As much as I dislike the idea of turning into an extra cranky version of the late Andy Rooney, as time goes on, I truly believe that in many ways the devices and technologies we used in years past were better than what we have today. Or, at least they were easier for me to understand and use. Take outboard motors. The DNA of the Engebretson family has always required that male members must own a functional outboard motor, preferably a Johnson, with which to propel our boats into angling misadventures. In my case, it was a 5-horse 1949 Johnson Sea Horse. This motor has been in our family since it was new, and always started and ran well, even after all the paint had been scraped off. However, like everything that is more than 60 years old, the mighty Johnson has lost its thrust. After a couple of visits to the outboard MD, it was determined that the ignition points (remember those?) were defective. A determined search of the Internet and
numerous telephone calls yielded no replacement part availability, so it was time to buy a new motor.