The wind blew hard all Friday night, and Saturday morning was cold, gray, and rainy. Miss Terry had talked about going to the Mesa Marketplace indoor swap meet, but the more she looked out the window the more she decided it would be a good day to stay home and practice with her sock making machine.
I checked my e-mail and my favorite blogs, replied to several e-mails I received overnight, and then I worked on my new Big Lake book for a while. Then, a little after noon I got to thinking that one of the best things to do on a gray, dreary day is take a nap, so I did! Did I ever tell you how much I love naps?
Of course, compared to the weather in the central part of the country, we have nothing at all to complain about. Watching the news reports, it sure got crazy out there. I’m glad we were here in Arizona, where I can take a nap and not have to worry about waking up in the next county.
We had light rain off and on several times during the day, but nothing much at all really. About 4:30 PM we drove to Tempe to check out a furniture store called The Dump. The television commercials would have you believe they have a huge selection and low, low prices. Well, they were half right. They have a lot of stuff, but we really were not all that impressed with the prices. We were mattress shopping, and we’ve seen lower prices at several places around the country. I think we will keep shopping around.
In Friday’s blog I said that the tech from Redlands Truck & RV Performance Center had told me we had a Jacobs brake on our Winnebago motorhome. I assumed that he was talking about a Jacobs engine brake like we had on our MCI bus conversion. But somebody from the Winnebago Owners forum on the IRV2.com website contacted me to explain that Jacobs also makes an exhaust brake, which is what is on our Cummins diesel engine. That explains a lot, and now gives us a better idea of what we are going to do. Don’t you just love the Internet? You can find out anything in the world there. Even some things you probably don’t want to know!
I have to brag just a little bit, if you’ll indulge me. Yesterday, somebody just pointed out to me that the Kindle Review blog listed me as #23 of the Top 42 Indie Authors of 2011.That was a nice surprise! Thank you everybody for your support.
Today I will be sending out the link to the new digital issue of the Gypsy Journal, along with renewal notices for those who are due. So watch your inbox, it should be there sometime this afternoon. After I mentioned that we need you to send us your new address if it’s going to be different during the summer, somebody asked me if there was a way to avoid all that hassle and just make sure the paper still got to them. Well, for $5 a year extra you can upgrade to a first-class mail subscription, but that is no guarantee that the nice folks at the post office really will forward it like they are supposed to. I have had two different postmasters tell me that the only guarantee they make is for priority mail and above. And they wonder why they’re losing customers and going broke, with attitudes and service like that? Or, you can subscribe to the digital issue and not have to do worry about heavily armed, disgruntled postal workers at all!
Thought For The Day – Travel and writing will broaden your ass if not your mind. – Forbes magazine
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
While I am sure that poor attitudes affect the post office’s image, that is not the main reason for their financial difficulties. That stems from a law passed in 2006 that requires the post office to pre-fund the pension plan for its employees. This is something that no other company in this country is required to do. And we must remember that no government money goes to the post office.
while we all can take sots at the post office, why do we all take shots at the people that work there? do we all think that everyone is going to shoot just because they work at the post office? most of them now are PART time workers hence no benefits.
Looking forward to the new issue Nick. And congrats on your success with your books.
So why don’t we ever hear about people going WalMart or going fast food? They all go postal.
Well, Tom, nobody ever goes trash man or meter maid, do they? Just sayin… 🙂
“Or, you can subscribe to the digital issue and not have to do worry about heavily armed, disgruntled postal workers at all!”
I find this comment very offensive of all Government employees. Being as I fall into that group…I will not lower myself to your level. I will say this though I was going to subscribe to you Gypsy Journal to help out a fellow RVer. But not now. Also I was going to order your new book but I don’t think so now. And NO I did not work for the U.S. Post Office! But my Grandfather did and he was a local Postmaster, my .cousin also worked for the Post Office but he has since passed away.
Gee Pat, lighten up and get a sense of humor. I have several friends and family members who work for or have worked for the post office. Even they joke about going postal.
Having a sense of humor and the ability to laugh at oneself now and then comes in very handy in this world. I do it on a daily basis. Without it, life is no fun at all. And without it, you definitely would not like the Gypsy Journal or my books. I think we’ll survive just fine without your support.
Damn Pat, you must be a very miserable person. Maybe it’s that government job of yours?????
I think somebody like Pat above must have a screw loose if they take offense at any little comment or joke. I hear about going postal from every standup comic on TV. He’d probably be pissed off if he bought two tickets and won a million in the lottery with one because they other one was a waste of money.
I have to admit that I can’t remember ever meeting a postal employee that wasn’t polite, pleasant, and helpful. I don’t think the problem is with the employees. Their management team is having trouble competing with Fedex, UPS, and email, so their solution is to reduce service even more. IMHO, it looks like they are making long term plans to shutdown the postal service and turn over all remaining required services to private companies. Not this year, not next, but 10 years from now, I doubt there will even be a USPS. Just sayin’.
Maybe Pat works for the DMV!!! lol
We pick up our mail all the time from General Delivery wherever we are. I find the local post office we are using is always courteous, and I have no complaints with the employees. However, what’s with the staffing and always, always the long lines?
Just saying.