"Is your father in good health?"

Coincidences are strange. I went and looked at a car on Sunday, a 1977 Ford Pinto. What makes this car unique is in 1980 it was converted to a gas/electric hybrid. Outside of needing batteries and some body work it's in operating condition. The owner, a former engineer for a railroad, demonstrated the functional bits and it is a clever design. We couldn't get close enough on price and I really wanted a pure gas configuration for my purposes. He suggested though if it is still sitting around in a few years he'll let me know and I can come pick it up.

On my way out we were discussing Ford Pintos and why either of us were interested in them. For him it was the perfect setup to create his second electric car. For me it's a unique configuration (RWD, 4 Cyl) and there is the nostolgia from my dad owning and racing them.

The owner of the Hybrid asked "Is your father in good health?", when I mentioned he was an ace pinto mechanic.

Sunday morning at 5AM my Dad went to the hospital with chest pains.

About 10 years ago he suffered an incident that found him in St. Mary's cardiac care unit although he contends to this day that he didn't have a heart attack.

While talking to the doctors on Sunday he said he's been having symptoms for the past two years. If he just sits down and takes a break they go away. He goes in for exploratory arthroscopic surgery today. If they can fix what's broken by way of stunt or angioplasty they will.

If they can't fix it today they will come out of surgery and devise a plan of action that would include a more invasive surgery, such as a by-pass. All indications seem to point to the fact that this will be a minor procedure and he'll be out tomorrow.

Here's hoping...