Miss Terry has been working almost nonstop since Friday night, and yesterday evening she finished stuffing envelopes. Today we’ll be dropping off a huge truckload of Gypsy Journals at the commercial mail service in South Bend and at the post office so they can start making their way to our subscribers all over the country.
Of course, the minute we had the envelopes all stuffed and loaded into the truck, people started e-mailing us wanting to change their address because they are home for the summer. I’m sorry folks, every envelope is bar coded and if we take just one out of the sequence, everything comes to a screeching halt when it hits the post office. So it’s not a simple task of pulling your envelope out of the pile and putting a new address on it.
Hopefully they’ll get forwarded to you at your new address. This an annual ritual for us in spring and fall when the snowbirds migrate. People don’t give us their new address, and the post office is very lackadaisical about forwarding Standard Rate mail. So we wind up having to send out a second copy at First Class rates. That really cuts into our already slim profit margin. If you’re going to be relocating, please let us know well in advance so we can be sure to get your paper to you.
Now that the mailing is over, hopefully we can have some downtime. Terry says she has paperwork to do, but there’s always paperwork to do. She really needs to get out her sock machine or her spinning wheel and play for a while. What’s that they say about all work and no play?
Yesterday, while I was loading bins full of envelopes into the back of our Explorer, subscriber Gerald Cozart and his wife came by. I’m sorry, but I’m terrible with names, so I hope she’ll forgive me for not remembering hers. We had a nice, if brief, visit. And I got to meet their dog, Macy, for a puppy fix.
Several of our vendor friends who’ve been down to The Rally in Louisville will be coming up to Elkhart and Goshen this week for RV rallies, and we’re looking forward to seeing them. Dave and Jean Damon, who sell 303 Protectant, called yesterday and want to get together today. And I think Charles and Chris Yust from C&C Marketing and Insurance should be rolling in any time now. It’s always fun to get together with our friends who work the vendor circuit, especially away from a rally where we can actually sit down and have a conversation, or enjoy a meal together.
Several readers who e-mailed to ask where we’ll be in New England, and invited us to stop by or suggested places to see. Since we got a later start from Arizona than we expected this year, we will only have a month before we have to return to the Midwest for our Ohio rally. We have two weeks booked at the Outdoor World campground in Rochester, Massachusetts, and then another two weeks at the Outdoor World campground in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. Both came with our recent Thousand Trails upgrade and we’ll use them as our base for day trips in the area. There is so much history and so much to see and do in that part of the country that we’re really looking forward to the trip.
Thought For The Day – It takes a long time to grow an old friend.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Nick:
You said: ” So we wind up having to send out a second copy at First Class rates. That really cuts into our already slim profit margin.”
I suggest you just stop doing this. TIME Magazine doesn’t treat me that well, so why should the Gypsy Journal?
So how come you can remember the man’s dog’s name but not his wife’s?
Well, gee, Ray, I’m allowed to play with other mens’ dogs, but not their wives. 🙂
So why should you and Terry eat the cost of sending out a replacement paper because somebody did not give you their new address in a timely manner? I don’t know of any other business that does that. You guys are good, but this is being too good. I sure would not expect you to lose money like that because I goofed.
Yeah, my neighbor will let me scratch his dog’s belly all day long. But if I try to scratch his wife’s he gets all possessive on me.
I often remember dog’s names and not their human’s. I think the dogs make a better impression on me.
Morning Nick,
I tried to send this out yesterday but it disappeared into cyberspace for some reason. Anyway, we are thoroughly enjoying our time here in the Berkshires in Western MA and have barely scratched the surface. Lots of history and culture here.
When you’re in Sturbridge, you won’t be too far from visiting the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, as well as Hancock Shaker Village; Tanglewood in Lenox, summer home for the Boston Pops; the Springfield Armory in Springfield is a must see (and free); Crane Paper in Dalton, makers of our US paper money; and of course, us here in Otis, south of Lee! 😉
If the stars are right, we may even get to connect with you and Terry in person.
Looking forward to the latest issue of the GJ!
Lu