Rambling thoughts (long and boring)

[ACobra289]

Originally Posted by Bryan S

One of these days I'll run across my dream car. I 'll be driving down the road and see a Plymouth Superbird being sold that they lady will say was her late husbands and it's such an old car it cant be worth more than a couple of hundred dollars.... I said it was a dream.

Yep, I have always preferred Mopars myself. My first car was actually a 1973 Challenger. It only had a 318 in it tho. My grandfather bought it for me for $550 bucks. I drove it for about a year and sold it to my cousin for the same $550. She drove it for years until it was totaled in a crash. I'm guessing those V6 and 318 Challengers and Barracudas go for around 5 or 6 grand these days. People like to take them and turn them into R/T or Cuda clones.

When I was really young, we used to drive past a house that had a Superbird (or Daytona) sitting on car trailer. It was painted up like a race car. I have no idea if it was a real Nascar or just something somebody painted up, but either way, it would be worth a bundle now.

My dream is to find a Shelby Cobra in a barn and have the owner pay me to haul it off for him. Hey, we can dream, right?!

[McRabbet]

I can't beat Andy's "what if" story, but when I read in the paper back in the late 70's that Microsoft was putting out an IPO and that was followed (or preceded) closely by an announcement that Adobe was going public, too -- I said to my wife that I wished I had a $1,000 to invest in these two and she said, just sell your Kodak stock! It was worth about $2,500 at the time, but I didn't sell it because my Dad (an ex-Kodak career man) had given it to us. Years later, when I finally sold that Kodak stock for about $800, I apologized to my Dad -- he said I should have sold it years before like he did... Ba-dump! I'd be a millionaire several times over with early investment in those two stocks.

[Glennbear]

My story was a contender when we were talking cars but once we got into missed IT opportunities I was far outclassed I had a 1955 Chevy rare bussiness coupe, no chrome, no back seat, rubber holding windows in. A genuine fleet car, so it was very light hence when I set up up for drag racing it was super fast (327 CID) In 1967 I missed taking E/MP national title by a few hundredths at the Summernationals. Fast foward a few years............give it to one of my younger brothers who converts it for street use, runs it for two years and sells it for a song Oh well, life goes on.

[McRabbet]

Yeah, Glenn. I left out the car sob stories -- a '27 Cadillac V-12 4-door saloon car for $350, a '27 Model T Roadster for $500 and a '36 Ford Phaeton (4-door convertible) for I can't remember how much -- and then the 1955 Mercedes Benz Gullwing that I was asked to care for by its owner for four months in the early 70's and I told hime that if he ever wanted to sell it that I'd like first refusal... I found out he sold it two years late for $4,500 -- worth at least $100K now.

[Gotcha6]

I've read some very interesting stories here tonight & I don't think I could come close to any of them. I can say, however, with the conviction of experience that there are many incidents & opportunities in one's life which seem unjust or just not doable. Most of these for me have resulted in a change of direction with my future that ended with my present situation; a family I love, good health (mostly), and a job that I enjoy (mostly). Money can't change any of that (mostly). Sometimes prayers are unanswered for a reason. Joseph had to endure the indignity of being cast into a well by his brothers before he was made Overseer of Egypt.

[Bryan S]

Now on a more serious note my 3 biggest regrets are not using the GI bill from my 6 years in the NAVY to help pay for and get a college education in enginering, business or both. I would have been the first from either side of the immediate familly to get a degree. Instead I listened to those who said "learn a trade thats here the money's at". Now ther is nothing wrong with learning a trade but I rellied on the NAVY's nuclear power training to land a good job in that industry. I'm sure your all aware that there has'nt been a nuke plant built in the last 25 years. Now I'm punching a time clock for people that dont care how hard they push you and there's not enough hours in the day to do what they want done and going to school part time to get that degree that would have been alot easier to get when I had the energy to do it instead of at 47 with a bad case of crs.

Then there's the time I listened to my insurance agent turned stockbroker tell me what to do with a 401K rollover and in a years time managed to turn that 60 grand into 24,500. I'm sure he was one of the few to make money off of that deal. I at least have learned how to do that deal right and recovered those losses and then some

What I do not regret is not listening to those people that told me when I was discharged from the NAVY to get a job at Burlington Industries in textiles. "They're not going anywhere" many said. What is there about 20 textile jobs left in the state now? Then there was the job at the battery plant that was built in Mebane several years back that I turned down, I believe it closed its doors about 2 years later.

Sometimes you do right by default

[ACobra289]

Originally Posted by Bryan S

Now I'm punching a time clock for people that dont care how hard they push you and there's not enough hours in the day to do what they want done and going to school part time to get that degree that would have been alot easier to get when I had the energy to do it instead of at 47 with a bad case of crs.

Bryan, at least you are going back to school. There is a lot to be said for that. I've heard people say they were to old to go back to school. They'll say something like "I'll be 45 by the time I graduate." Well, they are going to be 45 regardless, so why not have a degree at that time?

Since I have been laid off, I have been trying to figure out what to do. I have been wanting to find a job similar to what I was doing, but there aren't many companies that use similar computer equipment. I have a lead on a job right now and hope it pans out. If not, I am going to have to explore other options. Quickly!

[Gofor]

My experience has been that those that go through life looking backwards usually fall on their butt because they are blinded to the opportunities ahead of them. It is good to learn the lessons of missed opportunity, but no one I know of has been able to change the past. Look forward and capitalize on past experience to make the most of the future.

JMHO

Go

[Bryan S]

Originally Posted by ACobra289

Bryan, at least you are going back to school. There is a lot to be said for that. I've heard people say they were to old to go back to school. They'll say something like "I'll be 45 by the time I graduate." Well, they are going to be 45 regardless, so why not have a degree at that time?

Since I have been laid off, I have been trying to figure out what to do. I have been wanting to find a job similar to what I was doing, but there aren't many companies that use similar computer equipment. I have a lead on a job right now and hope it pans out. If not, I am going to have to explore other options. Quickly!

I might be retirement age by the time I get it But I'll continue to work at it

Originally Posted by Gofor

My experience has been that those that go through life looking backwards usually fall on their butt because they are blinded to the opportunities ahead of them. It is good to learn the lessons of missed opportunity, but no one I know of has been able to change the past. Look forward and capitalize on past experience to make the most of the future.

JMHO

Go

Well said Mark

[Gotcha6]

I might be retirement age by the time I get it But I'll continue to work at it

Retirement?
You wanna rust out, or wear out?
Rustin's faster!

'Do not go gentle into that good night
Rage, rage against the dying of the light'

[Steve W]

The thing to remember about those Kruse TV auctions is that the cars sold there are the absolute pinnacle of rarity and condition. Many of those cars have had many tens of thousands of dollars worth of restoration done to them. On unibody cars, these restorations can be especially difficult because you can't remove the body from the running gear.
Speaking of Shelbys, I remember that a cousin of mine bought a GT350 for close to 3 grand back in the '70s (that was a lot of coin for someone 20 years old) and it took him two weeks to wrap it around a tree. He wasn't hurt but the car was totaled.

[mkepke]

Well, I'm not going to cry over spilled milk, but ince this is a woodworking board and all...

..I regret not having more than $400 in my pocket when I went to the closing of a shop in Raleigh.

I left wide, clear S4S cherry sitting there at $0.50-$1 a *running* foot.

I only left with a 38" Woodmaster sander and a 100 bf or so lumber

-Mark

[sapwood]

Roads not taken

Real estate

Several excellent opportunities were missed. I knew they were great deals, but other conflicts prevented consummation

Roger

[Mike Davis]

Originally Posted by Bryan S

Then there's the time I listened to my insurance agent turned stockbroker tell me what to do with a 401K rollover and in a years time managed to turn that 60 grand into 24,500. I'm sure he was one of the few to make money off of that deal. I at least have learned how to do that deal right and recovered those losses and then some

What is there about 20 textile jobs left in the state now?

Sometimes you do right by default

I wish you could tell me how to manage my 401K.

I work in a textile plant, we have over 70 employees and still growing. We nearly doubled our plant this year.

[PeteQuad]

At one point Powerball was over $200 million and I was going to play, but I didn't and missed out on all that.

Seriously, I try not to look at opportunities lost much, since there are so many what if's that you end up getting depressed .