A quaint little drinking couple with a camping problem!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Howdy folks,

It's me, Tag.  Do you remember me?  I'm the great little guy that travels around the country with the Happy Couple.  That is, when they travel.  Lately it has been sit and work.  More about that in a few minutes.  Where have I been?  It is a very long story.

We, the Family, left Austin March 30th and traveled to Highlands, TX.  On the way trough Houston we went by a company called Halliburton.  Just for idle conversation I asked the Brain  (who happens to think he knows just about everything) what does Halliburton do?  He said they were a big international contractor that works all over the world.  After we arrived at San Jacinto Riverfront RV Resort I was sitting on the couch thinking about Halliburton and the possibility of traveling the world instead of guiding the guy, who knows everything, around the same old roads.  One day when they took a trip to Kingwood, TX to see Jerry and Cheryl (Shari's cousins) without me, I decided to make my escape.  I got out on I-10 and thumbed a ride to north Houston and the mysterious world of international espionage.  After a very long interview, an in-depth background check, and a little training, I was inducted into a very secret and covert unit and sent to the Bahamas.  Due to the secret nature of the mission I am unable to divulge what, or where, our mission led us as it was highly classified.  You know what the policy is;  "If I tell you then I'll have to dispose of your body."  Besides, what happens in the Bahamas stays in the Bahamas.  Anyway, we completed our mission and our unit was sent back to the States.  After a very intense debriefing, I was put on an unscheduled jet and flown to Mt. Pleasant, IA to rejoin the Happy Couple.  They were so happy to see me again that they forgave me for my actions in very short order.  Don't bother trying to get any information out of the Happy Couple as they know nothing.  I did tell Moe but she has sworn to silence.  I think she wants to join me on my next mission.

As for the Happy Couple, they have returned to Crossroads RV Park in Mt. Pleasant.  For some reason, Jeff asked them to come back for another season.  I understand their return trip was both fun and also sad.  They met friends Ed and Debbie Romeo in Natchez, MS for a couple of days of sightseeing and then up to Vicksburg, MS for 4 days of intense touring and eating.  During that time they had a great time and had way too much food.  The day they left Vicksburg disaster struck.  About an hour north of Vicksburg an elderly gentleman pulled his pickup out in front of Ed and created a deadly accident.  Ed, Debbie, and their dog, Claire, survived unhurt physically but took the event rather hard emotionally.  The man in the pickup died of his injuries.  The Romeo's pickup and trailer were totaled in the accident.  As of this writing, they have given up RVing but, hopefully, sometime they will give it another shot.

The Happy Couple arrived in Mt. Pleasant on April 13th and started working at the RV park on April 15th.  Other than a few quick trips to Cedar Rapids for doctor appointments and trips to Burlington to see the grand kids and friends, they have been staying pretty close to Mt. Pleasant.  I think Duffus is afraid to venture too far away without me telling where to turn.  This happens to people when they turn 70 years old.
The Happy Couple have had many friends stop by the RV park this summer.  Some of them even brought RVs to stay in.  The ones that did not were reminded of the 10:00 PM curfew.  The Happy Couples' RV only sleeps 2 1/2.  Moe is the 1/2 and, because of my superior training, I stand guard at night.  One group that showed up were 5 couples that were at La Hacienda RV Resort last winter.  One couple even drove here from eastern Kentucky just to be in on the fun and excitement.  Actually, from what Moe told me, there was a lot of eating and afternoon naps.  The only down side of the weekend happened on the last morning.  One lady got into her motorhome to check the lights when she slipped on a throw rug, caught her leg under the driver's seat and broke her hip.  It was an ambulance ride to U of Iowa Hospitals instead of a leisurely drive to Clarion.  The last the Happy Couple heard, Ev is home and recovering nicely.

The Happy couple did have big bummer news this past Monday morning.  They got a phone call that a good camping friend, Al Hirschman, from the Chicago area, passed away Sunday night.  Al loved 2 things that the big Duffus really likes.  Camp fires and cold beer.  Al would get up early in the morning, light a campfire and sit and drink coffee, eat cinnamon rolls and tell stories to anyone who would listen.  Then comes the PM part of the day when it was cold beer time.  He loved the Bears, the Cubs,  the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, and his wonderful wife, Pam.  Al will truly be missed.  Damn cancer anyway.

That wasn't the only thing that my best friend, Shari, was bumming about after the weekend.  Her beloved Cubs got swept by the Mighty Dodgers over the weekend at Wiggly Field.  Not only swept but shut out the last 2 games.  She was so despondent, she called her brother, John, to see if she could move in with him and his wife Pat.  John turned her down, reminding her that she married the Village Idiot and she was going to have to pay for her mistakes.  Or, maybe it was because the Cubs aren't playing well this year anyway and they were done for before they ever played the Dodgers!!

Other than all this, not much else going on except a lot of work for Duffus in a much busier park than in the past.  The plan is for the Happy Couple to be at Crossroads (they were overheard remarking about the nice summer they are having working this year - lots of nice people stopping in) until early October and then who knows what.  I heard they are going to Savannah, TN to stay at Green Acres RV Resort.  A couple, Larry and Diane Frisbie, who they meet in Austin last winter and were here for the La Ha reunion, have purchased the RV park.  Duffus wants to go snoop around and see if he can learn any new tips on how to better do his job here at Crossroads.  After that it will probably be off to Alabama or Texas or a combination of both.  Shari has to go to Austin in January or February to have her hip checked. (It is doing just great, by the way)  The Happy Couple will also be spending a month in Kerrville, TX as the have a month of camping paid for at Guadalupe River RV Resort.  They just love that area and may spend more time than just one month.  Duffus still wants to be a cowboy.

This is about it for now.  Unless I am sent out on anther secret mission, I will be keeping you updated in the near future.

As always,

Tag