On the Way to Red Bay

Enroute to Red Bay, Alabama...

Next week we get Phannie's residential refrigerator upgrade (along with some others I haven't told you about) done in Red Bay and, on the way, we decided to drop into Nacogdoches, Texas, my home town, and visit some folks. Longtime friends John and Pat met us for an enjoyable meal, (especially since John paid; thanks, John). Then we went to see one of my old flight instructors from back in the sixties when I was acquiring my pilot's licenses and ratings. A. L. was a true professional pilot whom most of my contemporaries and I wanted to emulate. At 91 years of age, he is infirm now, but his mind is sharp as ever. He even remembered a short conversation we had many years ago over the radios of the respective airplanes we were flying. I was in a DC-8 at cruise altitude and, hearing his unmistakable voice over the cockpit speaker, I gave him a shout. It was late at night, and ATC didn't mind. I still can't believe he remembered that.

A. L. was truly a member of the Greatest Generation, and he will always be a hero to me and many others. We had a nice visit, and I made sure he knew how much I appreciated his influence on my flying career. 

Visiting with this fine man brought back a lot of good memories and made me pause to think how differently things may have turned out if I had not had mentors like A. L. and others who demonstrated high standards and demanded the same from their students, all the while being positive and encouraging. His is a legacy that will always be remembered.

Now, on to another subject: Commenter Tina Lorenz from a couple of posts back wanted an update on my experience with the new Winegard Razar over-the-air automated antenna we had installed at the Tiffin rally in Canton, Texas. I'm pleased to report that it is even better than I had hoped. After the installation in Canton--which is sort of out in the boonies--we could get ten stations. Once we moved to the DFW metro area, we picked up no fewer than 22! Here's a photo of the control panel to prove it:

I'm so glad to be rid of the batwing; its extending mechanism stayed jammed most of the time, and I much prefer just pushing a button, which is the same thing I do to deploy the Trav'ler satellite dish to get Direct TV. I also might mention that the Trav'ler has been very reliable; we put up the dish at every stop (haven't used cable in years), and it hasn't had a single hiccup in five years of constant use. By the way, I have no relationship with or financial interest in Winegard; I just like their products.

Another way I avoid frustration is to have my own Internet. I have found precious few RV parks whose wi-fi is anything better than abysmal. So I handle that by a couple of hotspots I carry that give me 40 gigs of data per month (Yes, having hotspots from different providers is actually cheaper than getting the extra 10 gigs from AT&T. I can't figure out why an extra 10 gigs would cause such a jump in their pricing.) 

I'm taking the day off from editing Ed's book so I can write this post, but I don't think it matters to him right now, as he, too, is traveling and hasn't had much time for review.

Stay tuned for the latest!

Thank you, Lord, for this wonderful life; please forgive me if I don't appreciate it enough each day.