Date:                           January 26, 2008

Location:                    Tampa, FL

1000

            “I hate endings” is the phrase that I was greeted with as I arose at the end of last week.  It was uttered by my lovely wife as we got out of our warm bed and prepared to go to “work” at the SHARE office complex with our NOMADS team. It was the last day of this project and, as such, signaled the “end” of this project.  It has been a very comfortable and social team and we will in deed hate to see them all head out on their separate ways.  Connie and I will be reaming at the Tampa Bay Baptist Conference Center and heading up the next NOAMDS team that will be attempting to finish the chores we have been assigned.  In some ways, it is not “ending” for us. It is just changing a few faces and a lot of personalities. 

            Our final devotion was held at the SHARE office complex and Connie and I were presented with all too many accolades for our team leadership and the cohesive personality that the team exhibited.  We did our best to be adequate team leaders and our efforts seemed to be well appreciated.  Our initial letter spelled out our philosophy about the team sharing and fellowship, but it was up to the team to accomplish the camaraderie that we seemed to achieve.  People that did not like games showed up for game night and had fun, people that wished for multiple church service experiences followed us each Sunday to the single church we attended, and the all showed up for each and every opportunity to enjoy what ever food was available and offered.  This even included a pot luck dinner with the Baptist work team that is here at the center.  It was a good team and composed of some very friendly and gracious people.  We worked hard and we all seemed to make an effort to enjoy each others company.  Who could ask for more?

            It is with a lot of understanding that I can relate to Connie’s lament, “I hate endings.”  But, it was time and we all have new adventures and new responsibilities to address.  It was time for the end and time for new beginnings.  I guess it is better to hold on to the memories and try to visualize this as a continuation with modification and not an ending.  We will see some of these team members again, just because they are that important to us. And because they might, someday, become that important to us.  It really is not an end, but just a modification along life’s path of adventures.

            Connie and I also ended another chapter of our lives this week, or at least we hope we did.  We had an appointment at the Southeast Cummins dealer to address our final glitch in the operation of Aurora.  Our ignition problem was fixed at Lazy Days and seems to be working just fine.  Our Hydro-Hot problem has disappeared since we have arrived in Florida and our heat and water has been just as we should expect.  The diesel burned has been working like it is advertised and we no longer are in a sub-freezing climate.  I think there may be a lesson there for us to learn.  Our final glitch had to do with an oil sensor switch that was sending erroneous messages to our engine’s computer and kept threatening to shut down our engine and turn us into a very heavy and expensive roadblock.  After the replacement of a $9.76 switch and payment of a $450.00 bill we are ready to go and not to be threatened with the sudden and abrupt shutdown of our very fine running engine.

            It is from this last perspective that I choose to fully question my wife’s initial comment.  It is with this “ending” of this chapter of our travel lives that we can now dispose of the stress and apprehension we have been carrying since December of last year.  Our home is, again, the wonder and pleasure that we have come to enjoy.  She has always been beautiful with the under currents of a few pimples.  Now we can hope that the last few indications of trouble are over and we can call an end to this chapter of stress and frustration.  Some ending are a good thing, and I hope that Aurora’s little snit and repair shop desires are truly at an end.

            It is interesting how memories will soften all present emotions and feelings.  We will remember the end of Aurora’s repair snits and soften the feelings of stress and depression as we reflect on the time we have spent along the side of the road awaiting a tow truck or afraid to venture into traffic in fear of that we might become a large paper weight.  It was not “brain cancer” and we did make it through the trauma.  And, it was not as bad as it could have been.

            Our memories will soften the depression and loneliness of seeing new and old dear friends leave us and go on with their lives as we find new direction and go on with ours.  The new friends that truly mean a lot to us will cross our life’s path again.  The others will remain a momentary pleasure in our memory bank of experiences.  We will meet new friends, and we will make new acquaintances, for that is what the wonder of this RV nomadic life style is. 

            I hate endings all so.  But, just maybe it is not about endings.  Maybe it is about chapter completions and the ability to start new beginnings.

Date:                           January 13, 2008

Location:                    Tampa, FL

0830

            The life story of a full time RVer is exciting and eventful.  This is a perspective I have attempted to explore on my blog for sometime.  It is also a perspective that, if you are a regular reader, you might be getting a bit bored with hearing.  For that trip into Boredomland I apologize.  But, it is the way it is and that is what I have to write about.

            This past week Connie and I have been living the life of a full time RVer in the role of a volunteer. This is a position in life that we both enjoy and, when given the chance, love to extol on the spiritual and personal benefits of giving just a bit of ourselves back to the society from which we have benefitted.  Don’t worry, I am not going to go off on a diatribe on how we get more than we give, or how we have been blessed so it is in our desire to give a little back to  the less fortunate of society.  I won’t bore you with the love we have shared with the most wonderful people all over this country. I will just say that this is the life that we have chosen to live and pity you that do not understand.

            This week we have worked at a church conference center that is located near the center of Tampa.  As I stated previously, we are “in an oasis situated amid chaos.” Our chores this week have been to help the staff here beautify the campus.  That is translated to mean we have been doing a bunch of landscaping and brush removal.  That is also translated to mean a lot of very sore muscles and, at the end of the week, a team of some very tired old volunteers.  The Motrin has been disappearing out of the collected RV’s medicine cabinets like candy off a shelf in a free store.  Yet, there have been no complaints and a large collection of smiles and even a few laughs to share.  We all seem to almost crawl back to our rigs at the end of each day to find that golden bottle of Motrin and a hot shower.  Come the next morning the team is ready, willing, and, might I say, eager to go back to work.  None of us are kids.  Some of the team is over 80 years old, and yet it would stagger you imagination to read the list of accomplishments that we have mustered in just the one week we have been here.

            I would be remiss if I was to expect you to believe that we are only work oriented.  As I said before, we have shared a lot of smiles and many laughs among our team.  Some of those laughs came as we discovered that the sewer connections for our rig needed a bit of attention and a lot of smell reducing chemicals.  It is funny now that the wind has changed.  We have spent a lot of time, probably more than we should, eating and enjoying the offerings of repast in and around Tampa.  Even after a long hard day of pulling twisted vines from trees, cutting rampantly growing trees and shrubs from the path ways throughout the conference center campus and other maintenance request made by the staff here we all gathered at a local favorite, “Cici’s Pizza” and enjoyed an “all you can eat” pizza buffet.  It was gratifying to see all of the team show up for the evening repast and chance to fellowship.  It was more gratifying to see these same tired and sore volunteers gather back at our campsite and enjoy each others company with an evening of games.  You see, the benefits of giving are so often felt in the moments of receiving, especially in the receiving of group warmth during times of shared fellowship.

            In somewhat of a moment of summation, our week has produced a long list of accomplishments of which we can be proud.  It has produced a long list of newly found, all be they sore, muscles.  It has most preciously presented, both Connie and me, a new treasure chest of comforting memories.  And, this week has been another week of letting us understand why it is we do what ever it is we are doing.  We have, probably, eaten too much and worked too hard, but we have lived our life in a way in which we can be proud and eager to continue.  I guess we have had a pretty good week.

            We are now getting ready to attend a very friendly church just down the road and then we will all go to a small soul food restaurant for lunch that has some of the best collard greens I have ever tasted.  I hear it also has some of the best homemade cake in the south, but I have yet to have room in my tummy, after visiting the buffet all too may times, to either prove or disprove that theory.  I guess this next week is getting off to a pretty good start too. 

Date:                           January 8, 2008

Location:                    Tampa, FL

0700

            The life of a full time RVer is full of exciting and strange moments, but it is the life that Connie and I have chosen and it is the life that we, normally, truly enjoy.  As I start to write this entry the sun is beginning the daily trek across the deep blue sky of Florida and we are getting ready to continue our week of work at the Tampa Bay Baptist Conference Center.  The temperature is warned to approach the 80 degree mark and it is promised that we will return to our home tired and satisfied after a day of hard work on our first NOMADS project of the year.

            Our home is now positioned in a grove of trees that opens up to a view of a small, but beautiful lake just north of downtown Tampa, Florida.  One of the regular volunteers that has been working here for over 5 or 6 years described the camping facilities; “We are in an oasis located in the middle of ciaos.”  The quiet peace and seclusion offered by the location of this camping area is a stark contrast to the reality of a bustling and hectic city that is just on the outside of the secure gate to our community.  But, from our vantage point and protected by thick woodlands that city could be on another planet.  That is unless we get in our car and drive the block or two to the corner of an 10 lane intersection that is nestled between I-75, I-4 and I-275 and just moments from the center of downtown Tampa.  It really is the best of both worlds.  We can feel the peace and calm of our oasis, and within a very few moments we have all of the shopping opportunities any large American city can offer.  We are, indeed, located in an oasis that is surrounded by the ciaos of a large American city.

            If you have been reading my blogs, you might have been made aware of the fact that our home has been having a few issues.  We have managed to address most of those traumatic problems and we still have a few pennies on which to live.  Lazy-Days RV did not fix all of our problems, but they did, I hope, fix the main trouble and referred us to a service company that can and will soon address our final little glitch.  As I have said many times of late; “When our home is good she is really great.  When our home is not good it really sucks.”  I know that ”this to will pass” and “all things come to a proper ending” and all of the other platitude advise.  I also know that having an issue with your home or vehicle or vacation abode can be a traumatic feeling.  When that issue is with the object in your life that is all of those things, it can feel pretty monstrous.  Soon, I can only hope, all of this will be but a memory and a tid-bit that can be shared around a future campfire.

            It is nearly time to head off to work and continue our NOMADS project.  Our team seems very friendly and pleasant and we are enjoying our experience, so far.  It has been only day or two but it is good to get off to a positive start.  I am sure that I will return this evening tired, sore and a bit dirty.  But, I will feel like I have, at least, attempted to give a little back to the society that has given so much to me.  I can only guess that is a sign of a pretty good day.  A good shower, a good night’s sleep and some Motrin and I will ready to venture forth to a new day.  I can wish you all no less.

Date:                           January 1, 2008

Location:                    Ocala, FL

1830

            It is the beginning of a new year and how could I call myself a blogger of any worth if I did not start the year with an entry?

            We have limped our home to Florida and will, hopefully, be at our first NOMADS assignment early tomorrow morning.  The TBBCC is not open today, it seems to be a holiday, but they are expecting us to arrive in the morning and if our home behaves we will do just that.  If you have noticed, I have alluded to the fact that we are having something less than fun with our home.  We seem to have an electrical problem that causes our ignition system to act very strangely.   Yes, we will get it fixed.  Yes, this too will pass. And, Yes we are both very frustrated.  It is not brain cancer, but it is not fun either.  I will not bore you with the details.  It just hasn’t been much fun heading south this year.

            We arrived in Florida a little after noon today.  It has been a long trip from Santa Cruz to Tampa and we are not quite there yet.  We did, of course, take a some what circuitous route to travel from the California sea shore to the western coast of Florida.  We meandered up the west coast of our country to make sure we arrived in Houston for Thanksgiving.  We then traveled to Tampa from Houston by way of Buffalo, New York for Christmas.  If you have not gotten out your road atlas to try and figure out what I am trying to talk about, you should.  To go south east we went north then east and then north again to eventually head south. 

            No, it was not smart;  No, it was not sensible; But it was a typical route for a full time RVer.  We had friends and family to visit and they seem to live all over the country.  We also had some sight seeing to enjoy.  We may not undertake this same fiasco again in the very near future, but I am not sure that we find it a total mistake.  We managed to visit friends, family and some of our country’s natural wonders.  The good will remain as treasured memories and I hope that soon the less than good will be a faint soon forgotten events that are nothing more than fodder for campfire stories at a future rally.

            As my wife and I start this New Year we are not having as much fun as I might wish.  We are still talking and not taking our frustration out on each other, which is a good thing.  The weather has been warmer, and that to is a good thing.  There is a forecast of a couple of cool nights to pass through Florida, of course we just arrived.  But, by the beginning next week the temperatures should be in the high 70s or low 80s and that is wonderful.  Our problems will, I pray, soon be fixed and our home will eventually return to her wonderful self.  When she is good, she is very, very good, when she is not it really sucks. 

            Oh well, it is a New Year and life is an adventure.