Q&A

I’m back with more questions from blog readers about RVing, my writing activities, what’s happening in our lives since we hung up the keys, and all kinds of other things. While I try to answer all questions individually, I also share some here occasionally.

Q. I know you guys sold your bus a long time ago, but I am hoping you can give us some advice. We want to convert a bus and have looked at a bunch of them. Three different people have told us not to go with an older bus with an 8V76 or 8V92 Detroit diesel motor, but other people say they are workhorses. Which is true?

A. Both are true. The old Detroit diesels are tried and true workhorses that will go a million miles if properly maintained. The problem is that it is difficult to find shops and mechanics who know how to work on them these days, with so many more modern engines on the road. Even when we had ours fifteen years ago, it was becoming an issue, and I can only believe it is more so today.

Q. What bidet did you get and why?  We have been looking and there are so many it’s hard to decide.

A. We got two of the LUXE Bidet NEO 120 on Amazon and have been very pleased with them. Quick and easy installation and trouble free. https://amzn.to/3oMpRkn

Q. Did Terry get the five-toed cat?  If not, just go down to Key West and purloin one of Hemingway’s cats.

A. She got a regular kitten, but then I found a polydactyl online in Mississippi that will be weaned and ready to go on the 25th. Since her birthday is the 22nd, that works out well.

Q. Will your next book after Big Lake Assault be a John Lee Quarrels novel?

A. Yes, it will. Jackpot, my twelfth John Lee book, is next on my list.

Q. I know this is a dumb question, so go ahead and laugh at me. Your new German shepherd Alli is beautiful. When I was growing up in the 1950s, dogs like that were called police dogs and we were warned to stay away from them. Are they two different breeds that look the same?

A. When I was a kid, I also heard the term police dogs all the time when referring to German shepherds. They got that nickname because so many police departments use them as K9 officers. But they are one and the same. And like any dog, they can be as gentle as lambs or can bite, depending on the given dog and the situation. Even trained police K9s live at home with their handler’s family with no issues when not on the job.

Q. I was stationed at Fort Rucker back in the 1980s and the Alabama summers were hotter than Hades. How are you going to tolerate living there after being in Florida?

A. The same way we did when we were living in Florida or the Arizona desert. We stay inside during the hottest part of the day and say a silent thank you to the man who invented air conditioning.

Congratulations Lynn Beman, winner of our drawing for an autographed copy of Tinder Street, the first book in my Tinder Street saga about two intertwined families beginning just before World War I and eventually through the Vietnam War years. It is the story of Twentieth century America told through the lives of the simple working class people who built the country. Farmers, factory workers, streetcar conductors, midwives, and public servants. Their joys and sorrows, their wins and losses, and how these people who struggled together to build a better life for themselves and their children changed a place named Tinder Street to Tender Street, a reflection of one family’s devotion to their neighbors. These were my people and this series is one I have wanted to write for years.

We had 102 entries this time around. Stay tuned, a new contest starts soon. 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 – You know you are on the right track when you have no interest in looking back.