After reading in the blog about the frustrations I was having trying to do research at the Family History Library, Roger Marble sent me some website links to articles on getting the most out of a visit to the Family History Library. I spent a couple of hours Sunday reading those articles, and then getting my notes better organized. It really made a difference.

Yesterday I went back to the library for a couple of hours, and I think I may be getting the hang of how things are laid out there. I found a lot of very good information, including the dates and newspapers that several family members’ obituaries were in, as well as their last addresses before they died. I also found some information on my older brother, who was murdered back in 1968. It was quite a breakthrough, and I feel like I accomplished a lot. I want to go back again today for a while, since our visit here in Salt Lake City is almost over. I definitely plan to come back here again!

Roger presented a couple of seminars on genealogy at our rally in Celina, Ohio last year, and the response was so good that he will be doing them again at our upcoming Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally in Elkhart, Indiana August 30 – September 3.

Blog reader Ray Warner and his wife Cindy live in Riverton, Utah, a little south of Salt Lake City, and when he read that we were going to be in the area, Ray invited us to dinner. Never one to pass up the chance to make a new friend, or a free meal, I was happy to take Ray up on his offer.

We met at the Chuck-A-Rama buffet, where Terry and I had dinner Friday evening, and it was just as good this time around, too. Ray and Cindy are a very nice couple, who have a fifth wheel, and are looking forward to doing some extended traveling once Cindy retires in a couple of years.

We always enjoy talking with folks about the RV lifestyle, and sharing what we have learned in our time on the road. Cindy had questions about things like how do we get our mail on the road, and what happens if you have a major illness or accident when far away from home. We explained to them about mail forwarding services, and medical evacuation services such as Sky Med and MASA.

I also stressed to both Cindy and Ray how important I feel it is for both of them to know how to handle all of the dumping chores, how hook up and unhook their rig, and how to drive the RV, even if one is the primary driver and the other seldom gets behind the wheel. We have seen too many situations where a husband gets sick or injured, and the wife has no idea of how to get someplace safe until the situation is resolved. We have also known couples where the wife does most of the driving, and the husband would be really challenged if he had to take the wheel.

Some husbands (or wives) can teach their spouses how to drive an RV, but for many couples, it just doesn’t work. If you fall into that category, or if you are a new RVer, male or female, I have good news for you.

Dennis Hill from the RV Driving School will be presenting driving seminars at our Elkhart rally, as well as giving private lessons behind the wheel of the students’ rigs. I really hope folks take advantage of this opportunity to get lessons from the pros. The small fee for the class is worth every penny. It will make you a better, safer, and more confidant RVer. And if you do take the class, you’ll probably qualify for a discount on your insurance too!

Bad Nick is back on his soapbox, and he has a brand new Bad Nick Blog titled Talk About Cajones that may just open your eyes to how much money we are giving to criminals every month. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – Money can’t buy happiness, but it can sure make misery much more comfortable.

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When we got back to Elkhart Campground on Thursday, we had a huge box of mail awaiting us, so we spent most of Friday getting orders ready to mail out, and we managed to make it to the post office a few minutes before closing time.

Yesterday we spent the day logging in all of the orders we had received, as well as some leftover paperwork from the FMCA rally in Ohio a couple of weeks ago. I also spent much of the day working on the seminar schedule for our upcoming Ohio Gypsy Gathering rally. It’s a balancing act to try to get everybody who wants to do a seminar scheduled in, and also in trying to avoid having two seminars at the same time that clash, as for example our For Women Only Roundtable, and the excellent What Every RVing Woman Should Know seminar.

We also don’t want to go the route of so many RV rallies and just have the same seminars over and over again, by the same people, at every rally. When that happens, people get bored pretty quick and stop returning. We do have some repeat seminars from last year’s Ohio rally, but we also have a lot of new offerings, including two different seminars on genealogy, a new seminar on making digital slideshows, and one on cooking on the road. And don’t forget that premier RV speakers and authors Joe and Vicki Kieva will be presenting their excellent RVing Alaska seminar, as well as a seminar on RV and Camping Tips. 

To check out our tentative seminar schedule, click the Rally Seminars link and scroll to the bottom of the page. As you can see, we still have a few holes to fill, but we’ve got a great lineup scheduled.   

I also spent some time exchanging e-mails with a fellow who has been reading my Publishing4Profit website, and wrote to ask my advice on a self-publishing project he wants to undertake. He told me he had read every word of the website, and just wanted to go over a few things with me.

I’m always happy to help someone out, if only as a sounding board to bounce ideas off. But this gentleman really didn’t want advice, he just wanted me to tell him that his manuscript which is by his description “an eclectic mixture of fiction, autobiography, poetry, and political musings,” was going to be a bestseller and make him bushel baskets full of money.

I try to explain to would be authors in my What Do I Write About page on the website that fiction and poetry does not sell, and unless you are a figure in the public eye, nobody wants to read your life story. Okay, your wife and kids will read it, but that’s just because they don’t want to hurt your feelings. Still, this fellow was convinced that he was sitting on a gold mine. After all, everybody is always telling him “You should write a book.” What could I do, except try to tell him the facts of life, and then wish him well when it became apparent he wasn’t listening. I’ve made my living crunching words for much of my adult life, and I’ve managed to learn a thing or two along the way about what works and what doesn’t.

Several blog readers have written to me asking if we are going to see a Bad Nick Blog. My pal Chris Guld from Geeks on Tour is busy working on the format, and we should be launching the new blog in the next two or three weeks. But beware, like Berni Frees said in a comment in a blog post somewhere, she’s seen Bad Nick up close and personal, and it’s not gonna be pretty!

Thought For The Day – I may be schizophrenic, but at least I have each other.

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