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.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
I agree! Every time I see soembody carrying a dog in the store I want to tell them to take their mutt outside where it belongs!
Testing comments
MISS YOU
This is a test to see if comments posting is working.
Gotta agree about Phoenix Commercial Paint, since Michele worked her magic on our 2001 Four Winds every park or campground that we’ve been in people have stopped to complement us on what a great looking rig we have.
We’d love to have Michelle get her hands on our 2001 Itasca Suncruiser – its paint is dull and its decals are fading and cracked. Of course, my own paint is getting a little dull, and the highlights are fading and cracked too. No help for me, I guess!
I agree 100% about the dogs… I love my dog but when I am at rallies she stays in the coach and when we get back to the coach she comes out and plays with us… Stick to your rules Nick!
Have fun & travel safe
Donna
That is our new Phoenix O.A.K. !!! We love it. Michele and her group did an excellent job of rejuvenating our tired 2000 motorhome. Now is the time to have work done, We left Phoenix Paint with a complete new exterior. New slide out awning and patio awning. And the Shine. WOW! Everyone is asking us when we bought the new motorhome. GREAT GROUP to work with. Just can’t say enough good things about our experience with Michele and her group. Feel free to email us about our motorhome at eeeisen@aol.com.
I agree, Nick. I get so tired of idiot people carrying those little rag mop dogs into stores, churches, even restaurants! Last week I was in the post office and the woman in front of me had a little mutt in a sling over her shoulder. Every time I moved it snarled and yapped at me. I finally asked her to pull it down in front of her and away from me, and she went off. She screamed and yelled, called me all kinds of names, and finally the postmaster came out of his office and told her to take the dog outside. Then she went off on him too! By then everybody in line was yelling and telling her to leave or they would call the police. What a scene, all because some dimwit wouldn’t leave her mutt at home or in the car.
Wouldn’t it be so much better in this world if people would channel their love and $ to their fellow humane.
I see people talking to animals as if they think the animal understands the conversation, even to the point that the couple talks through the dog, but don’t talk directly to each other.
If the $’s spent on pets could be used to help our fellow human it would be a better world, and we wouldn’t need all of the different charities in the country.
Also remember your pet isn’t going to heaven as it doesn’t have a soul!
One family who always attended a spring rally we organized brought their German Shepherd to the pot luck inside the building. They were outraged when told to take her out. Now she leaves hateful comments on my blog so much I have to moderate the comments. She has taken it upon her vindictive self to start threads on forums I frequent dissing things I say and do on MY blog. I can’t believe this person is an adult, but most of the time, it is the alcohol talking anyway. After 7 years, we quit doing the rally because I refused to exclude anyone and didn’t want them to come ruin our rally.
We had someone who claimed her dog was a service dog (her psychiatrist told her to keep the dog with her) come to a rally. She carried it in a sling and the dog hung over the food line. We were all REALLY unhappy about that. But research into the laws showed us, we can not tell her not to bring the dog and we could not ask her if the dog was really a service dog. This type of thing is getting out of hand. We all believe the dog over the food was a violation of our rights but what can you do? Fortunately she no longer comes to rallies but I do think that when my safety and food issues are concerned I have a right to ask the person to keep the dog away from me and my and other people’s food. Hope you don’t have these issues at your rally.