Thank you to everyone who sent emails and messages asking if we were safe from the storms that tore through our part of the country Friday night. We dodged a bullet because they changed course and went north of us, so all we got was some wind and rain. Unfortunately, there was a lot of destruction in northern Alabama, and one life lost, and even more in Mississippi. Our hearts go out to all of those who lost their homes and their loved ones in the tornadoes.
Yesterday was another writing day for me and I got in another 3,100 words or so in my new book while Terry was catching up on our bookkeeping, doing laundry, and so many other things I couldn’t begin to list them all here. A while back the last section of the folding tonneau cover on our Ram pickup slipped out of my hand as I was closing it and got torqued, and then did not want to fold up properly. During the afternoon, Terry checked it out and figured out how to adjust it so that it works again. There’s absolutely nothing that woman can’t do.
Some of you may remember a blog post a few weeks ago titled I’m Living A Lie, in which I told you that according to UPS, our address does not exist, even though they deliver here several times a week. We eventually got that issue worked out on that particular delivery, but it turns out they’re not the only people who can’t seem to find us. A week ago Terry ordered some red wiggler worms to go in her new worm farm. They were shipped out on Monday by FedEx with a two-day delivery. We expected them Wednesday, or Thursday at the latest. When they did not come by Friday afternoon, Terry called FedEx with the tracking number to see what the problem was. Guess what? There’s no such address.
Try as she might in several telephone calls, she couldn’t convince them that we really do live at our address and that this house has been here for at least 40 years. Nope, just because we live here doesn’t mean we really live here as far as they are concerned. Finally, late on Friday afternoon, they said Terry needed to come to the FedEx location in Tuscaloosa, about a 45-minute drive from us, to pick the worms up because they would not attempt to deliver them again. Terry figured by now they are probably dead and called the supplier, who assured her that they would get hold of FedEx and take care of the problem or send out a replacement shipment. If they do, I hope it doesn’t come by FedEx!
Today is your last chance to enter our Free Drawing for an autographed copy of Bad JuJu in Cleveland by the late Karl Bort, with Thelka Madsen. When Detective Nicholas Silvano is called to an abandoned house on Cleveland’s east side where four men have been brutally slain, he finds himself involved in a complicated case of drugs, murder, and voodoo! When FBI Agent James Reis begins creating roadblocks at every turn, Silvano teams up with DEA Agent Charley Goetz on a manhunt that takes them from Cleveland to Florida, in an investigation where the stakes become higher when the killer makes it personal, forcing Nick to face feelings he’d been denying for too long.
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. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books and audiobooks to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed.
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 – I don’t eat organic food. At my age, I need all the preservatives I can get.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!
Maybe FedEx needs to try the app “What3words”. I was introduced to this app yesterday. I’m impressed by it. There is a Tedtalk about it on youtube.
Just a thought. Contact the former owners and see if the house has ever had a different address. The house where I grew up had at least four different addresses, despite never moving an inch. The ones I remember were Rural Route 1, (closest town); Rural Route 2, (closest town); 2337 State Highway 25, (closest town); and 2337 State Highway 25, (town about 13 miles away). The State Highway addresses were implemented when 911 was began in our area (before that, we called three different towns, depending on if it was for a fire or ambulance or law enforcement; we lived on the county line, so it also made a difference which side of the highway had the emergency). The change in towns happened because the post office of the closest town closed. My grandfather built the house and my mom lived there from age eight to age 74, with the exception of the first few years after my parents got married, so there are probably other addresses from when she was growing up.
We have had issues with FedEx and UPS deliveries for 43 years. Our mailing address is a P.O. Box (post office is 1/2 mile from our house in Bar Mills Maine 04004). Our street address (E911) is Buxton Maine 04093. We solved the problem by usig the post office strret address and just put our box # on the packages. We just pick them up at the post office now. Very frustrating trying to order on line. Most places won.t accept the P.O. Box and our street doesn’t exist.