Greetings, fellow RVers (and wannabes) --

I've been "gone" from these two RV newsgroups for about a year now
("gone" in the sense that I refrained from posting, although I continued
to lurk every day) and have now decided to jump back in from time to
time. I've also kept in touch with a number of y'all through private
e-mail, and I've enjoyed that and hope to continue it.

The reasons I stopped posting are varied, but they involve some personal
issues -- mainly the illness and untimely death (last November) of my
beloved RVing dog Sassy, as well as some personal and family health
issues that made me realize there's more to life than arguing with
people on a computer screen.

The reasons I'm returning to posting are to provide RV (and other)
advice when possible, to obtain RV (and other) advice when needed, and
to inject a bit of humor where possible. Those of you who already know
me will understand that this mostly involves word play of all kinds, and
especially when someone posts a typographical or other error in which I
can find humor, in either the error iself or the correction thereof.

Warning: I will especially pounce (with a big grin) on those who make
their own errors while correcting those of others. (And I expect
retribution in kind. If I make an error that you find humorous, please
have at it. Nobody will enjoy it more than I will.) Other than that, I
don't intend to be a grammar or spelling nanny -- that would be close to
a full-time job, and I have better things to do.

When I first appeared here in early '99, after lurking daily for several
months, I resolved to stay out of the personal disputes that permeated
both groups even then (involving some of the same people, in fact -- I
guess some folks never change). I managed to stay "clean" for a couple
of years, at least, before I got sucked down to that level. This time I
hope and intend to stay above the fray and will do my best to remember
that people who denigrate and disrespect others personally -- because
they disagree with their beliefs or opinions or for any other reason --
speak far more clearly about themselves and their lack of character and
integrity than they do of their intended targets.

During my hiatus I've visited with several folks I've "met" here and
enjoyed putting faces with names. I spent a pleasant couple of hours
with bill horne at his place, and I overnighted at Harry's in
Tallahassee (he's a nice guy, even if he does enjoy yanking y'all's
chains -- and boy, do you guys ever bite when he does). I visited Hunter
and Brady the week before Brady died so I could say goodbye to him.
While in the Ocala area I had to have my van's rear end rebuilt. That
breakdown was a blessing in disguise, because I got to spend a couple of
nights at Patti's farm in the "RV compound" and saw the eagles' nest in
the front yard and all the other wonderful critters. Most hospitable
people, all. I look forward to seeing them again -- as well as others --
in the future.

By the way, during my trip I went directly from bill horne's to Harry's
-- literally from one political extreme to the other -- and it didn't
cause me the least bit of trouble <g>. Y'all might do well to remember
that behind the blustering facades (on both sides) there are real human
beings -- some of whom are nice folks and cordial hosts to visitors.

Let me reiterate that I have a level 40'-long campsite in the edge of
the woods -- with water, 30-amp hookup, and phone line -- with a nearby
indoor private bath and shower. If you're RVing through central NC -- I
no longer live in the Western NC mountains, remember -- and want a nice,
quiet, wooded spot in the middle of nowhere to overnight, say so and
give me as much notice as possible. As long as you haven't been a
habitual jerk to me or others on the NG, you'll be warmly welcomed. (The
few who have been should know who they are and wouldn't want to visit me
anyway, so that makes us even.) Life's too short to spend time with
obnoxious people -- especially on my own property -- so of course I
reserve the right to refuse admission to such folks.

And although I intend to mostly refrain from the political crap here, I
reserve the right to take a shot or issue a rebuttal when I feel the
urge.

I've also noted a few recent posts in which people expressed concern
that a NG regular might die and the rest would never know. I suggest any
of you who would want the NG to know -- do what I did. In my "locator"
file (which my wife and my best friend/executor know how to find on my
computer) I have a section that lists the people I want notified of my
demise. On that list are the current phone numbers and e-mail addresses
of a couple of good friends on this NG who will presumably post the
news, since neither my wife nor my friend/executor knows how to access
NGs. BTW, this should apply regardless of your age. Young people die of
illnesses and accidents all the time, y'know. It's not just us old farts
who might disappear some day. Everybody here, I would assume, has at
least one off-NG contact with somebody else here. Make sure that person
is contacted if something happens to you.

If anybody wants to e-mail me off the group (which you're welcome to
do), my yahoo address works fine with the obvious spelling correction.
If an earthlink address shows up in the headers, use it without
modification. (I haven't posted since I got DSL, so I don't know what
will show up until I post this.)

All that having been said, let the games resume....

GB in NC

GB in NC