The Mercedes is now undead. I cleaned electrical connections, turned off all the mysterious switches on the dashboard and gave it a jump. Damned thing started right up. Pretty cool.

The ships Dad put in the bottles are pretty cool. For weeks leading up to Christmas he kept telling me that Wakana's gift required some assembly. Then he would give an evil laugh. Well, as it turns out he built the ship and got it into the bottle but forgot to mount the flagstaff with the Japanese flag. He provided it with a note saying he expected me to put the flag in place.

BUT! The cork he installed in the neck of the bottle is a solid plug of wood with a toggle at right angles glued into a hole on the INSIDE of the bottle. There is no way in heaven or hell that I will be able to install the flagstaff. So, of course, I have to try. Wish me luck.