Yeah, I gotchya, BigA... I'd probably ran through that amount of motor vehicles myself, in only about 30(ish) years of driving... Only 1× "Audi" (which only lasted a couple of weeks... My fault... Me and John Damn Barleycorn... Not Audi's fault) and the 1 motorcycle I'd bought (brand-damn-new) was a Triumph... (I caught hell, left and right about THAT, outta SOME folks.) It was a "Bonneville 750", which was actually powered by a 45 cubic inch engine... It was a "Limited Edition" called a "Silver Jubilee"; (helluva nice paint job) which was to celebrate "Queen Elizabeth's being Queen for 25 years"... A 1977 year/ model; purchased in 1978, if I recall properly. It's speedometer went to 150mph; so, I figured: ¿What the Hell?... Damn thing took to vibrating in a SCARY FASHION at ~ a buck-20.
I owned 3× Mopars and came to recognize, that they were TRYING TO WARN me; that I would be down at NAPA every Saturday, looking to BUY MO PARTS!! Oh WELL...
All the rest were Chevys and Fords... I'm probably leaning towards General Motors, as far as "wrenching on'em" goes. (I guess I probably owned a few more Chevys, than Fords.)

this to all of you who survived the 1920's -- 1980's
first you survived being born to mothers who may have smoked or even drank while they were pregnant
they took aspirin and ate blu cheese dressing,tuna from a can,and weren't tested for diabetes.
then after that trauma you were put to sleep on your tummies,in a crib colored with bright lead based paints
you had no lids on childproof medicine bottles,locks on doors .and cabinets.
when you rode your bikes,you wore baseball caps-not helmets on your head.
as infants you rode in cars with no car seats ,no booster seats,no seat belts,no air bags,sometimes bald or retreaded tiresand bad brakes
riding in the back of a pickup truck was a joyful outing for you.
you drank water fro, a garden hose.
you shared a soft drink with three friends from the same bottle,and no one got sick or died.
you ate cupcakes,white bread,real butter and bacon.
you drank "kool aid"sweetened with white sugarand
you weren't overweight.
WHY???
because you always played long and hard outside.
that's why!!
you played all day.aslong as you were home before dark,noone cared. and we survived.
you spent hours building your go carts fron scrap lumber.
then ride them downhill,only to find you did not have brakes.and you survived
you did not have play station,nintendosor x boxes.
there were no video games,no 150 channel cable.
no movies on dvd,no surround sound or cds.
no cell phones,no personal computers,no imternet and no chat rooms
you had friends and you went outside and found them
you fell out of trees ,had broken bones and lost teeth.
there were no law suits from these accidents.
you got spanked by belts ,switches,paddles and bare hands,and no one called child services to report abuse.
you ate worms and nud pies,and the worms did not live in you

you had friends and you went outside and found them
you fell out of trees,got broken bones and teeth.
you were given bb guns about your tenth birthday,
made up games with sticks and tennis balls.
and though you were told it would happen,we didn't put out anyones eyes.
you rode your bikes for miles .went to your friends houses and knocked on their doors,or maybe just walked in
you entered little league tryouts,and not everyone nade the team
those who didn't make the team learned to live with the disappointment,or determined to get better and make the tean the next year
imagine that!!
you had to earn ,nothing was given.
if you broke the law ,the idea of parents bailing you out was un heard of.
parents actually sided with the law.

these generations have provided our nation with some of the best problem solvers and inventors ever.
the past 65 to 85 years have seen an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
you as children had freedon ,failures successesand learned responsibility
and you survived
if you were born between 1925 and 1970
I COMMEND YOU
FOR YOU ARE SPECIAL

Normally I'd agree with you, BB, but
more than a few really earned what-
ever medals they won !

At least two come to mind - just
the ones I can remember - but
there were many more, both in
Europe and the Pacific Theatre !
The two that come to mind are
'Chesty Puller' (A Marine's Marine),
and John Basilone (The Hero of Guadalcanal ) !

'Chesty' was a Marine for most
of his life, and fought in/survived several major battles in the Pacific
in WWII, then survived Korea, and a bunch of skirmishes in Nicaragua
and other world troublespots !
He tried to get back into action in
Viet Nam, but was declined due to
advanced age and failing health !
Unlike many commanders in the
field, he earned his men's respect
and admiration because he was
most often in the forefront of many
battles, leading by example rather than ordering his troops into the fray from a command post behind the lines, and was seriously wounded on several occasions !

John Basilone earned his Congressional Medal of Honor at
the Battle for Henderson Field on Guadalcanal ! He was sent home shortly after and sent on a War
Bond tour - he balked at being away from his friends and the front - he returned just in time to be sent to
Iwo Jima, where he again showed
his valor and was killed in a heroic attempt to save some of his men !

Such is the stuff our U.S.Marines
are made of - they more than
deserve the respect, admiration
and thanks of our people at home !