Joel Would Be Happy

  On Saturday, when we arrived at the Flying J, we filled up with gas and propane and then I unhooked the car from the rig. When everything was filled up, I moved the rig around back to a quiet part of the parking lot that was behind the store. This wasn’t part of the usual trucker area, but an area where the “bobtails” (just the truck part of the combination)could park. Like I mentioned in my last post, another motorhome was parked there so I backed in next to them.
That evening we had supper inside at Denny’s. When we were filling up with gas, we had noticed a young man and his dog, hanging out in front of Flying J. He wasn’t panhandling or anything…just looked road weary and hot. His dog looked like my son’s dog; like he might have some Rhodesian Ridgeback in him. The man had a huge pack on his back, but was very clean and well kept. We didn’t give much thought to this duo and thought maybe they were catching their breath and getting ready to hit the road.
When my son called me around 3 a.m. that his dad had passed, we were up for the day. A couple hours later we went into the store to get something to eat and found this young man and his dog, sleeping under a small tarp on the sidewalk, around the corner from the entrance to the store. We could see the dog’s paws sticking out from under the tarp and knew he was curled up next to his buddy, getting some rest before setting out the next day. It broke our hearts to see this and it stuck with me as we walked back to the rig.
I waited till I thought that they were awake and went out to talk with the young man to see what his story was. I had filled a large zip-lock bag with dog food for the pup and grabbed a couple treats from Boomer’s container. As I approached the young man he was walking around in almost the same spot we had seen them sleeping. The pup had a rawhide toy that he was playing with. I asked the young man where he was headed and he said he was going to Wyoming to visit some family. He had spent the winter in NY and was hitchhiking up to the Cheyenne area. He was hoping to get a job driving truck. He was very polite and humored this mom’s questions of “do you have money”, “do you have food” and “what do you need”. He said that he needed socks so off I went into the store, hoping that Flying J stocked something so basic but knowing that they aren’t exactly a Wal-Mart either. They did have a 6-pack of socks so I bought them and took them back out to him. I gave him the dog food and he started re-arranging his backpack to find room for it. He said he wanted to get over to the TA truck center because that was on the route he needed to go north on. He had pulled a muscle walking so many miles the day before and was trying to rest up a little before heading out again. The heat of standing out on the highway for several hours had taken a toll on his dog so it was good that they stopped for the night. Once I came back to the rig and told Linda about our discussion, she went out and asked him how far it was to the TA plaza and he told her 7 miles. She loaded him and his dog into the Xterra and headed out to take them up the road so they could get a start from the TA. She said he was so appreciative of the ride and she gave him $20 to give him a couple meals for the next leg of his trip.
It was a small interaction but one that we felt really drawn to, that sad Sunday morning. My heart was so heavy for Joel and my kids but I know that as generous as Joel was, for all of his life, he would be proud. Joel spearheaded the campaign in the Sayre/Waverly area in 2011 when so many homeowners were devastated by the flood. Times when I would chat with him or exchange e-mails, he was helping someone rebuild this or that and the rebuilding continues until today. He served on the Salvation Army board and loved everything that he did with them. The Valley Business Alliance was such a huge part of his life and he so loved to help others in any way he could. He never asked for anything for himself and got by with so little. His heart was so full of generosity and compassion for others. He played Santa Claus for many years at the Sayre Theatre and this year he sent me an e-mail of an interaction with a child that touched him so deeply. When he asked this particular little boy what he wanted for Christmas the little boy teared up and said, “Why can’t everyone just get along ? Why can’t everybody just love one another?” I’m not sure that Santa had an answer for that little boy but I can almost guarantee you that Joel gave that little boy a big hug before he climbed down off his lap. He was very moved that something like that would come from the lips of a small child. Things like that touched him. Joel was very sentimental and not a Mother’s Day would go by that he didn’t send me an e-mail and thank me for Becky and Jay. He loved all of his kids and grand-kids so much and felt that they were such a blessing to him. I think that blessing flowed the other way too….they were blessed, for too short a time, but blessed nevertheless with a father who was such a great role model of love, selflessness, compassion and friendship. He will be greatly missed but his legacy lives on in them and in all of us, should we decide to help our fellow man. What do you want your legacy to be ?

We’ve Arrived in Bandera

The warranty repairs were wrapped up on our rig early Wednesday afternoon. Demontrond and Lippert did not agree on how the step should be repaired. Our RV tech said that he has found with this particular repair, that although the bolt sheared off, it isn’t as easy as drilling out the old bolt to replace it. He’s not sure if they use some sort of locktite or what but he’s found that it takes several guys on a wrench, a blow torch and many hours of hard work to get the old one out. After all of that he thinks that it weakens the strength of the metal and may pose a safety hazard. Lippert, on the other hand, won’t replace the steps but is happy to mail out the $2 bolt. Shocking, huh ? Since manufacturers will only mail parts out by “ground”, the bolt wouldn’t arrive in time so it’s being shipped to Bandera and we’ll have it installed here. I’ve alerted Class A RV Repairs that the part is on its’ way. The other items were fixed. Our awning now runs out whisper quiet and doesn’t get hung up. Speaking of whisper quiet….operation of our microwave now doesn’t require turning the TV up full blast. It’s so quiet ! The screen door on the garage entry door doesn’t bind and actually latches. The ramp door bracket has new bolts and the screws were replaced on the slide out arms so they actually bite into the wood. Great stuff that we are glad to have done !
We left the repair place to head to Tommie Vaughn Ford for the safety recall. By the way, in Texas, there is a $200 fine if you are caught talking on your cell phone. I can totally appreciate that situation as being a major distraction when driving. I think a law enforcement officer might have frowned upon my actions and found fault with what happened as I was leaving the RV lot. You remember that we had purchased a new storage cart that holds our printer. It does have locking casters but when you drive across something that closely resembles a ditch, the laws of gravity take their toll on something perched on wheels. Like a lunge from an outfielder trying to catch a ball going over the fence, I saw the stand and printer from the corner of my eye as I tried to cross the “ditch”. Over it went and I managed to catch it while still navigating the rig into three lanes of traffic. I wasn’t sure what to do with the whole monstrosity I was holding in my right arm so I laid it against the table that had been propped up against the front of the unit….in hopes of preventing such an accident (obviously it didn’t work). The stand looked like it was frozen in mid-air….drawers half way out….leaning against the table. Printer was on its side…wedged between the table and the couch. I left it there until we got to the Ford dealership. I needed my arm back so I could steer the rig. The entry into their lot wasn’t any better ! Linda was ahead of me and looking back in the rear view mirror she thought the rig was going to tip over when I drove up into the lot. The steep drainage things they put along the sides of the streets, that vehicles have to cross, is ridiculous ! Once I parked at Tommie Vaughn’s, we discovered that we had forgotten to secure another storage cabinet in the garage. It was surely a day for messes.
Philip came out and gathered the VIN #  and mileage and went to check into the safety recall. When he returned he said he was sorry but it was still too soon. Parts have not been shipped to dealers yet and the letters are just going out to owners. He said that usually recalls entail a “look and see” approach, to see if there might be a problem and IF they need to replace a part. This is a definite replacement recall but he feels confident that we won’t have any problems till it can be replaced. We’ll probably wait till we head to Oklahoma City and get it done then. If the indicator cable broke, it only impacts me knowing what gear I’m in. I will still be able to shift between “Park”, “Drive”, “Neutral”, etc.I just won’t be able to see that when I look at that display. It doesn’t affect the cable going to the transmission. No sweat…..now I know what to expect if it did do something.
So we left the Ford dealership and started out for Bandera….4.5 hours away. By this time, it was 3:30 or so. We were tired and hungry so we drove a little while till we got to a Flying J. We filled up on gas, got propane and ate dinner at their Denny’s and used the 29% off coupon for their Leap Day special. It took some “discussion” with the manager to get the discount since he insisted we print the coupon and we told him that since it was a mobile app, why would there be a requirement to print it. It doesn’t make sense. After some more “discussion”, he made it happen.
We left Denny’s and drove about an hour and then stopped at a rest stop for the night. It was a very warm night and also a very noisy one. The noise level in the loft bedroom is quite a bit more than we ever experienced in the 5th wheel bedroom. Neither of us slept very well and we’ll rethink a rest stop for future night stopovers. Further down the road, when we left this morning, we saw those picnic areas off the road and realized those would be a much better option. The parking is end to end and not side by side. We’d only have to deal with the engine noise from one rig to keep us awake and if we were lucky enough to be at the tail end, it would be quiet. Note to self: in some instances, it’s good to be in last place.
We arrived in Bandera about 11:30, had lunch, got showers, dressed and hit the road selling. It was a beautiful day today, in the 70’s. Boomer is in his glory with our camp site. We are parked right alongside the donkey and steer pasture. We ate supper to the sounds of the steers mooing and the donkeys braying. He loves it ! He will certainly enjoy himself while we are here.

Summary of the Week

I forgot to mention that on Tuesday morning we went to Denny's for their free breakfast. All the waitstaff had these t-shirts on which we thought were cute. The line, outside the restaurant, wasn't too long so we only had to wait about 15 minutes before we got in. The couple that was ahead of us in line was the same couple we had chatted with last year for this same event. Weird, huh ? Inside they were a lot more organized than they had been last year and we waited just a few minutes for our free Grand Slam. There was a balloon artist making neat animals out of balloons while people waited for their food. It was a fun event and hey, ya can't beat free food.

I mentioned in an earlier post about the cranes here in the park and the day after I put that post on,I realized my error in calling them whooping cranes because we went to the bird sanctuary and got to see Sand Hill cranes, like we have here, at their facility. Our friend Cindy let us know about the mistake...Anyway, there is one missing and I'm worried that something has happened to it. There is only one wandering around now...Don't know where the other one went to. Hoping nothing bad has happened. Is this the time of year for sitting on a nest or raising young ? Guess I need to study up on sand hill cranes.

Today we took our friend Jan to the hospital to get some blood work done. By the time she finished up there it was around noontime and since she had to fast for her test and we drove her to the hospital, none of us had eaten and we were starving. We went to Cinnamon Sticks and had breakfast. I had french toast stuffed with a strawberry cream cheese mixture. Very good ! We got our bellies full, got some propane and came on home.

In an earlier post I spoke of the windmills that are going up near my mom in Pennsylvania. Well, I heard on the news the other night that the new clean energy initiative (which I think is great) is not creating jobs in the US but that 80% of the money is going to companies overseas to build these products. Grrrrr......How is that going to create jobs here ? The news report said it was congress's fault because no specific provisions were put in the energy bill that the materials/jobs, etc. should be "American". Come On, Congress...get with it ! Isn't that the point of trying to jump start our economy and "create" jobs in our country....not send all our money to China so they can send the manpower and equipment back to us ? Duh !!

It's been chilly here...in the 50's. Tonight they are expecting 1-3" of snow through the panhandle area of Florida. Safe here...whew ! Friends and family up north are saying it's horrible up there. High winds and lots of snow. Oh no, I just heard where there is a possibility of ANOTHER storm next week for these same areas. And to think that Vancouver has had to truck snow in for the Olympics....they didn't have enough snow on the slopes. Hah...Maybe they need to move the Olympics to Maryland.