Taking The Day Off

For the last few days I’ve been working hard on my new Big Lake book, knocking out over 20,000 words in three or four days. Yesterday alone was over 6,000 words. That, coupled with the fact that Miss Terry hasn’t been out of the house much at all since her surgery two weeks ago today means we need a day off. And today is going to be that day.

A couple of weeks ago I had new tires put on our Ford Explorer. The car has built-in tire pressure sensors, and besides needing new tires, I kept getting a message on the dashboard saying Tire Pressure Sensor Failure. When I had the new tires put on, I also had them replace the sensors in each wheel. But twice now since I got the new tires and sensors, I have gotten the same message. So the first order of business today will be to drop it off it Leon’s Auto Repair, where I had the tires installed. This is a small family run business that has been serving the community for over 30 years, and they always stand behind everything they do. I know they’ll take good care of me. They always do.

From there, we have a few errands to run, including dropping off some stuff at the post office and buying stamps, going to Space Coast Credit Union to make payments on Terry’s van and my Mustang, I think there may be a stop at the grocery store somewhere along the line, and if Terry is really good, I might even take her to dinner. Okay, let’s be honest, as much as I love Terry’s wonderful cooking, I’m jonesing for a dinner out. Now, what will it be? Pizza? Chinese? Barbecue? Seafood? The possibilities are endless.

Several people have asked me what our plans are for New Year’s Eve, or if I have made any New Year’s resolutions. While Terry enjoys a glass of wine now and then, I have not had any alcohol since about 1974, when I got out of the Army. I never had a drinking problem, I just decided that it was dumb to spend money on something that made me sick to my stomach, and made my friends tell me what an ass I was the next day. I can do that without the aid of booze! Since we are not drinking people and we are not bar people, we will spend New Year’s Eve like we have for the last 22 years, enjoying a quiet evening at home.

As for New Year’s resolutions, I disappoint myself enough on a daily basis as it is. I don’t need the added pressure of any self-imposed resolutions to make it even worse. In the words of Inspector Harry Callahan from the movie Magnum Force, a man’s got to know his limitations. Lord knows I have plenty of them and I’m not going to tempt fate by pushing the envelope.

And finally, here’s a chuckle to start your day from the collection of funny signs we see in our travels and that our readers share with us.

Congratulations Mary Maniaci, winner of our drawing for an RV camping journal donated by Barbara House. We had 62 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon.

Thought For The Day – Whomever tries to drown their sorrows by drinking should know one thing – sorrows know how to swim!