THE WEEK THAT WAS

Thank God it’s Over.

I’m speaking of the incessant string of politial ads that have assaulted our ears over the past few months. And when you consider the spin and the ‘out of context’ sound bites, 90% of what we’ve heard from both sides was nothing more than a poorly disguised pack of lies. But it’s over now, and I hope all of you have voted, and voted for a loud repudiation of the Obama agenda.

Going from politics to reality, I must report on our reality during the last week of October in particular. We readied our travel trailer for removal from Spaulding Lake RV Park and storage until January.
This didn’t go without some minor problems.

I had purchased a new hitch with easy to use load levelers. The reason for needing a new hitch was the result of some moron moving the travel trailer (not very far) without the load levelers in place. This moron assumed since he didn’t have to go more than a ½ mile, what could possibly go wrong. So much for assumptions. Anyway, I like the new levelers. Very easy to put on and take off. Now I’m trying to rationalize my stupidity. How’d I do???

It took us awhile to hook up and get the load levelers in place. Of course we had to pull it for 12 miles to my favorite hitch store (Dan’s Hitch). Dan had to make the adjustments so that hitch, trailer and the truck were all in sync. It did give me pause when upon entering Dan’s, I was greeted with “hi Jim”! This may be something I would look forward to at Cheers, but not at Dan’s Hitch. Anyway, we left Dan’s and parked the trailer at our storage area. We said goodbye to the Sunset Trail until we ‘dig it out’ in January. Yes, I did winterize.

Well, the fun was just beginning. Early the next week we woke up to
discover we had no hot water. Our hot water heater isn’t even 2 years old. Of course Lowes told us it wasn’t under warranty. Whatever gave me the idea that it would be? Lowes told us to call the manufacturer, Whirlpool. We did, and they trouble shot with us to try and re-light the pilot. It wouldn’t light.

Whirlpool told us they would have someone come out the next day to diagnose the problem. But, the next morning when we awoke, we discoverd we had no heat. Mary Ellen had what I would call a “blinding glimpse of the obvious”. Of course this blinding glimpse never occurred to yours truly. Maybe, there was no gas coming into our house. Before the Whirlpool guy arrived, I called them and told them we thought we had figured out the problem. We called NIPSCO, our crack gas provider.

NIPSCO arrived and informed us (as Mary Ellen predicted) we had a problem in the gas line. The next thing we knew, there were four NIPSCO trucks out front. One of these was towing a back hoe. They marked the gas line and began to dig. So much for “curb appeal”.
They found the problem and replaced ‘something’. I didn’t know what he was talking about.

They turned the gas on to the house and we thought our problems were over. NIPSCO re-lit both the pilots. But not so fast, Buzzard Breath! When NIPSCO re-lit the furnace he discovered a gas leak. This meant turning off both the water heater and the furnace!

Furnace repairman came the next day and replaced what he referred to as a relief valve. It was a large part. I would never have called it a valve, but who am I to argue with an expert. He relit the furnace pilot and we again had heat. But, no hot water yet. The next day the gentleman from Whirlpool came to “repair” the hot water heater. Turns out there was nothing to repair. He simply relit the pilot and the hot water heater came to life. But WAIT. The saga continues.

While the hot water guy was re-lighting the pilot he noticed a separation in the vent pipe. Its that sheet metal pipe that removes the bad stuff like carbon monoxide and sends it away. Because we had this gap, he recommended we shut off BOTH PILOTS. I expressed my disbelief in a language I don’t think he understood. Of course this gentlemen didn’t
work on vent pipe!

Mary Ellen and I had had enough. After all of this we still had no heat and no hot water. We decided WE could re-attach this vent pipe and re-lite the pilots. After struggling with it for an hour and using various tools we finally closed the gap. We sealed it with an aluminum tape that held it in place and WE re-lit both of the pilots. So far we have both heat and hot water!

I’m proud to announce the opening of M&J heating and cooling repair shop. We’ll specialize in re-lighting pilots and taping vents! I know this is a small niche, but there is a need out there! Right?

It’s the day after the election, but I’m disappointed. In our own district, the democratic incumbent got back in, and on a national level I can’t believe that Reid, Boxer, Frank and several other of the ‘usual suspects’ were returned to Washington. But, at least we took back the House. Not nearly the massacre I was hoping for. There are far too many government dependent people being ‘bussed’ to the polls. Far too many morons being allowed to vote. Hopefully the majority in the House is able to put a stop to some of the socialistic agenda of the current White House. Let’s hope so. I’m already anticipating 2012!

On a brighter side, we’ve had four ‘lookers’ come through our house. One of these was very interested, but no offers yet. I’m not too optimistic on selling it during the winter. We’ll just have to wait until spring I guess, but at least there are some shoppers out there.

Well, as a great man once said, “I have had about all I can take of myself”.

jim

Craigslist Expertise 101

For those of you who have gotten into the Craigslist craze, none of this will come as much of a shock. First of all I suggest you don’t get frustrated. Take it from one whose frustration level requires just a slight deviation from the norm to cause outbursts of a magnitude exceeded by few earthquakes. It was so frustrating that I actually quit trying to get connected and get a few items listed.

After a week of brooding about my lack of competence, I gave it one more try. This time I took great care with each step of the process, and it worked. I still think I did it correctly the first time (naturally). The reason for my thinking this way is a result of my going to the ‘customer comment’ section of Craigslist. There were numerous people who claimed they followed the process, but none of their items posted. The answer was the same in each case. I was advised to wait 45 minutes and attempt to re-post the items. Obviously, a lot of people had the same problem I did.

So Craigslist is a great and free way to advertise items. Thusfar I’ve sold five items, with six items that haven’t sold. I still have over ten items I haven’t posted yet. I like to do them in batches of five or six.

I’ve discovered what I consider a rather wierd phenomana or social commentary that I wasn’t expecting. One of the first items I listed with a picture (I always post a photo and complete description) was a three piece wicker furniture set. This included two chairs with cushions and a coffee table. I priced the three pieces at $30. The next morning, thirteen people said they were interested or actually wanted to know when they could pick it up. Great! I responded via e mail to each of these people. I told them what my phone number was and suggested they call me when they were ready to come over so that I could let them know if I still had it. I sat back expecting to spend the next hour fielding phone calls. Do you know that NONE of these people called or e mailed me anymore. I did sell the wicker to one of the guys who did some painting for us.

This scenario repeated itself with the treadmill I had for sale. As of this morning there were ten people who expressed interest. I responded to all ten as I always do. NONE of these people ever re-contacted me. I did sell the treadmill today. The guy who bought it e mailed me late this morning and was here by noon to pick it up.

I guess I’m basing my reaction to these people on my own, and I thought most people’s, method of Craigslist searching and buying.
If I see an item I want, and the price is right, I would contact the person selling it and arrange to come take a look at it. Oh no. This apparently isn’t the modus operendi of your typical Craigslist shopper. I don’t get it. I’m thinking of doing a study on the twenty five potential buyers that I’ve encountered. I frankly don’t get it.

My next adventure will be putting our house on Craigslist. I figure I’ll have 500 respondents, none of whom will ever come to look at it. I’ve written my experience with Craigslist for any of you that may want to take a crack at posting some of your items. Don’t get frustrated, and don’t get too excited when twenty people SEEM to be buyers. They’re just lonely people who need some hi-tech social interaction. They aren’t into hi-touch. They prefer the hidden environment of their computer.

Good luck.

jim

LUNACY

“There is a tide in the affairs of man that taken at the crest leads on to greatness”. This quote is one of my favorites. As a metaphor it speaks to much of what we are facing now.

When the current occupant of the White House began his regime in January of 2008, he had the opportunity for greatness. His choice was to focus on his ideology rather than listening to the people and applying common sense to his agenda items. In other words, what we now have is a “tsunami of idiocy” eminating from the White House and rubber stamped by a moronic liberal congress.

The major cuprits are of course Obama, Reid and Pelosi, or ORP. Orp puts me in mind of someone throwing up, and that’s what I feel like doing whenever I hear whatever they have to say. To remind you of some memorable sound bites from the wicked witch of the west, I can’t help but think of her now famous quote prior to the healthcare bill passing. She said, I kid you not, “we have to pass healthcare for you to know what’s in it.” Can you believe it? These people represent us! Believe me I would rather represent myself. I certainly have said some stupid things in my life, but I don’t think I’ve ever come close to this outrageous comment.

There are thirty mosques in New York City. I have no problem with having thirty one. I do have a problem with it sitting on the graves of thousands of victims of 9/11. I really believe the guy (eman) who is spearheading this mosque is “flipping off “ the U.S.A. Of course Obama endorsed this mosque prior to denying he had endorsed the wisdom of its location. Why did he have to get involved. This is a NYC issue. The White House should have remained silent. Why didn’t he? Cause he loves to talk. And, whenever he speaks without a teleprompter he puts his foot in his mouth. Of course I could site some examples of ‘foot in mouth’ even with a teleprompter. What’s with his apologizing for the U.S. Has he ever said what he is proud of about the U.S.? NO. When it comes to leadership this guy doesn’t have a clue.

Obama is “managing” the United States, rather than behaving as a leader. There is a great quote that says, “managers play checkers, leaders play chess”. Obama is playing Chutes and Ladders with our future. God knows what he’ll do before we can get a leader in the White House. He has more than two years left. Getting rid of his “rubber stamps” in congress is our only hope for surviving the next couple years.

God bless the U.S.A.

jim

The Reign of Audacity Continues

This has been the busiest summer I can remember. We’ve been soooo busy de-trashing the house. Yes, we’re still at it. It’s endless. On the positive side, we’re making progress. The family room and kitchen have been painted. We’re having a new front door installed and the house power washed. Coming up shortly we’re planning to have a ‘tag sale’. We’d like to have the house on the market by mid September. We have decided on our apartment. It’s not at the location I originally said. Not that it really matters to any of you. But, I’ll tell you anyway. It’s called the Highlands. It’s owned and managed by the same company that manages Arbor Lakes. This one is almost identical, but in a better location. Closer to Wal Mart!!

With all the house stuff going on, we’ve managed to squeeze in three trips to Ohio. With Mary Ellen’s sister having a stroke in the Phillipines, my sister moving from her home to a wonderful retirement community with lots of activities, and our house of course, there hasn’t been a lot of time for anything else. Carol is recovering nicely. My sister has started to feel better about her decision. She had a little trouble leaving her home of 50 years, but now she loves where she is.

With all that, we’ve managed to have a couple months of camping. The month of June and again in August we had our camper at Spaulding Lake in Niles, MI. It’s only 20 miles from home and we’ve spent a lot of time commuting. At least it seems like a “summer home” that we can escape to, but we probably shouldn’t have booked the month of August with everything that’s going on.

I’ve told you all of the above as an excuse (to myself) for not doing any writing this summer. But I can no longer remain silent.

What is happening? The United States isn’t what it was just two years ago, and it’s getting worse by the hour. Did you hear about the young people who were told they could not sing the ‘national anthem’ on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial? If that’s not enough, how about another group who were told they could not say the Lord’s Prayer on the steps of the Supreme Court.

We have a resident at 1600 Pensylvania Ave. who couldn’t attend the national prayer breakfast in Washington. I can’t remember any previous president who has opted out of this. Yet, he did have time to attend a Ramadan Dinner!! What’s up with that? During that dinner he made time to express his support of building a Mosque at the site of a radical Islamic attack in September of 2001. Of course when this president didn’t have his Islamic audience giving him a standing O, he started to backtrack on his previous statement. This guy is a disaster.

In November we all have a chance to rid the country of ‘his’ rubber stamps in congress. Throw them all out. I pray that California and Nevada have the votes to get rid of those two morons, Pelosi and Reid. I’m not totally confident since I have no control over this. However, I do have some say in Indiana. Donnely won’t hold on to his seat if my vote counts for anything.

Let’s get involved and turn things around. I really don’t believe we can tolerate the spending and taxation that’s only going to get worse for us, our kids, and our grandkids.

More to come....I’ve only just begun.

jim

CAROL

July has been an incredibly busy month thus far. So busy I haven’t even thought about blogging. And then I thought how sad all of you must be. Today I decided to change all that by sitting down at the old laptop and cranking out another blog.

We finished up our June/July camping expedition at Spaulding Lake. We really enjoyed our month there, even though we had a few tornado warnings and one real nasty storm that managed to miss our camper. We plan to return for another month probably for the month of August.

Even though I think we know where our apartment will be, we did check out several other possibilities. Mary Ellen always tells me that we have to ‘shop’. She has accused me (unfairly) that I don’t ‘shop’, I ‘buy’. This may be the case, but it’s interesting that we seem to end up buying whatever I originally wanted to buy. However, I have to admit we did find another apartment complex that we liked as much as Arbor Lakes. It’s called the Highlands. The Highlands is in NW Elkhart, Arbor Lakes is in SE Elkhart. They are both managed by the same company, so the apartments are very similar. They both are well shaded. The grounds are manicured. They both have security and full time maintenance. We are slowly getting the house ready to put on the market. The next step is to have some repairs and painting done. We’re gradually de-cluttering. It seems I mention de-cluttering every time I write. Some day I hope to write that it’s DE-CLUTTERED.

We’ve been to Stow, OH a couple times in the past few weeks. My sister, Pat, fell and got a few bruises; nothing broken. However, she has complained the last few months about weakness in her legs. This is obviously why she fell. She now is at a rehab facility getting some physical therapy. Hopefully this will allow her to get around much better.

While we were in Stow last weekend, we got another shock. This time it was my sister-in-law, Carol. Some of you know Carol. She spent a couple weeks with us at Emerald Beach the last two years. Anyhow, she has been in Manila the last few weeks. Her husband, Larry, died 11 years ago. He was from the Philippines. Carol has been back there several times. This time her daughter Mary and her husband, Doctor Marty invited her to go with them. Both of Mary’s kids also made the trip. Elizabeth is 16 and her brother, Daniel, 14. Last Saturday, Marty returned to the U.S. He could only stay for two weeks. On Sunday, Mary Ellen got a call from Marty saying that her sister had a stroke. Needless to say we were very upset by the news. When Marty called he didn’t know any medical details. All we knew was the Carol’s speech was slurred and she had some weakness on the right side. They began running all sorts of tests as you can imagine. They all were normal. The only test they hadn’t done was probably the most diagnostic, the MRI. The reason for not doing the MRI immediately was that this particular hospital doesn’t have an MRI machine. They would have to schedule it at another hospital. Carol’s speech and movement improved. She no longer has any symptoms of a CVA. This hospital sounds like something we’ll have here when “Obamacare” takes over. Cash up front. They won’t see you in the ER until you’ve paid. Mary got Carol a deluxe room. A deluxe room provides you with a cup and two other minor items. Mary had to bring a towel and soap from the Hotel!! The MRI was scheduled for last Wednesday, but didn’t come to pass. Manila was under a typhoon warning! It turned out to be a tropical storm, but sounds like it was a nasty one. Forty million people had no power. Roads were flooded and trees were down. Phone service was dead. Needless to say the MRI could not be done as scheduled. The hospital and hotel were without power or phones for a short period of time. NO AIR CONDITIONING! Manila is a tropical island. Can you say HOT? The latest communication (yesterday) sounded very promising. The MRI has been done, but no results as yet. This will determine when Carol will be discharged and how soon she can fly. You can imagine how anxious she is to get back to Stow, OH. She feels fine, and wants to get out of the hospital. Better yet she wants to get on Delta and get home. The kids are headed home. Mary flew with them to Hong Kong and put them on a plane for home. Mary is now headed back to be with her Mom. I can hardly wait for the stories Carol will tell. None of us ever know when something like this can happen. My advice is not to be in Manila when it does. Being sick while being away from home is never good, but being out of the country is a whole different ballgame. We’re all hoping to see her soon in Stow, OH.

jim

CREEPING CHANGE WITHOUT MUCH HOPE

It’s Sunday, and it’s raining again. Any time there’s a thunderstorm, there’s a good chance of it being SEVERE! At least that has been the case of late. This has been the wettest June ever in Indiana. It wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for the nasty humidity and high temps. Well enough of my complaining about the weather and onward to complaining about something more important.

Does anyone else feel there is far more commercial time and far less program time on both TV and Radio? It wouldn’t be bad if the same commercials weren’t repeated at each break. On average, there are 5 minutes of commercials for every 10 minutes of programming. It’s making Tivo more and more attractive. There is no Tivo for radio. Damn! It may reach a point where no one is seeing or hearing what these advertisers have to say. Is it possible the radio and TV stations are getting a bit greedy and overselling commercial time. They wouldn't do that! If they keep this up, there will be 24 hour a day infomercials. Oh I forgot. Some stations already have back to back to back infomercials!!

I saw some good news on Face Book. I follow the Navarre Beach comments. Today they showed pictures of Navarre Beach from yesterday. They show a large number of people in the water and on the beach. No sign of oil or tar balls. I’m a little confused. I’ve heard there is oil on the beaches of Pensacola and Destin. Since Navarre Beach is right between Pensacola and Destin I’m curious how Navarre was skipped? What am I missing here?

Most of the news of the oil spill is not good. If any of you have seen MSNBC’s comparison of the oil spill off Mexico in 1979 and this year’s oil spill off the coast of Florida, you should check it out on You Tube. It’s fascinating. The exact same attempts to stop the oil and clean the beaches are being used today. Was nothing learned? Silly question. Obviously not. The technology for digging deeper has improved dramatically. The technology for dealing with an oil spill is the same as it was in 1979. Pretty sad, but not surprising. When do we ever learn from history. Another silly question. Perhaps it has something to do with the re-writing of history?

This is a warning. It’s incremental! It’s a little bit more loss of freedom each day, week, month and year. Hopefully none of us wake up one day under a dictatorship. If we all keep saying, “oh well, it could be worse”, tyranny will slip in the back door. Those of you familiar with events leading up to the holocaust will know what I mean. The Germans told the Jews they could no longer have radios. The Jews said, “we can deal with that”. As we all know, that was only the beginning. Get involved. Make sure this doesn’t happen for the sake of our children and grandchildren. I won’t be around to witness this, but my kids will. Remember, I said it’s incremental.

jim

POWER OUTAGE?

So much has happened since my last blog. Mary Ellen and I drove to Carlyle, IL for Diane & Jeff’s 25th anniversary party. We had a wonderful time meeting some of Diane and Jeff’s family and friends. We’ve heard so much about them while with Diane and Jeff in Navarre, FL. I got to meet Diane’s sister who is a nun. We’ve referred to her in FL as ‘sister-Sister’! I asked Jeff where she was in the crowded banquet hall. Jeff told me to look for someone who looked “nunly”. I found her!

Since Friday night the power has been out at the RV campground in Niles, MI. This is day 4! No one seems to know when the power will come on. I have a feeling I & M is somewhat disorganized. I heard from one of the campground workers that a crew that came in from OH had pulled out because they got no direction from I & M. The OH crew said they were ready and willing to help, but found no one who could or would tell them what to do. Another example of disorganization might have been what I witnessed this morning. There were SIX I & M trucks parked at one spot. None of the workers seemed to be doing anything. What’s that about?

Keep in mind that anything I write is my perspective. I don’t expect all of you to agree with me. I apologize in advance if I offend any of you., but do you sense that the White House is somewhat lacking in leadership. This is especially evident in their handling (or lack thereof) of this oil spill in the Gulf. The criticism of the president is now coming primarily from those who supported him. People like Oberman, Carville, Matthews and many others on the Left. If this doesn’t wake up the White House I believe the situation is hopeless. Gallup conducted a poll asking people to rate the handling of Katrina and the oil spill. Fifty one percent of the people said Bush handled Katrina better than the current administration handled the oil spill. Thirty one percent said the oil spill was handled better than Katrina. The other 18 percent were too dumb to have an opinion. Either that or they hadn’t heard about either one! I could go on with other examples of incompetence, but I’m sure you’ve heard them all by now. When Bush was in office he waved the Jones Act so that foreign ships could help with the rescue of people. With this administration the Jones Act is being used as an excuse for not allowing foreign tankers to assist with the skimming of oil from the waters of the Gulf. The Dutch were one of the first to offer help. This came a couple days after the spill. Unbelievable! If anyone can give me an example of ONE THING that has been handled well during the spill, please let me know. I think the more serious ‘power outage’ has occurred at the White House.

jim

What's Happening?

It has been awhile since last I blogged. I’ve been on a two month sabbatical. Sabbatical sounds so much more professional than ‘I’ve been too lazy to write’. So anyway I got the urge today. It helps that we’re at a campground in Niles, MI and it’s raining. In fact it’s cold and raining. It won’t reach 70 degrees today. This is following a week or more of temps in the 80’s.

Since we returned from FL in April we’ve been ‘decluttering’ the house. We’d like to have it ready to put it on the market in August. As many of you know, this is a lot of work. After living in the same house for 34 years you tend to accumulate so many things that you no longer need. In fact we probably didn’t need them whenever it was we purchased them. Now it’s a question of 3 piles—trash, goodwill, store or move. Yeah, I know that’s 4 piles. It’s worse than I thought!

We had our annual family gathering for the Indy 500 on May 30th. All 4 sons and 9 grandkids! We gather at my son Dan’s house in Westfield, IN. His wife Jill is a great hostess. Food and drink were in abundance from Friday till Monday. This is the first year in about 30 years that Mary Ellen and I didn’t go to the race. I’m getting too old to do all that walking and climbing the bleachers, not to mention driving that 500 miles! We were really glad since the temperature reached 90 degrees at the track!! If I had gone I’d probably be on a permanent sabbatical! We actually had a job to do since we didn’t go to the race. We stayed home with our youngest grand daughter, Ally. She was much better than the race.

The rest of our time has been spent with doctor appointments. It’s pretty disgusting, but I guess it’s necessary.

This morning we met our friends, Joe & Julie Lee at Next Door Neighbor. It’s a neighborhood bakery/cafe with a small but delicious menu. We had a good time as usual. Some of the time was spent discussing medical issues, but only about 10% of the time. That’s not bad since doctor appointments have occupied 90% of our time over the past few days. Joe burned 3 CD’s for me. I’ve only listened to part of the Celtic Women CD. The other two we’ll listen to on our way to Quincy, IL. We’re attending the 25th anniversary party for a couple of our good friends from Navarre Beach . Sure beats doctor appointments.

Today has been a beautiful day at the Spaulding Lake RV Park. I’m sitting outside right now overlooking one of the three spring fed lakes. Mary Ellen had to go back home tonite because she has pre-op blood work tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. We’re only 45 minutes from home, so it makes going back and forth as needed rather easy. Since I’m 'baching' it tonite, it’s almost time for me to microwave something. I’m hungry.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t comment on the oil spill in the Gulf. For those of us who winter on the Gulf this disaster is especially depressing. But, (tongue firmly planted in my cheek) it’s good to know the White House has been on top of this since day one!!! Now doesn’t that make all of us feel so much better?

Jim

Pause and Stare

As I grow older I have noticed that I make more ‘mistakes’. It seems to be an exponential rate of speed and frequency. These mistakes are not the errors I made on quizzes or tests in a previous life, though I’m fairly certain those mistakes have increased as well. No, these mistakes would more accurately fall into the category of slip ups, blunders and oversights. Perhaps an example would help.

When I have driven my truck to a particular destination and intend to ‘detruck’; if we can ‘deplane’, should we not be able to ‘detruck’? But I digress. Since I normally want my truck to be locked while I enter a store, I generally hop out (that’s a misnomer,since I no longer ‘hop’), flip the switch on the door and proceed into the retailer of my choice. It is at this point in the past where my ‘heart would skip a beat’ fearing I had locked my keys in the truck. A couple times in the past few years my greatest fear became a reality.

I’ve asked myself why does this occur more frequently than in the past. I have come up with a couple reasons for the uptick in frequency:
1. It’s to easy to do
2. I’m older with fewer brain cells
3. For some unknown reason I’m in a hurry

But, as you might expect, I have a solution. It’s not a brilliant solution, which no doubt surprises some of you with even fewer brain cells. No, it is not brilliant, but rather extremely simple. Most superlative solutions are simple in nature. The solution I have been using is ‘slow down’. This is rather simple for us “elderly” people. As a demonstration of how slowing down works, I’ll refer back to my ‘detrucking’. I remove the keys from the ignition, open my door, step out of the truck, and just before I push the lock button I stop, stare at the keys in my hand, push the button, and proceed to my destination. The secret is the ‘pause & stare’ prior to hitting the button. In order to become proficient you must practice.

The technique also works if you decide to go from your kitchen to your den to retrieve something from the den that really belongs in the kitchen. It happens! Before taking your first step from the kitchen to the den, that’s right, ‘pause and stare’. In this case you will have nothing to actually stare at! However, you must ‘pause and stare’ at the mental image of that which you wish to retrieve. I never said this was easy.

I’m sure while reading this you’ve thought about opportunities for using this technique. However, by the time you’ve finished reading you have forgotten what these were. Correct? What should you have done when the use of this brilliant technique popped into your mind. ‘Pause and Stare’...I do think you’ve got it.

jim
4/23/2010

Rules of Writing

I’ve read an article entitled '12 1/2 Rules for Writing'. One of the rules said you must write everyday in order to improve your writing skills. The article goes on to say a writer reads, a writer reads a lot, a writer reads ‘all the time’. I’ve started doing something else the article suggested. I’m developing a list of words ‘that I like’. I’ve always had favorite words, but I’ve never developed a list of them. Now I am.

Don’t you just love some of these words? Words like beaucoup and poppycock for example. The trick is to find opportunities to use these words in my writing. I look forward to the time I’m able to use feckless and rectitude for example. I’ve always been fascinated with words, their origins, and of course their definitions. I think I’ve found a new hobby!

I was reading about psychological testing. They discussed ‘illusory superiority’ and ‘illusory inferiority’. These two fancy sounding words, are of course juxtaposed. Illusory superiority defines a person who believes they are far more competent than they really are. Illusory inferiority, as you’ve probably deduced, is quite the opposite. This humble individual (I can’t help thinking of myself), believes they aren’t nearly as competent as those around them when they really are. I believe I fall on both sides of these definitions.

Today I drove to Wana RV. We bought our Sunset Trail trailer from them in late 2006. My reason for visiting Wana was to determine if they would make some repairs on our trailer. They wrote up a work order to handle the repairs in May. While there I couldn’t resist taking a look at some of the newest models. They had quite an inventory. There must have been 40 trailers and 5th wheels on their lot. Makes me think people are coming back to RVing. For a rainy and cool day, there were quite a few people looking.

Tomorrow we’re going to Stow, OH and staying with my sister-in-law, Carol, for a few days. Anytime Mary Ellen and I take a road trip you can count on a Casino being involved. This trip is no different. It seems Carol has a ‘comped room’ at the Mountaineer in West Virginia. While Mary and Carol are at the casino, I will be helping my sister Pat sort thru pictures and clippings in an effort to narrow down her collection to a workable amount and eliminate some of the clutter that’s starting to overwhelm her. When I get back home, I have to do the same with the ‘clutter’ of my own!

We're in Stow now. My favorite sister-in-law really caters to me. She had a bag of cheese popcorn waiting for me along with a good bar of my favorite soap for the shower. Of course there were small bagels, peanut butter and orange juice. What more could a guy ask for. She's far too nice to me, but then I deserve it.

The news from the 'casino twins' is not good. When they quit gambling at 9 p.m. last night, I knew things were in the deficit column. They will return to Stow today, assuming they still have an automobile. If they call and ask me to pick them up at the bus station, I'll know things are even worse than I thought!

I've written enough. Rule 13 is: "know when to quit".

jim

HOME

As all of you know, or can imagine, arriving home after 98 days away presents any number of things to do. First there is the unloading of truck and trailer. We had a grand total of 4 large trash bags full of mostly winter clothing to be sorted, washed, ironed or simply hung up. Though our son, Mark, did a great job of sorting the mail while we were gone, we still had to go through it all to make sure we hadn't overlooked anything important. We hadn't.

We've put our trailer in storage for at least a month. It's only a mile from our house which means we can 'visit' whenever we want! We actually went back today to remove a few other things we overlooked when it was parked in front of our house overnight on Friday.

As you may recall, our first two days on the road were challenging to say the least. Days three and four were rather mundane. After staying at Texas T in Tennessee, we stayed at Crossroads RV Park in Elizabethtown, KY. Our last nite on the road was southwest of Indy at a place called Lake Haven Retreat. The only real drawback to this place was the distance from some of the sites to the showers. Some of the sites were at least a half mile from the facilities.

Next on my schedule is the grass! Ugh!. I was hoping the recent 'cold snap' would have killed it all, but alas it survived. I know some of you are cursing me for my lack of interest in yard work. Its never been one of my top ten things to do. If I really thought about it, chances are good it wouldn't make my top 20! Today I did manage to revisit our Lawnboy, change the oil, clean the filter and put in a new spark plug. This was an effort to overcome denial of inevitability. Tomorrow I may even buy gas for it!

Right now I'm watching the final round of the Masters. Lefty is winning, and I think he'll do it. His wife and kids are with him this week. She has been undergoing chemo for her breast cancer over the last several months. Her and the kids being at Augusta had to be a real boost for Phil. Since all of you who care will already know the result by the time you get this, I will drop the subject.

I need all the guys from Emerald Beach to support me in my effort to boycott the ladies' attempt to involve us in their morning exercise. I think we need to organize a competing event for every morning. Something like 'coffee at McDonalds' for example. Anything to get us far enough away and unavailable to the "sisters in sweat". After all, if we were involved they would have to change their name. After Linda created tee shirts with the sweat logo, it would be unfair to her as well. All suggestions for an alternative will be given consideration. They simply want to embarrass us, and prove us to be the slobs that we are. DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN!!!

I've included a few Florida pix from our winter at Emerald Beach. I will do this on each of my posts in the future.

Phil won the Masters!! Till next time.....

Day 2: Texas T

We arrived at the Texas T RV Park at 3 p.m. yesterday. Day two included a couple 'near death' experiences just to spice things up. No tires exploded, so that was good, but two incidents had us holding our breath while standing on the brakes. There was a modular home (oversize load) to the right of me about 25 feet ahead. Suddenly this house was cutting in front of me into my lane. There wasn't an opening to my left so I hit the brakes. It seems a small trailer lost its load right in front of the house thus causing his sudden appearance in my lane. I came withing 5 feet of having the house in our front seat!

It must have been our day for scares. About an hour after incident #1, the same type of thing occurred. A woman in a jeep was to my right driving on the shoulder at a slow rate of speed. Without any signal, she suddenly veered to her left and into my lane. I laid on the horn and started to brake. Apparently she swerved to avoid a tire that was on the shoulder ahead of her. I have no idea why she didn't just stop and wait for my lane to open up, but she didn't. Luckily for her she quickly swerved to her right once she was past the tire. There wouldn't have been any way for me to stop if she hadn't. Needless to say we were both glad to park for the nite.

I must apologize for bad mouthing the Birmingham South RV Park. After we left there and were on the road for a couple hours, Mary Ellen was looking for her small coin purse. She keeps her "gambling money" in it. We checked all over the truck and in the trailer, but no sign of the coin purse. Mary Ellen called the campground, told them what sight we were on, and asked them if they would check the ground and see if they could find the purse. One half hour later they called and said YES they had found it. Normally, Mary Ellen will stay behind when I pull out from a site, just to make sure something like that doesn't happen. This time we forgot. Anyhow, Mary Ellen asked the lady if there was any cash in it. The woman said there was "a wad of cash". Mary Ellen asked her if she would count it. The woman did, and said there was $192! The owner of the Birmingham South RV Park, Jim called back and asked if it would be alright if he wrote us a check for $192 and mailed that along with the purse. We agreed with this solution. So "hats off" to the honest management & employees of the Birmingham South RV Park. This made me very sorry for my low rating of the campground. Jim will be getting a restaurant 'gift card' from Mary Ellen when we get home.

Today will take us as far as Elizabethtown, KY and the Crossroads RV Park. Today looks like a cloudy day. There are supposed to be thunderstorms and wind. Sounds like a fun drive. Maybe today will be incident free.

Till next time, "A gourmet restaurant in Elkhart is one where you leave the tray on the table when you finish eating."

jim

How About Them Bulldogs!!!

Well it's April 5th, the day for our departure from Emerald Beach. Louise stopped by to say goodbye as well as Linda & Ron. They will be at Emerald Beach until May 1st. All of the staff gave us a hug...Marge & Wayne, Providence and Ron. So off we drove at 10 a.m. for a rather short first day (I like to get into it gradually). We're only going to Hope Hull, AL and the Montgomery South RV Park.

The trip was not without incident. We were about 30 miles from our exit when a car slowed next to us. A woman was motioning and pointing down toward the road (not a good sign). Sure enough, we blew a tire on our trailer. We were only a mile from the Greenville exit. We got off and limped to a nearby Wal Mart. I examined the tire and found it gone! We were riding on the rim. What happened next was fortuitous. There was a tow truck in the lot working on a truck tire that looked similar to ours, in other words shredded. We asked the guy if he knew whether Wal Mart sold trailer tires. He didn't know but said he would put on our spare if we could wait a few minutes. We did and he did. In ten minutes we had a tire. However, we now needed a spare. We got directions to a tire store and after getting lost and cruising around downtown Greenville we finally found it. They had a tire and rim. For a mere $166 we were on our way. We lost only an hour or so and eventually arrived at the campground at 3:30.

Speaking of this campground...someone at Emerald Beach recommended this place. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The pull-thrus are stone and not very level, not even close. They do have a very nice shower. It's co-ed and there is only the one shower! The woman in the office was nice, but knew nothing about much of anything. We asked if they had cable. She said (honestly) "I don't know much about cable!" Turns out they only have satellite which you have to pay for. No cable. She called the guy who owns this cow pasture and he said he wouldn't recommend satellite if we were only going to be here for one nite. We put up the antenna, scanned, and came up with only 6 channels. Now that might sound ok, but the ONLY network you can get is CBS. That was the only 'saving grace'. If we couldn't get CBS I'm sure we would have left. Tonite is the NCAA championship between BUTLER and Duke! Bottom line, if your tempted to get off I65 at exit 158 and go to the Montgomery South RV Park, DON'T!

My Son, Dan and his wife and two girls spent two nites with us on the 2nd and 3rd. We had a very nice visit. All five of us watched Butler win the semifinal game by two points. We were going nuts. It made it even more fun since daughter-in-law, Jill is a Butler grad. What a game. I hope tonite is a little less scary. Go Bulldogs!

After suffering through a rather cold February and a March that wasn't a heck of a lot better, the last 4 days saw temps from 85 to 90. We went from furnace to AC overnite. All in all it was a wonderful winter thanks to all our old and new friends. With all our friends planning to return next year, I'm already starting to lay out next year's
itinerary.

Tomorrow we'll go to Texas T RV Park in TN. This is another recommendation, so I have my fingers crossed.

Till next time, "Life is too short to stuff a mushroom."

jim

Moving Out

The exodus has begun. The first of our friends, Russ and Beth Jackson left this morning. We had a large gang of helpful well wishers assembled and watching for any mistakes in their preparations to leave. That's the job of the seasoned camper. When people are coming or going, a large number of eyes are watching and critiquing your every move. This is at least 50% of the daily excitement. Pretty sad isn't it?

Actually we've had a busy week of partying. TC's front porch followed by more drinks and dinner at Helen Back. There were twelve of us and lots of laughs as usual. Friday Diane organized a gathering on the deck at the pavilion. There were sixteen of us, only a couple we could have done without. I won't mention names, but they left at 2:30 a.m. yesterday! Last night after watching the Butler victory, a gaggle of remaining friends went to Johnny Hustons for dinner and the WVU/KY game. West Virginia pulled the upset this time (way to go Big East Conference). Our group consisted of Diane & Jeff, Dave & Janet and Ron & Julie. There were soooo many memorable comments and one liners that I could fill an entire Blog with them. Most of these witticisms came from Dave and therefore didn't pass the PG rating of my "family friendly" Blog. Dave's witty repartee is without peer. His badinage and comedic banter far exceeds most mortals. Dave retired and sold his photography business a few years ago. His specialty was weddings of course. No doubt all of his clients were photographed "sans cheese". The problem most likely was having them compose themselves for the ceremony. Janet, Dave's wife, claims she's only responsible for herself. She takes no responsibility for Dave. They are truly a unique and delightful couple that we'll just have to wait for ours and their return next winter. They are leaving tomorrow.

I forgot to mention the census taker who came by last week. I told him our son had filled out the form in Indiana. He wasn't sure if he could believe me. Perhaps the fact I told him our neighbors (Diane & Jeff) were illegal aliens didn't help my credibility! There are a number of full timers at the campground. Full timers live in their RV's and of course must be counted somewhere unless they stay one campground ahead of the census taker.

Even though the weather this year has many of us saying, 'maybe we'll go to Florida next year', we've nonetheless had a good time and made a number of new friends. Mary Ellen and I were considering someplace new next year, but decided we'd miss too many of the "creatures" we've come to know here in Navarre. I meant 'creatures' in a good way.

Jeff informed me this morning that he has replaced the use of the vulgar expression BS with a less vulgar sounding word. So now anytime you come across an untruth, and you are tempted to use a derogatory and vulgar expression to let people know how you feel about it, simply substitute the word 'pelosi'; as in "I think I just stepped in some 'pelosi'", or "that's just a bunch of 'pelosi'". Simple enough, right. This is probably where I should stop. If I wrote anymore, it would just be so much 'pelosi'.

One important fact I failed to mention. Before Dave got into photography, he actually sold 'pelosi' to farmers!! What a guy!

jim

SAINT PATRICK'S DAY

Ten days have gone by since I last put fingers to keyboard. Even though little has happened since last time, I felt compelled to write something today.

Carol left a week ago. Mary Ellen has lost her casino & wine drinking buddy. That didn't stop us from visiting Beloxi again. We took an overnight bus trip which included three casinos. The bus took us to the Hardrock where we both won a small amount. The Grand was next, and that's where we spent the night. We got $15 slot money at each of the three casinos as well as three buffets. Before noon on our second day the bus took us to our final stop, the Isle. This is the first time that Mary Ellen and I both came back with more money than we took. Total winnings were about $80! I swore I would never eat again after two days during which four buffets were consumed! I have since broken my promise.

Yesterday was the start of the NCAA championship. After one day, my bracket is a mess. ND really disappointed again. They lost to Old Dominion by one point. They were pathetic. I don't know what happened to Luke Harongody. He only managed two points! Not very good for the Big East player of the year. The Big East is playing like they read too many press releases lauding the Big East as the top conference in the world. So far they are one for four. Doesn't sound like the toughest conference in the Nation to me.

Eight of us from the campground decided to go to Macguire's Pub for St. Paddy's day. Big mistake, huge! There were several thousand (slight exaggeration) people trying to get into a bar that probably holds 300. Not good odds. We ended up going across the street to a place called AJ's. When I say across the street, I actually mean one mile away. With a temp of 48 and a wind with the same two digits, I almost froze to death crossing the highway and trying to avoid two school buses that had me in their sites. After coming close to death while trying to avoid frostbite we finally arrived at AJ's. We pretty much decided we should have stayed in Navarre. Maybe if I was thirty years younger this might have been a fun experience. As it was, it was a "near death" experience".

Sunday, those clowns in Washington will finally vote on "Obamacare". I encourage all of you to vote against every incumbent regardless of party. A bunch of new jokers can't do any worse than the slime bags we have in Washington now. If you get the idea I'm disgusted, you're on the right track.

Don't forget to fill out your ten question census form. I've decided to put zero for the number of people living at our Indiana home. I figure the higher the number you report, they'll find a way to put a "per-person tax" on each. After all, it's only fair. Think of the amount of oxygen your using per-person, not to mention the 'deadly CO2' your releasing into the ENVIRONMENT. Global warming and all that crap! Your killing the planet you simpletons!

Back to the brackets for a moment. To show you how bad it gets for this BB expert, one of the teams I had in the final four was knocked out on day one. If ND was bad, Georgetown flat out didn't show up. Ohio U. was in control the entire game. G Town had no defense whatever. I'd love to know where the boys in gray hung out the night before the game. And what's with CBS's crack coverage staying with the KY v E. TN State game. I'd say there were at least four other close games they could have gone to. Did they actually believe the 30 plus lead that KY had in the first half was going to develop into a competitive contest. I say let ESPN handle ALL sporting events! If ND and G Town were bad, CBS was and is pathetic!

Till next time, "there's nothing wrong with California that a rise in the ocean level
wouldn't cure"

JIM

IT'S A BLOG, LIKE

I'm batching it today. The ladies have taken another trip to Biloxi and the SLOTS. I'm sure they'll come home with a bundle of cash...ha, ha, ha!

Another Broken Egg for Breakfast this morning. It's my favorite restaurant in Destin for breakfast. A little pricey though. My omelet and coffee cost me $17! It did include the tip however. I had the distinct honor of sitting at a table next to three young female spring breakers. They provided my entertainment. As I listened to their conversation, I learned a completely new vernacular. 'It was like really like interesting. Their discussion centered around guys, like. There were these guys, like, at a party they went to like last night. Talk about hot, like 100%. They were like studly like, and one of them thought like she might be in love, like. It went on like from there.'

Last year I learned Canadian, eh. This year I've learned like 'girl-talk' 2010! Without the word, "like" those young ladies would have almost zero vocabulary. And to think they were college seniors, like almost ready to graduate. They'll probably graduate "magna cum like"!!

My birthday was a smashing success. In other words I lived to be there. Our friends Diane and Jeff came over for cake and ice cream after dinner at TC's Front Porch. They came with a six pack of St. Pauli NA with a birthday balloon attached. My present from Mary Ellen was The Nook e book reader. It was purchased early so that I could read some books on our way to Navarre. I love it. You can download books to your e book library and read them anytime. I've read about six books on it since we left home. I can lend a book to anyone who has the Nook. After two weeks the book automatically returns to my library. I haven't done that yet, but plan to do it soon. If any of you have a Nook, let me know and I'll send you a list of the books in my library. I'll be glad to let you borrow whatever you want.

Out protest regarding activities did some good. They will continue with donuts and coffee on Wednesdays and exercise every morning. We didn't actually have to block the campground entrance with our bodies. I was kinda like looking forward to a major protest.

That catches you up on all the excitement from here. When you reach 70, almost everthing is exciting. Tomorrow is another trip to Pensacola airport. Carol is leaving for home. Things will be rather quiet around here until Dan and family arrive in April. We look forward to their visit.

Talk with you soon. Till then, "health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in a hospital dying of nothing".

jim

FRIENDS

Our friends Jeanne & Sara left this morning. They were here for three nights. They picked a lousy time to be here since it was two days of rain, wind and cold. We did manage to have them to our place for dinner on Sunday and took them to Pensacola Beach for lunch yesterday. We did have a nice visit in spite of the weather. Of course we were planning to sit outside drinking wine, but that was not to be. Jeanne needs to be at the KOA in Hagerstown, MD by the 15th of March. That's when they open. Sara will drop Jeanne there and head to Charlestown, SC where she will operate as an independent contractor in the training and development arena. Sara is going to be a full time RVer. She got her Florida residency requirements completed while they were here. A lot of RVers use FL as their residence. It saves a great deal on taxes.

Yesterday our friends from Quincy, IL arrived. Jeff and Diane Bloss will be here till the end of March. This morning was coffee and donuts at the Pavilion. Everyone who is anyone at the campground was on hand. Beth and Russ Jackson returned from a week further south. I don't know if it was any warmer down there. We're supposed to have a few days of sunshine starting with today, although the temperatures aren't all that great.

Mary Ellen and Carol skipped exercise class this morning to go shopping in Gulf Breeze. They're checking out the "bargains" at Bells and the Bell's outlet. I'm sure there will be a few items purchased...can you say winter clothes. Speaking of Mary Ellen and her sister, they've made plans to return to a Casino in Biloxi on Monday. I guess they feel they haven't met their 'contributory obligations'. Mary Ellen and I are planning an overnite to Biloxi on the 14th and 15th. A little gambling and a much overdue "bath" for Mary Ellen. She really misses not having a bathtub at the campground. Using the bathtub in our RV requires 'contortionistic flexibility' to enter and exit. Best you just take a shower.

As I write this the sun is shining and the temperature is struggling to reach 50. The only downside is the 20 mph wind that is blowing on a continuous basis. Mary Ellen would say "at least we don't have snow", but personally I'm getting fed up with what's supposed to be FL. We're thinking we may not return to the Panhandle next year; at least not in February. Perhaps we'll head back to Crystal River???

I forgot to mention that Jeff Bloss is such a showoff. He backed their trailer in on the first try. It did my heart good that he had to readjust it since he was too close to the electric box to accommodate their slideout. Of course he didn't follow my example and detach their truck before finding out. Oh no, he couldn't give me the satisfaction of making the foolish blunder that I did. I think I've gone almost three days without doing anything stupid. Mary Ellen may argue this point, but trust me it's true. I'm shooting for an entire week 'sans stupidity'.

We're on the verge of an organized protest and perhaps picketing Emerald Beach RV Park. The reason for our protest is the cancellation of all activities beginning the 15th of the month. Normally activities go through the end of March. The reason for the cancellation is the managers (Wayne & Marge) are going on vacation the last two weeks of March. I'm sorry, but for what we're paying this is a lame excuse. There are other people who work here. I'm thinking we may lie on the concrete at the entrance, thus preventing any RV's from entering. What's the worst that could happen? How about an 85 year old driving a 42 foot RV shortly after taking his numerous medications. I can see the headline now..."Twelve 'former campers' mangled by an enraged octogenarian. Dementia and blindness may have been contributing factors. Protesters were simply impeding progress and should have known better. The RV driver was quoted as saying that when he attempted to stop, his wheelchair came down the aisle and knocked his blind wife off her feet and onto the gas pedal. Police said he did attempt to stop. No charges are pending. Activities are canceled until next season. Flags will be flown at half mast for 15 minutes this morning. It's the least we could do said one of the managers. Electric bills will be sent to next of kin!

Perhaps I went a bit overboard with my protest plan. We may have to call another planning meeting. I'll keep you posted. Till next time, "Psychiatry is the care of the id by the odd."

jim

Wichita

Well its been two weeks since I put fingers to keyboard for blogging purposes. I'm now really in the mood since I no longer have the Wichita speech/workshop occupying my brain space (of which there is less & less each day)! Actually, come to think of it, it's not there is less space, the problem is the space is empty!

I've discovered that my blogging is less about being informative and more about being good therapy for the brain. It's my way of delaying dementia. Having said that, there are a few items I wish to record for historical purposes. My sister-in-law Carol arrived at the Pensacola Airport last night. She will be spending a couple weeks with us. This is the fourth year that Carol has joined us in Florida. We really enjoy having her visit. She and Mary Ellen will be busy with the Casino and Wine routine. They have two bus trips to Biloxi on the agenda. The first one will be this Friday. These always give me some new material to Blog about (if you know what I mean)!

Our good friend Jeanne will be here for three nights starting on the 28th. Jeanne and her daughter, Sara, have been traveling throughout the U.S. since September. Jeanne and Sara have been blogging as they travel about in their RV. We first met Jeanne in 2005 at the KOA in South Bend. Jeanne was a campworker and friend from the start. After the 2006 season she left South Bend for a KOA in Hagerstown, MD. She will work there this coming year as well. I believe she needs to be back in Hagerstown in mid-March. Jeanne is one very talented and fun lady. She recently published her first book which is about living your life to the fullest. She has inspired me to begin organizing my thoughts with the hopes of publishing my own book soon. We've never met Sara, but I have this feeling she will soon be a valued friend as well.

On March 1st, our good friends from last year, Diane & Jeff will arrive. They will be here for the month of March. I know Diane will love meeting Jeanne and Sara. When I think about the potential chemistry among Jeanne, Sara, Diane, Carol and Mary Ellen, it is one scary scenario. Should be fun with perhaps a bottle or two of "cheap wine" being consumed. Wal-Mart has the cheapest wine with a cork on the planet. Anything cheaper would have a 'screw cap'. They tell me it's very good however. After a glass or two it probably tastes like it cost $100 a bottle! Let the games begin.

My Wichita speech went extremely well. There were 350 in attendance in one of the nicest auditoriums I've ever worked. The Mary Jane Teal theater at the Wichita Convention Center was excellent. I gave them two quick breaks during my two hours and thirty minutes up front. They all returned after each break which is always a good sign. I spoke on 'Developing Your Future Leadership'. Several people stopped afterwards to tell me how much they liked my remarks. I finished with only two hours to get to the airport for my flight back to Pensacola, so I didn't have much time to spend with my audience. Other than going thru Atlanta, the trip was seamless with no delays or other problems. Atlanta is worse than O'Hare. If you have connecting flights as I did, they are never on the same concourse. You take the train from one concourse to the other. Once there my gate was always a two mile walk. As all of you who take air travel know, security is a real pain. Shoes off, belt off, hands swabbed, computer out and on, e book reader out and on etc. etc. It's a shame all this is necessary.

My next project is a workshop in Iowa this spring and of course working on my book. I'm shooting for publishing the spring of 2011.

Well it's Wednesday, and that means donuts and coffee in the pavilion. This could well be the highlight of the day. With temps near 70 the last few days, a cold front has moved in with lows in the high thirties in the morning and only 50 for highs during the day. Things are supposed to improve again next week.

In parting let me share this, "the best thing about egotists is they don't talk about others". Talk to you soon.

jim

Back to the Blogosphere

Wow, its been nine days since I last took fingers to keyboard. There hasn't been a great deal to write about unless you consider winter storm warnings in Florida to be worthy of literary effort. Did you notice I just credited myself as being a literary genius? Well I didn't actually say genius until the last sentence. Anyway, the local weather people haven't been this excited since "Ivan". Our weather radio went off at three a.m. this morning warning us of a winter storm scheduled for TONITE at midnite! I can hardly wait to hear when it will go off when it actually gets here. Would you believe all Navarre schools are closed tomorrow? We may not even get any snow near the Gulf. Most, if not all is predicted for north of us.

We've had temps below freezing seven mornings since we've been here. As I told my son, Jim, Florida Sucks! This lousy weather will be with us for at least another week. I know it's much worse at home and especially on the east coast, but this is FLORIDA.

I feel bad for the cities like Mobile, Milton, Fort Walton and Navarre where Mardi Gras parades are scheduled over the next few days. The one in Navarre is on Saturday. A few weeks ago we were planning to go. I just don't want to stand on a parade route while freezing.

Yesterday Mary Ellen and I drove to Atmore, AL to the Wind Creek Casino. We were only there for four hours, but that was long enough for us to lose a few bucks. We had fun & lucked out at the Buffet. They were running a "buy one, get one". To top that the price for 'seniors' was only $10! Not bad for a full buffet for two.

The lousy weather is probably the best thing for my 'Wichita' speech a week from tomorrow. I certainly haven't been tempted to hang out at the beach. I think I'm probably over-prepared for this, but one can't really be too well prepared. I'm looking forward to it on the 21st. Two and a half hours in front of 500 attendees requires a little more prep time than normal. Fun, fun, fun!

When it rained a couple days ago, Mary Ellen and I went to a movie. We saw "It's Complicated". It was ok. Nothing special. I'd give it a 3 out of 5 Stars. It dragged at times and wasn't as funny as it could have been. The writers attempted a few 'lame situations' which allowed me to think I could have written some good lines for them. We only paid $6 for the matinee (that's for both of us). If you have to pay more than $3 each I wouldn't waste my money. If you do want to see it, it should be out on DVD very shortly. Rent it. Golly, I just realized I've slipped into my Siskel and Ebert role. I'm sorry, Siskel is dead. They were so much better when the two of them worked together.

We had dinner at Logan's Roadhouse a few nites ago. We had never been there before. We've been to Texas Roadhouse and of course Outback. Logan's was excellent and less expensive. We'll go back.

Well, back to Cabin Fever and of course the 'storm of the century'! Till next time, "if I had known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of myself".

jim

THE DAY AFTER THE DAY FROM HELL!

Well it's Tuesday evening. The day after we moved from site 16 to site 11. Simple enough, right. Not really. Not the way I did it.

It all started at 10 a.m. The RV that had been on site 11 had left, so it was time for us to move. We did all the usual prep things. Removed the sewer hose, turned off the water, unhooked the cable, brought in the slideout, stowed the stuff inside for the short trip to #11.

The next step was to hook up the trailer and the truck. Normally this is something I can do with Mary Ellen's guidance in maybe two tries. I knew it wasn't going to be a good day when it took me maybe ten! Finally we were hooked up and ready to pull out of 16 and head for 11. This required a tour around the campground in order to get to our new home. As I was driving down one of the roads I heard someone yelling at us. I stopped and rolled down the window. The guy told us we had a flat tire (almost). He said you better hurry up before it goes completely flat.

We managed to finally arrive and began the process of backing into our new site. We had been in a pull thru and I hadn't backed the trailer for 3 years. This became quite evident after my first 3 attempts. Finally a kindly old gentlemen (must have been 85) said, "you might want to start out on the same side of the road as your site is. Otherwise you're going to wipe out 3 or 4 RV's on the other side of the road." Turned out to be good advice. I got in on two maneuvers. Looking good.

So we began all the usual stuff required to set up including detaching the trailer from the truck. Of course I still had the issue of a flat tire on the truck. I'd deal with that later. Mary Ellen hooked up the water and the cable. I took care of the sewer hose and plugged in our electric. We were about ready to open our slideout. OOPs. After all this and a flat tire to boot, I hadn't left enough room between the slideout and our
electrical box. We were about six inches too close.

I decided to cool down and take the truck to a nearby Goodyear Store and have the tire repaired. Of course the tire was now almost completely flat. I got out my silly little cheap compressor. The one that plugs into the cigarette lighter. With my compressor it would take about 30 minutes to get enough air into it to drive. Our new neighbor apparently saw what I was attempting to do (everyone watches new arrivals), and asked me if I'd like to use a REAL compressor. He didn't actually say that, but I knew what he was thinking. In 30 seconds the tire was inflated. I hurried to the Goodyear store and answered about 25 questions before he asked me what I wanted. He said it would be about 30 minutes. I called Mary Ellen and told her. After a half hour they still weren't done. They said they were having trouble finding the cause of the flat. I called Mary Ellen again. After an hour they told me they couldn't find anything in the tire, and had no idea why it went flat. They did replace the valve stem, just in case.
After all that the guy said, "keep an eye on it". It's not easy when you're driving!

Back at the ranch, the trailer movement awaited me. Mary Ellen had everything ready. She had unhooked the water, sewer, cable and electric. That left hooking up the trailer, and of course 'keeping an eye on the tire'! After 4 up and backs, I had moved the trailer over the 6 inches needed for the slideout. Now all that remained was reconnecting all the stuff and rearranging the stuff on the inside.

What should have taken till noon wasn't completed until 5 p.m. A very long day, and I only swore twice, maybe three times. Today we finished settling in. Today was beautiful. Sun all day and the temp got up to 62.

We Skyped with Mark today, and showed him the campground. Skype is quite cool. If you haven't looked into it, check it out.

I've failed to mention the bombing each night continues this year. As I write this the Air Force has us under attack. They seem to get closer every night. "THE SOUND OF FREEDOM".

Till next time, "the town was so dull that when the tide went out it refused to come back".

jim

BLOGGING

Its been awhile since I've sat down to put together some thoughts...unimportant as they might be. Things around here are kind of boring, unless your talking about the lousy weather. Actually the lousy weather is the reason it's boring. Wednesday it rained all day and during the night we had thunderstorms. It didn't stop raining until Thursday afternoon. With the rain came colder temps and high winds. Low thirties overnight and just into the fifties during the day. Now the fifties wouldn't be that bad if the wind wasn't making the fifties feel like the twenties. Today (Sunday) the sun came out for the first time in the last five days. I know it's much worse up north, but this is Florida after all.

The weather keeps everyone in their RV's or away from the campground. We've never met our neighbors on either side of us. On our left is a fifth wheel where we saw a couple young boys the day we got here. Since then only the occasional glimpse of (grandma?). She seems to be there alone with no vehicle there in a couple weeks. On our right is a 46 foot Newmar RV. Newmar is the most expensive RV you can buy. The price tag is somewhere in the vicinity of $750,000. The occupants are a couple in their 60's. We've never actually seen the woman except in their car. They go away for the day most days. Parked next to this RV makes me feel we're in the wrong neighborhood. We've certainly brought down the value of that Newmar.

Speaking of the neighborhood, we are moving to our permanent spot tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it even though it means a lot of work tearing down and setting up. We'll be down much closer to the Santa Rosa Sound. Just three spots from the beach. We'll be right across the street from the only new people we've met (Russ & Beth Jackson). Diane and Jeff Bloss, our friends from last year will be in the spot next to us when they arrive in March.

Yesterday we attended Mass at our winter parish, St. Sylvester. Father Kelly is still the pastor. We didn't hear anything about a 'welcome snowbirds' luncheon like they had last year. Hopefully they do it again.

I think you know by now I've been working on a presentation to be given to the Grain Elavator and Processing Systems (GEAPS) group. I shared some of what I planned to say with my son Mark. I told him I was going to share some of my experiences with actually combining several rows of corn. Mark commented, "telling a group of farmers about your combining experience is like telling a firefighter that you've used a hose!!" I liked his comment so much I plan to share it with the real farmers! Thanks, Mark.

Till next time, "life is too short to stuff a mushroom".

jim

LOCK UP

Coffee and donuts this morning in the Pavilion. We met a couple from Joliet, IL. Russ and Beth live on a farm outside Joliet. Their 1200 acre farm has been in the family for 130 years. Russ' son has pretty much taken over the farming. I told him of my limited knowledge as well as my skills of combining. For those who don't know, when I was doing some work for an Ag retailer in Iowa, a very trusting farmer taught me how to run his combine. After some observation he actually allowed me to combine several rows of corn. I don't think Russ was all that impressed. Anyway, Russ and Beth seem like a fun couple. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of them over the next couple months.

After the coffee gathering, I told Mary Ellen to head back while I used the men's room. You have to understand there are two entrances to the men's room. One door is off the pavilion, the other is from the outside. When I went in I noticed they were obviously doing some renovating. They're putting up new tile. Ok, no problem. All the toilets were still there. When I was ready to leave I decided to go out the door to the outside. It was locked. No problem, I'd just go out through the pavilion. Oops. This door is also locked. Apparently the lady who ran the coffee and donuts took 'locking up' to a whole new level. What I didn't know was there was a CLOSED for renovation sign on the door from the outside. Of course the door that I went in was OPEN. Luckily I had my cell phone. I called my lovely wife, and when she finally stopped laughing she agreed, albeit reluctantly, to find someone with a key. Five minutes later I was a free man. Mary Ellen was still laughing when I got back.

We have about a month before our friends Diane and Jeff arrive. We were neighbors last year and will be again this year. We'll be on site 11 and they are on 12. Last year Diane gave me a very hard time because our trailer wasn't perfectly centered on the concrete pads. She thought I should definitely straighten it out. I refused on the grounds that we were all hooked up (sewer line, cable, water, stableizers down, hitch off the truck etc.) No way was I going to move. However, knowing that Diane will be here in a month will give me an entire month to get it right this year. I will pre-measure and chalk the concrete for accuracy. My goal this year is to pass the "Diane Parking Requirements" exam! I WILL PASS. Even though this year I have to back in!!

Today saw us doing several chores including washing windows, fixing a door and a drawer. Of course we had to make a visit to Wal Mart and Walgreens and return a hubcap that didn't fit to the RV store. Busy day.

Till next time (I asked you to remember this last year, but it's even more meaningful this year)."Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were in congress, but I repeat myself"!

jim

OUR WINTER HOME

We arrived at the Emerald Beach RV Park yesterday. We're in site 16 until February 1st when we move to our permanent site (11). Even though it rained last nite and the nite before, we managed to get unhooked, rehooked, and unhooked again with not a drop of rain. Maybe our luck is changing. Our luck hasn't changed regarding our slideout. The motor keeps hesitating. We have to wait a minute or two when bringing it in or out. Then the motor will kick in again and move it a foot or so. I have this fear that waiting for a minute or two won't continue to work. We'll have to have someone take a look at it I guess. That's always a costly venture.

Navarre has opened a coffee shop right down the street from Emerald Beach. It's great, with wi-fi and everything. They've been open for nine months and doing very well. Prior to this opening, Panera was the closest place where you could get online, hangout, and drink coffee, but Panera is 11 miles from us. The new shop is called 'Higher Ground'. I have a feeling I'll be over there often. Of course there is the Santa Rosa Library, but for some reason they don't serve coffee. Mary Ellen and I stopped at the library today and she got a couple books. I'm back here now doing this blog. Very nice library and only a mile from the campground.

We made our first visit to Wal Mart this morning. It's only one mile from us. Mary Ellen did her initial food shopping. I sat at the McDonalds and drank coffee while she shopped. Monday morning must be the time to shop. I've never seen a Wal Mart as quiet as this one was today. Not very good for 'people watching', but great for shopping.

My two favorite teams won yesterday. The Saints and Colts will meet in the Super Bowl. I hate to root against the Saints, but my loyalty to the Colts and Peyton Manning outweighs my love of Brees and the Saints. By the way, how stupid is it to have the Pro Bowl a week before the Super Bowl? Maybe I'm missing something here, or maybe they should do away with the Pro Bowl altogether. They never fill the stadium. And with perhaps 20 super stars sitting it out due to the Super Bowl, what's the attraction. Like I said, I'm probably missing the point.

I'm still putting some finishing touches on my Wichita presentation. Of course I will be doing that right up to the nite before. The way I look at it you never truly finish preparing for something like this. Don't know if any of you are old enough to remember Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. He had a weekly TV show during the 1950's and 60's. He was a great orator with a fine sense of humor. I remember him being asked how he prepared for his 30 minute weekly show. He said he outlined his remarks each day prior to showtime and threw away his previous outline. Just before showtime he threw away his final outline, got in front of the cameras and started speaking. For some reason at the age of 10 or 12, his show prep fascinated me. I try to follow a similar approach to preparing for a presentation such as Wichita. The only difference is I will have two hours and ten minutes "in front of the camera" so to speak. I don't think there are any cameras, but they are expecting 500 people!

It's a very sunny day today, but only 60 degrees. It would be alot nicer without the 20 mph winds rolling in from the Gulf. Oh well, no snow! Well I better get back to Emerald Beach. There a few things I want to get done before dinner. Till next time, always remember "there is nothing wrong with teenagers that reasoning with them won't aggravate."

jim

DEAD OAKS

I haven't had much to say in the last couple days. I can tell you it rained all the way from Birmingham thru Montgomery and on to Greenville. In fact, Wednesday nite we had storms which rolled thru for 15 minutes, stopped for 5 and then repeated all nite long.

The Greenville campground was nice, but few amenities. The camp is owned by the city of Greenville. It's a few wooded and hilly acres west of downtown. About half the sites run parallel to the road. I call these 'pull ins' rather than 'pull thru'. Pull through sites, of course, are perpendicular to the road. I explain this for all those who may never have experienced the joys of camping and 'backing' a travel trailer into a camp site. I have a great deal of admiration for truckers who back up to loading docks with a 10 inch clearance on either side. Even more amazing is the fact they seldom have to make a second attempt. This is why I always ask for a pull thru or pull in.

Tonite will be our third and final nite at the Tall Oaks campground in NW Pensacola. I don't know quite how to describe it other than sandy with patches of green here and there. It's small, maybe fifty sites. The office is a shack with no services, and is seldom open. But it's nice. The sites are wide and the people friendly. The laundry facility and showers are great. I would change the name however. I'd call it 'Dead Oaks'
since at least half of the trees are long since deceased. It could be a dangerous place to park your RV if one of those Gulf Coast storms blew thru. I'm afraid you'd have a branch or two thru the roof. We'll be leaving here tomorrow and checking in to our home in Navarre for the next couple months.

We drove up the road to Denny's for breakfast. I was about to go out and buy a paper when a guy just coming in said don't bother, the machine doesn't work. I said thanks and sat back down. About 10 minutes later this same man came in with 2 newspapers and dropped one on out table as he walked by. He said he'd gone to the Circle K convenience store. I thanked him. When we finished eating I walked back to his table and thanked him again. I tried to pay him, but he wouldn't take it. I've been waiting for an opportunity to 'pass it on'.

My broadband card started acting up this morning. It connected me to the internet, but booted me off after from 2 to 10 minutes. I called Verizon's tech support, and during the course of 2 phone calls and about 1 hour of time, Joyce suggested I take the computer to the nearby Verizon store. After 45 minutes of tech time, Chaffee told me I needed a new broadband card. Surprisingly, I beat my 1 year warranty by 3 days. I bought the old one on January 26th last year. So I got a new card with no charge. It normally works the other way around, so maybe my luck is changing.

After 72 degrees and sunny yesterday, today is cloudy with a high of 62. Thunderstorms are predicted for tonite and tomorrow. I hope it doesn't rain while we hook up and go to Navarre. Of course once we get there we have to do the setup thing. A couple hours of dryness would be nice. We want to be all set up before the games come on. Colts will beat the Jets in the earlier game, and of course the Saints will overcome the Vikes. Colts and Saints in the Super Bowl. Write it down.

Till next time, "The person who never reads good books has no advantage over the person who cannot read."

jim

ALABAMA

Going through Nashville is always a challenge even without 31 feet following you. Like most big cities with 4 or 5 interstates converging and crisscrossing, lanes narrowing and suddenly telling you the lane you're in will exit somewhere you don't want to go, and soon!! I know that was a very rambling attempt at a sentence. Sorry (especially to two of my most favorite teachers and a couple of former teachers). It was my feeble attempt to illustrate tension, confusion and a sense of terror in the reader. No?

We are now in Decatur, AL at Point Mallard Park. This is quite the place. They have 217 campsites, an all season ice skating rink, a five acre water park, tennis courts, swimming pool, and an 18 hole golf course. And this is amazing, the cost of our full hookup pull thru is only $17.85! I'm sure the price goes up dramatically during the summer.

It's raining a little right now, but the temp got up to 63 today. Not much sun and more rain tomorrow. We'll be going thru Birmingham and Montgomery on our way to Greenville, AL and Sherling Lake Park and Campground.

Oh, a parting thought..."The only trouble with 'other countries' is that they're being run by foreigners."

jim

DAY THREE

We decided to stay another day in Bowling Green. The owners are great. Paul and Susan have to be the friendliest owners we've ever met at a campground. Last night we stayed hooked up. We were planning to leave today. Mom and I went up to the store at the campground looking for some milk. Paul explained that at this time of year they didn't keep any milk since traffic is minimal until spring. Mary Ellen told Paul we'd get some in the morning since we didn't want to unhook. Paul told us to take his truck and go a mile up the road to the convenience store! What? Did I hear him offer us his truck? Yes! Mary Ellen said she didn't want to take his truck. Paul said he'd take Mary Ellen to the store if it was OK with me. I said sure, and I haven't seen her since...just kidding! When she returned with the milk we hung around and talked with Paul & Susan. We decided to stay another night since we really aren't in any hurry, and I'm glad we did. We awakened this morning to find one of our tires on the trailer FLAT! The 'curse of Diane'? (sorry it's an inside joke).

We decided to unhook and take the tire to be repaired. No, we didn't remove the tire. We called Good Sam Road Service. A guy from Westside Towing was at our campground in 15 minutes, removed the tire and put on our spare. Free of course, though I gave him a $5 tip. We got the tire repaired and remounted at Sikes Tire. Nice bunch of "good old boys". Since we were out and about we filled the gas tank, stopped at Kroger and of course found a Panera

Speaking of Paul, which I did in paragraph one, I forgot to mention my first meeting with him. I asked if they had any valve stem caps. He said no, but he thought he might have some in his truck. He came back and handed me three. When I asked how much I owed, he said don't worry about it. This is Paul and Susan's first year in Bowling Green, but they aren't strangers to campground management. If they keep doing the things we've witnessed, they should be full most of the time and have numerous loyal customers. I know a couple owners who could take a lesson from Paul & Susan.

We are planning to re-hook and head to Decatur, AL tomorrow. The next stop has a lot to live up to. Once you've had your expectations exceeded, merely being satisfied doesn't quite cut it.

I failed to tell you why I was asked to speak at the GEAPS convention in Wichita, KS in February. They told me it was my warm personality...if you look up WARM, it means 'not so hot'!!

Till next time.

JIM

On The Road

Nice day. We left home at 9 this morning. Very dry all the way to our campground for nite one. I don't think there's another person staying here tonite. There are a number of RV's parked here, but nobody home. I assume a lot of people store them here.

This campground (Woods & Waters in Columbus, IN) needs some work. The owners, Larry & Helen have a home on the property. They've owned the place for 22 years. I don't know how much help they have, but by the looks of Larry, I don't think he'd be capable of doing much of the outside work. He must weigh over 350 lbs. and he's not very tall. Helen doesn't look much better.

We tried calling the campground from the road. In fact Mary Ellen called them several times over a three hour period. The phone rang and rang. No voice mail. No humans. The list of TV channels is all incorrect. These are little things, but annoying. Just so we can watch the Colts tonite. We found CBS, so we're all set.

It got up to 42 degrees today, but no sun. Tomorrow will be pretty much the same. We aren't going very far tomorrow. Of course we didn't go very far today. You may remember from last year that my motto is "what's the rush"? We're planning to go as far as Bowling Green, KY. It will take us about four hours, not counting a lunch and gas stop.

By the way, I'm somewhat peeved (yes I said 'peeved') at all of you. In my last blog I asked for comments regarding map making. I thought it a simple request that might require 45 seconds of your very valuable time. I've heard nothing. Now I know you may be upset with me for making you open 3 e mails and 3 attachments before I got it right, but really that shouldn't be an excuse for not commenting. I promise I'll give you the correct link this time.

Since the Colts/Ravens game will be coming on shortly I'm forced to quit. Let me leave you with this thought to ponder. "Did you hear about the guy who was soooo old, his social security number was in Roman Numerals"?

jim doyle

Will We Ever Be Ready?

We're only a few days from our planned departure for the chilly south. It seems we are never done with prep until we actually pull away from 1519 Ash Dr. West. Of course there are always some unplanned and costly setbacks. For instance, yesterday I discovered pinkish fluid droppings in the snow where the truck was parked. I took the truck to our trusty mechanic to "patch the leak". Well of course it was slightly more than a patch job. Fifteen hundred dollars later I picked up the repaired truck and headed home.

It turns out it was 'steering fluid' that was leaking. This required replacing the 'rack & pinion cooler lines'. They also found a need to service the front differential. They changed the lubricant and sealer. Apparently this little maintenance is supposed to be done every 30,000 miles. It had never been done and I have 80,000 miles on the truck. Nothing like 'just in time' maintenance I always say.

I know what some of you are thinking. He's telling me far more than I ever wanted to know about auto care. Especially when it's not my truck that he's talking about. So if you're going to have that attitude, I'll stop right there!

There are some positive things to report. Mark shoveled half the street in front of our house (only a slight exageration). The snow plow only plows up to where our front lawn starts. This makes perfect sense, since plowing up our front lawn would not be appreciated. You see we don't have sidewalks. Since we'll be getting the 'Villa' (our travel trailer) out of storage tomorrow, we need somewhere to park it in front of the house while we load virtually everything we own into it. It takes up so much room on our street, we (Mark) added about five feet of width to the street.This should keep our neighbors happy; not to mention the fact they'll be able to drive past. That is if our neighbor across the street doesn't choose to park directly across from where the Villa is parked. He has been parking one of their two vans on the street, even though they could park four cars in their driveway with ease. If he parks across from our trailer, no one will be able to drive past.

The other good news is that we're getting our tongue jack installed tomorrow. I may have mentioned this before, so I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say it lifts and lowers the trailer onto the hitch which is mounted on the back of our truck. No more hand cranking!

I failed to mention that my 'Nook' e-book reader arrived a week ago. I love it. I think it's better than the Kindle. The Nook is Barnes & Noble's version and was $50 dollars cheaper than the Kindle with more features. It holds thousands of books, and B & N has more than 15,000 titles at the moment. Most books are $9.99 or less. I can have every book I want to read while we're in Florida ready & waiting in my Nook. The Nook is about the size of a large paperback. No more hauling a box full of books. It's quite nice, and did I say I love it?

Lastly, I am conducting a highly scientific survey of directional map drawing. I'm talking a simple map you might include on an invitation to a wedding or party. The question is do you first label the map north, south, east & west and then draw, or do you draw the map and then if you're so inclined label the map indicating north, south etc.? I would be very interested in your comments regarding this. I will publish my highly scientific results in a future blog.

I'll be blogging as we make our way south where there is no snow to shovel.

jim doyle
1/13/2010