created a slideshow of his life.  I've called his pension fund, social security, bank, and insurance company.  There is more to do, but  the major flurry of activity is over.  I'm still not sure how I feel.

I find that I'm inefficient at work, and get distracted easily.  I'm forgetting appointments and the occasional word.  I'm vaguely uncomfortable with myself.  I'm told that this is normal, and is associated with grieving.  That may well be true, but it is hard to embrace.  I'm impatient.