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About this blog

Ramblings of a Motorhoming Melancholic?

Entries in this blog

 

No Power

The house was empty. Well, not quite. The rooms were full of memories and anger, my anger. I was mad at all the people who were jerking us around, and at God who was allowing them to do so.  No Power (Buyers From Perdition Part 2)  

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Every Lens Tells a Story

Lenses: To quote Sony.com “Every Lens tells a story!” That is not true. Not completely anyway. A lens does no good unless it is attached to a camera, and the camera is only as good as the eye looking through it. Then again it is true if you remember that an eye is also a lens; a lens attached to a photographer. It is up to the photographer to tell the story. It can be a story about love, or friendship, history, the beauty of nature. It can be sensual. A lens is a tool to make that s

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My Random Views

Well folks, I have decided that the time has come for me to have my own photography and personal observation site. I will post randomly what I see and think about numerous subjects including motorhoming, faith, kids, who knows. I hope you will take a look. http://www.myrandomviews.com/ I have enjoyed my time blogging here at FMCA.com. It has been a good learning experience. If and when Diane and I retire and go full time, then you can expect to see more random entries here as well. Gramps

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Depth of Field

I really enjoy photography. It is the art of capturing a moment in time. Like any art form it is subjective and therefore what constitutes a good picture is really a matter of opinion. I learned that really fast from the people judging the very first contest I entered. What I thought were my best pictures received no mention and one that I entered as a lark in the still life category, almost took best in show. The most important thing is to know how to use your camera in order to take the pictu

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Rules for owning a Motor Coach: Number 2

2. Keep your temper on a very short leash. Or, when owning a motor coach, patience is not only a virtue but a necessity. If you are the type of person who always wants to be in control of your circumstances and are uncomfortable when things are not perfect or not even close to it, you will have trouble adjusting to the motor coaching lifestyle. Things are going to go wrong whether you are an old-timer or a newbie. There are preventive measures you can take, but only God can stop anything and ev

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Don't Forget to Laugh some more

I promised some RV stories. Well I found a few. I doubt they are true, but they may bring a smile. A couple from Minneapolis decided to go to Florida to thaw out during one particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the very same RV park where they spent their 15th wedding anniversary a decade earlier. Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel dates. So, the husband left Minnesota alone with their fifth wheel trailer. His wife would fly to join him the day

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It's A Stupid Game

It’s a stupid game. A famous person described it as a good walk spoiled. Someone else said it is a lot of walking, broken up by disappointment and bad arithmetic. I am talking about the game of golf. It may be a stupid game, an opinion shared by David Feherty, who played on the European Ryder Cup team a few decades ago, but it is also my new passion. I guess that means that golf is my new stupid passion. In my opinion I am terrible at it. My best game so far is a round in the high 80s. Now, in

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Why Don't He Write?

I know someone must be asking that question. I have asked it myself. I don't have a good answer. The bad answer is that there have been lots of distractions the last few weeks. The first distraction being caused by the need to look after a pup named Nickolas. Diane and I decided to subject him to some pretty extensive surgery that, thank the Lord, appears to be mostly successful. He is missing part of three ribs, some chest wall and a big malignant lump on his side. I have been amazed at how qu

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Rubber Ducky, you're the one!

The Black Ribbon part 2 The French Broad River is a very beautiful, naturally flowing river, meaning that it is not dam controlled by the TVA like so many others are in western North Carolina. It flows north easterly through the mountains which includes Asheville and there it connects with the Swannanoa River. From there it continues through the county seat of Marshall, our destination. Eventually the French Broad flows into the Holston River in Tennessee and on into the Tennessee River nea

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Don't cry over spilt soup!

Last Saturday I roasted two 17-pound Honeysuckle White All Natural Turkeys to provide the main course for 30 people. The event was an open house at Deer Creek Motorcoach and Golf Resort that my wife and I are now the latest residents of here in Galax, Va. We had six coaches visiting and I wanted to make a fine impression. So after a quick morning round of golf with some of our guests, I started on the evening meal. I cooked one bird in an aluminum roasting pan on a large hooded gas grill over

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The Human Whisperer

Nickolas, the family pupster here! I asked Dad if he would let me post again. Last time, I hijacked his blog and posted on the sly. This time he said okay. I wanted to leave him and Mom a note. They may need what I write here one day. I am almost 85 years old now, in relative terms, and so I can say that chances are I have a little bit of time left, but only a little. I don't worry about the end of my life. Mom and Dad do that for me. They comment on how white my face is compared to how it u

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Puns and One Liners

I love puns and one liners. I love blurting them out...regardless of those in hearing range around me want to hear them or not. http://www.myrandomviews.com/blog/punsandoneliners

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Pilgrimage to Elkhart, Day 3 and Day 4

For the last week and a half I have been sick. The first couple of days I was forced to just lay around the house drinking Alka-Seltzer Cold remedy (every four hours) and feeling sorry for myself. Last Saturday afternoon around 2:30 p.m., I decided that I had had enough of being ill. I drank my last seltzer, put on some shorts and my mowing shoes. I mowed the yard, then trimmed and edged it. I also pulled all the weeds out of the flowerbeds. When I was done, I was tired and sore but I felt much

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Don't Forget to Laugh.

One of my rules for owning a Motorcoach is Rule Number Two, which contains the following: Patience is not only a virtue but a necessity. Rule Two and Rule Five (my latest rule) work very closely together Rule Number Five: When owning a Motorcoach Don’t Forget to Laugh. You must be able to laugh even if it kills you. When you are an RVer, having a sense of humor and the ability to laugh at troubles, is as much of a necessity as owning a spare sewer hose. For example; I related a story ab

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Rules for owning a Motor Coach: Number 1

It's been so long since I blogged anything that I find this blank page a bit intimidating. But I will get over that rather quickly. "What's it like owning a 38 foot coach?" I was asked that question just a few days ago. I had to stop and think for a minute or two. I have always thought that having that big thing sitting in my driveway is nuts. It really is crazy. It cost too much to buy, to own, to keep on the road, and to pay the taxes that come along with it. It is insane to own it, but at

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Family

Why have Diane and I kept motorcoaching the last ten years and moving full time next month? Here is the answer to that question: http://www.myrandomviews.com/blog/family

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Better than Chocolate

It is very quiet around the house. There is no tapping of little doggie nails on the hardwood floor. No tinkling of a metal dog tag against the side of the food bowl. There is no cheerful crunch of the doggie eating his breakfast. Life continues to go on. Diane will laugh at a joke, e-mailed to her from one of our friends, when it arrives in her mailbox. She will cry when a sympathy card, snail mailed by one of our friends, shows up in the standard mailbox. She also cries after taking a phone c

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Remember Rule Number Four?

In order to christen the new blog format, I feel it is necessary to post a few more of my truisms. These truisms fall under my Rules for Owning a Motor Coach: Part 4. Owning a Motor Coach is a Never-ending Learning Experience. I have learned that a clear sewer connection is a good thing to have … that way, you will see the juice box the grand kids dumped in the toilet as it makes its final journey. My wife still will not let me stop at South of the Border and buy anything. My wife will n

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The "It's a Wonderful Life" Rally

Part uno of duo. Before I started writing this, I was sitting at my computer browsing recipes online. I am planning my menu for Christmas Day brunch with my family. I have narrowed my entrees to Blackberry French Toast Casserole, Lump Crab Meat and Shrimp Quiche and a fresh fruit and honey yogurt salad. Diane plans on making some oatmeal and date muffins. They are a tradition every Christmas day. This party will be for eight adults including my parents. Not as much preparation will be needed

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The Course of Dreams

If you have been reading my earlier blog entries, you know that I have said that a motor coach will improve your life, if you let it. I said it will improve your life in many ways. Your coach can take you to places you might not think to go to if you traveled like most "normal" people, carrying your bags and staying in hotels. It can also help you to make friends. Recently for Diane and I, our coach has done both. This has been a rough year for the two of us. Mike, my best friend and business

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Restless

I suspect that many readers of this here blog of mine (notice my use of a bit of Southern Speak) wonder what most of my last few entries have to do with motor coaching. My initial response is: not much. However, there might be a connection. I have a restless nature. I can't sit still for long periods of time doing nothing. I have to be reading, writing, watching something very interesting, and usually commercial free, on the LCD. I might play a World War II FPS online. For you non computer gam

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Eighteen Months Part 4: My Dad's Darkest Hour

This part of my past is very hard for me to write about. I guess that is why I haven't blogged for over a month and it has been even longer since I wrote the previous part of this story. I guess I am afraid I run the risk of having people read this story and think I am crazy, just like the people in our church, close friends, and eventually family thought my whole family was crazy. They all thought we had "gone off the deep end." I am not sure what good, if any, these words will accomplish. But

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