I feel like I’m wading in waist deep muck. I have so much I need to get done, but it’s like every step I try to take forward takes forever to accomplish, and I keep falling further and further behind.

Part of it is that I feel like I have hit an emotional and physical wall. I can’t concentrate, my brain feels fuzzy, I’m grouchy and irritable, and I’m worn out. All I want to do is lie down and take about a 36 hour nap. I know that it’s all a delayed stress reaction to recent events, and I’ll work through it. I just needed to snivel. Okay, enough of that.

Yesterday we had a lot of running around to get done. Our first stop was at the post office in Summerdale to mail off a bunch of orders, and then we went to Camping World in Robertsdale, where I picked up a written estimate to have our rooftop automatic TV dish replaced. Among the other things that happened during the burglary was that he (or they) ripped out the control box for the rooftop dish and the Dish Network receiver, threw them on the floor and stomped on them. Since Winegard no longer makes our model of dish or supports it and no replacement parts are available, we have to get a new one.

While we were at Camping World, we picked up a folding aluminum outside step with a 1,000 pound capacity for times when the distance between the ground and the step of the Winnebago is too much for our stubby little legs.

Terry also found a small oak  footstool to put under her feet when  we’re traveling to make it more comfortable for her. The top raises to give access to a small storage area for items like remote controls and such, Just what I need, one more place to lose my remote control!

We then had to run over to Daphne, on Mobile Bay, to pick up some items at Sam’s Club, and while we were in the area, we stopped at the Bass Pro Shop at Spanish Fort. Terry wants a pair of fuzzy moccasin style slippers from Minnetonka or TeePee for Christmas, and I was hoping we could find some there, but they didn’t have what she wanted.   

We also went to an Office Depot to make copies of paperwork for the insurance company and faxed that to them. If you have ever wanted to be a crook for a living but are to afraid of going to jail, I think you should just open an insurance company. It’s like a license to steal. We have paid thousands of dollars in premiums over the years and never had a claim, but now that we need them, we are getting one runaround after another. One person tells you one thing and the next person contradicts the first one, things one tells us are covered the next one says are not, and “total replacement coverage” and “disappearing deductibles” are all bull$&@! when it comes time to pay off.

By the time we got all of that done, it was after 4 p.m. and we were getting hungry. I had spotted a Chinese buffet in a shopping center across the street from the Office Depot, and asked the clerk who sent our faxes if it was any good. She said she didn’t like Chinese, so couldn’t tell me, but one of her co-workers spoke up and said it was her family’s favorite Chinese restaurant, and that her sister drove all the way to Daphne from the far west side of Mobile to go there at least twice a month, so that was good enough for me. We adjourned to the Grand Buffet for dinner, and while I wouldn’t put it up in my Top 5 list of Chinese buffets, it was pretty darned good.

Back at the campground, I answered some e-mails that came in during the day, fiddled with the satellite and Dish receiver hoping against hope I could get them to work, and finally gave up in frustration. I know a lot of folks say that they don’t care much for TV, but I do. There are a few regular programs we watch regularly, and I am a news hound so I miss the daily news broadcasts and a lot of good documentaries on A&E, the History Channel, and such. Tomorrow I may drag out my old tripod dish and see if I can get any kind of a signal off that.

Of course, nothing stops Bad Nick. He has a new blog post titled Welcome Home, Sisters. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – There is great need for a sarcasm font.

Register Now For Our Arizona Gypsy Gathering Rally

Spending time in an RV park is similar in many ways to living in a small town a generation ago. There is a sense of community, especially among the people who stay for a few weeks or a month at a time.

We find that we interact much more with our campground neighbors than we ever did with our neighbors in our old hometown. When we go for our evening walk, we say hello to our neighbors who are also out for a stroll, or who are relaxing in their lawn chairs. We’ll stop and chat with folks here and there, maybe comment on the weather, or visit with a friendly dog. It is not uncommon to welcome newcomers, ask where they come from, and get acquainted.

Living in the close confines of some RV parks can take some getting used to. We have been in campgrounds with spacious sites and others where when you sneeze while sitting in your recliner, you hear the fellow in the next RV say “Bless you.”

This sometimes requires you to stop and think about how your normal activities may impact your neighbors. For example, Terry and I are night owls, and I do most of my writing after 9 p.m., and seldom get to bed before 1:30 or 2 a.m. When we have RVs parked close by, we make it a point to keep the volume on our television turned down so it does not keep the neighbors awake.  

Of course, not all RV park neighbors are conscientious of those around them. Common trespasses in campground life include smokers who do not want to smoke inside their RVs, so they come outside and let their smoke drift into the neighbors’ windows instead; people who get up early to hit the road and make a lot of noise unhooking, and then fire up their diesel engine and let it idle while they go inside to have a cup of coffee, or whatever they do before they hit the road; taking a shortcut through someone else’s RV site, and not cleaning up after pets; and my personal pet peeve, allowing yappy little dogs to disturb the neighbors.

But these kinds of misdeeds are the exceptions. Most RVers are wonderful neighbors, and a joy to get to know. It’s easy to make friends in an RV park; all it takes is a nod and a hello. If you are sitting outside in your lawn chairs, face them toward the street and just wave as folks pass by. You’ll be surprised how many stop and strike up a conversation.

And anytime a guy wants to get to know the other fellows in a campground, all he has to do is open the hood of his truck and stand there, or start setting up a tripod TV dish. You’ll have them coming out of their rigs to offer to lend a hand, or just stand around and watch.

Many campgrounds have organized activities, and many even have hired activity directors whose sole purpose is to find ways to help campers keep busy and make new friends. If your campground has an afternoon social hour, a Saturday pancake breakfast, or evening card games, show up and get involved. Before you know it, you’ll be a busy and active member of your little campground community.

Thought For The Day – One of the life’s mysteries is how a two pound box of candy can make a person gain five pounds.

Register Now For Our Ohio Gypsy Gathering Rally

Being sick last week put me behind schedule getting the new issue of the Gypsy Journal out, so now I’m pushing the clock to get finished.

I know I should have been working on it last week, but my brain was just too darned foggy to concentrate. I’d start to write something and halfway through a paragraph, I’d totally lose my train of thought. I managed to get the blog out and to edit the Todays Hero Blog postings, but that was about as productive as I was.

Fortunately, we are both feeling a lot better now. Terry still has some problems with her ears, and I still have a nasty cough, but compared to a week ago, we feel great. We appreciate everybody’s get well e-mails.

I worked on the paper most of yesterday, except for a quick trip to the post office to mail off some new orders. Meanwhile, Terry waded through a backlog of paperwork recording sales receipts. How can taking a few days off get us so far behind? The weather forecast calls for rain for the next five days, so I guess it will be a good time to be holed up inside working.

Never underestimate the power of the World Wide Web. After I wrote about our new friend Michele Henry and her company, Phoenix Commercial Paint, in yesterday’s blog, Michele said her website recorded 321 new visitors, most from my blog post. I hope it gets her some new customers, because she really does great work at an unbelievable price.

Someone wrote to ask me how any company can turn out a quality full body paint job for so much less than anyone else in the business, and said it seems impossible.

Michele can do what she does at that price for the same reason we have been able to publish a successful RV newspaper for ten years without any staff and without filling it up with ads from the big RV manufacturers. We love what we’re doing and we do almost everything ourselves to keep our overhead low. If it takes working 18 hours a day when we’re against a deadline, we do it. The same with Michele; she loves transforming dated looking coaches with beautiful paint jobs, and she isn’t afraid to get her hands dirty to get the job done. If you love what you’re doing, it’s not really work.

I am going to take some time off this evening, though. The Verizon store is having a free class on how to get the most out of smart phones, and I want to go see if they can give me some pointers on my new Blackberry Storm.

I am really impressed with this new phone, and it has so many features that I’ll never discover how to use them all myself. Can you believe that I was even able to download a free level? It looks and works exactly like a bubble level that you would use to check your RV’s level, or a tripod TV dish, but it’s right there on the phone. I tested it against two levels we have, and it is just as accurate.

What do I need a telephone with a level for? I have absolutely no idea, but that’s why my pal Brenda Speidel calls me Gadget Boy! 

Thought For The Day – Be glad God doesn’t give us everything we ask for.

Register Now For Our Ohio Gypsy Gathering Rally