You know that old saying about how you can’t please everybody? Apparently it’s true, no matter how hard you try. Even when you’re giving something away for free.
After reading Friday’s blog, in which I asked readers to exercise patience and to not keep entering our weekly free contest over and over if they don’t see their name immediately listed among the entries, I got an email from someone who said, “I did not appreciate your long rant about how terrible the people are in your contests. If you don’t want to hold the damn contests stop doing them. But don’t harangue your readers like we are a bunch of imbeciles because we don’t do things your way. How about fixing the problem that causes entries not to show up immediately instead of putting the blame on your readers? Get over yourself!”
Well, I guess he told me, didn’t he? I didn’t see the post as a rant, simply a request to do something that would make all of our lives easier. I apologize if it came across that way to somebody, because that was never my intention. But at the same time, if someone’s not happy with the way I run things, keep in mind that we don’t take attendance here and nobody has to log on if they don’t want to.
In other news, I got an interesting email from somebody who told me that they found a way to keep people from parking too close to them when they are dry camping in Quartzsite, Arizona. He said he found an old tuba at a swap meet someplace and bought it for $15, and when they set up camp he puts it on a folding table that they carry in one of their storage bays. Yeah, that would keep me away.
It’s always amazed me that people go to Quartzsite in the wintertime to boondock on miles and miles and miles of public land, yet some of them feel the need to park right on top of somebody who’s already there. We experienced that ourselves once, back when we had our MCI bus conversion. Someone pulled in so close to us that I literally could have reached out the window and touched their rig. Why? I mean, I know I’m fun and charming and all that, but really, I don’t need you sitting in my lap. Well, I’ll make exceptions for pretty ladies, but that’s all.
In this case, I solved the problem by firing up our Onan gas generator, which was mounted in the compartment that used to hold the bus AC condenser. The exhaust pipe came out the side and was directly under their window. Ten minutes later they were gone! I’m sure Mr. Rogers might not have approved of my method, but it was my neighborhood, not his.
Good news for people who prefer printed books over e-books! The paperback version of Big Lake Ninja is now available on Amazon and you can order it at this link. In other book news, I’m past the halfway point in my new John Lee Quarrels book, Dead Romeos. As often happens, the plot has taken a twist or two I didn’t see coming. I love when that happens!
Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for an RV camping journal donated by Barbara House. Barbara makes several variations of these, and they all have pages where you can list the date, weather, where you traveled to and from that day, beginning and ending mileage, campground information including amenities at RV sites, a place for a campground ratings, room to record activities, people met along the way, reminders of places to see and things to do the next time you’re in the area, and a page for notes for each day. To enter, click on this Free Drawing link or the tab at the top of this page and enter your name (first and last) in the comments section at the bottom of that page (not this one). Only one entry per person per drawing please, and you must enter with your real name. To prevent spam or multiple entries, the names of cartoon or movie characters are not allowed. The winner will be drawn this evening.
Thought For The Day – I might wake up early and do some exercise. Or I might win the lottery. The odds are about the same.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!