Gypsy Larry

Posted by larry on November 20th, 2008 in Uncategorized

Have you ever stopped to realize what effect the weather has on us?  Not only does it dictate the type of environment in which we live and also possibly the types of work but it goes deeper than that.  It dictates what we do, when we do it, how we do it.  And in my case also has a profound effect upon mental health.  I have found a veil of malaise that creeps over my psyche when the winds of the winter are knocking at my door. It’s always been this way with me.  Depression making it’s ugly head visible at the onset of winter.  And it doesn’t begin and end with me.  Imagine this.  Our next door neighbor sent us an email.  I realize and email is much less invasive than a phone call.  You answer when you want, you really receive it when you want by deciding when to open it.  The email was to inquire about our situation, how we were doing, what is new in the neighborhood upon their return from a weekend trip.  Why the email?  Because I believe it’s just too damn cool and gloomy in the hinterlands of western Pennsylvania to do otherwise.  The email made me laugh as their back patio is approximately 25 feet from ours but no way in hell was anyone going to step out to acknowledge the other. So my thoughts have given way to the warmer climes of the snowbirds.  The consultating stint that I have been engaged in is coming to an end.  I informed my roomate just last night that we would be wintering in Florida.  Now the search begins for exactly where to go, but at this time, it doesn’t matter, as long as the sun shines there.

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Posted by larry on November 10th, 2008 in People, Lifestyles, Health, Uncategorized

Robin and I drove into Pittsburgh on Friday to get the results from the lastest MRI regarding the brain tumor.  It was an overcast morning, as much of the weather is synonomous with that. In fact, we can brag that we have over 300 days of cloudy and overcast skies in this part of the country.  The fountain at the point of the Three Rivers was spurning pink in celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness.

It made for a beautiful sight.  I was a bit wary as I always am as to the prognosis of my tests but I felt confident today.  Let’s cut to the chase and make a long story short here.  Dr. Aziz told me that there was no growth and no change toward the negative. Instead of having me tested every three months, I am now to have this done every six months.  I couldn’t be happier.  I celebrated when I got home by changing clothes and going for a long bicycle ride.  The clouds gave way to some sunshine and along the trail it appeared that even the wildlife on my path was in a good mood as well. 

Later that evening, Robin and I met Ryan and Carolyn for a suprise 50th birthday party for our friend Jim. Shawn had rented out the entire Caravan Club on Carson Street in Pittsburgh and all of Jim’s friends had shown up to pay homage to such a distinctive passage. Jim’s a good guy and never has a negative word for anyone. Nothing would have been overboard for a man with such a good nature. Happy 50th, Jim.

Sunday was Ryan’s 29th birthday as well as my sister’s 46th.  We all visited together for a while, spent a bit of time at the outlet malls as Robin was in dire need of a new purse.  I didn’t realize how important it was for me to go along on this trip.  Although I had no input on the purse I was summoned to trade a few Jacksons for it.  The rest of the day was being lazy, watching the Steelers get toasted by the Colts and making some homemade soup.  That recipe will show up on here soon.  It has to be one of the best beef noodle soups ever.

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Posted by larry on November 6th, 2008 in People, Rants, Health

It’s been a good week.  The election is over and we can tune into ‘brain drain’ without being inundated with the political rhetoric.  The weather here is synonomous with that of early September mornings. Crisp and then turning beautiful.  It’s allowed for motorcycling to work, bicycling in the late afternoons and scintillating walks to the gym.  As you can tell, I’m still trying to prepare my body for the inevitable.  Tomorrow I visit my brain surgeon to get the results of the last MRI.  I would call you all out for a wish of luck but I”m too scientific for that.  I have good karma and regardless of the results, I shall deal with it with the utmost of dignity.  Ryan is here for a two week stint working in Pittsburgh at UPMC.  His fiance flies in tomorrow and we will all celebrate his birthday, along with that of my sister on Sunday.  Yes, he was his aunt’s birthday gift some 29 years ago.  Robin still works part time thanks to the economic conditions that have set in and we still search for where we may be this coming spring.  Job offers pop up on a weekly basis but we must be wary of weather conditions during the summer.  Those offers from Florida look delicious at this time but when you contemplate what it may be like in July, I’m reminded of the sweltering sun of Selma where the mercury rose into triple digits. Time will tell.Â

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Posted by larry on November 2nd, 2008 in Retirement, RV, Full Time RVing, Lifestyles, Uncategorized

It’s been a busy week for us but many of the tasks remain mundane so I won’t bore you with those.  Perhaps the biggest decision of the week was that we put the stick house on the market. Yes,  For Lease or Sale.  It’s just to the point that we can’t afford both the stick house and the RV, so yes, you can imagine which one has to go on the market.  The only problem is that with this economy, it may be a while that it’s on the market.  Let’s just hope for the best on that one.We also have begun to receive some offers on the handful of resumes that we sent out in the past week.  In fact, we’ve been offered four workamper positions to this point in time.  Oregon, Utah, Missouri, and West Virginia job sites all have asked that we join them for spring and summer employment.   Our dilemma exists in getting back to New Jersey for the middle of October for the wedding of Ryan (our son) and Carolyn.  At this juncture it appears that Denny’s Wigwam in Kanab, Utah will get the nod.  In the meantime, I have been and will continue, weather permitting to hit the links. 

Robin’s milogram proved good and bad news.  The good being that there is nothing wrong with her past surgery, no nerve damage and the plate and screws in her neck seem to be healing well. The bad news is that she still has numbness and lack of feeling in two fingers on her left hand.  We’re hoping this is just neuritis and will dissipate over a period of time. Nevertheless, she has rejoined the local gym and begun once again on a weight lifting routine that hopefully will alleviate the discomfort.  I’m a firm believer in the utilization of muscles to overcome discomfort and some pain. Let’s hope this premise rings true.  In fact, she’s been to the gym three times this week so I’m hopeful that this will start to pay some benefits soon.On Friday, we drove to a local Jeep dealer to purchase the extended warranty on the powertrain for the used Wrangler we had purchased last week.  While we were waiting I noticed an olive green beauty just sitting in the parking lot and reflecting a setting sun.  It seemed to draw my attention like a magnet.  We walked over to view it and that was the beginning of the end.  It was long afterward that the general manager and I were exchanging stories and barbs and why I should have it and why I shouldn’t pay as much for it as he wanted.  To make a long story short, we amicably agreed upon a price difference and I told him I would pick up a brand new olive colored Wrangler on Saturday morning.  Here’s the beauty. 

Saturday we picked up the new ride, had breakfast at a local golf course and then returned home quickly as the real estate agent was bringing a “looker”.  I also had someone stopping by to purchase some furniture.  I’m a wheeler-dealer, and given the fact that the stick house it up for sale, so are it’s contents.  We did well this afternoon as a truckload and a trailer load went out of here yesterday afternoon. To this point in time I’ve sold the dining room set and baker’s rack, a living room set,  another sofa, chair, and ottoman, a bedroom dresser, the den set, some lamps, and an extra TV. Yes, there’s still things left in the house to sit in and be comfortable but we’re intent on heading out in the RV as soon as possible. Later that afternoon we visited the new and local outlet mall.  Aren’t they all pretty much similar.  Nothing caught our eye except some fragrances that we had run out of……..always need to smell swell.  Saturday night saw us attending a movie with some friends and then imbibing with them while trading stories and laughter just like college frat and sorority friends would have years ago.  We left their abode at the end of the Texas-Texas Tech game and settled in for a well deserved rest and an extra hour of sleep.�

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Posted by larry on October 25th, 2008 in RV, Full Time RVing, Vehicles

I’m starting to get antsy again, yearning once again to be on the road.  But we need to see the results of Sunday’s MRI for me and Robin is scheduled for a milogram on Monday.  I’m the least bit concerned about myself as nothing can keep me down but Robin is missing the feeling in her arm again and two fingers have gone completely numb. Perhaps this too will be fixed in short time.  Nevertheless we are preparing fervently for the road again.  I’m a planner.  I usually do this far in advance and have a couple of options in case one doesn’t work out.  So in preparation for a fulltiming stint in the spring we decided to get something that was towable.  Say goodbye to the Mustang.  We talked about a toad that we could go off-road with some ease when we get to the crimson roads of the West.  So yesterday we traded for a Jeep Wrangler.It’s something we’ve been talking about for a couple of weeks now and I couldn’t pass the offer that a dealer offered me on Friday.  I told you I was somewhat impulsive.  But Robin loves her new toy so that made it all worthwhile.  We both like the feeling of riding a bit higher on the road as well.  A six speed that will keep us out of the lull of an automatic and I can see it now in the canyons of Utah.  Depending on the month we leave, we’ve narrowed down our first destination between the eco-homes of Taos, New Mexico or a couple of months filming the wildlife of Yellowstone.  That’s the plan for this week anyway.

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Posted by larry on October 23rd, 2008 in People, Medical Science, Health

Yesterday’s weather was a bit on the crisp side but the sunshine was abundant and illuminated the crimson and pumpkin shades of the diverse hillsides.  This would be a day for a ride on the two-wheeler.  I had errands to run, mailing a birthday card to my niece, dropping off a prescription for Robin, stopping by the motorcycle shop to check out the latest bling-bling.  Then it was on to Pittsburgh to Bernie’s Photo Store as I was having some problems with the back of my Mamiya 645.  That’s a medium format film camera that I purchased this past spring and am just starting to learn to use.  I’m all digital but somewhat of a purist and the throwback to the film of yesteryear poses quite a feat for me to try and master.  The last stop planned was a trip to Barnes and Noble.  I just love those moleskine little notebooks to keep track of what I’m doing and what’s needed to be done.  Hemingway made them famous years ago when he used them for his incessant notes. Since the weather was brisk I had donned a coat and when zippered it had constantly pressed on my throat. Not a good thing when you have a plastic projectile emanating from the same space.  I had noticed upon leaving the bookstore that my trache was protuding out more than usual. It was also a bit flimsy and cast downward which had me a bit concerned.  I would ride the half hour home and hope that Robin had arisen from her sleep to adjust what I perceived as a minor problem. Returning home I beat it to the bathroom mirror and things were just not right.  The trache was out too far and lying a bit askew.   However, my somnambulent wife was still asleep after a long day’s journey into the night shift at work.  I decided that she would awake upon her own.  I would rest in the recliner and watch the early evening news until she joined me.  It was then that I settled in the lazy boy and lit up the big screen.  A moment later a tickle in my throat invited a major cough.  And then the scare.  The end result of that hefty cough found my trache being projected right out of my throat and into my shirt.  I picked it from the floor and rushed to the bathroom mirror again.  Too much blood.  Hard to see into the hole in my throat.  Time to gather up some Q-tips, peroxide and a flashlight.  Cleaning the orifice and shining the Magnum on my throat I could see that this was going to be no picnic.  Try as I might I could not manage getting the trache back into my throat.  Time for Plan B.  Wake up the nurse, she’ll be able to come to my rescue.  I think the blood frightened Robin a bit on her waking.  I probably should have prepared her in a better manner but time was of the essence.  After several attempts she could only get the tube past the first layer of skin.  There was no way it was going into the windpipe area as it should.  Call the surgeon’s office.  That didn’t work as it was after five and the office staff was gone.  Call the surgeon’s personal cell phone.  A nurse answered as Dr. Goldberg was in the midst of surgery.  He stated to come directly to the emergency room and page him.  Now is that luck or what?  What if he hadn’t been in surgery?  What if he was with his family, in a movie, at the mall, or out of town?  The gods smile upon me daily.  We beat it to the emergency room and after putting up with the bureaucratic tape and the annoying questions, I was escorted to a room.  Bad news on the horizon now.  The ER doctor came in to see what he could do.  Not only did he not know what to do, he attempted to put the trache in backwards………twice, until he finally admitted that this was all new to him.  Dr. Goldberg, my personal cancer surgeon shortly thereafter came down from surgery to meet my needs.  In a matter of minutes, he had the trache back in.  And the pain was only intense for a short time so I was thankful for that.  This guy is a life saver and I would put my life in his hands again and again.  The wait to leave the hospital and signing the exit papers took more time that the entire procedure.  By nine o’ clock we were home and it was nothing ever had happened.  As I’ve said time and time again, I have to be one of the luckiest men in the world.  The gods smile once again.

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Posted by larry on October 21st, 2008 in RV, RV Tech, Full Time RVing

An enigma am I.  I desire to make a purchase.  Therefore, I will research the subject to death, hoping to make an intelligent and informed decision and not costing us time, money, or some kind of grief. On the other hand, I’m probably the most impulsive person I know.  Or so my friends tell me.  So when it was time for a satellite TV system I chose DirecTV as in my research I thought I read that most RVers or motorhomers went this route.  In the past we had DishTV and had some reservations. I’m not so sure my decision this time was the best one for us.  I would love to hear from all you RVers and/or satellite purchasers out there on your decision.  At this point in time, I believe I’ve made a poor decision by going with DirecTV. Also, if any of you can tell me how to get the network channels, i.e. ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX when you change your location from the place of purchase to wherever your RV may land for a degree of time.Â

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Posted by larry on October 20th, 2008 in People

This is a post of a different sort.  We went to a wedding this weekend.  We being my entire family….wife, daughter, son, and daughter-in-law to be.  Our niece got married, the daughter of my wife’s brother Scott.  And as weddings go it was as beautiful as most.  There were tears of joy and laughter and dancing and great food and all the intricacies that you would imagine and have come to know in your own weddings.  But whom I want to introduce you to is the father of the bride….Scott. He is the brother of my wife, seven years my junior but I admire him more than any man I personally know.  And let me tell you a bit about him.  When he was in high school, I was his football coach.  I could tell you he was my starting fullback as a sophomore because I wanted to date his sister, but the fact is that he was just good enough to be in that position.  A few years later, after I lured his sister out of her previous engagement, he would come to the house every morning at 6 a.m. to baby sit my children, awaiting my wife’s return home from the graveyard shift.  And he did this for years without complaint, and without pay.  He did it out of the goodness of his heart.  He owed me nothing.  Some years later he met Beverly, the woman who would silently command his world.  And together they had five children, four girls and a son, now aged 23 to 14.  They are not rich. They do not live in a mansion, nor do they possess an abundance of material goods.  Yet they are one of the wealthiest couples I know.  This is due to the fact that despite setbacks, trials and tribulations that we all  encounter, I have never heard them complain.  In this day and age it is a feat to raise a couple of children, yet they have done this with five.  The five children have never been in trouble.  They go to school every day.  Yes, every day for years and all have competed in athletics since the age of five.  Can you imagine the miles, the time,  the distance from one another they have endured as a result of this.  The children all have chores…..always have.  They complete them without hesitation. They entertain themselves and often make do with things from an era of yesteryear.  The kids love each other and it’s exuded in the daily behavior.  It makes a heart feel good to watch them interact with one another.  They never get out of hand nor have they ever elicited a smart comment to their parents. I can’t say enough about them.  This can all be attributed to this man I admire.  In a day and age when parenting skills are absent and the troubled youth of today often can’t find a parent interested enough, here stands a throwback to a time forgotten.  Although I was his coach and his teacher, here is a case where the student has become the master.  Although he doesn’t know it, I have learned fathering and patience and love from this man.  He is enigmatic and a breath of fresh air amongst the false bravado of men of his generation.   His wife and his children love him dearly.  I hope his children realize the enormity of  his heart.  I know I do.

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Posted by larry on October 18th, 2008 in RV, Full Time RVing, Campgrounds

It was said of me this past week that I’m the most impulsive person one has seen.  Sometimes true but that’s not me all the time.  But I do find myself vaccillating from one choice to another quite often.  Here’s an instance and maybe you can help me out with this one.  I have been perusing periodicals and the net for workamper positions for the past month or so.  The consulting stint that I”m now doing could last until late winter or I could end it in the next month or so.  The choice is really mine.  Now comes the dilemma.  This week we were offered a job in Eureka, Califormia, almost on the border with Oregon. At Klamath Ranch Resort we would find ourselves being hosts in a new and growing facility located on a river full  of trout and steelhead. In several conversations with the owner, we realized the amenities were far greater than your average RV resort and at nine dollars per hour this job pays a bit higher than most campgrounds.  After conversations with Robin and I he warmly offered us the positions, wanting us to be there in mid November working there at least for the coming year.  One of the most difficult things in life is choices.  And as I grow older you would think they become easier but that’s not the case here.  Unless it’s just me…….the great vaccilator.  So here we go again, into the compare and contrast mode searching for reasons to go now, pitted against those that hold us fast. Packing up the supplies, readying the stick house for winter, deciding to put it on the market or not in this depressing economy and leaving friends and family on a moments notice……these are some of the thoughts we’re weighing.  There’s the gypsy part of me that says let’s go now.  Make the decision and stick to it.  It’s good to be scared. Then there’s the left brain that says one more season will pay financial dividends that will lead to even more months on the road without having to workkamp.  So for right now, after considerable thought, we will winter in the stick house.  But then again, that decision may not last for more than a week or so, you never know.

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Posted by larry on October 13th, 2008 in Full Time RVing, Lifestyles

I could start off with a rant that would go on for days about the economy, the presidential race and the state of the nation.  But as a nation of sheep, there’s not much we can do as average citizens about such things. I was always taught to invest conservatively, put your money away for a rainy day, and prepare for the golden years. Well I did that and Wall St. threw us a curve.  Thank goodness for this consulting stint.  But we still are very much interested in putting the stick house on the market, whether it be for sale or just for rent.  Much of the disheartening condition is put on the mental backburner with daily bicycle rides.  Each day I pass through the National Tunnel on the trail.

It’s an ominous an imposing sight. The tunnel itself is only about a quarter of a mile long but there’s a slight bend in it that doesn’t allow light to permeate through the entire shell.  But the journey through it gives rise to the imagination and you can feel yourself looking for creatures to jump from the concrete walls and scare the hell out of you.  However, it’s a worthwhile venture as it stimulates the senses and creates a totally converse effect outside.

 This is a shot of what I see almost on a daily basis while riding. But did you ever walk an area that you traditionally drive through.  You would be amazed at some of the things we take for granted on a daily basis that when examined, are somewhat intriguing.  We just don’t take the time to look as we pass by on a motorized vehicle.  Here is one such thing.  Can you figure this one out?  I see them on a daily basis but never paid much attention to them in the past.  They’re ratchets that tighten line fences that keep in horses and cattle, just in case you didn’t know.  The walks and the rides have been keeping my mind occupied.  I won’t bore you with the daily machinations of the consulting world.  Despite the good things of the job, I still search on a daily basis for a workamper position that will enable us to winter in the South.  Much of this hinges upon the impending MRI and the condition of Robin’s left arm which is almost totally numb and has rendered two fingers useless.  Whoa!, the perils of growing older.

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