Running on empty.: When I was young and... - Lung Conditions C...

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Running on empty.

β€’34 Replies

When I was young and penniless,

And drove a battered car,

The tank was always near empty,

I never could go far.

When the engine coughed and spluttered

And I'd think that that was it,

It would suddenly give a cough

And decide then not to quit.

And now I'm in my dotage,

My engines just the same,

I think I'm running out of fuel,

But it busts into life again. β›½πŸ˜ƒ

34 Replies
β€’
SquirrelsHolt profile image
SquirrelsHolt

Good rhyme Mr.D.

.... It reminded me I need to put petrol in the car,so you are a gentleman of many talents!( can u remind me when to see my Consultant next?)

Elephantstraw profile image
Elephantstraw

Oh I do like that, I know what you mean!

sassy59 profile image
sassy59

Keep your motor running Don. Xxxx

Whitechinchilla profile image
Whitechinchillaβ€’ in reply tosassy59

πŸ˜‰

sassy59 profile image
sassy59β€’ in reply toWhitechinchilla

πŸ˜€πŸ˜˜

Whitechinchilla profile image
Whitechinchillaβ€’ in reply tosassy59

I love reading your posts. They are always funny and uplifting. That’s a wonderful gift you both have. x

skischool profile image
skischool

So Master Po you appear to have had some lead put in your pencil,sorry that should read PETROL and long may it last. :)

S & S x

Yatzy profile image
Yatzyβ€’ in reply toskischool

Thought you’d signed yourself, SAS, Skis!! I know you’re an ex-services chap but began to think your sciatica had perked up if you’ve signed for the SAS!! 🀣 lol xxxx

syntax profile image
syntaxβ€’ in reply toskischool

l do believe Lead is Harder than Petrol !!!!

Izb1 profile image
Izb1

Sounds like the car we had when I first got married, not much money for petrol and always coughing and spluttering down the motorways, it was a beat up old triumph herald and luckily I had a brother in law who was a mechanic. Another good one Don x

β€’ in reply toIzb1

When I got married in 1955 a gallon of petrol cost four shillings and six pence - that's 22p in today's money.

Yatzy profile image
Yatzyβ€’ in reply to

I might have served it to you, Don, once it got to 5 bob! I worked in my Dad’s garage weekends when I was at school, and remember the shock horror of asking for 5 bob a gallon. Soon after we ran the Tiger in your Tank campaign, to distract folks. I had to tie a tiger tail onto all the filler caps! Then wash their windscreens...all for 25p a gallon!!

Thanks for a reminder of the old days....😁 xx

Izb1 profile image
Izb1β€’ in reply toYatzy

Ha! I remember "tiger in tbe tank" just love it x

pjwy profile image
pjwyβ€’ in reply toIzb1

Motorways! You were lucky!

My first car was an old Ford Anglia back in around 1955...before the days of motorways.

It used to take 5-6 hours to get from West Yorks down to London down tbe A1,with no heater,demister etc and the windscreen wipers worked on a kind of air pressure system so whenever you accelerated the blighters slowed down so you couldn’t see out of the window!

An old friend of mine used to drive his old banger with a greenhouse paraffin heater in the back if the weather was cold!

Happy days.

β€’ in reply topjwy

Ah, happy memories indeed. Those wipers worked from the inlet manifold so did slow down when accelerating, but they did have a handle provided for manual operation in those circumstances. πŸ˜‰

pjwy profile image
pjwyβ€’ in reply to

Ah...don’t recall a handle to operate them manually.Mine was the most basic model so maybe the handle came as an an extra! lol!

The indicators were a bit temperamental too...they came out like little arms from each side of the car and could get stuck. For instance when turning right,followed by an immediate left turn,you could end up with them both stuck out like ears!

β€’ in reply topjwy

Indicators were posh, I was brought up on hand-signals. They could be a lot more expressive. πŸ˜‰

Izb1 profile image
Izb1β€’ in reply topjwy

Ha!ha! So funny reading these replies and how we handled things those days. I got married in 1970 so was a bit further on from you. The motorways we travelled on and the autobahns in Germany seemed never ending and I remember those little orange indicators that stuck out of the sides x

Hacienda profile image
Hacienda

Takes me back to a Little Seat 850 old banger I had in Spain,(1985) when Spain was just about to catch up on the rest of Europe. My Daughter & I painted it Green with flowers, we had a lot of good times and adventures. Sometimes those old bangers are worth their Little Weight, We did have to push it a few times, (No Clutch) we laughed so much as we planned which Hill to park it on for the Mornings. Pedal Power comes to mind. Thanks Don for bringing Back such good & Happy memories. xxxx

Ergendl profile image
Ergendlβ€’ in reply toHacienda

I had a matt metallic green Ford like that. Bought for Β£300 in 1989, lasted for ages. I had to park it on a hill with the driver's door sheltered as the window didn't wind up.

Izb1 profile image
Izb1β€’ in reply toHacienda

Doesn't it bring back good memories Hacienda, green with flowers, would love to have seen that ha! xx

Hacienda profile image
Haciendaβ€’ in reply toIzb1

I love memories, Going back to the late 60's, My Brother Bought a Bubble Car, it opened at The Front, We as a Big family all tried to get into it, about 10 including the little ones, Long before the Mini was Tried. I do have a Photo somewhere. Must Look for it. xxxxx

Izb1 profile image
Izb1β€’ in reply toHacienda

Omg, you must have been ,like sardines ha!

Hacienda profile image
Haciendaβ€’ in reply toIzb1

Ha Ha , & Years later I went to live in Spain and became one of those Sardines on the Beach amongst thousands of others. Love my Memories Hun. XXXX

Izb1 profile image
Izb1β€’ in reply toHacienda

πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

Hacienda profile image
Haciendaβ€’ in reply toIzb1

All Little Tiddlers . xxxx

joyce74 profile image
joyce74

We bought an old car, one lady only and took the family for a week at Pontins . When we got back my husband got a mechanic to check it and it seemed it only passed its recent MOT by having bits of metal welded to the underneath to fool the evidence of the rot should someone check with a magnet. We were lucky we all got back in one piece.

watergazer profile image
watergazer

🀣 keep on motoring Don

MoyB profile image
MoyB

And may your engine continue to bust into life for a long time to come, Don! xx Moy

Kittykat2 profile image
Kittykat2

Great one Don πŸš—πŸš•πŸš—πŸš•πŸš™πŸ’•x

HungryHufflepuff profile image
HungryHufflepuff

My aunt used to be a huge fan of Jackson Browne and made me copies of his albums on cassette tape which I used to play over and over. I haven't listened to them for years but have had the song Running on Empty stuck in my head since I read your post. What a great song 😊

Corin1950 profile image
Corin1950

Loved it , Don and all the replies. Reminded of my first car - a mini that was always breaking down and a Morris 1000 Traveller that we drove to Turkey and back . It broke down a few times too on the journey but we managed to get back safely. What an adventure!

Keep going Don, there’s plenty of miles left in your tank!

Love

Corin

Thanks Corin, it's the replies (like your's) that make it all worthwhile, without them my weird postings would remain just that, weird postings. πŸ˜„ 😘

Pantani profile image
Pantani

Only just read this and it sums me up to a tee.

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