Scott, you got it all exactly right.
I got my private license in 1967, owned a 62 Mooney B model with a friend for 12 years. We payed $7500 for it in 1969.
I bought a 1965C Mooney in 1983 for $18000 put all the mods on it and flew it till 1994. I checked and It is still flying out in Arizona.
We had real freedom back then, the FAA actually promoted aviation and I always wondered why nobody bothered us.
Then the gift of 911 happened for the US dictators, and instead of treating us with respect they started treating American citizens like criminals.
Remember when the Chicago mayor Daley and his gang of terrorists destroyed Meigs field and nobody went to jail, just like the Wall Street thieves.
I am now 74 and still in good shape, have been renting for a long time, but I sure miss flying a Mooney.
My wife and I have been looking for an older Mooney for our last hurrah but can't really trust the government and the Wall Street manipulators, sooooooooooooooo?