Wondering, “What the H”.

Now, what the heck else is going wrong with my RV?  Where the “H” is my “H”?  I suppose I got you confused, but I want to know where my “H” went to.  OK, let me explain.  The name of my RV is on the front; “Dutch Star”.  The word is in black glued on letters and somewhere, sometime when I had the unit out on the roads, the “H” disappeared.  Now my wife says I have to get that fixed.  Well, probably the easiest thing to do is take off all the other letters, right?  Guess I will have to order a letter “H”.  Bet I have to get the whole name, what do you think?  I guess it will not steer straight or something since it is missing a letter.  I miss a lot of letters, since I do not spell very well, so it doesn’t bother me.  Since it is the last letter in a word, I just wonder how many people would really notice it and even if they do, it wouldn’t bother me.  I would just tell them that I forgot to run the spell checker (grin).  OK, off to the flea market.  A fellow I talked to last weekend told me he would bring me a guitar case especially built for a deep dish Ovation.  I looked up the serial number and discovered that my guitar was built in the 1960’s.  The case it came in was not original but it fits in it well but it is getting old and the lining is deteriorating.  You all have an “H” of a good day now, you hear?

Wondering what your pastime is.

Everyone has some things that they like to do when they have some free time to kill and I am wondering what some of those things are that you all do.  I suppose it depends on where you are, the weather, and how you feel, right?  So Let’s take it by locations.  What do you enjoy doing as a pastime when you are home in good weather?  I like to take walks, do light outside chores, cut grass with my new lawn tractor, and take the Jeep and go somewhere.  My wife likes Hobby Lobby or Michael’s so if we take a ride that is one destination and the two stores are right across the street from each other, although in different small shopping plazas.  In bad weather I like to paint, watch TV, lie on the couch, or just lie on the couch.  In fact, in good weather I like to lie on the couch.  Of course I always have a Sudoku book handy.  I just love doing those puzzles and I usually have a lap-top or a tablet handy to play on line games or read blogs or search for whatever interests me at the moment.  Even if I seem to be doing nothing I am really busy.  I have been writing poems (mostly silly ones) for the cards that either my wife or I make each weekday to mail to my Aunt who has been in a nursing home in Pennsylvania for a couple of years now.

Now, when out in the RV what do you like to do as a past-time?  Me?  I like to talk.  Yep, I like to walk around and stop and talk to anyone who will allow a conversation to get started.  When I take a dog for a walk, my wife wonders if I get lost but I just find people to talk with and really enjoy doing so.  I wonder why?  Maybe it is because I have worked from home most of my life and we live back in the middle of a wooded twelve acres and can’t see the neighbors.  My wife and I talk and the dogs and I talk (yes we do and I am not crazy. . . I mean the part about talking to the dogs not the wife.)  I talk on the phone, but much prefer to talk in person.  I am a ham radio operator and talk on the air.  I haven’t been doing much of that lately, guess I will have to fire up my radios and see who is on and where.  OK, enough about me, tell me what some of your favorite pastimes are and then go do the ones you like best and have a great day doing so, you hear?

Wondering about timing.

The timing of events has changed world history many, many times and I am sure it will continue to do so as long as time exists.  The best definition of timing comes from Wikipedia which states: “Timing is the time when something happens or the spacing of events in time”.  For instance, it was bad timing that I decided to put my RV into the shop to have non-emergency problems taken care of.  At the time I thought that it was the perfect timing since the new awning was delivered the day before.  As I look back in time, it was the worst time to put it in the shop.  As I told you earlier, my wife has an injured back and ribs.  It is easier for her to ride in the recliner in the RV than in the Jeep.  We also have three dogs and can’t leave them for long periods of time and they just love to ride in the RV.  Therefore, although we really wanted to go to Ben’s memorial, we didn’t since the motor-home was not available.  Then the AC went out that serves the house during the triple digit days, and no RV sitting in the driveway waiting with cool air-conditioned air.  That is an example of bad timing.  Of course Ole Ben passing on at such a young age was also bad timing, especially after just getting a Casita and having lots of travel plans.  Of course there are also times when I had good timing that saved me bodily harm or extra expense.

Now, the other type of timing is the one I really like.  You know, like the timing of a drag race and the difference in time of the two cars passing the finish line.  Why just the weekend before last, I was watching the top fuel races at Bristol, TN and they hit the finish line close to 330 mph but it looked like they were tied.  With modern electronics, it was determined that the winner got there .0001 seconds before the loser.  No human could have seen that and by all practical purposes, I would have called it a tie.  We use time in many ways, like speeds, schedules, the important one – meal times, and distances like “that star is 250 light years away.  A light year is the distance that light travels in one year, a long way.  You want to know how far that is, look it up, I don’t have the time (grin).  Speaking of astronomical stuff, the timing had to be perfect to create the way this spot we live in is actually here.  At least I think we are actually here, or maybe. . . . OK, a good subject for a future blog.  Now you all have a great time today, you hear?

Wondering when I will have AC

It always happens on one of the hottest days of the year.  What, you may ask.  Well, my central AC went out.  When my wife and I got back from grocery shopping, the house felt a little on the warm side.  It didn’t take long to figure out that the AC unit was not working.  The fan was running but just blowing hot air.  (Something I have been accused of a few times.)  I went outside and the unit out there was just humming.  I did not enjoy the song that it was humming.  I called the repair people but this is their busy time and they said that they couldn’t come until Thursday, but if possible, they would try to work us in tomorrow (which is today)  I have my fingers crossed but the odds are not in my favor.  So later in the afternoon, I called the RV place and explained my problem and wondered if I could come and get my RV and bring it home to stay in until my AC was fixed.  The guy said sure, so I hurried right over there and when we went out to get it, the driver’s area was torn out for access to the power window motor and it was not safe to drive.  Dang!!!!  I headed back home and we spent a very warm evening (indoor temperatures in the mid 90’s) and a hot night.  This morning is a lot cooler than any for quite some time and they are not predicting the triple digit numbers like we have had in the past few days, so maybe it will be more bearable today.  In the mean time, I am not going to put much effort into anything to get over heated.  There is no way to cool off if I do.  We are hoping that the AC guy can get here today and that it is fixable.  If not, it may take longer to get a new one.  It just seems to be one thing after another.  But, you all have a great day and keep cool, you hear?

Wondering about Fort Davis Observatory and Ben’s Memorial.

I have been near Fort Davis and its observatory many, many times but was always in a hurry to get to someplace else, so never stopped.  I need to stop sometime since I really love astronomy.  Of course I know that I would not be allowed to use the four big telescopes.  I would prefer to tour the place in the daytime when the scopes are not in use.  I have never seen a telescope bigger than the one I own and would like to see the observatory as a whole.

Did you know that back years ago that a fellow ran into the dome and fired three shots from a handgun into the 107 inch mirror?  I have no idea why he did it but I do know that a reflector mirror that size would be very expensive and take a long time to build or repair.  Fortunately, it did not do extensive damage to the big scope and it still had 98 percent of its light gathering ability still intact.

My wife and I wanted to attend the memorial for Ben that will be held in Mansfield, Texas tonight, but since my wife has broken vertebrae, she is in too much pain to go that far in the Jeep and back home the same night.  We also have three dogs to worry about, and the motor-home is still in the shop.  She could stand the trip if we had the RV to use and could stay the night and the pups could come along.  I can’t leave her here alone, since she cannot even open the sliding door to let the dogs in and out.  We have another appointment with an M.D. this morning and hope they can figure something out.  We both think that this is something that will just have to heal itself.  Neither of us likes to take medication, and do not take pain meds.  I think that pain medication is just a mask over the real problem and could cause a person to hurt themselves even worse when on the pain medication.  Pain is the body’s way of warning us that there is something wrong.  OK, the pain has warned her, so hope it will get better quickly.  Now you all have a great day now, you hear.

Wondering about the heat and the shed.

This is not a good combination, trying to do outside work when the temperature is around the century mark and the humidity is approaching it.  I unloaded and carried the cement blocks over to the tentative location of my new lawn tractor shed, got the large package unwrapped, and found the instruction/parts list information.  It seems that a lot of “extra” stuff needs to be purchased to complete the shed.  The floor framing needs doubled if you are going to put any weight on it at all, and flooring, other than the week framing, there is no floor panels supplied.  In fact, there is nothing to cover the roof panels and shingles will have to be purchased.  I am going to slow down and completely read the information that came with the shed kit and make a complete list of what all I may need.  My son offered the use of his truck if I need it to bring some bulky stuff home that may not fit in my Jeep Liberty.  Now, the only thing that is missing is for me to find enough energy to work on it.  Those panels are quite heavy and I seem to be a lot weaker now that I am getting a little older.  Now, I didn’t say I was old, so don’t take it the wrong way.  I will not be 70 until my next birthday and that is about a half a year away.  Sixbears offered to come and help but traveling would take up all his time.  I guess his private jet is grounded for repairs or something.  Right, Sixbears?  But like he mentioned in the comments yesterday, it is only a 4000 mile round trip.  You all have great day now, you hear?

Wondering about a new shed.

It is hard for me to write a blog today since my friend Ben is gone and I miss him and I miss reading his daily posts.  But, he was the one that got me started in this blogging thing and he would want me to carry on.  As you know from a previous blog, I got myself a new lawn tractor.  It has just been sitting beside the house covered with a tarp when not in use and my wife suggested that I get a building to keep it in.  So I went to Home Depot and looked at their buildings and found one that had a door wide enough to get the tractor in.  It has a ten by ten foot floor plan.  Floor plan?  It is just a square open space inside, nothing fancy.  They delivered it Friday and I am going to have to unpack the bundle and try and get it set up somewhere, but where?  First we got to go to the flea market and after that, maybe I can figure out where to put it.  I suppose I ought to get a few of those thin cement blocks to sit the building on to keep it up off the ground.  If any of you want to come by and give this old man a helping a hand I would appreciate it.  Nah, don’t do that, I would rather do it myself.  My wife is a good supervisor and will not let me do anything wrong; of course it seems I can’t do anything right most of the time (grin).  Now you all have a great day now, you hear?

Remembering Old Ben

Writing this blog is hard for me but I must do it, if not for Ben for me.  Ben was the one who was responsible for getting me started in the blogging world.  He almost insisted that I start a blog and I did back on July 16, 2010, almost two years ago.  That whole time Ben has been my friend and mentor.  We have visited in person, on the phone, via e-mail and Yahoo Messenger.  I guess what I am trying to say is that Ben was my friend.

When we were up visiting with him, his buddy Windy Bob stopped over and we had a wonderful conversation sitting around the table.  Sometimes it was hard to get a work in, but I always managed (grin).  At that time I had a class-C motor-home and he liked it and said that he was thinking about getting something to travel in.  Here is a picture of Windy Bob, my wife, and Ole Ben on that visit:

He finally got himself a great travel trailer but a little too late.  I really feel so bad that he didn’t get to take that trip to Oregon that he was planning and dreaming about.  I liked him a lot and am writing this through tear stained eyes.  Yes Virginia, grown men do cry.

I can’t write anymore.  Hope the two cats he loved so much will be well taken care of.  You all have a good day and remember Ole Ben. . .

Wondering about seeing colors.

Our eyes are remarkable!!!  Most of us have three different sets of cones that receive the incoming light and then send off signals to our brain where our brain combines the signals to produce the sensation of color.  With the three sets of cones we can see approximately a million different shades of colors.  If for some reason we lose one of those cones then with only two cones only about 1000 colors can be seen.  Almost all mammals have only two cones; this includes monkeys and your canine friends.  Of course some birds and insects can see a lot more since they can see into the ultra-violet spectrum.  There are some people, usually women, who have an extra fourth cone.  Mathematically, that means that they can see a hundred million different colors and shades.  Are you one of those super sighted women?  If you are you would not know.  Why would you suspect that you can see so many more different colors than the average person?  You wouldn’t unless you were specifically tested.  Now, I bet you look at colors with a different point of view, wondering which shades you are or are not capable of seeing.  Since I am not a women, I know that I am not capable of seeing all the different shades, but until I read this article in Discover magazine, I had no idea that I couldn’t or that there were other shades out there that I couldn’t see.  No wonder my paintings look so drab. . .  Now, you all have a colorful day, you hear?

Wondering about my empty driveway.

The security monitor shows an empty driveway.  Every time I glance at it, it gets my attention because I am so used to seeing my RV sitting out there and now it is missing.  Well, not missing (I hope), just in for a new awning and a fix to the power driver’s side window.  Funny how we get so used to seeing the same thing and then when the views are different it catches our attention immediately.  We humans and most animal life are like that.  It is a reflex that can save your life.  Not only do we notice when something that is always there is missing, we also notice when something new appears in our surroundings.  This is especially useful to hunters and those who are hunted.  Wildlife survives by knowing their surrounding and noticing anything different.  They need to know if that form was there yesterday or is it something that poses danger.  If danger, they have to know if their escape route has been blocked by a freshly fallen tree.  You get the idea.  That is why I notice any change in the pictures shown on my security monitor.

I got to get moving; this is dog grooming day and we have to get ready to take them there.  The boy rides in the back in his cage and the girls ride in the front, one on my lap and one on my wife’s lap.  They love to ride but not to the vets or the groomers.  They prefer to go in the RV and when we left yesterday without them it was not a happy scene.  They heard it when I fired it up and they got all excited and ready to go, but. . . No, they had to stay at home.  Got the RV to the fix-it (we hope) shop.  It will probably live there for a few days.  Maybe, maybe not.  Anyway, you all have a great day and enjoy a new summer.  It will be in the triple digits here in a few days and in the upper 90’s for the days leading up to it.  Wouldn’t be so bad but living this near the Gulf the humidity is has so high you can ring water out of the air.  Have a great day now, you hear?

Wondering how long the fixing will take.

I have an appointment to take my motor-home in for some more fixes.  This time there are two major things that need to be done.  The first is to replace the bent tube for my main awning.  It comes in with a new awning attached so will have both replaced.  The second thing getting fixed (I hope) is the driver’s side power window.  There is no door next to the driver’s seat so in case I have to go through a toll booth, I would have to get up and go out the door on the passenger side and walk around and pay the toll.  It would simplify other things, also.  After this is done, there are only a couple of other things that I want to do to it, but for now, this will be enough to start using it a lot more, I hope.  I still do not have dash air conditioning, but that is no problem it doesn’t keep the bus cool so I run the generator and the two main AC units when going on down the road.  I hope I get it back quickly so I can go somewhere.  It doesn’t have to be a long trip, but want to get out and enjoy it some.  We love State Parks but some of them of a limit of 36 feet for a unit but I have been in some that have way big enough spaces for this unit.

Will, not I have to go unplug the RV from shore power, fire it up and mover it up the driveway a ways so that I can get the Jeep turned around and hooked up behind it.  That will give me a way of getting back home.  Maybe I will just think of this as a very short outing (grin).  It seems that all the mileage I have been putting on it is from going back and forth from tire sales places and repair shops. That's what you got to do when you buy a used RV and are not as talented at fix'n things like ole Billy Bob is.

We had a good rain here yesterday and a chance of ore today.  It is quite different around here this year than it was last summer when there was no rain.  Now, you all have a great day, you hear?

Wondering about Red Skelton.

A very good friend of mine sent me an email with some of Red Skelton’s one liners on marriage.  I am just going to copy and paste it here on my blog and hope that you were like me and laugh so hard it brought tears to my eyes.  I laughed even harder when I tried to read them to my wife.  This is the type of humor I grew up with and love.  Sure miss the good clean jokes that are really funny.  So here it is for your enjoyment:

RED SKELTON'S RECIPE
FOR THE PERFECT MARRIAGE

1. Two times a week we go to a nice restaurant, have a
little beverage, good food and companionship.
She goes on Tuesdays; I go on Fridays..

2. We also sleep in separate beds.
Hers is in California , and mine is in Texas ..

3. I take my wife everywhere,
but she keeps finding her way back..

4. I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary.
"Somewhere I haven't been in a long
time!" she said.
So I suggested the kitchen..

5. We always hold hands. If I let go, she shops..

6. She has an electric blender, electric
toaster and electric bread maker.
She said "There are too many gadgets, and no place
to sit down!" So I bought her an electric chair..

7. My wife told me
the car wasn't running well
because there was water in the carburetor.
I asked where the car was. She told me, "In the lake."..

8. She got a mud pack and looked great for two days.
Then the mud fell off..

9. She ran after the garbage truck, yelling, "Am I too late
for the garbage?" The driver said, "No, jump in!"..

10. Remember: Marriage is the number one cause of divorce..

11. I married Miss Right. I just didn't know her
first name was 'Always'..

12. I haven't spoken to my wife in 18 months.
I don't like to interrupt her..

13. The last fight was my fault though.
My wife asked, "What's on the TV?"
I said, "Dust!"..

Can't you just hear him say all of these?
  I love it........these were the good old days when humor didn't have to start with a four letter word. It was just clean and simple fun.
And he always ended his programs with the words...

"God Bless" with a big smile on his face.  : )

Now, you all have a great day, and hope you didn’t hurt yourself laughing too hard.

Wondering about transparency.

Did you ever wonder why some things are transparent and some are not?  Why can you see through glass, water, etc (my wife can see through me!!) and you can’t see through a lot of other things.  Well, I guess it is how fast you or the object is vibrating.  (You know, the faster I vibrate the quicker my wife sees through me and wants to know what I have planned)  OK, did I answer those questions to your satisfaction?  No?  OK, I will dig a little deeper into the subject.

There are three things that can happen when light strikes an object.  One is it can disappear.  If a photon of light is vibrating at the same frequency as the electrons in the stuff it hits, those electrons absorb the photon, changing it from light to heat.  OK, so that must be why I feel warmer in the day time than at night.  Well, that makes sense, so what is the second thing that can happen?  Well, light can be scattered.  The surface electrons of the thing that the light hits can grab the photon’s energy and then eject a photon of the same frequency, which is how you see pretty much of all the things that you see that don’t emit light on their own.  So far, this makes sense, so what is the third thing that can happen?  Well, if the photon doesn’t have the right vibration to be absorbed and if the atoms in stuff aren’t arranged in patterns that don’t allow reflection, then the photons pass right through the object and that is called transparency.  (I must thank DISCOVER magazine for all these great facts.)  Now, you all let the light shine in and don't be to transparent but do reflect a lot of warmth so that can feel your joy.

Wondering about my Dad.

As far as I am concerned (and I am sure a lot of other people who knew him well will attest to) he was the greatest guy in the world!!  He was kind and gentle all the time with appearances of rough and hard and mean when needed.  The latter was almost always an act except when someone endangered his family.  An outdoors man and an avid hunter and fisherman, he was as much at home in nature as he was with people; treated them both with respect.  He was an active Church member who got involved helping where ever he was needed.  He was also active in a couple of fraternal organizations and loved by all.  I have never heard a negative comment about my Dad and never will.  It was a real shock to my life that on the way home from church one day he had a heart attack and died later that day.  I was not at church that day and will never forgive myself.  He was taken from this earth at a young age of 60.  He had been out hunting the day before and the day before that he had brought home an Old Town canoe he had found in a friends barn.  Already had a Kennebec and he always wanted an old Old Town.  I have a lot of regrets, mostly that I didn’t believe that I lived up to his expectations, although I know that he loved me.  He was a better person than I ever was or could be.

We all had or have fathers and some of you probably still have your fathers here on Earth.  Make sure you let them know that you are thankful for them giving you life and keeping you on the straight and narrow.  Fathers would do almost anything for their families. 

I will leave you with a picture of my Dad holding me at or near the end of WW2 with his prized 12 cylinder Lincoln:

Now, all you Dads out there, have a specially great day today, you hear?

Wondering about microbes.

Have you ever thought about the microbes that seem to exist just about everywhere?  There is a mighty busy unseen world all around us, yes you, too.  They even seem to thrive in space.  It has been reported that microbes that hitched a ride to the space station have grown much stronger and active in space than on Earth.  It seems that they ARE everywhere.  They are found in the ocean, in the desert, in the very tops of the highest clouds, in the deepest mines, and of course in your home and in and on you.  They seem to thrive the most in hospitals and nursing homes.  They have been here long before mankind and will be her long after we are extinct from this world.  I would believe that they have hitch-hiked throughout the universe on comets and probably even meteors.  When we search for life throughout the universe, I believe that the first signs of life we will find will be microbes.  But, who knows, maybe the microbes that we find will not be micro but macro, big enough to swallow us with a single gulp.  Wouldn’t it be strange if we were the microbes in an alien civilization??  Dang, maybe I should write a sci-fi novel?  You all have a good day and take care of all your microbes; they are a big part of your life.

Wondering about funny definitions.

There are some definitions of words, mostly product names, that people have come up with to put a little grin on your face.  Not sure what I am talking about?  Well, I am never really sure what I am talking about, so good luck. (Grin)  OK, how about an example of what I mean.  A Ford product has a couple of common definition such as “Fix Or Repair Daily” or another one that goes similar to this, “Freak’n Old Rebuilt Dodge”.  If you are an amateur radio operator (ham) you probably have heard what ICOM stands for: “I can only monitor”.

I am sure that there are many, many more of these definitions but I am going to stop here before I get in trouble.  Now, why don’t you tell me some of your favorite ones?  I bet that everyone knows some that we would get a laugh out of, so scratch your heads, remember the ones you like the best, and put them in the comments, OK?  Now, you all have a great Friday, you hear?

Wondering about nothing in particular.

I had trouble waking up this morning; didn’t get my rear up and going till after 06:30.  Even let two of the dogs out in the rest of the house since they insisted on getting up.  Well my body made it up but I think my mind is still in bed and asleep.  Got to get ready to take my wife in for her appointment this morning.

There was a possibility of storms this morning but the sun is shining brightly with no signs of rain.  I guess they will not get here until this afternoon when the heat and humidity are much higher.  We had a blustery, windy one blow through here the day before yesterday and I noticed that one of a neighbor’s huge oak trees in his front yard has blown down.  The wind moved things around at my place but with no apparent damage around the house.  I haven’t walked all around the property yet so there may be some that I don’t see.

I have been a little busy, trying to come up with some designs for a shipping skid that can be braced in an ocean going container for some of their products.  The challenge was the variable widths of the skids so the bracing to the sides had to be adjustable and idiot proof.  Another problem that I have is that my old work computer system will only stay running for a few hours at a time.  The picture on the screen gets all blurry.  I don’t know if it is the monitor (an old CRT type) or the computer (the video card).  The next couple of times it happens, I will test it to find out which one it is.  The first time, I will just turn the monitor off for a half hour or so and leave the computer run.  If it is still blurred, I will know that it is the computer.  To verify the outcome, the next time it goes blurred, I will then turn off the computer for a while and leave the monitor on.  I would like to have a new flat screen monitor anyway, so hope that is the problem.  I will put that test on my “to do “ list.  Maybe up close to the top.  Now you all have a great day now, you hear?

Wondering about dogs.

I just read an article in Discover magazine titled “Inner Lives of Dogs”.  I am sure if someone could figure it out they would do one on cats, too.  I have been owned by cats and each one is different and their actions are hard to predict.  Dogs, on the other hand, are not as complicated, or are they.  The article states that the mind of a dog is equivalent to a two and a half year old child.  Now I have had a lot of dogs and have three now and I would say one is as smart as stated above, one is a lot smarter, and one is a lot dumber.  The article goes on to say “As far as emotions go, dogs do have them.  They have the basic emotions of joy, fear, anger, disgust, excitement, contentment, distress and even love.  A dog does not have, and will not develop, more complex emotions, like guilt, pride, contempt, and shame.”

My one dog watches TV and barks at other dogs and some selected animals.  Most dogs prefer HDTV since it is easier for them to see and probably looks more real to them.  An old fashioned TV like I have flicker at about 60 Hz whereas an HDTV flickers at a much higher rate.  Since some dogs can detect a flicker of 75 Hz, the old TVs would be harder for them to see clearly, but one of mine sure can.  That is if she is not laying here dreaming.  Yes, dogs dream.  The article also said “It is an odd fact that small dogs have more dreams than big dogs do”. . . . large dogs dream less frequently but their dreams last longer than the smaller dogs’ dreams do.

The article goes on to say that dogs can actually smile and laugh.  It gives instructions on how to imitate a dogs laugh.  I tried it and mine just ignored me.  I must not be laughing the right way or they don’t see anything funny, except me acting like a fool.  Hey, I have to be good at something and acting like a fool is one of specialties.  Now you all have a great day and wonder what your dog (or cat) is thinking about you, you hear?

Wondering about 1959

Why 1959, well I commented on Gypsy’s blog that it was the year that I was in Glacier National Park.  What I didn’t say was the summer of that year was spent traveling with my Uncle, Aunt, and cousin in their Airstream travel trailer.  We lived in Pennsylvania and went to the Wally Byam Caravan Club rally in Colorado Springs in that year.  After which we toured most of the North West U.S. and came home through Canada and down past Niagara Falls and home.  Had the most wonderful time and will never forget it.  Almost three months on the road through some of the most beautiful parts of North America.

I could go on and on about that trip but what else happened in 1959?  Nothing as important as my trip let me tell you!!  There were a few new things that hit the market or made news.  For you doll collectors out there, 1959 was the first year that the Barbie Doll with real cloth clothes (instead of paper) hit the market.  Pitney-Bowes invents an automatic cancelling machine to be installed in post offices which will increase the processing of letters from 16,000 to 27,000 per hour.  Zerox was working on tabletop machine that would copy documents on untreated paper, WOW!!!  And how about security, Mosler Safe Co. developed a surveillance system for banks that used a motion picture camera.  And the one that changed all our lives was RCA and the Army Signal Corps developed a micromodule allowing 27 of these chips to be placed in only one cubic inch of space.

I was in high school back then and that summer was the best summer I have ever had.  It is because of that trip that I became an RVer.  Some of the things that appeared in that year we seem to think have always been around.  I think it is fun to pick a year and see what was “new” in that year.  I do have to say that the summer of 1959 was my most memorable summer ever.  What was yours?  Now, go have a great day and enjoy yourselves and make 2012 a memorable year, you hear?

Wondering about deserts.

The first thing I think of is the spelling.  The way I pronounce them, I believe that desert and dessert should be reversed as far as spelling goes, but who am I to say.  OK, back to what I was planning to talk about, deserts.  We talk about Earth as being “the blue planet” as seen from space.  This gives the impression that it must be a water world, but the blue color does not come from water but from the atmosphere.  Actually about one third of the planet is partially or totally desert (that is a lot since almost 70 percent is ocean) and the largest of these is Antarctica.  (Somehow the numbers don’t add up, but that is what happens when you get info from different sources)   It doesn’t have to be hot to be dry.    Did you know that there are parts of a desert in Chile where no rain as ever been recorded.  Now, I wonder if that means it never rained or that no one ever recorded it.

Hey Barney, this one is for you.  Last year a record was set for the fastest that any one has ever crossed the Sahara on a bicycle.  I asked you one time what size tires you use for sand since you spend a lot of time in arid areas or beaches.  You should be all set now to break the record for that 1084 mile hot trip.  It took 13 days, 5 hours, 50 minutes, and 14 seconds.  Of course you would have to enlist a lot of help.  Someone has to supply you with all the food and water that you will need for that long of bike ride.  If you do it then I guess I should give it try, too.  Of course I am going to wait until they complete the paved highway that will cross it.  Yep, they are working on it and it is almost done.  It is going to bump a hundred here today so it is not a good day for a long bike ride.  You all have a great Monday now, you hear?

Wondering about some of the dumb things RV owners do.

How many of you people out there own RVs?  It seems that a big percentage of the blogs I follow are written by RV owners.  Did you ever notice that RV owners are outgoing people who like to share their experiences with others?  They are not afraid of making fun of themselves by sharing some of the stupid things that they have done.  Now don’t get me wrong.  I am not saying that RV owners are stupid, I believe they if they are smart enough to own an RV and like to travel and see new things and meet new people that they must be very smart.  On the other hand, we all have done some really dumb things while on the road.

I subscribe to “MotorHome” magazine and in the last issue (July 2012) they had the “2012 RV OOPS AWARDS”.  They listed the top 10 in reverse order of the worst OOPS.  After reading that article I don’t feel quite so dumb (grin).  I am not going to take your fun away by telling you what the OOPS were, but I know that all of us who have or has ever had an RV has had some pretty good OOPS to tell about (or not tell about).  If I started my top ten list it would take some time.  I would have to sort out the thousands and thousands of ”oops” that I have made since my beginning way back when my two boys were young and we bought our first RV, a pop-up tent camper.  Not only did we have a lot of fun in it there were also quite a few oops, also.  After the tornado (oops) demolished it, it took us a few years before we got back into RVing by purchasing a 28 foot Mobile Scout bumper pull travel trailer.  I do have to say that it was the best laid out and constructed trailer that I have ever seen.  My wife and I loved that trailer and it got a lot of miles on it and time spent with us in it, but for some reason that I can’t seem to remember now, we decided to move up to something larger.  We looked at fifth-wheels since they had the most room, but after realizing that I would also have to purchase a larger truck to pull a big fiver, we decided to trade both the truck and the trailer in on a class-C motor-home, which we did.  Then after quite a few years, we finally upgraded to a diesel pusher.  Now, it seems that there is so much other stuff going on in our lives that we haven’t had the time to go anywhere.

Sorry, I got off the track a bit, but wanted to give you some background so you will know that I have had a lot of "oops" happen with many different types of RVs over my life time.  What?  You wanted me to tell you about all my oops???  I promise, the next time I see you, we will sit down and I will tell you about all of them over a cup or two of coffee.  OK, maybe thoughout my blogs I will cover some of them, but they were all caused by either not thinking, not paying attention, or hust being dumb.  Let's make a deal, you tell me some of your "oops" and I will tell you some of mine.  How does that sound?  Now, you all have a great Sunday, you hear?

Wondering where this week went.

I can’t believe it is the weekend already and I didn’t do half of what I wanted to get done this past week.  Where did all the time go?  The one thing my body has learned over the years is that it is a lot easier to not do something than to do it.  My mind tells me that it is better for my body and attitude if I get off my rear and get things done.  My body actually feels better if it has had some activity, but at my age, I have to be careful of what that activity is.  Walking about a mile or two at a time at a quick pace always makes me feel great.  My wife and I did that over the winter when the temperatures where not so hot.  Now that the thermometer is bumping 100 and the percent humidity is not far behind, outside walking has become a thing of the past.  Then, too, I have a knee that I twisted and it bothers me some.  Now, if you give me a chance, I can come up with a lot more excuses for doing nothing.  Now, it does take practice to get anything right so I must get back to practicing for doing nothing.  Oh, I forgot; this is Flea Market day.


We have received a good share of rain but could use a little more.  At least this summer is starting out wetter than last summer.  How much rain you ask?  Well I don’t know.  Last year I purchased a new rain gauge to put up but have not gotten to it yet.  Guess I will add that to my “to do” list.  Another thing that keeps me from getting stuff done is that my “to do” list is getting so long that it takes almost the whole day to read it and decide what to do next.  Oh well, there is always tomorrow, right?  You all have a great weekend, you hear?

Wondering about a new job.

I got a call yesterday from another old customer wanting me to do a “sketch” for him.  So, I am going to keep this real short and get on the job.  This job sounds like it will be a quick bit of work but I have been fooled before.  Some jobs in the past that I thought were going to take a long, long time got finished up in a day or two and some quickie jobs that I thought would only take an hour or two wound up taking weeks.

Thank you all for your advice on my font problem.  I decided for today’s blog that I would try something different.  I am still writing this in Word, but set the font to Arial and the size to 12.  In the blog settings I will set the font to Arial and the size to Normal.  Let’s see if that works and all the paragraphs are and look the same.

So, let me know if you think I have this font problem figured out.  The size may have been too big.  I like huge fonts because my old eyes can see it better.  But you all are the ones that are reading it (I hope) and what is best for you will be best for me.  That way we all can be happy.  Now, have a great day and I hope this will be readable.  I may have to change it after I post it just to get it right.


P.S.  It still didn't work.  The last paragraph says it is the same size and the same font but it doesn't appear that way when I preview it.  I give up!!!

Wondering if it is better to be late or never.

You know the old saying, “better late than never”, right?  Well I am late but I am not sure if it is better than never.  I don’t mean never, ever; I mean never today.  Now, I suppose that I have to explain why I am late.  Well, the fact of the matter is that I just plain slept in!!!  I didn’t get up until after 07:30 and we had to leave a little after 08:00 for my wife’s appointment this morning.  Now you know the rest of the story.

On the way home we stopped at The Cut and Shoot Tourist Trap and visited with the owner, Judy.  She had just returned from a trip to Florida and had lots of stories to tell and pictures to show.  We have known Judy for many years and, to say the least, she is a fascinating person.  She had one of her Border Collies with her and it was expecting puppies.  It was so nice and friendly.  Sometimes I enjoy dogs more than people.  Of course there are some dogs and some people that I do not care to ever see again.  I guess there is good and bad in both breeds.  Now, here I am just rambling on about nothing at all, so I will just say “Howdy” for now, and you all have a great day now, you hear?

P.S. I got a question.  Blogger will not let me keep the same text format when I go to another paragraph.  Are any of you having this problem?  Any suggestions?

Wondering about the word “whoops”.

Now I will tell you, whoops is not the word you like to hear, especially if it is uttered by a dentist or a doctor who is working on you or a mechanic working on your car.  I even dislike it when I use it, and I use it a lot.  I say it a lot when I am typing my blog, since spelling is not one of my best subjects.  You see, I am one of those people who believe words should be spelled like they sound.  Whoops, I guess I got off the subject a little bit.  Or how about a pilot announcing over the intercom that “we are flying at 30,000 feet and expect to be landing on time. . . Whoops!!!”  Or it could be the last words uttered by some people, like mountain climbers, parachutists, skyscraper construction workers or window washers, or even worse.  You know, like the bomb squad member who is trying to defuse a bomb.  I would think that the word “whoops” was the last word (or one like it) that was uttered by a lot of now dead people who left this world unexpectedly.  I don’t know about you, but this word must be one of my favorites because I seem to use it a lot.  Of course I am too embarrassed to go too deep into my personal life, but I have used this word (or one like it) in situations that I would rather not be told.  Not that I am accident prone or dumb or uncoordinated or . . . . stupid?  Oh, you know what I mean.  Of course when on the computer I use the word whoops many times and other stronger words, too, if you get my meaning.  There are times I start calling this computer dumb for not cooperating with me and then “whoops”, I discover it is always something I did wrong.  Well, that is a subject for some other time.  Now you all have a great day, you hear?

Wondering about a strange “movement”.

I have a small area fenced in for the dogs when they want to or need to go out.  A couple of times during the day, I walk through their yard with a little hand shovel and pick up all the little packages that my loving dogs have left for me.  It is usually a simple procedure that does not take too long or too much effort, and it is well worth the time to do it a couple of times a day.  Well, yesterday on one of my dog yard policing expeditions, I stopped at one of those packages.  I leaned ever to scoop it up in my little hand shovel and it moved!  Yes, it seemingly moved all on its own.  I rubbed my eyes and took another look.  It was just lying there, so I bent over again to pick it up and it moved again!!  Now, I know that I was not seeing things, so I watched it for a while and sure enough, it seemed to jump up a little bit every now and then.  I finally, after the uniqueness wore off, went ahead, leaned down, and scooped it up.  There was this little black bug under it.  It couldn’t have been more than a quarter inch wide or long.  It was a strong little bug with a huge appetite.  I sort of felt sorry for stealing its supper.  But not sorry enough that I didn't go back inside and eat my lunch.  Now, you all have a great day and enjoy your lunch, you hear? 

In answer to Trouble’s question.

Trouble’s comment on yesterdays blog ended with this: “O BTW,,any up to date pics of that swamp? Just asking”.  So I went down yesterday and took some pictures of the swamp.  For some comparison, I will repost some pictures from about two months ago.  Let’s start with the original deep part.  Here is the picture taken two months ago:

You may notice a small amount of duck weed starting to grow.  The next two pictures are the ones I took yesterday of the same part of the swamp:

And here is another picture that was taken back two months ago looking back up past the newer deep part:

The next two are the ones that I took yesterday of the newer deep part:

As you can see, the duck weed and other stuff is growing on the surface, the weeds around the edges have gotten very tall, and maybe what you can’t see is that it needs about a foot or so of rain.  It is a little over two feet below full level.  I knew the swamp would be in bad shape this year since all of the fish and most other living things that lived under water were lost in the drought of last summer.  It will take years for it to get back into shape, if ever.  The weeds and, scum, and other undesirable things have taken over and have a firm grip on it, maybe never to be released.  Let us see what nature can do, and maybe next year, if it has not progressed much, I can give nature a helping hand.  The frogs seem to be happy and I do enjoy listening to them.  You all have a great day now, you hear?

Wondering about a great camping spot (I can't find)

Quite a few years ago, back when I had a 1997 Ford Pick-up truck and pulled a Mobile Scout travel trailer, we were coming back from one of our many trips to Pennsylvania. We were in Arkansas and it was getting about time to stop for the evening, you know, a little before supper time.  So we looked up camp grounds in some book and found one not too far from the rest stop where we pulled over for a break.  It was along the river and according to the book, close to the interstate highway.  The decision was made to stop there for the night.

Another hour or two up the highway we found the exit we wanted.  Followed the directions from the book and then we started to get worried, at least my wife did.  I am sort of like Alfred E. Neuman’s “what, me worry?”  This road kept getting more narrow and windy, then it started going down what looked like the side of mountain.  We kept going down, down, and around turns mainly because there was no place to turn around.  After what seemed to be a thousand miles and an eternity, we saw the river and it was beautiful.  Pulled into what looked like it used to be a farm, parked by the barn and waited.  Finally someone came out of the farm house up on the hill and came down and checked us in.  There was only one or two other RVs in the park and it was simply beautiful.  The camping area was all wooded and it had a cliff on one side going straight up and a river on the other side.  (Probably not a good place to be in a flash flood.)  We enjoyed our stay and I sure wish I had my canoe and more time on my hands, I would have stayed there, canoed the river and large creeks, and maybe even done a little fishing.  As we were leaving the next day, my wife and I both said that we would be coming back to that place.  Ever since then, we have been trying to find it.  There was no paper work saved with their name on it, and since I throw the camping directories away every two years and get more (that was the year to get a new one) we have not found it listed.  We have taken that route many times since and keep looking for signs to that camp ground but have not found any.  Finally gave up looking, but maybe someday we will find it, if it is still in business.

For the first few minutes that we were there, we felt a little uneasy but those feeling vanished quickly and we really enjoyed the rustic surrounding.  If any of you have ever heard of this camp ground, please let me know.  I have to admit that I haven’t done a good search for it lately, but just might try again.  Things change over time and maybe it got wiped out in one of those floods they have had in the past several years.  I sure do have good memories of that beautiful place.  It was by far the most beautiful and peaceful RV park I have ever been in.  And no, we didn’t see Li’l Abner when we were there.  Now you all have a great day and let me know if you have heard of this RV park.

Wondering about stats.

We were watching a couple of TV shows last night when it got to be time for the evening news.  But, for some reason neither my wife nor I switched the channel.  Then we noticed a show that we had never watched before.  It was called “The United Stats of America”.  I was busy checking blogs, comments, and emails and was only half paying attention, but what did sink in was interesting.  They were talking about the heights and weights of Americans compared to the rest of the world over the two hundred plus years that the USA existed.  Seems that during the Revolutionary War we were the tallest of any nation in the world.  That distinction was held for quite a few years but it is not so any more.  Our average height has dropped and is dropping.  But now, we are on the top of the top ten fattest countries.  What we lost in height we put on in girth.  I guess if you can’t have one might as well have the other.  Both of these extremes are the result of diet but will now bore you with details.

Did you know who was the fattest president?  This president was 330 pounds and one time got stuck in the White House bath tub.  It took six men to pull put on in girth.  I guess if you can’t have one might as well have the other.  Both of these extremes are the result of diet but will now bore you with details.him out.  And guess what?  They immediately installed a much larger bathtub; one that at least four men could fit into.  That solved the problem of the president getting stuck.  Oh yes, It was the 27^th president, William Taft who was so fat.  Now, I know you couldn’t get through the day or your next meal without that information.  You all have a great day today and don’t eat too much, you hear?

Wondering about making cards.

I believe that I told you all before that my wife and I make cards to send to my Aunt who is in a Nursing Home in Pennsylvania.  We make one everyday for everyday the Post Office is open.  Since my wife, in my opinion, is the best artist and who comes up with the best ideas, she usually makes the cards and I then write a poem for each one.  Sometimes, when my wife, for some reason can’t make a card, I make one.  This happened last night, so I made a quick simple card to send off this morning.  Since I don’t have any great ideas for a blog this morning, I will just show you the poem and the card that we will be sending today.  This is the outside of the card, both front and back:

(Sorry about the black back-ground, I forgot to change the back-ground color and don't have time now.)


In case you have trouble reading the poem from the picture, I will type it here.

That Loving Look

Have you ever seen those loving stares

That a guy gives to the girl he adores?

In his eyes, the fire of love flares

But his stare and attention she ignores.

Boy I tell you she still plays it cool.

I bet you she loves all the attention.

He don’t care if he’s played for a fool.

Just so he gets at least some affection.

Do you think he will get close to her,

Or will he get rejected once again?

Would it help if he gave her a fur?

No furs, just a soft couch in the warm den.

Take a look inside. . .

OK, that was on the front of the card, and when you opened it, this filled both sides of the inside of the card: 

You all have a wonderful Friday now, you hear?