2007 in Review

Despite a few minor life hiccups, it has been an interesting year.
It is truly amazing how easily one can be found. Out of the blue on New Year’s Day of 2007, a physician that I used to see in my first life found my phone number on the Internet and called me from Indiana to ask questions about RVing. He and his wife are considering the lifestyle.

New Year’s is a time for milestones isn’t it? Finally scrapping two pairs of jeans and two sweatshirts was so liberating. They go from new to work clothes, totally disgusting with stains and paint, progress to rags for really nasty cleanup jobs, and then are thrown away. Although these clothes never quite wore out, they finally looked bad enough that if I were a teenager, I would pay big bucks for them on the Internet.

Our technical know-how in building computers, iPods, cell phones, satellite TV, home weather stations, GPS systems, and a dozen other new things I haven’t even heard of yet, let alone know how to work, is phenomenal. I am waiting for someone to invent the “undo” button for everyday life. Wouldn’t it be nice sometimes to do an instant retake of what comes out of our mouths? Or even “restore.” When things go wrong, we could go back a month or two like we do with the computer and do a restore to that date.

Just this morning, I was having coffee with a bunch of RVers, one of whom had acquired a yard-sale cleaning robot and loved it. There are similar ones that roam the bottom of your pool to keep it clean. Robots sometimes push in ahead of policemen to scout out problems. It seems to me if we took the astronomical amount of money used for electing politicians to office, we could create robot troops to send in ahead of our soldiers anywhere and save a lot of lives. But as usual, nobody asked me.

Surprise Reunion
Sometimes people you meet in faraway places with strange-sounding names eventually become friends.

Many years ago on one of my return prowls to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, I stopped at Hog Island Point State Forest Campground on U.S. Highway 2 near Naubinway. I had the distinct feeling that I wouldn’t find a site on the water that late on a summer’s day. Diane and Mike James saw my Escapees RV sticker and waved me down. They helped me park in an off-the-beaten-path lakeside campsite, and then invited me to a campfire.

Several years later, they stopped at my home at Arizona’s North Ranch. By then I had no clue who they were until they mentioned Hog Island, a name impossible to forget. They now have a lot at North Ranch and the Hog Island experience has become a “small world” story.

One night they invited me over for dinner to try a “nilgai” roast. Mike’s description of this mystery animal was, “It resembles something God put together with spare parts.” No, it didn’t taste like chicken. It was delicious and tasted like beef although it was extremely lean without the marbling that beef usually has. Curiosity took me to the Internet.

The nilgai is the second largest species of antelope, most commonly seen in northern India and eastern Pakistan, and introduced to Texas as a zoo animal in the 1920s, although now it is free ranging. This “ox-like” animal is often referred to as a “blue bull.” Mature males weigh upwards of 600 pounds with a blackish and bluish hue. Now you know.

Staring into the Abyss
April took me to the Grand Canyon once again as I showed it to my grandson for the very first time, and he was properly awed. I had flown it previously so I didn’t join him and his mother on a Papillon jet-powered helicopter ride. They sat in the front bubble with an up-close-and-personal-view of the great abyss, which Will described as, “Awesome!”

If you aren’t into helicopter rides or the expense of it, the next best thing is the IMAX film at the National Geographic Visitor Center at the south entrance. This is an exciting 34-minute presentation that will have you grabbing the arms of your seat. My only advice is don’t eat a spaghetti dinner ahead of time.

When I returned from my September trip to Alaska, I had a wonderful birthday present waiting. My favorite eastern son-in-law, Tom, presented me with a plane ticket to spend my birthday and Thanksgiving with them.

This trip proved to me once again that God has a sense of humor. I recently made seven “dial-up” calls and worked five hours with Earthlink’s outsourced technicians to solve an aggravating problem, to no avail. I don’t speak “tech” and I could barely understand the very pleasant, very kind, very patient counterparts across the world from me. I griped to anyone who would listen and railed against outsourcing companies.

Meeting the Monster
I was two hours early to the Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport for my flight to Virginia. As I passed the waiting area, a young lady and I exchanged smiles. She came over and introduced herself. I suddenly found myself face to face with an “Outsourcing Monster!”

This tiny, attractive 30-year-old, unmarried, jeans-clad, friendly young woman lived with her parents, brothers, and grandparents just outside Bombay, India. She had been in Phoenix for a month of training. It was her job to talk through the night helping people like me fix Internet problems.

She had the freedom to live on her own, but “Why would I?” she asked. “I have the benefit of sharing costs and having the counsel of all those who love me.” Although it is part of her culture to ask permission to visit friends, or whatever, I had the feeling it was more a courtesy to her elders in love and respect, than a necessity. Wasn’t it a little like that in our country once upon a time?

Before we departed, we exchanged cards and e-mail addresses. It will be interesting to see if we develop a friendship—this lovely outsourcer from India and this impatient Arizona Internet user.

When I stepped off the plane in Virginia, 10-year-old Will was there with a big sign advertising that he was waiting for his, “Travelin’ Grandma.” My daughter said it brought lots of smiles from passengers ahead of me.

I hope your year was filled with a great variety of travel, thoughts, and life experiences. Happy 2008 and God Bless.

Autographed copies of Revised RVing Alaska and Canada ($16.95); Adventures with the Silver Gypsy ($14.95); Full-Time RVing: How to Make it Happen $14.95); In Pursuit of a Dream ($8), and Freedom Unlimited, The Fun and Facts of Full-timing ($9) are available through author Sharlene Minshall, Box 1040, Congress, AZ 85332-1040, www.full-time-rver.com or Amazon.com. Postage and handling are $4 for one book and $1 for each additional book.