A quaint little drinking couple with a camping problem!

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

Post election syndrome!

Howdy Y'all,

Do you have post election syndrome?  I do.  I know I have it because my head is full of political ads and I am looking forward to seeing Viagra ads on TV again.  That last part won't last long but it will be a welcome change for a day or two.  The Village Idiot was up until midnight last night watching election results and now we can't pry him out of bed.  My best friend Shari is thinking about shoving him outside into the rain to try and wake him up.  I have noticed it is nice a quite around here without him yapping his trap.  Maybe we should just let the sleeping dog lay.

Well, did the election results meet you satisfactions?  I noticed in Iowa the state lost a long time politician, but, unfortunately, he will probably return from Washington and get back into his law practice.  I haven't figured out which is worse, losing a politician or gaining another lawyer.  Kind of a toss-up. 

The Happy Couple have had some happenings lately and they weren't all happy.  About 4 weeks ago they lost one of their best friends.  Long time Burlington friend, Mark Steingreaber,  had a massive stroke and passed away two days later.  The world lost a great gentleman.  I personally have been shocked about this as, without Mark, I would not have existed.  Mark, and his sweet wife Beth, were the ones who were instrumental in getting the Happy Couple into the RV life.  Mark had been talking to Dufus for years about getting a RV and enjoy the wonderful world of camping.  In 2005 the Happy Couple bought a used motorhome and, on one of their first trips, they journeyed to Davenport, IA to meet the Steingreabers and Ken and Judi Weinreich for the weekend.  While there, the group went on a little shopping trip to Kohls in Bettendorf, which happened to be where I was living at the time.  After Dufus took one look at me it was love at first sight.  He picked me up off the shelf, placed me on the dash of the motorhome, and we have been pals ever since.  If it wasn't for Mark I would have never known the Happy Couple, would never have been to all the great places I have been, would never have seen all the great things I have seen, and, most of all, would have missed the opportunity to have all you great people as friends.  Thank you Mark.  You truly are missed.

Things have gotten a little happier for the Happy Couple lately.  On October 22 the clan started the migration south by going north out of Mount Pleasant.  (I wasn't in charge of the GPS)  We traveled to Mount Vernon, IA and spent a couple nights in a state park.  While there, the Happy Couple went to Cedar Rapids one night for dinner, beverages, and jokes with the Hawkins, the Minors, and half of the Zahradnik clan.  (Carl thought farming was more important than eating.  Foolish guy.)  The next night the Couple went to Bata's Restaurant in Cedar Rapids and had dinner with the Quijanos and Shirley, of the Tony and Shirley Bata family.  (Tony joined us occasionally but was working.) Great food and great times were had by all.  The Village Idiot told me that all the stories told both nights were true stories.  Yeah, right.

From Mount Vernon the Happy Couple headed east (what happened to heading south for the winter?) to Long Grove, IA for two nights, staying at Scott County Park.  On Saturday they attended a wedding in Davenport of Cole Housman, a great nephew of Dufus.  The Happy Couple really enjoyed the reception as they got a chance to see Dufus's brother Ed and wife Nancy and all the Kimm kids and their spouses.  From what we heard later, the reception set a new record at the Blackhawk Hotel for the number of kegs of beer served at a wedding reception.  Just think, the Village Idiot was part of history.

The next morning, the truck was hooked up to the 5th wheel and we finally got to head south.  After a overnight stop in Illinois, I masterly guided the Happy Couple to Green Acres RV Resort outside of Savannah, TN where we are for about ten days.  The Happy Couple stay here as they really enjoy the hospitality and friendship of Larry and Diane Frisbie, the owners of Green Acres.  The two couples have taken a couple side trips as they went to the Rattlesnake Saloon out in the boondocks in Alabama and to an Amish settlement near Ethridge, TN.  After lunch in Ethridge, the couples went on a short detour to a shop that sold quilts.  My friend, Shari, wants a new quilt for the bed and she finally found a quilt shop.  After looking at all the quilts, she finally found what she wanted.  She yelled at the Village Idiot to get up to the cash register and pay.  I thought he was going to have the big one right there on the spot.  Fortunately for him, the lady that ran the shop noticed that the quilt was for a queen bed, the Happy Couple have a king bed, and the lady didn't have a king quilt.  Old Bozo lucked out again.  Larry was not as lucky. Diane found one she liked and Larry got to pay.  The Village Idiot did get a free bag of popcorn out of the deal.

If it quits raining here tomorrow as it is supposed to, we are going to continue out trek south.  I guess our plans are to land at Cajun Palms RV Resort near Breaux Bridge, LA for the weekend.  This will give the Happy Couple a chance to watch the Hawks and Gophers play football Saturday and indulge in some Cajun food.  From there the plan is to wander over to Texas and, after a stop in Houston, end up in Austin on November 16th.  If November 16 date sounds familiar, it is a national holiday.  It is my best friend, Shari's, birthday.  Being the gentleman that I am, I will not tell you how many years but will tell you she was a war baby.  You just have to figure out which war and which year. 

The reason the Happy Couple are going to Austin is the Village Idiot has taken a job at McKinney Falls State Park for the winter.  When he applied for the job he told them he could work anytime between November 15th and March 1st so they scheduled him to work from November 17th to March 1st.  So much for having part of the winter off.  The bright side is this will give the Happy Couple many opportunities to see the friends they met in Austin two years ago when my friend, Shari, was having her hip replacement.

Well, I guess that is about it for now.  Before I leave I want to pass on a comment I just heard about the new Chicago Cubs manager and their team for next season.  The comment was "to have a zoo you have to have animals".  I think the person that made the comment, and he is a Diehard Cub fan, feels like there is nothing in the pens.  The Village Idiot always says that the Cub fans wear their blue clothing all the time because, deep down, they wish it was Dodger Blue.

On that note, I will say good day for now, and you'll be hearing from me on the next go around.

As always,

Tag