The Adventures of Me & My Shadow #63 in VA, MD 07/28/01

383 miles this trip, odometer now 10,191 total, miles this year 9,868.

From MD, Hi Everyone!

Well I survived another Fourth of July. It’s not like it used to be; I remember one a long time ago. I believe it was about 65 years ago in my old home town of Coleridge, NE. I had saved up some money and had one package of fire crackers. One of them didn’t go off and I didn’t want to waste it so I picked it up and put it in my pocket, no! it didn’t go off in my pocket. We called them fizzlers, we would carefully bend them till they broke open being careful not to spill any powder and stick them in something that would hold them with the broken end up. We would then light the powder and it would spew out a stream of sparks. It was later in the day and the high school band was playing on a portable band stand that was parked on main street. I was in the crowd listening to the band when I found that fire cracker in my pocket. I decided to make a fizzler out of it and hold it in my hand and light it. I failed to notice the town cop right in front of me. Everything would have been OK but the damn fire cracker exploded instead of being a fizzler. The cop turned around and said, "Who lit that?" I pointed to the left and said "he went that way" and the cop took off looking for someone who did such a dastardly thing. I counted my throbbing fingers and headed home thankful that I still had all my fingers.

It was about this time that I heard the good news about the implanted artificial heart. It sounds like it’s just what I need. As I understand it they have used them in cows for several years with good results. If it’s good enough for a cow it’s good enough for me and it would sure be better than what now I have. I’ll see if I can interest the Doctors at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital in it when I see them in Nov.

You will notice that I did accumulate a few miles on the odometer this month, it came from three trips to the Eastern Shore of VA to visit my daughter. I worked on an impossible job on the house. I enjoy working on impossible jobs, if someone says it can’t be done, it lights my fire. The project is slowly taking shape and it will eventually be completed. I also had to get the old GMC an annual VA State inspection, it passed with flying colors. I told the inspector that it was in much better shape than the driver who is only three times as old.

I have also been having computer problems, the keyboard was acting up and not all the keys were working. It is a Dell Inspiron 7000 lap top, I bought it on the Internet after it had been refurbished, I figure I got a good buy and would do it again. However, I have had some problems with it. First, it had a stupid latching system to hold the lid down. One day I got frustrated and just broke the latches off, I no longer have a problem unlatching the lid. Second, after riding several thousand miles in the motorhome doing a good job of navigating, one of the lid hinges came apart. Investigating it, I found two small screws striped, I decided that it was a design defect and drilled and taped it and put in two longer screws. It has worked like it was supposed to ever since. Well, when I called Dell and told them I needed a new keyboard. I was told that I would have to send the computer to them and they would install it. I told him about the design defect that I had solved with the hinge, he said; "just a minute" and there was a long period of silence. When he came back on, he said; "you have voided the warranty on the computer and it would cost me $160.00 to get the warranty back". He told me to send it in and they would put it back to like it was new and I would be charged for labor and parts plus $160.00 for the new warranty. {I never got to tell him about the broken latches}. I informed him that I didn’t want it back like it was when new and I didn’t need his warranty all I needed was a new keyboard and I wold get it some other place. I went to Radio Shack and got a standard keyboard and plugged it in and I’m back on the road and the computer works fine.

You will also notice that this comes to you from a different e-mail address. I had used Hotmail for many years. I have tried every way to get rid of the Spam and it keeps getting worse. Every 24 hours I get 15 to 18 messages in my bulk mail folder and I have to check the from address on every one and some time I find one that should be in my In box folder. One time I had one message from one person to my hotmail address and the "to" line in the heading used up several pages, as I remember the count it went over 2,000 all addressed to me with the same person sending the same message. I don’t understand how they do it, with hotmail I was limited to 50 address’ sent at one time

If you want to keep getting my adventure stories, click on my new e-mail address in the from line in the heading of this letter and add it to your address book. Then delete my hotmail address from your address book. Then send a note to my new address letting me know to keep you on my address or drop you off.

Speaking of impossible tasks and the computer. I believe I have come up with a way to stop all the Spam. This is my plan; have all the e-mail providers put a meter on each e-mail account and at the end of each month send a bill to each account charging 10 cents for each e-mail sent to each and every address. Yes, it would cost me a few bucks but just think of what it would cost each and every one sending all that Spam. The money could go to the government to pay off the national debt. I think the Spam would soon dry up or the government would soon be out of debt.

Till next time, Dallas or Dad if it fits.

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