Note to self – If we ever hold another Gypsy Gathering rally at a commercial campground, we will require attendees to make their own reservations directly with the campground. The original plan was that the campground would have us handle the rally reservations, but it has become a nightmare as some people make reservations with us, some make them directly with Elkhart Campground, and some make reservations for the rally dates with us, but separate reservations for the days before and after our rally directly with the campground. At this point we know we have 30 and 50 amp full hookup sites left, but neither we nor the campground know how many of each.
We don’t mark up the camping fees, but the campground has weekly and monthly rates that may be less than the rally camping rates, which has left us scratching our heads when trying to help attendees who may be arriving early or hanging around after our rally to wait for the Escapees Escapade two weeks later in Goshen. Plus, people don’t understand that if they want extra days, the daily rate does not include the 7% local sales tax.
Note to self – I really like the Koni shocks that Redlands Truck & RV installed on our Winnebago Ultimate Adventure motorhome after our Western Gypsy Gathering rally in Yuma back in March. They give us a superb ride, the handling is great, and I would recommend them, and Redlands, to anybody.
Note to self – The Verizon internet service we’re getting from our air card here at Tra-Tel RV Park in Tucson is as slow as what we experienced a few months ago in Apache Junction. At that point, Verizon said it was because so many snowbirds were in Arizona, using up the bandwidth. Okay, that makes sense, but now it’s May, the campground is more than half empty, the snowbirds have packed up their RVs and hit the trail. So what’s their excuse now? We had much faster service in the small town of Show Low than we are experiencing here in the big city.
Note to self – I can’t please everybody, but some people ask so much that it’s not even worth trying, so don’t worry about it. I got an e-mail from a fellow who has been a regular blog reader and for the last couple of years, though we have never met. He is staying in a campground north of Phoenix, and is interested in getting a Silverleaf VMSpc engine monitoring system like I use in our motorhome, and has been asking me a lot of questions about how it performs. The other day he wrote me that he has the same engine/transmission combination that I do in our RV, and was planning to come to our Eastern Gypsy Gathering rally. He asked if he could borrow my Silverleaf system to use on his trip to Indiana to help him decide if it was worth the investment. My first response was no, followed by NO! I replied that I had never met him, I wasn’t in the habit of loaning expensive equipment to strangers, and that I needed it for our own trip to Indiana. I have pasted, in part, his response: “I bet you never shared your toys with the other kids when you were a kid either did you? I hate selfish people!!!! You wont see me at your rally or reading your stupid blog ever again!!!” Uh, okay, I’ll miss you (I guess). Where do these people come from, and how do they get my name?
Note to self – Whatever kind of onions I got into Friday were really, really nasty, because all day yesterday I still felt terrible and couldn’t keep anything down. There has to be an easier way to lose weight.
Note to Mom – It’s been a long time since you left us, but it was much too soon. I love you and I miss you every day. I wish you could have been here to know Miss Terry, you would have loved her, and I know she would have loved you too. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom.
Thought For The Day – Happy Mother’s Day to all of the moms out there. If your mom is still alive, be sure to tell her today how much you love her, because someday you will wish you could.
Click Here To Register For Our Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally!
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
I can’t believe that someone would ask to use your equipment and expect you to do without. Even if you did not need it and you wanted to help the man you should expect him to give you a deposit for the amount it would have cost him to buy the equipment until he returned it to you in good working order. I told my children as they were growing up they have to earn trust. I might loan something to someone I had known for a long time that had established trust but not to someone that I just recently met.
Nick, we had a couple parked near us in the campground here in Alabama last week who stopped to ask us about our Dutch Star, because they have been looking at one for sale on the internet. How did we like it, what kind of mileage do we get, how does it handle the hills, yada yada yada. We showed them through the coach, and then the husband asked what the chance was of him getting a chance to drive it a few miles to see how he liked it before they made an offer on the one on the website. I told him about as much as a snowball’s chances in hell! He got pissed and left, and they ignored us the last three days they were here. Our coach isn’t for sale, yet this yahoo whose name I don’t even know expected me to let him drive my HOME!
Note to Nick – Please wish Miss Terry a Happy Mothers Day for me. I’m looking forward to her recipe blog. See you down the road. Janis
Wow…I used to be suprised by people like this a lot but lately it doesn’t suprise me anymore. I had a pickup truck and friends would want to borrow it – most common reason – to move. I said I would gladly help (not only are you getting a truck but a set of hands!) but people would be annoyed they couldn’t just borrow my truck anytime they wanted. I was like no! It’s my truck, I’m on the insurance for liability and it’s not easily replaceable if something were to happen. I’ve lost a few friends that way but tough cah-hoonies! People live in an age of gimme, gimme, gimme! It’s sad actually…
Kari
Had a guy call me on the phone, one night over 30 years ago. The man I’d never met asked if he could help me install garage doors so he could go into that business in the same small county we lived in?
My answer was: “WHAT?”
At that point I hung up, rather than say the rest of what I was thinking.
Note to Nick: Wonderful blog!! Regarding, Mr. Gimmee Guy, that really takes a lots of balls to ask a stranger to use their expensive equipment and you are to do “without”. I am sure you will get over his not reading your blog. He probably never spent a dime with you anyway. That type never does.
Happy Mothers Day to everyone!
Hey Nick, you may have found yourself trying to buy your unit back off craigslist. Perhaps the boldness is just a front for a good old con job. The number of internet based cons these days are so many that the police have found themselves at a loss in terms of resources to pursue the vast majority of cases.
Added to the hutzpah* is the unbelievably rude and ignorant response to a perfectly normal denial of a ridiculous request. I for one am happy the cretin will not be joining us in Elkhart, none of us need self centered jerks in our lives, had to deal with enough of that garbage before I retired.
*from the Yiddish, meaning shameless audacity
Since you are starting to loan things can we borrow Miss Terri, I hate to cook….
We liked the work Redlands Truck & RV did for us at your Gypsy Gathering so much that we went later to their shop and had them do some more. Great people and service beyond the expected. I highly recommend them!
I’ll bet your stomach problems were because of food poisoning rather than an allergy.
Nick,
Air card roaming can be updated just like your cell phone on *228. With your Verizon air card open your vzaccess and go to options. Then click on “activation”. That should update your card for your new location. Have used this feature many times.
J.D, McClary
I guess it doesn’t hurt to ask?? The fact that he was a jackass when you said no… Makes me very suspicious. I’ll read your blog extra and be at first Gypsy Gathering I can make it to!! Thanks for sharing your life with us Nick! BTW thanks for the reminder to call my mom. I had already made arrangements to take her to lunch next week but did not even think to call her today. Just got off the phone. She’s having quite a day already. I’ve got a great Mom!
Nick, I have to relate a story from my teenage years, when I was 16 I bought a 1955 Chev Belair 210 2dr for $100. Right after I bought it I was asked by one of my buddies if he could borrow it for the night I told him I would let him know after I got off work at the filling station. Well my Grandfather came in for gas and I asked him for his advice, and his answer was, “You know the piano in our living room, i said sure, he said well if one of my friends asked to borrow it no matter how close a friend he was I would tell him no, if something happens to your automibile while he is using it you will be the one without it not him”, then he said “oh yeah you’ll soon find out an automobile costs a hellava lot more than that piano did”. I told the friend no and he was all pissed off, some friend. By the way if this nut followed your blog for so long and now it is stupid, what does that say for his intelligence. Good Job Nick. Be Safe out there Sam & Donna.
Couple of thoughts. The guy who wanted to borrow your VMSpc cable was already over stepping the boundaries by asking you way too many questions. He is obviously a First Class Jerk.
You can’t fix stupid, and he is STUPID. And you and everyone else at the next rally is better off because they won’t have to deal with that schmuck.
One more thought. The moocher is the kind of guy who would dump his gray tank and leave.
Hmmm, do you think I could admire a nice diamond ring and then ask to borrow it to see if I like it before I buy one? Idjits….LOL!!
Oh, and we did the split reservations, too. Coming in ahead of time (to help) and staying one day after. I don’t know how they are keeping this all straight but figure it will work out!
Doesn’t surprise me. I was vending at the CA/EXPO and the vendor next to me was trying to get a taxicab to take him back to his RV two miles away to get more product. Like an idiot I loaned him my car. He came back two hours later with an armlod of product and said he had stopped for lunch. I was ticked off by then, and asked for my keys back, and he said his wife had taken the car to do some shopping!
Nick
We had a clod workcamping with us in Texas last winter who refused to speak to us because Bill wouldn’t loan him our boat to go fishing on in the Gulf!
Susan Frye
Isn’t it wonderful when we’re a bit busy and these folks are willing to “self-sort”? This one is a classic:
1. Constant intrusions on your time = “I’m inconsiderate”
2. Asking to borrow for no purpose other than his amusement = “I’m entitled”.
3. Threatening to never deal with you (Thanks!) = “I’ll burn any bridge to stay this stupid”.
The funnest part is we all know he’s reading the blog, and steaming ‘cuz he’s made himself such a FAMOUS fool!
Every time I think I’ve heard it all, a new one takes the cake! My wife befriended a solo lady at our park in Mission last winter and since she had no car, Stacy ran her to the grocery store, to the dentist, and several other places. Then her kids flew down to visit and Stacy picked them up. Another day she took them all to Mexico because they wanted to see it. Then she asked if Stacy would take them to the beach. They stopped for lunch and the mom bought for everybody else, and never offered to pay for Stacy’s In fact, she told the waitress that she was paying for her kids and that Stacy was separate. When they flew back guess who took them to the airport? Not once was there an offer to pay for gas, or even a thank you. It all came to a head when she wanted Stacy to take her shopping one day when we had company. Stacy told her it wasn’t a good time, and she would be happy to later. The lady was back a half hour later asking if Stacy was ready yet, and she told her we still had company. She turned to our company and said “I hope you’re not staying long, because I want to be back in time for American Idol.”
We won’t miss the jerk at the next gathering, some people have brass cajones and expect everyone just to give them anything they want. His mother must be so proud of him. We are glad that you are feeling better now. Please wish Terry happy mothers day from us. We will see you in Elkhart.
Nick, like someone else has said, you probably had a case of food poisoning rather than an allergy reaction. A doctor here where we live, said that most of the time when one gets flu like symptons etc., actually more than likely has gotten food poisoning from eating out. There are so many germs and bacteria to infect food in restaurants, one would be shocked. Also food preparation needs to be done very carefully. We try to eat more at home where we know the food is OK and the preparation clean.
Nick, I believe you have a food allergy/intolerance. Bob has the same thing, only his problem is bell peppers. Any type of bell pepper. Restauant staff do not seem to take this seriously and serve them to him all the time. The only thing that works is to explain to them that they will have to call 911 if he eats any peppers and that will be very disruptive to their restauant. Amazing how well that works! Most people do not understand that allergies tend to get worse the more that you are exposed to the allergen, so please continue to be very careful and avoid those onions !