Could It Get Any Worse---Of Course It Can

Not to relive the disaster of a TV falling on me last week....

I awoke Monday morning and thought I was finally getting some relief. The wife and I were going to do some last minute gift shopping, revisit the doctor's office for final checkup and perhaps have dinner. Relaxing....

My daughter calls and needs to be picked up from an auto repair shop..no problem since it was on the list of things to do. The problem started when:

I backed my truck up out of the driveway and found that my newly replaced windshield wiper had been busted off and a rear tire had been slashed. Not wanting to be too late in picking up my daughter I moved the truck back to its spot in the driveway and cleared off my wife's Saturn. As I back into the road I realized that the passenger side was sitting rather low, so I got out (yes, still in the road) and found BOTH passenger tires had been slashed. The car limped back into the driveway.

A kind neighbor took me to pick up my daughter (thanks Wally!). When I returned home I walked up to the Redford police station, filed a report and waited (and waited) for a patrol car to come to the house to investigate. Meanwhile I had contacted AAA, who was NO help whatsoever and a tow truck company.

VERY long story short, the damaged tires are under two claims and therefore two separate deductibles (thanks AAA!!!!) and AAA was too busy to handle my request to tow, so $120 out of pocket both vehicles were towed to the same repair shop that my duaghter's car was at.

Today, I have the car back, but the truck tire had to be specially ordered, and will arrive later this week.

Who could have slashed three tires and broken windshield wipers? My neighbor who was pissed because I refuse to let him panhandle, or gain entry into my house. To make it worse he also slashed my other neighbor's tire at the same time. The police, have been useless unless we see him in the act (thanks Redford 911!!!)

Hopefully 2008 will end quickly and 2009 will improve!

Addendum to the last post

Wehehehellllll....Thursday was my last day of school for the calendar year. You might say, "Wait, Friday was supposedly the last day of school." Other than the fact that we had our first snow day on Friday, I had a television fall off of it's wall mount and hit my in the shoulder and arms. I left school early and spent the afternoon in a clinic getting xrays and a HUGE ice pack (I'm still cold from it!).

I'm okay, but it could have been much worse. I'm wondering if I should pursue a law suit against the school?

Let's see, if the district is in the hole financially, and I sue and win, does that mean I get a piece of the hole?

Christmas 2008

Wow, it's hard to believe that Christmas is almost upon us. The year has flown by before my eyes, and before I realize it 2009 will be a reality. Here's my chance to take a look back at the things that have happened this year:

I got a job interview AND an offer, which I turned down.
Michelle bought a house.
Rachel returned home to get back on her feet.
Rhonda has cancer surgery on her nose, and all of the plastic surgery that followed.
Michigan's economy has fallen into the toilet, followed by the rest of the country.
Nick and Crystal are engaged.
Rhonda and I spent Thanksgiving alone, very nice, but different without the kids.
The chins are still alive!
We remodeled the living and dining rooms by painting the floors.
Had to buy a new lawnmower.
Had a new back door installed.
Had some awesome camping trips.
Saw gas hit $4.45 a gallon...later saw it fall to $1.44...all in the same year!
Barkley turned 14 this year.
Seen the stock market totally burst...losing nearly 39% of its value. Hopefully it'll go up soon!

We've been blessed with a loving family and good friends..who could ask for more?!

Merry Christmas!

Michigan Economy

Well the national, state and local elections are over, thank goodness! The economy will be the #1 priority for Pres. Elect Obama. It's not going to be an easy task for anyone, and one that will not be cleaned up quickly.

The stories of the families who have lost, or may lose, their jobs continues to devastate the news stories on TV. Sometimes both the husband and wife lose their jobs. What do these people do? Where can they turn for help?

I can't lie and say that I'm not worried about the economy, and my family's future. I have a decent job, two of them to be precise. One in education and one at a local church; jobs that I've had for over 20 years. I don't believe I'm in danger of losing either job, at least not in the near future. But I do worry about being able to retire when *I* want to, and not when I'm too old to enjoy it.

I know that Michigan seems to be at the bottom of the pile when it comes to other states. I remember someone saying years ago that Michigan needed to diversify it's economy and rely less on the auto makers. I guess they were right, but as it too often happens, the advice fell on deaf ears. I guess that would be John Engler, and perhaps Jim Blanchard too.

I guess I'm fortunate that I have a few dollars left at the end of the month, although not necessarily on the dates that I'd like to have the extra cash. But I also know that it could all change without any fault of my own.

Trying times for Americans! I hope for and support Mr. Obama in his endeavors for helping rebuild the economy of the USA.

Fall Camping in Michigan

What a fantastic state we live in, regardless of the financial woes in the state and country. Michigan is such a beautiful state and the state parks are a true treasure for its inhabitants!

I spent the past week camping at Tawas Point SP. I arrived Monday, shortly after noon and found the usual "Self Registration" station at the gate. My wife and I proceeded to fill up our fresh water tank. We decided to see if the site that we occupied last year was available, the one by the bay. Sure enough the spot was open and we quickly manuevered the Pilgrim 5er into the spot. There were several other campers in the area but no one on top of anyone else (one of the main things I love about fall camping!). The weather was a beautiful fall day, lots of sun and a slight breeze. We managed to build a nice campfire that evening and enjoyed ourselves, albeit wrapped in several layers of clothes and jackets.

Tuesday continued to be gorgeous. We allowed ourselves a walk on the beach and enjoyed watching someone kiteboard on the lake. It amazes me how high these people get when they're airborn! We also took a short drive into Oscoda and went along the River Road, stopping to have lunch at one of the parks. Another quiet evening around the campfire and inside to watch some new fall shows. A great evening to make sure the furnace works too!

Wednesday was overcast and a bit dreary, but that didn't stop us from another beach walk and explorations around the lighthouse. The keepers were preparing for the weekend "Haunted Lighthouse", so a cemetery suddenly appeared on the grounds. SCARRRRY!!! No campfire this night was it started to rain around 4pm and continued off and on all night. We managed to hit town for an electric heater (to help supplement the furnace in the camper) and dinner at G's Pizzeria. Awesome pizza!

Thursday was another fantastic day, weatherwise. We took several walks along the waterfront and enjoyed the waves and the fall colors. A visit up to the Lumberman's Monument gave us more gorgeous colors and views of the Au Sable river. Returning back to camp we enjoyed reading and hillbilly golf (I believe I won for the season?) and dinner on the BBQ. A final walk along the beach for the year resulted in sighting a freighter in the lake, heading upwards (north). We hadn't seen one all year, so we were thrilled. The final campfire of the year was a big one, since you have to use up ALL of your firewood. It was also the coldest night of the trip, so we were inside around 9 to watch some of our favorite shows.

A fun week that went by way too quickly, but certainly was appreciated. We can't wait until next season and the roadtrips that it may bring! Even gas is coming down, so who knows, perhaps back to da UP, eh?