Sunday 11-2 I have no idea what I am!

 Picture of the day

 

BUT for now:

Lately my computer is going crazy trying to let me know if I qualify for Professor status or a room in the loony farm.

… 10 things that are common to low IQ humans:

… 15 things that intelligent people think are stupid that others do.

….12 reasons you cannot get out of debt.

….8 things in common with those who are successful.

…10 things that people with a high IQ dislike, that the average person loves.

…10 things that low IQ people love that normal people cannot stand!

….9 telltale things that prove a person is really intelligent or pretending.

Imma tell you I am confused, I fit every category.

I am beautifully ugly, so intelligent I am stupid, and I have so much common sense I forgot most of it. I have forgotten more than an imbecilic has ever known.

Now where am I?   ..... Oh yes!

In North Carolina the state mental hospital is in Morganton, NC. It is said when someone does something odd, “You keep acting like that they are gonna send you to Morganton.”

My Uncle Ralph spent a few weeks there for treatment. WE were visiting him and he took me aside and whispered, “Jackie, there are crazy people in here!”

Once when I was a kid, mama took Shirley and me with her to visit a friend that had been sent to Morganton. That was before A/C buildings. AS we walked by one of the dormitories an old lady was standing at a window and called out to mama, “You think them little devils are pretty, but they ain’t!”

*************    ******************    ***********

I wrote some about horses yesterday.  

Today Sherry let me go horseback riding.  I was having a great time, until she ran out of quarters!

Y’all have a good day.   Today, Remember Him! 

 

Nite Shipslog

PS. 

Time continues to move on, The horseback riding line was from a friend of Sherry’s. ;-)

Love from FL

Saurday 11/1 The “B’s” Breakfast and Bear

 Picture of the day

 When wandering around we have been entertained by some famous folk.  Once in Rondout Valley NY, we ran upon a FREE concert by two singers  BJ Thomas  and Billy Joe Royal. Good stuff!

WE saw Mel Tillis sing once not 5 miles from where I sit in 2004. Until then We had never seen a Florida Black Bear. Mel was singing at the Black Bear Festival and they brought a black bear up on the stage. 

BUT for now:

Once when I was trying to get rich Sherry told me she didn’t want to be rich, just be able to eat out once or twice a week. I said I will go for that, Like if I want to eat in Hawaii we can go and come back.  LOL WE finally made it.

BUT to qualify that, we seldom eat out now.  But this morning we went out to a small diner close here. WE each had 2 eggs, bacon, hashbrowns and coffee. Including a tip it was only about $32.00!!!!!!. LOL  me thinks we are rich.

But WE enjoyed it, my girl didn’t think the hash browns were brown enough though. ;-)  (they were hashwhites)

AS I sat there an old man and his wife came in and took a seat just in my view. He looked like a cowboy.  Most folks do not realize it, but Florida was once loaded with cows and cowboys.  There are still many ranches here.  As a matter of fact, We have more horse ranches than in Kentucky. (Texas is first of course.)

Does your mind ever rest, or are you always thinking and wondering? I cannot stop my mind, I am always working on a problem, i.e. Why will our furnace work one day and not another? If not that, I will find something to worry around.  Today I was looking at the rancher, wondering what the problem is?  He looked so deep in thought, that is what made me wonder…  I never asked him what he was so concentrated on.  LOL  I didn’t want to get shot. ;-)

Ok, leaving the diner we headed to an Awning Company. Mark needs an awning on his RV. I got the address off the net and it was only a few miles. We turned and turned and finally ended up on a dirt road, then it went to a single lane dirt road. Then we came to the dead end. GPS said you have arrived!

So I called their phone # and got a recording; left a msg and we headed out. 

Everyone knows we have lots of alligators, but you may not know Florida has Black Bears. SOOOO before we got off the one lane road, we got to see a Florida Black Bear, it jumped in front of us, ran up and across the road.

The one above (shows my poor photographer's ability ) was on the stage with Mel.

This bear (from the net) above could have been the one we saw! It was about this size.

WE said about the same time, “If this was a wild goose chase, it was worth it!”  YES it was…  WE have seen bears in the mts, but that was the first bear in the wild here..

Nite Shipslog

PS. 

The Awning man did return my call and I learned what I needed.. Time is moving on, Love from FL

 

Friday 10/31 Insurance, the Bet.

 Picture of the day:

The Desota was a very good car.  This is the 1955. That year North Carolina required liability Insurance. I think all sates req liability insurance on every car. The first year I owned a car, shucks.  1955 ws the first year of the 'wrap around windshields'.

 

Note: To Victor, it is also illegal now in the USA to leave the keys in one’s car.  WE have raised too many crooks over this way....

BUT for now:

I am not too fond of Insurance. When you insure your home, your car or appliances. YOU are betting that something will go wrong. YOUR Insurance company is betting nothing bad will happen to cause them to pay anything……  AS A RULE, THEY ARE RIGHT. (Or they would go broke!)

But LIFE INSURANCE? They are betting you will live a long time, but they KNOW, as YOU DO, sooner or later WE WILL DIE! So far on this earth everyone leaving this earth has left via death…....... OK, Bible believing folks know that is except Enoch, Elijah, and Melchizedek

I was 36 years old before I took out an ins. Policy. A salesman, said take this policy, keep it 5 years and if you want it, we will give you your money back, every cent of it. It was in writing!  

left to right: Mark, Sherry, Jack jr, and the Mark Garrison a friend. Picture taken in GTMO near where Columbus landed when discovering Cuba. (Yes, Cristopher also found Cuba). This was the age when I first took out Insurance.
     

I kept it 8 years and later talked to NY Life Rep. I proudly told him My agreement about my money back.  He smiled, do you get any interest on that money. “NO, but I get it all back!”

"Ok, Mr. Darnell, NY LIFE will give you the same agreement, BUT we will give you your money back with interest." I am an easy sell, I got my money back from the first insurer and now NY Life insures us.  So, I do believe in life Insurance, my wife and family do not need to suffer debt because I refused to get the insurance to bury me and help them thru life.

Funny antidote: While I owned the construction co, I kept a policy that would cover ANY debts on a house or houses under construction. JUST IN CASE I passed away unexpectedly.  When I stepped away from my construction company, Mark was still building and I asked if he wanted to continue the policy on me so when I did die he would be set.

“How much are you insured for dad?”

“About $700,000 I think.”

‘Nah, if it was a million I would keep it, but go ahead and drop it.”

Now I laugh at myself, the boy was right, I have lived a lot longer than I ever thought I would. He would have been paying high payments about 30 years, and nothing to show for them. LOL  I guess I have been too stubborn to die. ;-O

Nite Shipslog

PS. 

Life has been good to me and I am glad my Life Ins has not paid off yet.  WE have had most policies long enough that the interest makes the payments for us. Love from FL

Thursday 10/30 There is a Difference

Picture of the day

               I borrowed this from Mr. Millican's collection.

I just got it and realized Fat's real name was J. Aldrich Myers. This is to point out that Fat's name was real. He was a little overweight, but the name stuck until he died.  Many a good story about Fat.

BUT for now:

I know you get tired of an old man’s memories, but that is about all I have. LOL

I was raised when no one locked their doors, car or home. I just thought of something the other day and told my son. Most folks, if they had life insurance it was like a $500 policy to pay for their burial. The weekly premium was usually 25¢ per policy. At least 2 family members were covered. There was an envelope hanging on the wall, behind the front door, it contained a payment card and ¢¢ to pay the premium each week on collection day.

Sometimes the ins. Man would knock and open the door and collect the change and note the payment. Other times, especially in the summer, the front door was open, just the screen door closed. He would open the screen, step inside and do his work and leave. At times not a word was said.

Most of those policies were not held long enough to be paid off or used. HOWEVER we still have two in our ins folder for our sons, $500; each fully paid off, for many years.  The insurance company no longer exists, but the law forces other ins companies to honor a claim.  BAD thing is, those policies cannot be cashed in, nor do they gain interest or value.  Neither of our sons carry insurance, but both have enough put back to cover burial (At least that is what I hear and think. LOL)  For danged sure nowadays $500 is not enough to cremate one’s body, much less bury someone.

Quick story: Keys were left in cars with NO FEAR of theft. My dad went into the drugstore in our small town. He came out and his car was GONE! He went back inside and called the police. Claude Setzer (a policeman and member of dad’s church) came out to investigate. During the discussion the Local Funeral director (A good friend of dad's) Fat Myers walked up and asked what's the problem.

“The Preacher’s car has been stolen!”

“I think the Preacher is mistaken, probably having a memory loss, his car is in his driveway, I just saw it!”

True dat!  Mr. Myers was known all over the county as Fat. Fat had driven dad’s car to the parsonage and went back to see the results.  Many a laugh over town, even Dad finally laughed! Small towns were a lot of fun.

Nite Shipslog

PS. 

WE are doing fine down this way now, just hoping that mean hurricane doesn’t decide to visit us here.

Love from FL (More on ins tomorrow)

Wednesday 10/20 .... Great time with friends

 Picture of the day

 

                    Buddy and Di

BUT for now:

I mentioned Buddy’s funny story about his name change in the first grade, we all got a laugh out of that. His friendship comes from church.  Our dad’s were both preachers. I am not sure if all minister’s kids have a wandering spirit, but we have. You have heard (or know) that preacher’s kids are mean.  That was true of Bud, Me? I was an angel. :-O. Of course we claimed that meanness came from the fact we played with the deacon’s kids.

It is strange how that first 16-18 years of your life forms you. But back to Bud.

He as the witty guy, we were all cool, but Buddy was our Fonz! Quick with wit, and when necessary, quick with a fist. I did see Bud and Vondale win a couple fights at separate times that could not be avoided. Me? Nah, I was the lover. Thank goodness we were just having fun 99.9% of the time.

But, back to the present. Did you hear of the flooding in Florida? WE here in Eustis got about 20” of rain. That is about .5 meter I am told. We had a little flooding here in the park. Flooding was within a couple hundred feet. But many of the roads are ruined, that is the most the town has ever seen.

This coach leaked a little but nothing to cause us to drive off.  Of course we did not even know that until the next day.

Nite Shipslog

PS. 

The friends I have been fortunate to know over years are most church related, next Sherry’s past and my military experience. I had very close buddies in Valdese (grades 7 & 8) Jim and Bub Page, Guy Abee and Peter David Hunt. Jim Page is the only one I still know. He is one of those ‘great guys.’

Jim was the only one of us boys that was industrious. Jim shined shoes on Sat. mornings at the barber shop.

Love from FL

Tuesday 10/28 Tough losing a friend, when you have so few.

 

Picture of the day

 
         Vondale and Rose at their 50th Anniversary

BUT for now:

Some names grow together over the years. In my family it was Dick & Kat, Shirley and Jim etc.  The names Vondale and Rose became a set. They were married a few months after us, so they were together a long time. WE just learned that Rose passed away.

Our lifestyle does not accumulate close friends. I met Vondale when my dad pastored in Albemarle, NC. We became friends in about 1949 and have stayed in touch since. Vondale’s family moved close to us when Dad pastored Belmont where I met Sherry.  Belmont is where Vondale met Rose Mae.

IT was during that time that I wrecked my beautiful ’48 Chevy convertible. Vondale was riding shotgun and went out with the top when it rolled over. That radio was playing loudly “Rock around the Clock”. It was still playing when the car landed back on it’s wheels in the ditch. Thank God neither of us was hurt bad. I only had cracked ribs.

Anyway, I joined the USMC and left town.  Vondale stayed around and married Rose. They tried RV’ing for a while, but it did not last.

This is a picture of a picture.  I was in Turkey when they married.

It is sad as you grow older to see friends and acquaintances dropping away.  You can bet Vondale will miss his girl after nearly 70 years of marriage.

They moved from the city to a farm.  Rose worked as a nurse and Vondale raised chickens.

WE will miss knowing she is no longer out on the farm.

I have only one more close longtime friend, that is Buddy. Bud tells of his first day in school the teacher was calling names and kept calling out 'Richard.' Since he was the only one who had not answered to a name the teacher asked his name, “I am Buddy Sansbury!”  She told him from now on in this class you are Richard.  He was upset and told his mama the Teacher had changed his name.

Buddy and I have been more alike, in that we have moved around a lot and both Retired Military. He and his sweet wife Dianne live here in Florida. WE will visit them this Wednesday.

He is one who said, “Come visit before I am 'Bud in the mud' and you are 'Jack in the Box'.”

Nite Shipslog

PS. 

Seeing friends pass just lets us know life is fragile, we do not have a schedule for death, only HE knows that.  So, we will live until that comes about.

Monday 10/27 GET EVEN! ?What happened to Self Control?

 Picture of the day

 

BUT for now:

It has been over a year since we had a TV on. We get our news from the internet. I am shocked reading things like this:

Man 41, calls school and threatens to come to the school and shoot all teachers.  His son did not get a snack at school  And then in another state:

Woman 43 calls the school threatens to blow it up because her daughters boyfriend did not get free lunch.

Woman shoots and kills a man who tapped his horn because she was texting and did no go under the light soon enough.

Man kills a man because he drove too close to his car on the highway.

Today I read after receiving a traffic ticket, ‘Privileged Punk, 21 runs over cops intentionally  in his high dollar Mercedes CVO (or something like that).  Boy’s daddy is an attorney and the boy was raised in a 1.2 million $ mansion.

Man fired from Taco Bell, returns and kills the manager.

I mentioned in the past about he man who killed someone because the lawnmower threw grass on his car….

EVERYONE of these fools, if they lived, will spend their lives in prison, because at the moment, they did not CARE! They wanted self-satisfaction, or something.

Sane people cannot understand why ANYONE, no matter the threat or situation, would do something THAT CANNOT BE HIDDEN NOR FIXED, that will RUIN their own lives, and that of their families.

Just had this on my mind because I am reading a great book.

The above is news headlines. I am reading a great book now, Pocket Sermons, it is written by our friend Victor. If the above Foolish People had taken the time to read THE GOOD BOOK, OR EVEN a GOOD book, maybe they would be home with their families instead of dead or in prison....  NEVER again to touch a loved one or sit at dinner with family.

Love is something that heals craziness, and makes life good.

Nite Shipslog

PS. 

WE are in a big rain down pour here in Eustis Florida. Yeah, we do have a leak,  Maybe we can get that fixed too!     Love from FL

Sunday 10/26 Probably a rest day, as it should be.

 Picture of the day

 

This is the Monaco Diplomat RV we are working on down here. We owned it back then. Funny I picked this picture; see that RV port down the grade? That is what we are getting back on the NC move in a few weeks.  Yep this picture is the backside of the home we are getting soon.

BUT for now:

Our walks are becoming fairly regular.  Working is exercise, but that does not replace the leg exercise.

Sherry did run a small load of clothes thru the Splendide combo washer/dryer.  The machine had not been used in over a year, one switch was faulty/stuck and we finally got it to running.  The load finished perfectly and dried.  So that is one more thing marked off.

I hope to rework the kitchen sink caulking, check the engine fluids and adjust the mirrors. On the next work day.  Things are coming together….

WE lived in this thing over 15 years I think, it sorta feels like home as we move around it.

Nite Shipslog

PS. 

WE are completing our mission pretty fast. The coach is looking good.     Love from FL

Saturday 10/25 a short day, but fun.

 Picture of the day

 

WE entered Alaska after crossing the Yukon River on a ferry. This was the beginning of the Top Of The World Highway, down to Chicken,  Alaska from Dawson in the Yukon.

BUT for now:

Friday Mark took us out to eat.  We ate at the Mason Jar, a nice restaurant up the road towards Umatilla.  WE had a good meal and a time to shoot the breeze.

Sherry told us the news she received from JJ.  Grandson Ben has a new job with benefits.  The job is temporary sorta.  JJ says there is a plan in the works for Mark’s son Matthew to study some more and apply for a test to get his contractor’s license.  The same license that I and son Mark had.

 If it pans out that would be great, Ben might go to work for him and they just might revive the old ‘Darnell’s Construction Company’.  Of course that would make me smile, maybe I could get a job as a ‘helper’.

If Matthew does get his license, I am sure Mark will be proud.  When Mark left me (with my blessings) to form his own company, he built some great homes.  Bigger and better than I…… AND of course I was proud to see it.

                                                    This RV doesn't have a basement.

Anyway, after dinner Mark gave us the weekend off (LOL), but we insisted on continuing a little. Sherry will take a Very Small load of clothe to test the Splendide washer/dryer, a combination unit.

I hope to finish the basement area. (The storage area below an RV living area is referred to as the basement) That area is where the utility parts of the coach are. The Sewer tank (referred to as Black Water) and the dirty sink/bath water tank (referred to as Grey Water) are there.  The freshwater tank is also there below. The A/C generator and air compressor along with batteries and water controls are there also.  The unused space is open for storage. A unit this size has super storage. I carry enough tools for the mechanical work and enough tools to build a home. LOL

  This Mini Cooper confuses me, who is looking at the engine?

Th A/C generator mentioned is what makes these coaches self-sufficient. The generator supplies all the power one needs to have lights, heat and A/C. The refrig stays running and you can cook, electric or gas.  We have portable WIFI and can use computers, TV and radio.

The Air compressor is required for the Airbags (springs) for the coach. It also supplies air for tires for the coach or car if needed.

Having these conveniences in the field or deserts is nice. We were self-sufficient in Alaska and the BLM* lands in Arizona.  You stay at no cost with all the conveniences of home. Nice. ;-)

Nite Shipslog

*BLM= Bureau of Land Management (Gov’t land)

PS. 

About the basement, I did not mention the engine compartment. Mark's coach is called a Diesel Pusher. The engine is in the rear, under the bed. I prefer that , the noise is less up front and I can hear better.

For Friday….. The coach isn’t completely checked out, but it is listed

  Today’s picture:

 

This is Mark and Jack Jr. on our 1960 Rambler.  Mark is now 64 and JJ is 67 both on SS.  You all think I am old, but Sherry married me when I was 12 yrs old.  :-O

NOW for today:

WE are a little tired, Things are going as planned and we are a little ahead of planned time.

Mark listed his 2000 Monaco Diplomat on Leesburg, FL Facebook Market place today.  He doesn’t care much for technical stuff, but he sells on marketplace using only his phone.  I guess many of you also do much on your phone.  It is too small for me.  I still need at least this laptop.

About Mark’s RV, WE now can use the slides, jacks, generator, and compressor.  WE have not tried the washer/dryer yet.  WE did take a chance and drove it about 3 miles. Drives good, gears change, turn signals good. He has had one call all ready, that sounds good that soon.

Take care. WE BE tired… We are taking it easy just working 4-5 hours a day.  We are also walking 2 miles and are GLAD of that.

Both of our sons have good young'uns. Jack has three sons, Mark has a daughter and 2 sons. They all are proud parents and have a great work ethic.  WE are very proud of our family.

Nite Shipslog

PS:  Thanks for stopping by, An old man must do something, …Son Mark is looking for some Molasses, so we all went to the local farmer’s market which also sports a Flea mkt.   No Molasses but ran into a honey salesman from a town just 50 miles from our place in NC. ..

Love from FL