A comic book and a truck.
Around 25 years ago I was with several friends at a sprawling new and used comic book, game and music shop by the name of Jelly's; residents of Honolulu at the time will remember that wonderful place before area development forced it out of its near Ala Moana location (twice) and into its slow decline in Pearl City.

While I was busy haggling over the price of a 1964 vintage Risk board game (I ended up nabbing it for $5 - and the card deck inside was still sealed when I got home and opened it up: score!) another friend was lifting some obscure new indy comic book from its hidey-hole among its thousands of other plastic sleeved neighbors and calling out to me, "hey, I dare you to buy this!" After giving the cover a cursory glance, I laughed and said, "sure; I'll take that one." I figured with the amazing find I had just acquired, losing some money on a crappy indy comic was an appropriate penance.

It was a new copy of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, #1; the good, non-Archie series. 6 months later, with new issues being released and the first printing of the first issue already being valued at over $400, I told my friend to track down more impulse buys for me. "Just pull another one from the rack; it'll be a hit in a couple of months, guaranteed."


7 years ago I visited a friend in AZ who was driving several for-sale Pinzgauers around the town of Prescott and, after spending a few hours that week behind the wheel of a 712K (radio wagon, full steel shell) I knew I must have one. I returned to CO and contacted a local Pinzgauer dealer, who arranged several test drives in both M- and K-wagons. I selected the one I wanted, added a few convenience and comfort options on the checklist and spent a few weeks on the paperwork, title transfer and registration before taking delivery and preparing to drive my truck along the back roads home, the better to avoid the crazies on the interstate.

As I arrived at the dealer's lot, among the scores of other surplus military vehicles I saw a tiny, bright yellow utility truck which, the dealer explained to me, was the Pinzgauer's precursor and known as the Haflinger. The model I was staring at had a combination of rare factory installed options which made it particularly appealing; it was the later Series 2 chassis with a polyshell/fiberglass cab, a longer wheelbase for a more useful loading bed, and a PTO for attachment of whatever it is you connect a PTO to.

I didn't really think about all those bits, or the near-$18,000 I had just dropped on licensing, registration, insurance and purchase of my Pinzgauer, or the $12,000 the Haflinger's window tag was commanding. I just knew it was cute - and I wanted it. I turned to the dealer and said, "oh hell; wrap it up".

Did it completely flatten my finances? Yes, and then some. Have I ever regretted my impulse purchase? No; not even when driving up the Rampart road in winter with no heat and covered in layers of cotton and wool with my arm hanging out over the no-window summer door with chill winds filling the cab.
( Felis Concolor, Sat 23 May 2009, 18:43, 4 replies)

You sound like
An American version of what we term in the UK, a Landrover Freak.

I'm still trying to convince her indoors that a FC101 is an appreciating investment....
(Sir Tainley Barking Ezekiel 23:20, Sun 24 May 2009, 0:24, closed)

I want one of those
I can't afford it. Pinzgauer or FC101... Either way, it's going to cost me far too much cash and will take me a loooong time to convert to my needs.
(Potty Jag har smör i min rumpspringa, Sun 24 May 2009, 8:02, closed)

The Offroaders
It's gripped... sorted... let's offroad!
(spankfrencer, Sun 24 May 2009, 10:19, closed)

Jelly's and a ...
click!

Jelly's has opened up off Ala Moana Blvd again. Sent on a mission by sis and found an out-of-print ukulele song book and paid cover for it though it had a bit of mysterious/sinister staining on the edge. Perhaps a month later, the publisher released a second printing for $10 less. It's not spiral bound like the first ed. is, though, so hard to use, actually.

I think I shall have "oh hell; wrap it up" envy now.
( kila is reading clocks upside-down as usual, Mon 25 May 2009, 23:55, closed)