July 5: But for the Kindness of Others

This post is dedicated to my granddaughter, Leila because she is one of the kindest people I know. She is always thinking of others. Please don't change, Leila. We are kind to others because we are kind people, not because we expect something in return.

"Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are." Mother Teresa

Today we were early risers 7:30. Got the boys fed and walked (Still haven't found that restroom and laundry that Uhrick says they have.), dressed myself and had my breakfast. At 9:00 I started calling the Petoskey RV USA. No answer - the recording says they're open Monday through Friday from 9-5, but says nothing about the holiday weekend. At 9:30 I decided to call someone in Traverse City. (BTW - President Biden was in Traverse City for the Cherry Festival this weekend. I wish that I could have popped over to say, "hey" to the president, but I'm pretty sure he didn't miss me, even though I did contribute to his campaign.) A nice man named Jerry had me take pictures of the broken leaf spring and axle. He said he wasn't able to fix it but he knew someone in Gaylord who could. Gaylord was even closer than Traverse City - score one point for me. So, a guy named Ryan at Royal Truck and Trailer called me. He said that he could fix my camper, but he couldn't tow it. But guess what...he knew someone who could - Ron, from Ron's Wrecker. I called Ron's Wrecker. First the lady who answered said that she thought the camper was too big for their flatbed. So I hung up, a bit dejected, but just as I was looking up another tow company, The Ron of Ron's Wrecker called me back. He said that his wife told him he better do something to help me. So he would meet me at the campground in an hour or so. Yes! - score another point for me - that's two. Not knowing the extent of what was wrong with the busted camper, I assumed I'd need to pack up my refrigerator, some clothes and toiletries. That's how I spent my time waiting for Ron. He showed up at about 12:30. He immediately got to work jacking up the camper, changing the tire and somehow rigged it so that he could tow it instead of putting it on the flatbed. He gave me his phone number and said, "I'll put my phone on my dash. You follow behind and if you see anything that looks suspicious you call me and I'll pull over." Nothing suspicious occurred. In an hour we were at Royal Truck and Trailer and I was meeting Ryan. His guys got to work immediately. He said that he had a set of springs that were larger than mine, but they would work and they'd hold more weight or I could wait a day and get the exact same ones. I decided to go with the larger ones. They installed them - hooked up my camper for me and I was done in like an hour. The cost to tow from Ron was $340. The cost of the springs and installation labor was $283. So what I thought may put a real dent in my credit card ended up only being $623. Score another point for me, that's three.

Now I have a comment to make here. I don't want to offend anyone, but this is my blog and therefore I get to say what's on my mind. I hope that most people would take it as my opinion, if they don't agree and move on, but if you really can't, I'm sorry to lose you as a follower. Anyway, all over Michigan I've seen signs that say, "My governor is an idiot," as well as, "Trump 2024," and also "We need a forensic investigation." I finally realized what that one meant. First I thought there must have been some horrible murder or something - then Trump began to echo in my head and I remembered they want to investigate the election of Joe Biden. Seeing signs is one, but coming face to face with someone or two wearing Trump shirts that say, "Trump, He'll send the liberals packing," is something else. The two were the guys who were helping me with my camper. They were so nice. I couldn't help feeling kind of sorry for them. They clearly knew what they were doing and were quite knowledgeable in fixing trucks and trailers, but that is where their knowledge ended. We were talking about the heat and they were telling me that they live in apartment buildings without air conditioning, so we know they're topping out on their salaries. Yet, they believe the stupidity that Trump utters without conscious and these poor simple people, just eat it up. It's like they don't have critical thinking skills. They think because he has money that he must know better. So sad. It makes me mad that he and the Republican party are taking advantage of these truly kind people. I guess ignorance IS bliss. I was genuinely impressed with their kindness and their work ethic. So now you know, if you didn't already that I am a liberal. Liberal in the way that I believe that we should all take care of our fellow man, no matter the reason they are in their situation or state of being. There has to be some collective good that we all want to do for our country and our world. My father, who is a conservative and one of those Republicans I was speaking of calls me a bleeding heart - Pollyanna (if you're old enough to know of that movie, great. If not, look it up.) She always saw the glass half full and always had a positive attitude. Thanks Dad, I'll take it.

So, while I was waiting for the camper, I sat down for a bit in the office area of the Royal Truck and Trailer where ESPN was playing on the television. Remember when I was so surprised about the PDGA just three days ago in Indiana? I'm watching ESPN and trying to decipher what I am seeing - teams of two players of mixed genders (must qualify these days - one male and one female) playing on grass around a double circle with a type of net trampoline in the middle. One team member "serves" the bouncy ball into the trampoline net. The other team slaps it to their own team mate, who tries to bounce it in the outer circle without the other team returning it. First team to do this 15 times wins the game. This is a college sport (who knew) called Spikeball. There is a Spikeball Roundnet Association. There are various versions that are also played for fun, like T-Rex Spikeball where all team members have their arms in their sleeves with just their hands sticking out to use, as well as the ever popular, "the floor is lava" where the ball cannot bounce more than once. Yes folks look it up and if you think you'd like to play, you can get the Spikeball Rookie Kit on Amazon for $59.

I decided to stay in Gaylord at the KOA and get my laundry done. So glad I did because shortly after I set up there, there was a rainstorm complete with thunder and lightening. Going to bed early - oh wait, Yvette called, which is never a short call. I enjoy our talks, so it was worth staying up a bit later.