Alive and Well

It has been a very long time since my last post. I guess I should have posted an explanation but to tell the truth I’ve been very busy and at the same time a bit burned out on writing for the blog. I’m happy and healthy and have been “adventuring” quite a bit. The adventures have included several more Passport In Time projects, a vacation with The Bride in the Black Hills and several metal detecting expeditions. I can’t explain why but the blog seemed to become more like work than fun and I’ve decided to take a hiatus for a while. Hopefully the “urge” will return as I’ve really got some good stories to tell….In the meantime here’s some random pictures from the past couple of months.

 

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Still Here

I normally don't go for a week without posting something but then again I'm normally a little more mobile and more active and have more to report about.

The foot seems to be healing well. Every day I can do a little more without pain. The last few days I have even driven short distances in the car. This was not only to "work out" the foot a little but just to keep me from going stir crazy insane.

In order to drive I took off the hospital provided "bootie" and wore an open toe summer sandal. That however, caused an unusual problem. The sandal had a strap at the front which is secured by velcro. Because of the bandage on my foot I had to leave that strap unsecured. The sandal is on my right foot....gas pedal and brake foot...and the velcro piece is on the right side of the sandal. Right side of the right foot and that just happens to rub against the carpet that's over the transmission hump. Sooo.. the first time I tried to move my foot from the gas pedal to the brake....my foot was velcroed to the carpet! I had to yank my foot away to get to the brake pedal. Fortunately it wasn't an emergency situation and once I realized the problem I just made sure I put my foot on the left side of the accelerator pedal so I wouldn't get stuck to the carpet again.

This is pitiful! Instead of writing about the interesting stuff I'm doing and seeing while taking my new fifth wheel trailer to great places, I'm writing about my foot being velcroed to the carpet in the car! Woe is me!

Well, Monday morning the stitches come out of the foot and the doctor said I'll be on my own. I can start returning to normal activity as I feel up to it. I'm so stir crazy that I'm now considering starting my New Mexico/Arizona trip a week from Sunday. That would turn the planned two week trip into a three week trip and allow me to circle down to the southern parts of NM and AZ. We'll see how I feel by about Wednesday or so before I make a decision.

This post is being written on the blogspot web site using their post editor. It's been a very long time since I've done a post this way. For the past year or so I've been using Windows Live Writer. For some inexplicable reason, all of a sudden, when I use Live Writer and try to enter an apostrophe in a word, the program crashes. It took me a while to figure out that it was the apostrophe because the program hesitated just a bit and the crash occurred after I had typed a few characters after the apostrophe. The only thing I can think of is that there is some type of compatibility problem between Live Writer and my Norton security program?

I use Comcast as my ISP and they provided free McAfee security software until this week when they switched to Norton. Early this week I zapped the McAfee and downloaded the Norton stuff. Ever since then I've had a number of little gremlins pop up. It's very frustrating. It seems that every time I "upgrade" I lose functionality somewhere....but then again if you're reading this on a computer, you have most likely experienced the same frustration. Oh well....

Thanks for visiting.

RV Blogs

I’ve got time for one more post before I leave on my trip. I thought you might be interested in some of the other blogs I read. This is a list of some of the RV related blogs I follow regularly. I follow plenty more and when I get back from my trip, I’ll do a post about the others. The list below is in no particular order of preference.

 

Our Odyssey

Nick’s Blog

Old Fat Man Adventures

Wandrin Blog

Artful RV Adventures Ouray

Adventures of Tioga and George

Just Travelin

RV Home Yet

Oasis of my Soul

Geeks on Tour

Stay tuned….I’ll try and check in next Saturday.

Thanks for visiting.

Who Murdered Little Bett and What’s Mr. Potato Head Got To Do With It?

OK, how’s this for weird? Hachaliah Bailey had a thing for elephants. The first two modern elephants to walk the ground in North America were owned by Bailey.


Elephants were such a novelty in America that people would skip church and pay to see an elephant. This didn’t sit well with the religious community. Bailey’s first elephant, “Big Bett” arrived in America in 1796. Big Bett spent the next 20 years traveling up and down the east coast making money (even on Sundays) for Hachaliah. One Sunday Big Bett and her keeper made the mistake of crossing the land of a religious, elephant-intolerant citizen who promptly shot the beloved elephant.


Hachaliah was crushed and erected a statue of Big Bett in his hometown of Somers, NY. To help ease his grief he purchased another elephant called Little Bett, The Learned Elephant. Little Bett, too, charmed the citizenry and infuriated religious zealots on weekdays as well as Sundays.


May 24, 1826 found Little Bett in Chepachet, Rhode Island. While crossing the little bridge over the Chepachet River in the middle of town, Little Bett, like her predecessor, was cut down by gunfire. Two elephants, two elephant murders!!


One non-historical theory by an unnamed blog author theorizes that a rebellious teenager who had slipped his dad’s new musket out of the house was cruising about the village with his cronies when they challenged him with….”You can’t hit the broadside of an elephant with that thing!”….The rest is non-history.


The actual historical records show that seven men were eventually brought to justice and two of them paid the ultimate price…banishment from the Masonic Order! Folks, I couldn’t in my wildest dreams make this stuff up.


The town of Chepachet to this day conceals the truth. Look at this official town site and see how cleverly they avoid responsibility for this heinous crime. Truth will out however and a small plaque on the bridge today declares that “diverse hands fired upon Betty…”


Mere yards down the road, in front of the town hall facing Highway 44, stands a large Mr. Potato Head arms outstreched. Now you have to admit, a large Mr. Potato Head in front of the town hall is weird enough. If it were a Muffler Man it would seem normal to me, but Mr. Potato Head…? To make things even more weird, this Mr. Potato Head is named Betty The Learned Elephant.


Just what are the ruling fathers of Chepachet up to? It looks to me like they want the fame and glory of Little Bett, the tens of dollars that tourists like me bring to their pathetic little economy, without admitting that their town brutally murdered America’s cerebral sweetheart of 1826!


If I thought the mighty power of this blog could help right this grievous wrong, I would call for a boycott of tourists to Chepachet, Rhode Island. To do this however they would have to have some tourists to begin with….so I’m helpless.


In my quest for weird I have discovered these facts and actually visited this historic and hallowed site so that all who visit my blog shall know the truth!!! I certify that the pictures in this post are real and not a computer trick and offer them as proof of my veracity so help me God.

Thanks for visiting.

The Critics Have Spoken

Critique My Blog has been around for a while, providing not for profit opinions (no consideration provided by the submittee) for blog sites. I submitted my blog for review last week and to my happy surprise received a nice review yesterday. Check it out at Cid69 Blog Critique

If you’re interested in reading other blogs this is a great place to start looking for new sites. Critique My Blog will give you the straight skinny and make your surfing more efficient.

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