RUSTY'S AUTO BODY, BULLHEAD CITY

MARY AND I BOTH GREW UP IN RURAL MID-WEST AMERICA, FORTY SOME YEARS AGO, IN A SIMPLER TIME, BEFORE THE DAYS OF THE BIG BOX STORES, INTERNET SHOPPING, AND MANUFACTURE WARRANTIES. WHEN YOU DID BUSINESS AND BOUGHT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES YOU WERE DEALING WITH REAL PEOPLE AND MOST LIKELY THE OWNER OF THE STORE.

WE RECENTLY RAN INTO THIS OLD TIME SERVICE AND CUSTOMER SERVICE AT RUSTY'S AUTO BODY, BULLHEAD CITY, AZ. YOU REMEMBER LAST SPRING WHEN WE HIT A PIT BULL ON THE WAY HOME FROM WORK AND HAD TO HAVE THE HONDA REPAIRED? WE TOOK IT TO RUSTY'S.

OVER THE SUMMER THE PAINT BEGAN TO PEEL OFF THE REPLACED FRONT GRILL (RIGHT UNDER THE RED MARK).

WE TOOK THE HONDA BACK TO RUSTY'S THIS FALL, READY FOR THE SONG AND DANCE OF PAINT COMPANY WARRANTY, OR CONTACT YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY, ETC. INSTEAD THE PROPRIETOR WALKED OUT AND LOOKED AT THE CAR, AND SAID IT WAS HIS FAULT AND THEY WOULD REPAINT IT AT NO CHARGE WHENEVER WE WANTED TO DROP THE CAR OFF. "I STAND BEHIND MY WORK", HE SAID.

WE PICKED UP THE CAR TODAY, AND IT WAS FRESHLY WASHED. GLAD TO SEE SOMEBODY THAT STILL KNOWS HOW TO DO BUSINESS THE OLE FASHION WAY.

"SUNNY & 80"

THE PUNCH LINE
"The annual cat show begins tomorrow at Madison Square Garden. Donald Trump was walking by Madison Square Garden earlier today, and that thing on his head arched its back and hissed." -- David Letterman.

THE FIREDUDE

I READ A NUMBER OF BLOGS DAILY. MOSTLY RV TYPE BLOGS, THERE IS A LIST IN THE LEFT HAND COLUMN OF THIS BLOG. THE LIST IS MOSTLY POWERED BY RSS FEEDS WHICH REARRANGES THE LIST AUTOMATICALLY TO PUT THE NEWEST BLOG ON TOP, SO ANYTIME I LOG ONTO MY BLOG I CHECK THE LIST AND SEE WHOM HAS BEEN BLOGGING.

ONE OF THE BLOGS I FOLLOW DAILY IS "THE FIREDUDE", A RETIRED CALIFORNIA FIRE FIGHTER. THE "FIREDUDE" SUPPLEMENTS HIS INCOME WITH HIS WEBSITE GEARED TOWARD THE RV LIFE STYLE, AND CAMPGROUND HOSTING.

PART OF HIS WEBSITE INCLUDES AN INTERESTING AND ENTERTAINING BLOG. STORIES ABOUT HIS CAMPGROUND HOSTING ARE HILARIOUS. HIS THOUGHTS ON THE RV FULLTIME LIFE ARE RIGHT ON THE MONEY, ALONG WITH HIS RV TIPS AND PROBLEM SOLVING TECHNIQUES.

READERS ENCOURAGED HIM TO USE HIS WRITING TALENTS TO WRITE AN RV BOOK, SO HE DID, Adventures of the Firedude eBook . IF YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THE FULLTIME RV LIFE IN YOUR FUTURE THIS IS A MUST HAVE AND ENTERTAINING BOOK.





THE PUNCH LINE
"The economy's in bad shape. Today I saw a pimp driving a Kia." -- Jay Leno

HERE COMES THE HOLIDAYS.......

DOESN'T IT PISS YOU OFF WHEN RETAILERS BEGIN SETTING OUT CHRISTMAS STUFF BEFORE HALLOWEEN? DOES IT HAPPEN EARLIER EVERY YEAR, OR IS THAT JUST A CONDITION OF GETTING OLDER AND A REFLEX REACTION?

IF SUPER WALMART DOESN'T HAVE IT, I PROBABLY HAVEN'T SEEN IT.

WHAT REALLY PISSES ME OFF IS WHEN WALMART GETS READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS THEY REARRANGE THE HOME AND GARDEN SECTION AND HIDE THE 10 (9.5#) POUND BAGS OF CHARCOAL AND THE CHARCOAL STARTER. BY THE WAY IF THIS HAS HAPPENED TO YOU, TRY SEARCHING OUTSIDE IN THE BACK NEAR THE USED PALLET STORAGE AREA.

PERSONALLY I MAKE IT A POLICY TO NOT GO TO WALMART BETWEEN THANKSGIVING AND JANUARY 1ST. I JUST SEND MARY IN WITH MY LIST. YUP, I'M A LUCKY GUY !!!

WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OUR PERSONAL ECONOMIC SITUATION LAST SUMMER THAT FORCED THE CANCELLATION OF "BEACH BUMMING '08" I'M GENERALLY A POSITIVE PERSON.

THE POSITIVE THING ABOUT ALL THIS EARLY HOLIDAY CRAP IS THE RETURN OF EGG NOG TO THE DAIRY CASES. YUP, I'M AN EGG NOG LOVER. I'M NOT INTO EGG NOG AND BRANDY, LIKE A TRUE WISCONSINITE, BUT I PREFER A NICE BIG GLASS ( IT'S SOLD BY THE QUART) IN THE MORNING FOR BREAKFAST.

THIS SEASON THEY'RE MAKING EGG NOG IN FLAVORS, LIKE CARMEL, AND PUMPKIN. LAST COUPLE OF SEASONS THE INDUSTRY CONCENTRATED ON EGG NOG LITE.

AH,....... DIET EGG NOG? SORRY IT JUST DOESN'T CUT IT. I TRIED THE NEW CARMEL FLAVOR.

BY THE WAY, THIS BREAKFAST SIZE PORTION IS JUST SHORT OF 2000 CALORIES.......

YUP, HERE COMES THE HOLIDAYS........

THE PUNCH LINE
"Of course Oprah's house hasn't burned down. If Oprah's house burned down, God would be so fired." -- Jimmy Kimmel, on the California wildfires that threatened Oprah Winfrey's house in Montecito.

FAVRE

BY NOW YOU REGULAR READERS KNOW THAT I'M A BRETT FAVRE FAN, AFTER WRITING SEVERAL FAVRE-A-THON BLOGS OVER THE SUMMER. IT'S A VERY POPULAR INTERNET SUBJECT BY THE WAY.

IT HAS STARTED ALREADY FOR THE NEXT ROUND WITH TERRY BRADSHAW ANNOUNCING RECENTLY THAT HE FELT BRETT FAVRE WOULD RETIRE AT THE END OF THIS SEASON WITH THE NEW YORK JETS.

I'VE FOUND THE SUBJECT EXCITING READING IN THE OFF SEASON AND LIKE THEY SAY, "THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS BAD PUBLICITY", AND I LOVE TO SEE OUR GREEN BAY PACKERS ON THE FRONT PAGE!!!

AS THE NEXT FAVRE-ATHON BEGINS IT GOT ME TO THINKING ABOUT LIFE AFTER FAVRE? I MEAN AFTER HE REALLY RETIRES, THE PACKERS RETIRE #4, AND BRETT'S INDUCTED INTO THE HALL OF FAME.

IMAGINE MY SURPRISE WHEN I BEGAN READING ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL SOPHOMORE DYLAN FAVRE, BRETT'S NEPHEW, WHO RECENTLY BROKE A MISSISSIPPI STATE FOOTBALL RECORD COMPLETING 23 OF 35 PASSES FOR 358 YARDS, AND FIVE TOUCHDOWNS. GET THIS, HE'S ONLY 15 YEARS OLD !!!

LOOKS LIKE THE FAVRE-A-THON MAYBE ONGOING AFTER ALL.

"SUNNY & 80"

THE PUNCH LINE
"Yesterday in Washington, the Secret Service arrested a man who climbed over the White House fence. The Secret Service told the man, 'Get back here, Mr. President, you have two more months.'" -- Conan O'Brien

Barlympics

I play volleyball in a bar league every Tuesday night in the summer. I have played for years for the same bar, called the Stone Pony. At the end of the season this year, our captain was drinking there with the captain of the Stone Pony softball team. They got to arguing, as guys will, about who was tougher. Out of this came the "Barlympics", a pentathlon of events between the softball team and the volleyball team. The events were softball, volleyball, horseshoes, ladder golf and darts. The first two events were quite predictable. They beat us at softball 16 to 6, the game ending after just 4 innings with the "ten-run rule". We clobbered them at volleyball 15-4,15-3 and 15-6. We then moved on to here, where we threw horseshoes and played ladder golf........

....the bar owner is an artist and he likes to design the shirts each year...............

......we took first last year and he expected a repeat. We got third............

....the softballers were no less colorful..............

....they took third as well..........

....we won the horseshoe, although I had never throw a horseshoe in my life and did not exactly contribute to the victory..........

....I had never even HEARD of ladder golf before and contributed even less..........

....a pvc goal and golf balls tethered together with cord. You get points for looping the cord around the horizontal bars from a distance of about 30 feet. We lost......

....so we headed back to the bar, which is loaded with bizarre art and décor, for the final and deciding event: darts.....................

....we threw and threw...........

....and threw and threw...........

....and threw and threw.......

....but no winner would emerge. By now we were at barlympics most of the day (a Sunday). Lots of alcohol had been consumed. After a long discussion, it was decided to add a sixth event to settle the question of whether softballers or volleyballers were superior human beings...............

....We won in "extra innings"!!.......

....through a camera malfunction, this last picture of the night exactly captures what I was actually seeing!!

Uncle Hans

Happy Birthday Dear !!! (Wendy)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAVE !!!