Rainy Days and Mondays

 Rain.

It’s Monday and it’s raining. The Carpenters had a song about that. Rainy days and Monday’s Always Get Me Down.

Except they don’t.

I like rain. I like the sound of rain on our metal roof. I’m not too keen on the rain seeping in the leak we can’t seem to pinpoint, but I still like the rain. As for Mondays – they don’t really bother me too much any longer. When I worked a regular office job (for that university that must not be named in the middle of the state) Mondays were kind of a downer. But when I worked for newspapers I worked nights, weekends and holidays so Mondays were just another day -- kind of like they are now, minus the work part. I guess that actually makes Mondays better any way you look at it.

The rain has chased us inside the trailer. King is watching “Gunsmoke” on satellite TV. Before that he watched “The Big Valley.” He has a penchant for TV westerns. I can take them or leave them. I have an annoying habit of watching the actors and their stunt doubles ride horses. I am a snob when it comes to riding ability. Michael Landon was a good rider as were John Wayne, Robert Fuller, John Smith and a few others. The rest? Not so much. I’ve also been known to scream at the TV, “lighten up on that poor horse’s mouth. That hurts!” And don’t get me going about the final scene of Hidalgo where the character Frank Hopkins (Viggo Mortensen) returns the horse to the wild – with its (the horse’s) shoes on. I saw the movie in the theater and yelled at the screen, “Are you kidding me?” John Wayne and Audry Murphy both rode the same horse. It’s a good thing they never did a movie together. Michael Landon’s famous paint horse was actually more than a dozen horses over the course of the TV series – sometimes two different horses were in the same episode (and yes, I can tell the difference). James Arnes (Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke) and Lorene Greene (Ben Cartwright, Bonanza) also rode the same buckskin horse – Buck. Stands to reason Ben Cartwright never visited Dodge City.

So, that’s my life on a rainy day -- thinking about TV westerns and the horses that made them.

Back in reality, we still don’t have a departure date – although we do have a “must be in California by date.” Our daughter has a work commitment in mid-November. We will be there by then to help with the grandsons. We are also running up against some new COVID-19 regulations that are complicating our stay. The San Diego County park system has some lovely parks for camping. Each one has a 14 day limit, but we could move from park to park and never really had a problem. This year they have a 60-day total time limit for all the parks combined. Although they say it is because of COVID, I am fairly certain it is because the huge homeless population often travels from park to park. Those of us here in the Midwest, where winters are not conducive to year-round homeless living, really can’t fathom how prevalent homelessness is. Trust me, it happens right here in South Haven, but one does not often see people living in makeshift shelters under viaducts, or alleyways next to generators.

The challenge for us will be finding an affordable place to stay near our daughter who now lives in Carlsbad, California. There is also the problem with the age of our travel trailer. Many private parks and RV Resorts have an age limit for their trailers (anywhere from 10 to 15 years). Our trailer falls into the “older than dirt” category. Having an age limit, and banning school bus conversions is a way to keep pleasing aesthetics in parks – but that’s another story.

  
In the end we will figure it all out. We fly by the seat of our pants but we always manage. It’s our way.

The time to leave is quickly approaching ... I think

It’s a beautiful fall day but I’ve been chased inside by the multitude of flies that seem to be so prevalent this season. I’ve become quite adept with the flyswatter. The hapless intruders don’t stand a chance.

From my vantage point by the kitchen table I can see the Kal Haven Trail. The trees along the trail are still green – until you look closely and you can see a slight yellow tinge to them. While driving to Glenn today to get our mail there was an occasional tree that simply could not hold out any longer and has already changed to a brilliant orange.

The RV section of the campground was near capacity this weekend. But that includes a handful of RVs that are housing a work crew for the I-196 highway project. They come in Sunday night or Monday morning, spend the week at the campground and leave Thursday night for their real homes. The empty RVs stay here. This weekend, in addition to those staying in their RVs,  there were few hardy tenters. I’m not certain how long they will continue to venture out. We had a frost Saturday morning so they must have been cold. Or not. We have not yet turned on our furnace. When I poke my head out from under the covers on frosty mornings, there is something to be said for being able to snuggle back under the comforter and know if it gets REALLY cold I can pull out a sleeping bag. One would think those who stay in a tent are of the same mind. Except, I also know I have a really nice furnace I can turn on when the chill becomes unbearable.

Things simply seem to be winding down. We are in the home stretch for getting ready to hit the road. I think I ask King almost daily when his last golf scramble is as our departure date depends on the last golf outing. I know he knows when it is. He won’t tell me until I quit asking. And I won’t quit asking so we are at an impasse.  This is one I cannot win, but I’m too stubborn to give in. He and our sons are playing in a scramble today so I’m hoping they will have a few more dates and I can ask one of the boys for an idea of how much longer. When sons get to a certain age they can’t say no to Mom. We’ve been married 44 years so I obviously have a few work-arounds.

I’ve already enlisted our sons to work on King for new tires. I’ve mentioned the need for tires in another blog. Yesterday a friend was visiting. We have a canopy outside the trailer where we sit when we “entertain.” The friend helped me find the manufacture date on the tires. They were made in 2003. King pretends he thinks it’s not a problem. Again, after 44 years I can tell when he is wavering.

I’ve also mapped out our route. For the past four years I have been saying I want to visit the World’s Largest Ball of Twine in Cawker City, Kansas. It has often been on our list of stops. For one reason or another (snowstorms, the need to be in California in three days, an ice storm, etc. etc. etc.) our route has always changed. Although Kansas is kind of considered the middle of the country, believe it or not it’s not exactly on the way to California. I’m hoping this year we can make it. I also want to see the World’s Largest Belt Buckle, the Kaskaskia Dragon, the Welcome Alien in Roswell, NM and a few other places many consider tourist traps. I’m a sucker for Americana and National Parks. The two can be compatible if you know how to do it right. Being a retired journalist I’d also love to go to the Ernie Pyle Museum in Dana, Indiana but I don’t think it will be open. Ernie Pyle was a World War II war correspondent. My favorite journalism professor used to read excerpts from his columns to our class.

I spent an afternoon mapping our route, knowing full well we won’t follow it.  In fact, we have yet to follow any route. I am not exaggerating when our say our trip always changes – most of the time before we reach Chicago.

 It’s just our fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants way.

The foibles of technology.

I think it’s been a long summer for everyone. Not that King and I spend a lot of time socializing, but an entire summer of social distancing and finding things to fill our time meant we spent a lot of time on social media. Facebook is my social media site of choice and when I tallied my time spent on the site (they actually have a tool that tells you how much time you spend scrolling through junk) I decided it was time to disable the Facebook app on my phone. That way, I reasoned, I would have to consciously think about getting on Facebook. It would mean pulling my laptop out of the closet where it is kept, plugging in, booting up, wait for pages to load (it’s an old laptop) and – in short I’d have to REALY REALLY want to see what is happening in the Facebook world.

But getting Facebook off my phone was easier said than done. For me, the latest and greatest in cell phones is not a priority. My son was telling me he is coveting an android that comes with a $900 price tag. I’d rather have new tires on the trailer. My cheap, less than $150 phone came with Facebook pre-loaded so uninstalling the app was not an option. Turns out I had to disable it. When I clicked on the disable button I got a warning that disabling the app could cause other apps to “misbehave.” What does that even mean? In the end, I reasoned I had dealt with misbehaving children so how difficult could a misbehaving app be?  I bit the bullet and disabled the app. So far I’ve not seen a difference. No untoward behavior. Should bad behavior rear its ugly head, I’ll be stuck with a misbehaving phone.

Of course, I could have just stayed off Facebook but I have to be honest; I don’t have the willpower to just quit. The temptation was very, very strong. Sneaking one little glimpse into the Facebook world couldn’t possibly hurt, right? So I’d tell myself I would spend just a few minutes checking out my newsfeed. An hour later, with eyes blurring, I’d put my phone down.  It’s like eating just one potato chip.  It’s never going to happen. (I recall the time my sister-in-law told me about a new product she found in the dairy section of the grocery store. Philadelphia Cream Cheesecake bites. “They are so tasty,” she said. “One little square just hits the spot and takes the edge off hunger.” Really? One little 1 x 1 square satiates your need. Sure. I believe you).

But I digress.

 My son was telling me about a documentary he watched on Netflix about how much Facebook spies on us.  Then a few other people started talking about the same documentary, “Social Dilemma.” It would seem Big Brother (or a nefarious business) IS watching us. Now, I don’t have any deep dark secrets so no worries, right? I pretty much share everything on Facebook anyway, however, every time I drive past Walgreens I get a text message telling me what is on sale.  I know it’s not Facebook narcing on my location, but still. And I suppose it could be a coincidence, who knows?  Pretty sure it’s Google sharing my location.  But since Google Maps is such an integral part of our travels, Google has to stay.

King is cautious with sharing data but only if it is his idea. Most of the time he tends to think it is much ado about nothing. His attitude is so what? That is until the time our bank account was compromised and then he was concerned with “how did this happen?”  Telling him it could be any number of things did not help. Our next to non-existent online banking center help desk was actually a “no help desk.” We eventually gave up and switched banks.  It had taken me months to convince King direct deposit was the way to go. He REALLY wanted that paper check. When I pointed out to him it is rather hard to track us down while traveling he finally did acquiesce. Then the account was compromised, the bank shut it down and we were stuck with three direct deposits with no place to go. It literally took a call to our state representative (a former student) to get his pension check.

Technology is great when it works. When it doesn’t it is a nightmare. When they spy on us it is something else altogether.

 

Endings/beginnings

 The calendar says summer officially ends (this year) September 22,  and fall will continue  through December 21st. We all know that is not true. Summer ends the day everyone goes back to school. Winter begins with the first snowfall – unless it happens before Halloween, then it’s a fall snowstorm.

Or at least that is what it has been in the past. This year the recurring theme – rather than lamenting the end of summer -- is:  “What is going to happen when the kids go back to school?”

Tuesday, September 8, is the first day of school for our grandchildren in Grand Haven. The district had postponed an August start. The grandchildren in Paw Paw started August 31, and the grandchildren in California started (online) August 24. A niece who teaches in Spring Lake started a hybrid classroom August 26. Colleges are dealing with the spread of the COVID  virus among students and at my alma mater in mid-Michigan students are protesting face-to-face classes. It’s not your typical start to the school year.

I will confess both King (a retired school administrator) and I have a lot of reservations about the start of school. King is glad he does not have to deal with it on a professional level and we are both concerned for our children and grandchildren.

Meanwhile our life at the campground continues.  King and I are watching the weekend numbers slowly dwindle. I think the few trailers that are still here during the week are workers who travel the country to work when nuclear plants have their “outages” or maintenance on the facilities. Specialists come in to work the “outages” – traveling from nuclear plant to nuclear plant and living in the area for the month or two the plants are down/out/not powering or whatever you want to call it. The Palisades plant in South Haven is currently having an “outage.”  The plant is actually closing permanently at some point but that date appears to be a moving target. Since I no longer work in a newsroom I don’t pay much attention. Maybe that makes me uncaring? Or maybe I’m distracted by other things.

Ahh life goes on.

On a personal level, just as school resuming has caught us by surprise, so too has the reality that in two months King and I will be on the road again. We are waiting for the official date of the last golf scramble to determine our actual departure date. Retirement allows for that kind of flexibility.

But it is not as if our pending departure has taken us totally by surprise. There has been some planning, albeit it's been done in a haphazard sort of way. (My sister Donna, the perpetual planner, would be in full panic mode were she still with us).  In July I went online at the Secretary of State website to make an appointment for the trailer title transfer and discovered the earliest I could get in was November. That’s kind of not acceptable. I’ve been told I can call the day before I'd like to go in and try for a next day appointment. I keep putting it off a day of being on hold – I guess I’d better get to it.

The trailer also needs tires. King doesn’t think so. In the past I would just get up one day (preferable a golf day), hook up the trailer and have it done.  Unfortunately it’s no longer something I can just drive off and do. If we still had a backyard with a trailer in it, I might get away with it. As it is now he might notice the trailer missing or it moving down the road while he is sleeping in it. Small details, but I’ve always been able to figure a way around things or do what I want and listen to him complain about it in a off-handed way: “We could be going out to dinner tonight but you spent our money on new tires.” Those who know King see the humor in that statement. We never go out to dinner. My daughter has to tell him, “Take Mom out for dinner on Mother’s Day. Big Boy or McDonald’s does not count.”

And the truck … the “Check 4-wheel drive” light has been on since the fuel pump went out in Tulsa on our way home this spring. At the insistence of our son, and against the wishes of King, I took it in to have the differentials checked in June. The repair person said the differentials were fine and he was pretty sure the warning light was something that had been disconnected when they dropped the engine to replace the fuel pump. I’m guessing that light can’t be ignored much longer either. Points, plugs and warning lights are also on our “to do” list.

In the grand scheme of things these are small, petty annoyances. There are so many worse things going on right now. By the end of October they will be taken care of or we will have justified not doing them. It will all work out in the end.

In the meantime enjoy what is left of your summer, or fall, or whatever you wish to call it. And may all your annoyances be small ones.