Mesa, AZ - How Gary Got Out of Hiking and into Plumbing

Our plan is to hike tomorrow. We’ve got a nice hike planned, one we’ve done before and liked. It’s been two years since we’ve been in the Phoenix area and we’re going our favorite hikes. And - to get to this hike, we HAVE to go right by our favorite donut shop, Bosa Donuts. Oh, shucks. Well, we all know about the best laid plans and what happens to them. Here’s our story of the day.

Let’s take a short trip in the way-back machine to last November and December when we were in Louisiana and Alabama. First one of our levels goes on the fritz and we make several trips to a service center to get it fixed. Then our refrigerator decides that it’s tired and doesn’t want to cool our food any more. Several weeks of dry ice runs until we get to the campground where an RV repairman lives who can fix our refrigerator. Meanwhile, we had a few little things also go wrong and, to make a long story short, our checkbook got a real workout. We got to January and were wondering if full-time RV’ing was in the cards for us.

Fast forward to this November and December. This morning I was laying in bed anticipating the alarm going drifting in and out of sleep but one of the myriad of crazy thoughts I had was that we hadn’t had any problems with the RV this fall. Now, as you can guess, just as when we washed the RV and dared the sky to open up and rain, my thinking about having no problems jinxed us. Sure enough, Gary got up at the alarm, stepped into the living room and all I heard was ‘What the heck is this?’ Not a good start to the day. Water in a wide stream across the floor from the kitchen to his desk on the other side of the RV. We grabbed some rags and began to sop it all up.

Gotta trace it. Where did it start? Hmmm, right under the refrigerator. Deja Vu. The refrigerator again. Well, not so bad as that - looked like the ice maker water line. Gary checked the ice maker valve and it was leaking - a lot. Then he moved inside to shut off the valve on the water line to the ice maker. Oops, it was shut tight, must be all the minerals from the hard water in the campgrounds. Two problems - not just one. Wouldn’t you know? So, he shut off the water to the RV itself and, whew, we could begin to think about the problem. Or, rather, he could think about it. Me, I’m getting out the breakfast.

He figured that it was a washer or gasket in the ice maker valve but the valve on the water line to the ice maker - ah, that was a different problem. And, that’s how he spent his day. Not hiking, but in plumbing. Me, I just sat aside and let him go to town.

Did he get out of hiking? Ha Ha. Naw, he just postponed it. We’ll go tomorrow. Donuts here we come.

I’m no fan of Carly Fiorina but I think that the comments about her face on the TV program ‘The View’ were atrocious. I think that making comments about someone’s looks, something that they were born with, is what kids in kindergarten might do, certainly not adults, and especially not on national TV. I understand that ‘The View’ is all about catty gossip but this went beyond the pale. And, when Fiorina appeared on their program they acted as if they were the victim and that she couldn’t take a joke. Imagine, if a guy said what they said - he’d be out of a job. I think they should be also. Interestingly, a Presidential candidates said the same thing about her face. I thought Carly handled it great. Wonderful response.

On the same topic from a different angle, I hear a lot about ‘political correctness’ these days as if it is something bad and to be avoided. You know, my mother used to use the word ‘good manners’ which I think describes the same thing. Let’s see: what does the Golden Rule say: ‘Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.’ Civility. Politeness, courtesy, consideration. I’m not sure why this become something to avoid. and brag about. I thought it was something we should strive to attain.
But that’s my rant for the day. Gary plumbs, I rant. Hmmm.