Here are some pictures of the 97 Dodge....  This was how it looked the day I picked it up...

Just reporting in for duty...was farmside

Whoa

What a story

Whoa...

Don't know where to start...so I wont

Just say, Glad to have you back in one piece Ash, and Praise God...he is still in the people business!

The man who has something to say about everything, speechless?  I'm not buying, lol.  I'll let it all soak in for a while then you can unleash on my thread and clog it as you see fit!   

Speaking of my 97 Dodge 12 valve, who is the go to guy on here I can bounce questions off of?  I want to start working on getting more power out of it, without spending a fortune.  I may start up a new thread for it on here so no one has to plow through all my other junk...

Now let me get honest...

Before I left my family for work and spent 8 months in New Mexico, I was fairly grounded.  Money has never been anything more than an object to me.  Never has bothered me whether I had it or not.  Before going off to work, I always wanted more though.  More money to invest in this, or buy that toy, or buy my kids this, or buy that for the house and so forth...  It never stopped.  It wasn't until my family was removed from my daily life that I got a reality check.  After a few months, I didn't care if I even had a job.  All I wanted was to see my kids every day, to hug my wife every day.  That was no longer an option for me.  Moving off put my life back in check.  I realized what was more important and what I made time for mattered.  I missed out on 8 months of my kids lives and I can not get that back no matter what. 

Money was no longer important, stuff was no longer important to me.  All I cared about was TIME, and spending that time with the people that mattered the most to me. 

As some of you know, and most probably don't, I co-own two different companies.  The major company is our oilfield construction company.  The other is a smaller rental and investment company.  I have been a co-owner for over 7 years now in these two businesses.  It has been stressful.  It has also been fun and extremely rewarding.  But it also has its downsides.  I feel responsible for all my employees, and when we don't have any work going, I stress about them and taking care of them.  With that being said, I wouldn't trade anything for the last 7 years plus of experience and knowledge that I've gained. 

In September of 2016, I realized I wanted to be a part of my families life.  I started praying that somehow, God would provide me a way out.  I didn't have a clue how I would happen, even figured it to be pretty much impossible, but I prayed anyway.  I just wanted a job back home, that would support us.  I quit making stupid purchases like toys and trucks and other stuff that is simply a waste of money.  Even after I came home for good in January, I still continued to pray that same prayer to God.  Well, on a Tuesday morning, in April, I received a phone call.  One of my closest mentors is the head boss over a gas field here at home.  He handles all of east texas.  Their construction manager was retiring, and he asked me if I would be interested in taking that position.  I was blown away.  This kind of offer never happens.  They always move someone internally up, not bring in an "outsider".  Now I have laid pipelines for this company for the last 8-10 years, so they know me pretty well.  He believed this position would be the perfect fit for me, and for them. 

So, after we met that evening and spent a couple hours discussing it, I decided that was the job I have been wanting.  The office is 10 min from my house, and I will be home every night.  Obviously this new job comes with a pay cut, but, it has great benefits.  I sold out my ownership of both of my other companies to the other partners and will be starting this new job in a few weeks. 

The same week that I got the call and was offered this position, the wife and I found a nice piece of land with a simple shop house built on it.  We have been looking for 3 years for land to build a shop house on, and 3 days after I was offered that job, we found the perfect place we have been looking for, with a shop house already on it, and I put a contract on it. 

So, over the past two months, I've been hit with two tornadoes, had to get most everything rebuilt at the current property, I'm selling out of the two businesses I own, starting a new job, found the perfect place we have been searching for the past 3 years, put a contract on it and will be closing on it next week, I have listed my current property with a realtor, sold the hot rod, sold my boat, and just seeing where God takes me from here. 

So, I've had a few things going on...

There are a lot more details involved with everything that I've left out.  Shawn knows most of them because we stay in contact on a regular basis.  I just don't have the time to dive into all of it.  I just wanted to share with everyone what has happened with me, and how God can still work miracles.  His timing is perfect, and any situation that seems impossible to us, is nothing for him.  I never thought I would find a way out, for three years we never thought we would find the one spot we wanted to be, but God decided to answer both of those prayers in the same week.  None of this was by my hands, I simply prayed and asked for guidance.  God provided the rest.  I give Him all the praise and all the credit.  Never underestimate our God. 

a little breezy....

Little snow...

Few more pipeline pics....

Ill get some photos posted up in a bit.  Have a training to attend for now...

This time, it was a confirmed EF-1 tornado.  Started about 2 miles west of me, came right through us, and went for another 6 miles to the east.  8 mile track of damage, 3500 yards wide.  Winds up to 110 mph I believe.  It took off the rest of my shop.  Took out about 1/4 of my shingles on the house, and I lost about 6 big trees on my place.  After about a week, I had everything cleaned up, and they began rebuilding.  So, as of today, my shop is back like new, new roof on the house, fences are back, new horse barn is up and installed, and they will finish up on my carport next week at some point... 

A tornado decided to sit down in my pasture, not go anywhere, just wreck out all my stuff, then lift back up and move on.  I was the only person to sustain damage.  Took out 30'x60' of my shop, took out my horse barn, took some shingles off the house, damaged the hot rod, and damaged my rv...  Oh well.  Life happens, I have great insurance, so everything will be taken care of. 

Yowsa!
Sold it...fun while you had it I guess huh?

It was.  Had it almost 2 years.  Only took it out a handful of times.  Just to cruise to town, or to church.  That was about it.  Never raced it. 

and why not have some video....

Not sure if video will be rotated correctly or not. 

Motor

Man, looking back over this thread was a little aggravating to me if I'm honest.  I'll get in to that later.  First, let me show off what I traded the monster jeep for...

Quote from: Armalite on May 23, 2017, 09:51:44 AM

Quote from: Flyin6 on May 07, 2017, 11:21:46 AM

Quote from: JR on May 06, 2017, 10:37:39 PM

Don, I just noticed you have the ball joints on top of the arms. I believe they go on the bottom (push on the arm vs push on the bolts).

It may affect the geometry a little, but Safety is a bigger thing!

http://www.cognitomotorsports.com/media/pdfs/7054.pdf

Holy Smokes!

WOW!!  I just looked back on my install from about 50 years ago seems like, and I did the exact same thing Don.  Had them mounted on top instead of on bottom... 

Glad to see the black truck still putting in work.   

Hey Ash!I thought some gator ate you a year or two back!

Glad to have you around

Spread some news...What about that Dodge?? (Or Ram??)

I'd like to see what you've done to it lately

And what of you?

Would clog up your thread to give all that information...  All is good here.  Lot's of changes, lots...  Dodge is gone, and I will never own another new one.  Will stay with Duramax from now on...

On a side note, if you start cutting any hardwood, the slabs work very well as fence posts.  My neighbor has cut a ton of lumber over the past years, enough to build two very large barns.  For all the hardwood slabs, he cut them with a chainsaw at 8' lengths, and used them for fence posts.  This was for a barbed wire fence to hold his cows.  Been a few years installed, and they are still solid as can be.  Just a thought. 

Well, you done playing around and get back on the jeep projects??

Quote from: JR on May 06, 2017, 10:37:39 PM

Don, I just noticed you have the ball joints on top of the arms. I believe they go on the bottom (push on the arm vs push on the bolts).

It may affect the geometry a little, but Safety is a bigger thing!

http://www.cognitomotorsports.com/media/pdfs/7054.pdf

Holy Smokes!

WOW!!  I just looked back on my install from about 50 years ago seems like, and I did the exact same thing Don.  Had them mounted on top instead of on bottom... 

Glad to see the black truck still putting in work.   

You know you're going to get the commentary regardless.  Might as well make use of my dumb mind, weak back, and slow hands while you're at it....  ::)

Nice jeep Don!  It will look good in your lineup. 

Yep, just caught on to that.  Looks like all the action is on your jeep thread....  I need to check on that motor anyhow, speaking of jeeps....

Hmm, still no progress.....

Evening Gentlemen, and Don....  ;D

First off just wanted to say how blessed and gracious Lex is for having all of you reach out and lift her up in prayer.  Alex and I thank each and every one of you.  Throughout this entire ordeal, I have just been amazed out the outpouring support and prayers that we have received.  God is so good, and it shows each and every day. 

All is well with Lex's eye.  Most of the abrasions have healed over, the pooling of blood in her eye has ceased a few days ago, and her body has finally absorbed all the blood.  Basically, the eye is clear from the outside looking in.  The retina and optic nerve were not injured, which is a miracle of in itself.  She did suffer a traumatic cataract, and part of the iris detached.  The cataract will be a simple 10 min operation.  They will look at the iris while doing the surgery, and make a decision on it at that time.  The detachment of the iris is basically cosmetic anyway.  Both eye doctors agree that after the cataract is removed, she will be back to 100%, as if the accident never happened.  So, other than missing a week and a half of school, and not being able to finish out her basketball games for this year, she will be her great self again by February. 

Both eye doctors wrote this up as a miracle on their list.  They claimed that for an eye to come in with as much damage as hers', there is always retinal/optic nerve damage.  Always.  She had none.  The specialist said he has never seen a case like this.  Never.  It's a first.  It's like that eye just took all frontal damage, and the back of the eye, by some miracle, held together.  The other eye doctor, who has 37 years experience, said 99% of the time, that eye would have been lost.  He has seen it happen too often.  He is a solid Christian man, and he has seen a handful of miracles in his 37 years, and he told all of us to add this to the list, because there is not a doubt in his opinion that this was a complete miracle.  This case just does not turn out as well as it has. 

Now I'll give some explanation of what happened....
Alex, my two girls, my wife's first cousin, and I were just having a calm evening.  Alex had bought one of those big bundle packages of fireworks.  You know the kind.  All wrapped up with a ton of different fireworks, all in one box.  Well, we started about 9:00.  Addison, my 8 year old, and I were setting of all the fireworks.  We had a fire going in our fire pit, and Alex, Carly, and Alexis were sitting around it staying warm.  By 10:00, we were basically done.  Throughout the night, after we had set off different fireworks, I would pick them up and set them in the fire.  Easy clean up.  No hassle, no mess the next morning.  Well, as I was cleaning up, Alex and I were standing at the empty box of fireworks and grabbing up the left over trash to burn.  There were a couple of the long tubes with a base, the ones you set the artillery shells down inside of with a long fuse that comes out the top.  Well, I didn't use them.  I had a couple left over tubes from the 4th of July, and we used them instead.  Alex asked me if I wanted to save them, and I told her nope, didn't need them.  Just put them in the fire.  So, we walked outside, Alex set the tubes in the fire, and I continued on to the house.  Alexis and Alex were sitting right beside the fire.  3-4' away.  Carly and Addison had gotten up and were walking toward my shop.  About the time I got to the front door, I heard the explosion.  I ran toward the fire to see what had happened.  About the time I rounded the corner of the house, Lex had come too, and started screaming.  Alex was right beside her, but wasn't injured.  Her jacket had suffered a lot of sever burns though.  We got Lex up and inside the house.  There was a lot of blood coming from the eye, and she couldn't see anything.  We could cover her right eye, and everything would go black.  Her left eye sustained the injury.  The right eye was perfectly fine and unharmed.  We rushed her to the hospital, and the er doctors went to work.  He did all he could, then called in the eye doctor about 11:00.  At that time, the only thing Alexis could see was if you shined a flashlight directly into her eye, then moved it away.  She would see faint light, and that was it.  I believe everyone knows about what happened from that point on...  The eye doctor did call us around her that night, and prayed for her right there in front of everyone.  He sent us home and said all we can do is pray because at this point, it's in God's hands...

This was just a freak accident.  It was definitely an artillery shell that exploded.  It exploded out the side of one of the tubes that were put in the fire.  We don't know where it came from, because we never put one down the tube.  All we can assume is that there was a shell pre-loaded in one of the tubes, and we didn't know.  There was no alcohol involved, nothing to impair my judgment or senses.  I double checked everything before it was put in the fire.  I just assumed the tubes were empty, didn't use them, so didn't check them.  Just cant be too careful. 

Again, thank you all so much for all the prayers.  They were definitely answered. 

As of now, we are going back to the specialist Monday morning, then to the surgeon Tuesday.  They will do the surgery on the following Monday.  After that, I'm sure we will have more check ups with the doctors, but we should be in the all clear. 

I will continue to update everyone as I can throughout this process. 

Thank you. 

Quote from: Armalite on December 10, 2015, 07:23:10 PM

Yeah, leprechaun was a good one.  Still have the autographed card in my desk drawer, lol....

Let me get this right. I contacted this guy off of CL. & you have his phone number in your desk? Big Date planned?!? :-X

Heck no!  The playing card he used on that one trick...  You sure are obsessed with CL.  Sure there isn't some underlying drama perhaps that happened to you, but you refuse to admit it or bring it up, so you take it out on the rest of us???   ::)

Quote from: TexasRedNeck on December 09, 2015, 11:40:23 PM

frappa-what?

man-card revoked.....

Don't worry it's not like he had one before his wife holds it hostage...... :o

When you get to my level, you don't need a card to prove your a man.  Your actions have already proven it....   8)