Chuck’s Magical Machine

 Our hosts Chuck and Ann in Cortez were so gracious and we felt so welcome to be guests in their house. You could tell their home was designed to accommodate guests. For example in my assigned room when it was time for lights out I was astonished to see hundreds of stars shining overhead. The next day I asked Ann about this and she said that was one of her grandkids rooms and her daughter had applied glow in the dark stars to the bedroom ceiling. 

Ann prepared the best meals for us and Chuck shared some of his interests with us. What interests a retired dentist? Would it be antique and classic cars? He has reduced his stable of cars down to 4 at the present time, a 1948 Willys, 2 1955 Chevrolets and a 1930 Dodge.




One evening our conversation turned to my interest in antique engines and I told him aboutk attending a rally at the Florida Flywheelers site near Fort Mead where there are plenty of activities around antique engines of all kinds. Chuck disappeared into his basement and brought out a curious contraption. He has acquired it during his travels to Ethiopia. We took it outside on the patio and he gave me a demonstration of his Stirling engine fan powered by a kerosene burner. For this demonstration Chuck used a blowtorch.





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