Steve,
Any chance that was "Studabaker Hoch", fantastic new superhero of the current economic slump? He was born next to the frozen beef pies at the Boneys' Market. I hear Billy the Mountain lives kinda near you?
Brian Baylis La Mesa, CA Saw it performed live at Pauley Pavillion UCLA, 1972. Really.
>
> This happened a couple weeks ago. I would have shared the story
> earlier, but life has been complicated, and it's taken a while for
> my rear end to heal.
>
> I bought a Gran Sport derailleur on eBay for my 1959 Allegro. When
> it arrived, I was a little disappointed to see that one of the
> pullies had been replaced by an incorrect one, whose center hole
> was too large, so it didn't fit properly. Well, OK; I decided to
> make a bushing so the pulley would fit, for now, and keep an eye
> open for a replacement. I measured the hole, chucked a piece of
> steel rod in my little lathe, and started to turn it down.
>
> The lathe is in the garage, and since it was a nice day, the
> garage door was about two thirds open. Right outside the door is a
> small bush, which always seems to be full of sparrows. At one
> point, I heard a loud thrashing sound, looked around, and saw a
> large, red-tailed hawk tumble out of the bush, apparently lose his
> orientation, and fly straight into the garage, directly at me. The
> hawk saw that he was on a collision course with my face and put
> out his claws, ready for the impact. I swear, he had a look of
> surprise which might have even outdone mine.
>
> I ducked. The hawk flew over my head, panicked, and started flying
> wildly around the garage. I ran out of the garage, stumbled, and
> fell ignominiously on my tush, just in time to see the hawk
> rediscover the open door and head for the sky.
>
> But all's well that ends well. My bruised rear end has healed, and
> yesterday I saw the hawk perched on our power lines, by all
> appearances healthy, uninjured, and well fed on sparrow tartare.
>
> The derailleur is working fine, too.
>
> Steve Maas
> Long Beach, California