Happy Memorial Day And Thank You Vets!

Originally called Decoration Day after the Civil War as a way of recognizing the sacrifices of the fallen. Nowadays its called Memorial Day and while many vets and families of vets and veterans organizations remember and leave flowers and flags on the graves, many of us forget what its all about. Its not about beach outings and department store sales and barbecues. Its about the fact that we have the opportunities and freedoms to enjoy things like that because of the sacrifices of the fighting men and women through the ages. Its because of the fact that many of these fighters have given up their lives that we can enjoy ours in the ways that we choose to. Lets not forget that while we go about our day today. Today I leave you with the May page for the This-Old-Jeep.com 2012 calendar and check back in next week for more.

A Letter From A Fan Who Remembers

Earlier this month I received this email and was immediately impressed. Impressed, because not only has this young woman fallen in love with her jeep, but works on it herself and gets the jeep thing along with the heritage and history that they bring with them. So I have to say congratulations to Jen and her jeep on this weekend of remembering what the past and those men, women (and machinery) have paid for us to enjoy today. Thanks again for sharing your story, Jen! If you have an old jeep story that you’d like to share email me @ thisoldjeepdotcom@gmail.com and check out the other stories here. Check back in tomorrow for a Memorial Day update! “Hey, I'm Jen, I just got my license. And my first car is a 2000 Jeep Wrangler. At my high school, its the only Jeep in the parking lot, not to mention, it has a winch on the front. My beloved beaten up worn out Jeep is all black, with a hard fiberglass black top too. It's a two door, tin can with two airbags and a roll cage. And I love it!! Not that girly 'I lovey car' the, 'my car is tough, can take anything, and has heritage. Born for war, and built to last. So waddyou got that can top that off?!' kind of love. The love that got me and my dad under the car the entire first summer when dad bought it. The previous owner was incompetent in basic car care. So I was under the Jeep all summer with a drill and wire brush attachment, removing 10 years of grit and dirt. Spark plugs were changed, getting the tow hitch out after being rusted in took two hammers, sweat, and a can of wd40. The oil pressure sensor wasn't broken. It was doomed. So I was up to my armpits in an engine that day, changing the sensor. A day every 1 1/2 to 2 weeks was devoted to changing the oil and fine tuning the engine. Changed the air filter, cleaned the fuselage, and re-sealed it ( because it leaked... Due to the incompetence of the.previous owner never having it resealed.) We had to get new tires, because the originals were too big. That's still not quite the whole story. Because it's future story still has to come. But that summer, I got to know my first car. And I love it. Not to mention, the plates on it are... JNZJEEP. And the tire cover has a jeep on it and a caption that says, life is good. And it is. For jeep owners anyway. I love my car. Jeeps have military heritage. So do I. As an army brat anyway. And with the better condition that it's in, I know I'll be able to tell you all more one day! Jeeps forever! Jen & Jeep.” Thanks again, Jen!

The This-Old-Jeep.com 2012 Calendar- April

With this Memorial Day weekend we come back to regular weekly updates. Today we need to come back to the This-Old-Jeep.com 2012 calendar page for April, which in the tumult of family life and getting a garden in and work, etc... I just plain forgot about. I loved this picture though I cannot really explain it. Its just a funny, what? I did that? sort of pic that I felt fit in well with the idea of April and April Fool’s Day. In any case its a US Navy stenciled MB as well. Maybe he was just discharged and was proving that he could still drive a jeep no hands? Tomorrow I’ll be back with a special email that I received from a fan and don’t forget that even though we are into the year, you can still order a 2012 TOJ.com calendar! Thanks for hanging there while I was (and still am...) updating the site. Its taken me awhile. there is alot of work that needs to be by virtual ‘hand’ and so its been a bit of a slog. I hope to finish up with 99% of it by the end of the weekend. As I keep saying there’s alot new to come here, so stay tuned!