It’s done! I got up early and cranked out over 4,500 words yesterday and finished Big Lake Burning, the sixth book in the series. Now I’ll give it a read through and then print it out for Terry to proof and edit. It always feels good to get a new book done, and once I do I’m like an expectant father; I can’t wait for it to come out and see how it looks.
Yesterday was another gray, cold day here in central Florida. Not the kind of weather to be outside doing anything at all. So instead, we stayed home again so I could finish the book.
Terry had a frustrating day because some of the threads on her loom got tangled up and created a massive snarl that then got wound up in the project she has been working on. It took her most of the day to get it all straightened out. But she just said it was one more lesson learned and she now knows how to keep that from happening the next time around. That’s the difference between the two of us. If it would have been me, I’d have been cussing like a sailor. When my fishing line does that I throw the whole rod and reel in the lake and go buy a new one.
I did take time out of my day to tick off a woman who wrote wanting me to tell the whole world about an RV park that should be shut down because she and her five year old son were outside playing catch when the ball rolled into their neighbor’s RV site. The neighbors apparently have some kind of big old mutt and the dog grabbed the ball and took it to the boy. (I don’t know if it was on a leash or what the distances were.) The mom said she grabbed the ball out her son’s hands and threw it away and then rushed him inside where she scrubbed him down from head to foot so he didn’t catch something. She said she called the campground manager to insist the neighbors be evicted and he laughed at her and said to chill out.
After reading her long e-mail I wrote back and told her she really needed to get a life, and to allow her kid to have one too. The dog didn’t attack her son, he just wanted to play too, and when the ball rolled into his territory, he felt like he had been invited to the game. There’s no need to freak out over a few puppy germs. Many dogs I’ve known have been cleaner than some of the kids I’ve seen. I suggested that her son really should be allowed to enjoy the world, not spend his life looking at it from inside a bubble.
We’re up to over 150 entries in this week’s Free Drawing for a copy of John and Kathy Huggins’ So, You Want to be a Full-Time RVer?
Thought For The Day – A wife has the last word in any argument. Anything a man says after that is the start of a new argument.
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Nick Russell
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I have to agree with the mom. I have cases where a dog or cat bite or scratch had caused an infection, even to the case of long term illness. When ever I encounter a dog on a lease I move to the other side of the street as to prevent an “Oh, i,am sorry event”. I will not hurt an animal but I keep my distance.
I got to assume this woman never grew up with pets.
Lady.. you have some unrealistic expectations, go see a therapist!
Two comments, Nick. First, I can hardly wait for your new Big Lake book, too! So anxious to read it! The other comment is for that momma who was so worried about a few germs….. her child will grow up with more illnesses than you can shake a stick at if she doesn’t let him get exposed to a few germs in the process! With no antibodies, he will catch every little thing that comes along! All this, of course, IM not so HO.
Jon, you’re the kid that grew up. Or did you?
so glad that your book is done, now can’t wait for it to com out in print, that lady was given the right advice, let her kid get a few germs, yes they have a nasty mouth but god forbid if this kid ever gets a human bite, which is the dirtiest around and all the really bad stuff can be caught, love the camp managers reply
LOL – Actually I feel sorry for the kid. Reminds me of the commercial I saw in the last few weeks where the mom has a first newborn and is washing the kid after anyone touches the child, the next clip, the woman has three kids and hands the youngest to a dirty mechanic when she tries to get something out of her purse. Hopefully the mom that wrote to you will learn that kids aren’t that breakable. (or that clean!)
Jon, You’re absolutely correct. You have to be very careful with a leased dog. You don’t know who rented it before you or what kind of horrible infections the family that rented it might have had. Although leasing is a could way to go. Keep up the good work.
Poor Terry…but glad she has patience and skill to figure it all out!! I empathize though my projects are not in weaving.
As to the child and dog issue…the mom was not correct in pestering anyone else with their problems. Having raised a child that was severely immune compromised (a doc finally figured out it was the immunizations killing her), I know how hard it is to always protect them and figure out what on earth is the best thing to do. I did let her play outside, get dirty, etc. but another mom with an even sicker child, who was my friend, taught me how to be able to do that. IMMEDIATELY upon coming in the house after playing, she was showered. Or if we were pressed for time, etc. I had to get a warm washcloth and wipe her down from her head to her feet (removed pollens, dirt etc). That really did help. It enabled her to have a more normal childhood experience and not always fall ill. Experience is a great teacher, Nick. I am not critical of the mom’s response, except in blaming anyone else and trying to make problems for the others. We do live in a society that loves to blame others. sigh…. And by the way, we always had dogs around, in the house even…and we felt they were cleaner in some ways, than some people.
Does throwing the ball away constitute littering. I wonder what the RV parks rules say about that.
Just can’t wait for the new book…read the first one from Amazon free when it was posted on Our RV Adventures and have read them all. Fun read and great characters. Thanks for your creative thoughts put into book form.