About the time we were getting ready for bed Thursday night, we began to hear thunder rumbling and then rain coming down. Within an hour or so the thunder had stopped, but the rain continued on and off all night long.
The sky was still very overcast when we woke up yesterday morning, and it was noticeably cooler. I think that we have put the hot months behind us for a while. At least I hope so.
After my morning routine of taking Alli outside to go potty and throwing a ball for her for a while, then feeding her and Declan the porch cat, I gave myself my weekly Mounjaro injection, posted the blog to Facebook, and went through my email. Another part of my Friday routine is cleaning the toilets, and when I was done with that and took the trash out, I had other fish to fry, as they say.
The day before, I had taken the wire mesh oil bath air filter off the old Chrysler and soaked it overnight in a pail of degreaser. Judging by how dirty the liquid was when I took the air filter out yesterday, it probably had not been cleaned in decades. I flushed it thoroughly with a garden hose and then soaked it in clean water for a couple of hours. After that, I flushed it again with the hose, and I will let it completely dry for a day or two before I reinstall it. Hopefully it will help with some of the running and stalling issues I’ve been having, although continued research has led me to suspect there might be more involved than that.
With all of that out of the way, I wrote another 2,600-word chapter in my new Tinder Street book. This weekend is the Run to the Pines car show, a big event that has gone on here for at least 30 years that I know of. While the show is today and tomorrow, yesterday afternoon all of the cars that are here for the show, as well as a lot of other locals with their classic cars and hot rods, made a parade through downtown Show Low and then out to Pinetop-Lakeside, where the show will be held. I had hoped to have the Chrysler running well enough to take part in the parade, but I didn’t make it. When Terry reminded me in the afternoon that the parade was going to be starting soon, I was deep into the chapter I was working on and told her I thought I would just continue writing. Maybe today or tomorrow we’ll run out to the show and drool over some of the beautiful old rides.
Be sure to enter our latest Free Drawing. This week’s prize is an autographed copy of Philly Warrant Unit by lifelong friends Tristin Kilgallon and Mark Fusett, who grew up on the same block in Philadelphia. I recently featured Tristin in an Author Spotlight. Though life led them down different paths, their bond endured, and years later, they found themselves working side by side in the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania Warrant Unit, a specialized team tasked with locating and apprehending wanted fugitives in Philadelphia and the surrounding counties.
Their book isn’t a traditional cover-to-cover read. It’s a powerful collection of short stories, true accounts that reflect the intensity, tragedy, danger, and dark humor that come with the job. Some of the stories will make you hold your breath, while others might break your heart, or make you laugh out loud. But you can be sure that all of them will give you an authentic look at a world rarely seen by the public. Whether you’re interested in law enforcement, true crime, or just want a raw, unfiltered look at the streets of Philadelphia through the eyes of two men who lived it, this book is for you.
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 Sunday evening. Note: Due to the high shipping cost of printed books and Amazon restrictions on e-books to foreign countries, only entries with US addresses and e-mail addresses are allowed. After 30 days, unclaimed prizes revert back to the drawing pool for a future contest.
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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. I don’t care about the haircut, but I don’t think I would want to dine next to somebody with that expression on their face.
Thought For The Day – No one ever dares you to do something good.
Nick Russell
World-Famous, New York Times Best Selling Author, and All-Around Nice Guy!