After reading in the blog about the frustrations I was having trying to do research at the Family History Library, Roger Marble sent me some website links to articles on getting the most out of a visit to the Family History Library. I spent a couple of hours Sunday reading those articles, and then getting my notes better organized. It really made a difference.
Yesterday I went back to the library for a couple of hours, and I think I may be getting the hang of how things are laid out there. I found a lot of very good information, including the dates and newspapers that several family members’ obituaries were in, as well as their last addresses before they died. I also found some information on my older brother, who was murdered back in 1968. It was quite a breakthrough, and I feel like I accomplished a lot. I want to go back again today for a while, since our visit here in Salt Lake City is almost over. I definitely plan to come back here again!
Roger presented a couple of seminars on genealogy at our rally in Celina, Ohio last year, and the response was so good that he will be doing them again at our upcoming Eastern Gypsy Gathering Rally in Elkhart, Indiana August 30 – September 3.
Blog reader Ray Warner and his wife Cindy live in Riverton, Utah, a little south of Salt Lake City, and when he read that we were going to be in the area, Ray invited us to dinner. Never one to pass up the chance to make a new friend, or a free meal, I was happy to take Ray up on his offer.
We met at the Chuck-A-Rama buffet, where Terry and I had dinner Friday evening, and it was just as good this time around, too. Ray and Cindy are a very nice couple, who have a fifth wheel, and are looking forward to doing some extended traveling once Cindy retires in a couple of years.
We always enjoy talking with folks about the RV lifestyle, and sharing what we have learned in our time on the road. Cindy had questions about things like how do we get our mail on the road, and what happens if you have a major illness or accident when far away from home. We explained to them about mail forwarding services, and medical evacuation services such as Sky Med and MASA.
I also stressed to both Cindy and Ray how important I feel it is for both of them to know how to handle all of the dumping chores, how hook up and unhook their rig, and how to drive the RV, even if one is the primary driver and the other seldom gets behind the wheel. We have seen too many situations where a husband gets sick or injured, and the wife has no idea of how to get someplace safe until the situation is resolved. We have also known couples where the wife does most of the driving, and the husband would be really challenged if he had to take the wheel.
Some husbands (or wives) can teach their spouses how to drive an RV, but for many couples, it just doesn’t work. If you fall into that category, or if you are a new RVer, male or female, I have good news for you.
Dennis Hill from the RV Driving School will be presenting driving seminars at our Elkhart rally, as well as giving private lessons behind the wheel of the students’ rigs. I really hope folks take advantage of this opportunity to get lessons from the pros. The small fee for the class is worth every penny. It will make you a better, safer, and more confidant RVer. And if you do take the class, you’ll probably qualify for a discount on your insurance too!
Bad Nick is back on his soapbox, and he has a brand new Bad Nick Blog titled Talk About Cajones that may just open your eyes to how much money we are giving to criminals every month. Check it out and leave a comment.
Thought For The Day – Money can’t buy happiness, but it can sure make misery much more comfortable.
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 am so glad you enjoyed the FHL at SLC. It is indeed addictive. We have been researching many years and we still find time to go back and research every chance we get. While satellite libraries at Mormon churches are available, being at the big one in SLC is just not the same.
Wait til you get into research across the pond. The 2 levels below ground level are fantastic. I spend lots of time on B1 (Europe) and Peter uses B2 (British Isles). They have many helpers at the main desk on each floor and specialists and linguists to help you translate and transcribe material.
We had a 1600s US will but we needed the lady specialist on the British Isles floor to help us read the will. Handwriting was poor and spelling terrible. She was able to decipher most of the will except for a creased and mangled portion. Three of us had been working on this over a period of several years and she was able to help us finally get the will almost totally transcribed.
Genealogy is like one big detective mystery story. You are the detective and must find all the clues in records, books, visiting on site, cemeteries, newspapers, etc to build your story about your ancestors. We find it endlessly fun!!!!!!
Dennis Hill taught me how to drive our rig in his one-on-one, three-hour class after an Escapees Rally in Goshen about three years ago. He’s EXCELLENT. I recommend him highly! That three hours of instruction was a turning point for me that enables me today to get behind the wheel, as needed, when on the road. I can’t say enough good about Dennis.
And, like you say, Nick…
We spousal units really should know enough about our rigs to take over in an emergency, or, at least be able to relieve the primary driver, as needed. It’s already tough enough when you are worried about your spouse not feeling well and need to head on back home to look after things, but if you also have to get behind the wheel to drive your spouse home, that’s an additional worry if you aren’t prepared to be the driver.
That need to be able to do it all myself is one of the reasons we bought the toad braking system we did. I can’t get down on the floor of the car to install something like a Brake Buddy but I can put my chair next to the hitch and connect or disconnect everything there.
I’ve taken the RV School driving lessons twice in two different sized motor homes and learned something important each time. Just do it, people.
Amen to the RV Driving School. We both took the two-day class right after buying our motorhome — a 42′ diesel pusher. We didn’t have much of a clue beforehand — I’d only driven some trucks in the Army years ago. Afterward, we felt confident and much safer for us and those around us. In fact, my wife does over half of the driving and really enjoys it, I’m sure in part because of their excellent hands-on instruction.