More on Lassen

When Steve came over yesterday to fix the fenderskirt, he brought mail for me from Lassen Park. It was a volunteer agreement that I had to sign and return, and then they will sign it and send me a copy. So now I am legit! They also asked about uniform items, and it seems I will get a shirt plus name tag and hat. I usually dislike wearing a hat but I know how the California sun can burn you in a hurry. Plus after getting a cataract removed I sure don't want to hasten the deterioration of the other eye, so I will wear the hat. And sunscreen!

I drove over to Jeannie's today to pick up a couple of packages that came for me - one is a set of Patagonia capilene long underwear from Campmor, which I probably won't use while I'm in California. Now I have two sets and can withstand the cold anywhere! I also got 6 pr of hiking sock liners from Sierra Trading Post. I know I packed brown & black shoe polish, plus a waterproofing for my hiking boots, but I have not been able to find it as yet. I'll need to go get some Nikwax or other treatment for the boots. I plan to wear them all the time as they are as comfortable as anything I own. Then when I come back to my rig and relax, the feeling of taking the boots off and putting on sandals is the greatest comfort in the world.

When Steve took the fenderskirt out of the box yesterday, he told me I should go inside. I asked why, and he replied, "I don't want anyone to see how easy this is." He had it done quickly and easily, and it looks so nice. Then he got the slide-out windows open for me. They just needed an extra tug and I just wasn't exerting enough pressure to get them open. We looked at the entertainment center and discussed how and where I could put the computer and printer. He was all for getting rid of the boombox until he hit PLAY on the tape that I had in the tape deck. He found the control for speakers and told me to go up into the bedroom - Jerry Garcia sang to me in all parts of the 5ver - the bedroom, the kitchen, I suppose there are speakers in every nook and cranny - enough to get me thrown out of an RV park! Steve decided I should keep the boom box!

I got him though, when I asked him to help me check the water in the batteries. I didn't know how much trouble it would be to get the caps off. He gave me this strange look when I mentioned checking water in the batteries, and said solemnly, "I don't know how". It hit me then - he only has had experience with sealed batteries (or whatever they are called) and doesn't remember the old kind. He was born in 1975, and I guess by the time he got to the age where he learned about cars they were using the newer batteries. So us "oldies but goodies" are good for something once in a while.

A little about Jerry and me - in 1985 my husband and I and the 4 kids all went to church one Sunday morning. It was a rare event because the kids usually liked to sleep in and go to a later service or the evening service, but we were all together this time. Driving home we saw smoke in the area of our street, and thought it was just a summer brush fire over by the river. We turned into our street to see flames coming out of our roof. Just about every item in the house was either destroyed by fire, smoke, or water damage, and the entire second floor had to be rebuilt. We stayed at my Mom's house that night, and the next day I was at our house to assess the damage and decide where to begin listing everything for the insurance claim. It was devastating, and I was at a low point in my life. On the drive back to my mom's I had the radio on, and the song playing was the Grateful Dead's "Touch of Grey", with the refrain of "I will survive". I knew then it was a message for me that I could handle whatever needed to be done. I've loved Jerry Garcia with all my heart from then on. And by the way, the only thing that made me cry about losing all the contents of my house was the thought of the pictures of all my babies. They were in albums in the living room guest closet, the only place in the house that was relatively intact from water damage. They survived!

Enough reminiscing for today.