I talked to the owner of the RV shop where our burglary and vandalism took place over the weekend, and he told us to be there when they opened this morning, and he and his crew would do whatever needs to be done to get us back on the road in time to get to my medical appointment at the VA hospital in Lexington, Kentucky Wednesday morning.
Now that we have the mess cleaned up, things look a lot better inside our motorhome. If they can get the glass for the side door and get it installed today, we could leave tomorrow and get to Lexington in time. The day/night blinds also should not take too long to replace, assuming they have or can get them today.
Since Elkhart is the RV Capital of the World, at least we’re in a good place to get the parts needed fast. The slashed seat is another matter; I don’t see how that can be repaired that quickly, so we’ll see what happens with that.
There are things about this crime that just do not make sense to us. For example, they took my netbook computer and the attached cable to our Silverleaf engine monitoring system, which entailed crawling under the Winnebago’s dashboard and cutting the straps that held it in place, and reaching an almost inaccessible plug under the driver’s footrest to unplug it. It would have been much easier to just unplug the cable from the USB port of the computer, or to cut it. My iPod was lying next to the netbook computer and they ignored it. In the bedroom, they took a cheap DVD player, but left a shotgun and expensive camera. They left one rather expensive handgun in a dresser drawer, and took a cheaper Glock that was laying under it. Why? They carried away a 19 inch LCD TV, but left other smaller, more expensive, more portable items where they tossed them. We can’t understand their thinking, but being scumbag thieves, they probably are not Rhodes scholars anyway.
You just knew that Bad Nick had to wade in on this one, and he did with today’s Bad Nick Blog, titled Sometimes You Just Want To Kill Something. Check it out and leave a comment.
The date for our Arizona Gypsy Gathering rally is coming up fast, and new reservations are coming in every day. Terry and I have been forced to reevaluate and change our position on rally vendors.
When we started holding rallies, we had a policy of only one vendor per each type of product, to give our vendors the maximum opportunity to make a profit. That became a problem because rally attendees wanted more shopping opportunities, and then we were threatened with legal action for “restraining trade” because we would not allow one vendor to come because someone had already registered selling a similar product. We may have prevailed in court, but I don’t need the expense or the hassle.
My attorney advised us to drop that restriction, so we decided that we would allow vendors who sold similar products made by different companies. That opened an entire new can of worms. These days there are a lot of vendors selling three, four, five or more different products, and if they can’t display and sell all of their products, they won’t come. Everybody wants to sell everything, and nobody wants any competition. I tell you, it’s like herding cats trying to keep up with all of them. How can we win?
We have also had several vendors assure us in the past that they plan to attend, and then cancel at the last minute. Meanwhile, we have turned other potential vendors away who sell similar products. In our mail this week we received a registration for a Passport America vendor who had told us in August he wanted to come to the rally, but did not pay a deposit. Meanwhile, weeks later, another Passport America vendor registered and paid. Now the first guy is upset because he feels we sold his space out from under him.
So the new policy, after the Arizona rally, is that any vendor can come to future rallies, no matter what he or she is selling. No matter what we do, we can’t please everybody, and I’m tired of pulling out what little hair I have left trying to do so.
Before I end this blog, I hope you will take a few moments to remember that today is Pearl Harbor Day, and to remember those who lost their lives on that terrible day in 1941. That seems like a lifetime ago for many of us, but to them and their families, it was the end of their lifetime.
Thought For The Day – It is never too late to mend a broken friendship.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Thanks for the reminder about Pearl Harbor Day. We did remember it when we wrote down Suzy’s doctor’s appointment on the calendar. Our visit years ago to the USS Arizona memorial is still vivid in our memory.
Good luck with the multiple vendor program! You can’t win for losing with setting rules and guidelines! Now you may have vendors who won’t make a buck becuase of too many selling the same product.
After reading yesterday’s posts by the law enforcement officers, I have a better understanding why the crime rate is so high. “A once armed burglar who pointed a gun at me, returns to the scene of a crime & not knowing if he is rearmed, the victim is supposed to provide the opportunity for him to escape so that he can perpetrate the violence on another victim who is not as sophisticated.” Wow! This is the right thing to do? I don’t own or carry, but it was added to my list of things to do after reading how you & Terry were burglarized. Now after reading the law enforcement comments I will move it up on the list.
We are so glad things are looking better for you and Terry after sorting things out. It is a blessing that you are both safe and were not injured. Heres hoping things get fixed and replaced for you to get on the road in time. Now you need a good doc. report. Thank you for remembering Pearl Harbor.
Nick, I just noticed this saying attributed to Teddy Roosevelt, and I instantly thought of you:
“In a moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The worst thing you can do is nothing.”
This morning, I shared your blog and some photos of you with my 21-year old daughter, and we discussed how heroes come in all shapes and sizes!
I’m hopeful that you find some peace and comfort as you and Terry put this mess behind you and get on down the road toward sunny skies and warm temperatures, right after your VA appointment this week.
Sounds like your burglars were not-to-bright scumbags doing their Christmas shopping at a discount. They obviously had no idea about the value of things & nobody on their Christmas list wanted an iPod or nice shotgun. I’m glad you both came through it OK. I enjoy reading your blog even though I’m not even a wanna be RVer.