A Proud Grandpa

My granddaughter Haley Robinson made this old man proud yesterday when she registered to vote. This will be her first time being old enough to do so, and I am glad to see that the younger generation is willing to be involved in the future of our country. Us old dinosaurs may be nearing the end of our time, but young people who have a say in what will happen are going to change the course of history, just as we did in our own youth.

I remember how much it angered me back when I was a youngster that I could join the Army and be sent to fight a war at 18, but back at home, I wasn’t old enough to vote for the people who made that decision. Nor could I buy a drink.

As a matter of fact, my first wife and I were both 19 when we got married. This was when I was stationed at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Under New York law, she didn’t need anybody’s permission to tie the knot. But even though I was qualified to teach people how to use machine guns and hand grenades and things like that, or to lead a platoon of infantrymen, I wasn’t mature enough to make that decision. I had to have my mother send a notarized letter from Ohio, giving her consent, as well as having my commanding officer’s permission. That makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?

At any rate, Haley, I’m proud of you.

I received some sad news yesterday. Coleen Sykora, who ran the popular Workers on Wheels website, has passed away. Her husband Bob told me that she died of a sudden massive heart attack. While we never met in person, Coleen and I corresponded back and forth for over 20 years. I always enjoyed her intelligence and her sense of humor and respected how much she did to help RVers find ways to make a living on the road. Rest in peace, sweet lady.

I spent most of yesterday going over the last few chapters I wrote for the next Tinder Street book, then printed them out for Terry to proofread. As I have said here before, this new historical family saga is so different from my mysteries that I was not sure how my readers would accept it. But based upon the feedback I have been getting, they seem to like it. It really warmed my heart when my mother-in-law called Sunday night to say that she had read it in two days and is already looking forward to the next book in the series. She’s not into mysteries, and I believe this is the first of my books she has ever read. Thanks, Bess. You made my heart smile with your kind words.

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.

Thought For The Day – There is no better moment to postpone something you don’t want to do than right now.