When it rains, it pours.

Or, when God gives you lemons, make lemonade.
And, since it is raining, you can make it with pure rain water.

My degree is in psychology, but I did take a philosophy class, so I know that any situation can be looked at from any perspective and be interpreted accordingly. See the previous "Glass half full" entry.

On Thursday, two significant, but seemingly unrelated things happened.
First, as you read, the truck ceased being a functioning contributor to our vagabond lifestyle. Our plans for spending weeks in the cool environs of high altitude forests, listening to the wind in the trees, watching whatever wildlife wandered our way, and doing as much nothing as we could cram in, were dashed. A HOT! summer in Tucson loomed.

Second, I got a telephone call from ...(drum roll, please)...Skagway, Alaska.

Now, you may have heard of Skagway from us. We went up there when we were younger, like last year. And the year before. And the year before that. We did not plan to go there this year. (see above paragraph for our plans this year) I should mention that this is the fourth call inviting us to return.

         One spring day a truck came out to Old Man O'Hara's farm, and the driver warned
         Old Man O'Hara to evacuate the farm because the river was going to rise and flood the farm.
         "I'll be fine," says O'Hara, "God will take care of me." And he refused to leave the farm.
         Later that day, as O'Hara stood on his porch as the waters swirled around his house, a man
         in a motor boat pulled up to the house and offered to take Old Man O'Hara to dry land.
         "I'll be fine," replied the old man, "God will take care of me." And he refused to leave the farm.
         Later that night, as O'Hara sat on the peak of his roof, watching the waters eddying around the
         eaves of his house, a helicopter hovered overhead and dropped a rope ladder. A loud speaker
         encouraged Old Man O'Hara to climb on up, as the water was about to rise even more.
        "I'll be fine, God will take care of me," O'Hara shouted back.
         Old Man O'Hara drowned in the flood. As he stood before St. Peter he was angry. "I trusted
         in the Lord to save me," he said. "Why didn't He take care of me?"
         St. Peter patiently nodded his head. "Who do you think sent the truck, the boat, and the
         helicopter?"

So, we decided to heed all of the messages we have received. We leave for Skagway next week. The earnings put us closer to that new truck we need if we ever want to pull our trailer to the mountains again. It's a no brainer and part of the glass being half full (a solution).

Having done this before, I don't find it necessary to tape off a corner of the living room to allot space for all the junk we will take. We are taking a lot less junk. The ferry is full, so we will get in a 3000 mile road trip. We will see high altitude forests, and there is a chance that we will see wildlife. Who knows, we might see a bear!

Happy Birthday, Jane

Okay, we are a day late and a dollar short. But we thought about you yesterday.
Hope you had a good day and have many more, and share a good number of them with us.

Glass half full.

Making the best of a bad situation comes easy after the practice we've had. For reference, see just about any of our previous entries.
On Friday, when we were supposed to be enjoying the cool temps in Silver City, we instead went to the refrigerated confines of our local multiplex to see "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel." That was fun. Then we decided to find a motel near Silver City and go to the blues festival, anyway. The nearest available room was in Lordsburg, 45 miles distant. We got the room free from our rewards. Excellent.
We found a good, comfortable place in the shade at the park and enjoyed the music from noon until 9 pm. Then on Sunday, from noon until 6:30. Becky and Steve joined us for the day and dinner after. Then we drove home.
So we salvaged most of a good time. We enjoyed the music, the perfect weather, and the people watching. There was more driving involved than we planned for, but, on the bright side, there are fewer bugs in the world now.

Bummer!

I guess this qualifies as an "adventure" of the third kind?
An adventure of the first kind was planned. Isn't that how every good story begins?
We made reservations way back in January to take the trailer to Silver City for the Blues Festival this weekend.
We set out early this morning to avoid an adventure of the second kind. Forecast called for strong winds on I-10 between Tucson and the N.M. border. We did not want to get flipped over by a strong crosswind. Really, we didn't want to get flipped over? Why not?         DUH!!
So, back to the story. We made it to mile post 277, which is on Tucson's southeast side. Kind of out of town, but not really. The engine quit running. No explosion. No fire. Just quit. Being the clever soul that I am, I pulled to the side of the road, set the flashers, and tried (unsuccessfully) to restart the engine several times. Then, because I am a guy, I got out and raised the hood. I looked at the engine and could not tell what was wrong. Huh?! What I mean is, the belts and hoses were all there, no leaks of any kind were visible, and the engine, itself, was still there.
Now, we learn from past.....experiences. Yeah, that's the word. So we have Good Sam Emergency Roadside Assistance coverage. And we had cell phone coverage. So, do you know how hard it is to have a conversation on a cell phone next to a busy truck route? The poor operator had to repeat everything she said.
Upshot is, the tow truck only took an hour. Then about 45 minutes to get us hooked up. The tow company's owner was our driver, and he took lots of calls. Good thing we weren't paying by the minute. Good thing we weren't paying at all. The nearest repair facility was Tucson Dodge, because our truck is a Dodge and the Good Sam operator assumed that was the best place to go.
Okay, we sat around the dealership, blah, blah, blah (or is that yadda, yadda, yadda?).
The verdict is that the engine quit because the spark plug wires are shot. Oh, and there is a gasket missing on the air intake (it gets dry and brittle after years and years) which has been letting dirty air into the engine. That is very bad. In fact, the ticking sound we have been hearing is most likely in a piston. Prognosis? Fifty-fifty chance we could get to Silver City and back without the engine quitting again. This time with a bang and for good.
So we did not go to Silver City. And we will not be able to take the trailer to the mountains later this summer unless we get a new truck.
So, never mind the sun viewing glasses, I want a new truck for Father's Day.
Kids? Are you reading this? Don't both of you speak at once.
Oh, not to leave you hanging. The truck runs, and got us home safely. But only because I can drive while keeping my fingers crossed and holding my breath.

NSR =No Shovel Required

Even my cold-blooded sister wouldn't go get the shovel for this reptilian sighting.
We were on the first leg of our evening constitutional when we observed a group of fellow walkers off the road taking a picture. When we got closer they let us know it was gila monster sighting. Sure enough, there he or she was. About 16 inches long and with a nice fat tail. Perambulating in that unique lizard way that looks like walking isn't the preferred method of getting around.
We continued around the next corner and soon we saw, about 50 yards up the road, something crossing the road. Snake or gila monster. We actually trotted to get there. We arrived as another gila monster climbed the berm. This one was about an inch or two shorter and less fat, but very nicely patterned in orange and black.
Two. In one day! Cool.
Continuing, a resident red-tail hawk swooped just overhead and sailed to a landing on a telephone pole where we often see him. He never lets us get too close, but tonight he didn't sail away until we were stopped at the base of the pole.
Finally, as we neared our house, a pair of nighthawks got an early start eating all those nasty flying bugs over our street.
So we got our exercise, and some good wildlife viewing.

What's wrong here?

This evening we will be able to view part of the solar eclipse before the sun sets. On June 5th we will be able to watch part of Venus' transit of the sun before the sun sets.
EXCEPT you can't look directly at the sun long enough to see anything, or else you won't be able to see anything ever again. That is the classic catch 22. But somebody produced a special set of sun viewing glasses that are dark enough to allow direct sun viewing. Fine. Where can I get them?
There is one astronomy-themed store in town. They had the glasses until they ran out three days ago. The Saguaro National Park West is hosting a viewing party, so the gift shop had them for sale. Until they ran out yesterday. We drove out there today specifically to buy the glasses. Long drive. It was pretty, because we went through the Tucson Mountains at Picture Rock, and the saguaros are BLOOMING.
Okay. What's wrong here is marketing. If you want to maximize sales, you must not run out of product. Simple.
So, as the manufacturer of a product like these glasses which will have a limited demand period, what do you do? No retailer wants to be stuck with 800 pairs of sun viewing glasses after June 5th. The next eclipse will be years away, and the next transit of Venus will be more than a century from now. So the manufacturer should have guaranteed full return-for-credit on excess stock. If it was me, I'd have had them in every convenience store. Tonight when the moon starts blocking the sun, hundreds of people who don't plan ahead (the very definition of C-store customers) will be wanting to buy glasses.
Personally, I could pass on the eclipse. Been there, seen that. But the transit of Venus? Only once in my lifetime. Once. Coming up in a couple of weeks. I know, pictures will be shown on TV and youtube. But that's like saying you don't need to visit the Grand Canyon because you saw a postcard.
So, your assignment, reader, should you decide to accept it, is to find me a pair of sun viewing glasses.
I will also be looking. I can't really count on you, now can I?

Romantic Poetry--hot stuff, eh?

Does this guy know me or what?

I do not like the heat

said she.

The heat is not my friend in need.

The heat is not my friend indeed.

I do not like the heat in spring.

I do not like the heat in fall.

I do not like the heat at all.

The heat in summer is too much.

It makes some things too hot to touch.

I do not like the heat

said she.

I do not like the heat today.

I do not like the heat, no way.

It is too hot.

I like it not.

I do not like the heat a lot.

              Bill Thomas, May 2012

The heat in May

is here to stay.

The heat in June 

is here too soon.

               Bill Thomas, May 2012