It was darned cold yesterday, but at least the rain has stopped, for now. I think winter is going to arrive early and be ugly this winter here in the Midwest.
I made good on my word, and yesterday we slept in and got caught up on some of the sleep that we had missed in the last week. I poked a toe our two out from under the covers a couple of times, but quickly withdrew them when I felt the cold air hit them.
Eventually we did get up and in gear, mostly because the commercial mail service we use in South Bend called to tell us that the envelopes had been printed and were waiting for us to pick them up. Since this would give us a two day head start on getting the mail finished, we drove over and picked them up.
While we were out, we ran a few errands, and picked up the glue sticks Terry uses to seal the envelopes for mailing. Back at Elkhart Campground, I answered some e-mails and logged in a couple of orders, then got frustrated trying to get the digital edition of the new issue uploaded to our web server, so I can send it out to our subscribers. I finally had to send an e-mail to Yahoo, where our main website resides, only to have them reply that they were having “technical issues” and hoped to have the problem resolved soon.
By then it was dinner time, so we joined Greg and Jan, Dave and Jean Damon, and Al Hesselbart at El Maguey for dinner. We had a nice meal and a good time talking about the RV industry and the RV lifestyle, and all of us were glad that we’ll soon be headed someplace warm. Well, at least Greg and Jan, and Terry and I will be. Dave and Jean have to wait for repairs to be completed on their Heartland fifth wheel, the result of damage done when somebody rear ended them a couple of weeks ago. Al, the historian for the RV Museum here in Elkhart, will have to hang around until the RVIA trade show the end of November in Louisville, but he assured us that December 1st he and his Newell motorhome will be Florida bound.
After dinner, Al came by and I spent an hour or two uploading his book The Dumb Thing Sold …Just Like That! to Lightning Source, the print on demand (POD) company that handles my books. Up until now, Al was using a local printer, who has since gone out of business, and I think he was surprised and pleased to learn that that with POD, he will pay a third of what he was paying, doesn’t have to buy and store 500 books at a time, and have faster turnaround time. Eventually, we’ll get his book set up as an e-book too. If you haven’t read it, The Dumb Thing Sold …Just Like That! is a look at the early days of the RV industry, and the pioneer manufacturers that created the forerunners of the RVs we have today. Check it out, it’s a fun read! And it has a lot of neat pictures too, in case you don’t like to read! 🙂
My pal Michele Henry from Phoenix Commercial Paint called, asking me to put out the word to anybody to attended her seminar on RV painting at our rally in Celina a couple of weeks ago, and took one of the free sample tubes of caulk that she was giving away, not to use it. Apparently the company sent her the wrong product, and it is actually a silicone caulk that she does not recommend. If you have any questions, contact Michele at MHenry@phoenixpaintinc.com.
I also got some surprising news yesterday, from my buddy Dennis Hill at the RV Driving School. After five years of teaching RVers how to safely and confidently drive their rigs, in the tradition established by school founder Dick Reed, Dennis and his pretty wife Carol have sold the school to George and Valerie Mayleben. George has been a popular instructor for the school, and he and Valerie have been fulltimers for five years now. Congratulations, George and Valerie! Here’s wishing you much success in your new endeavor. You are stepping into some pretty big shoes, but I know you’ll fill them well.
I asked Dennis what new adventures await them, and he said he had no idea, but that Carol said he had better do something fast, because she knows that otherwise he will be underfoot and drive her crazy. My sympathies, Carol. Maybe you could teach him to read, or else concentrate on that potty training thing. I really think he can do it, with a little positive reinforcement and a lot of patience on your part. 🙂
I know Dennis isn’t the type to just sit back in a rocking chair and relax, so I’ll be interested to see what mischief he will come up with next to keep him occupied. Whatever it is, I wish you luck, my friend.
Thought For The Day – Sarcasm is the intelligent mind’s allergic reaction to stupidity.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!