I was busy at my computer all day yesterday, and managed to get a lot accomplished. I even knocked down the stack of paperwork on my desk to an almost acceptable level. I can’t see the surface of the desktop yet, but I can see out my window, so that’s something, right?

Miss Terry is a very neat person, and I try to cooperate by picking up after myself, putting my dirty clothes in the laundry basket, and such. When you live in the small confines of an RV, that’s necessary if you want to have any room to move around inside at all. But we have an understanding – my desk is my personal space. And I will admit that it does get messy from time to time. Terry is very good about allowing me this little corner of chaos in our motorhome, but I do see her grit her teeth every so often when she glances at my desk.

I managed to tick off at least one person yesterday. A lady e-mailed me to ask if we were maintaining our policy of not allowing pets inside the buildings at our rally. She told me that when I demanded she take her dog out of the building where we were serving morning coffee and donuts at last year’s rally, her dog was “traumatized for weeks afterward” because she was forced to leave it in her fifth wheel.

According to her, the dog has separation anxiety issues when they are apart. I suggested that instead of coming to the rally, where our rules still apply, she and her dog both get some professional help. A dog trainer for the mutt, and a shrink for her.

Folks, this comes up at almost every rally we have. I love dogs, I really do. But they are animals, and they must be on leash at all times, and they are not allowed inside any of the rally buildings. The only exceptions are service dogs. And please don’t tell me your furkid is a service dog when it’s obvious that it’s just a pet.

This dog owner may be unhappy, but I know some  motorhome owners who are thrilled right now. Check out this Winnebago Adventurer that my friend Michele Henry from Phoenix Commercial Paint just finished. I’ve seen her work over and over, but I’m still in awe every time I see how Michele and her crew can transform a mundane RV into a rolling work of art, and for much less than anybody else in the business.

Every year we lose a lot of money when our snowbirding subscribers take off on their winter travels and don’t give us a forwarding address. The post office does not forward Standard Rate mail, so they don’t get their Gypsy Journal, and we have to mail them a replacement copy, at First Class rates. Postage alone is $1.39 per paper, not including the cost of the second paper and an envelope. Multiply that by several dozen, and it adds up really fast. Then the process repeats itself all over again when people head back home for the summer.

Sometimes the post office returns the undeliverable copies to us, and other times they just toss them in the trash. But with this last issue of the Gypsy Journal, the post office is throwing them away, and then charging us 50 cents each to send us a card telling us they did so. Folks, if you are going to be traveling, please give us your winter address, or upgrade to our First Class postage option. It would really help us keep costs down.

Bad Nick has been busy too, pumping out two Bad Nick Blog posts in a row. Today’s post is No Queers In Foxholes. Check it out and leave a comment.

Thought For The Day – God wants spiritual fruit, not religious nuts.

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First of all, Miss Terry wants me to thank the many, many people who left birthday wishes on the blog or on Facebook or Twitter, and sent so many e-mails. You all really helped make the day special for her, and made her feel very loved.

After dropping the new issue off at the printer yesterday, we drove to Muskegon, Michigan to visit my cousin Berni Frees and her hubby, Rocky. Many of you will remember Rocky and Berni from their time on the road as fulltimers. Berni is a massage therapist who worked a lot of kinks out of the muscles of our RVing friends, and Rocky was an RV tech with many satisfied customers.

Unfortunately, it turned out that it wasn’t the right time in their lives to become fulltime gypsies, and they have settled down in Rocky’s old hometown. We miss sharing life on the road with them, but their trusty old Winnebago Adventurer is always packed and ready to go on a weekend trip.

There is family that you associate with because you have to, and then there is family you think of more as dear friends and would go out of your way to spend time with, and Rocky and Berni fit into the latter category. We always have a wonderful time with them, and it had been way too long since our last visit.

They greeted us with hugs all around, and we instantly fell into that comfortable teasing and banter we always enjoy together, like the many months apart never happened and we had just seen them last week.

Since it was Miss Terry’s birthday, we went out for a nice dinner, and then back to their place for cake and ice cream, and a game of Mexican Train that lasted well past midnight. Poor Rocky and Berni had to get up early this morning, but at least Terry and I could sleep in.

Just as I need my puppy fix every so often, Terry needs a kitty fix now and then, so she enjoyed their cat, Medora. We both love animals, though I’m a dog person and doesn’t like cats very much, and Terry is a cat person who is allergic to most dogs, but we have agreed that we will not have another pet as long as we travel. We spend too much time away from the bus chasing down stories for the Gypsy Journal, dropping off sample copies, doing speaking gigs, and working as vendors at RV rallies, and it is not fair to an animal to be cooped up inside alone for that much time. So we have loaner critters we visit with, scattered around the country. Think of it as furry grandkids – we get to come and play with them when we want to, and then we take off again and leave all the responsibility to someone else!

Thought For The Day – Whether you think times are going to get better or get worse, sooner or later time will prove you right.

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