Friday, December 27, 2013

Holiday Greetings and Friday Finds #3

So much to do and read and absorb and so little time to do it all. So, first things first!

Happy Holidays to all my readers wherever you are. I hope for those of you who celebrate Christmas, you had a very Merry one and Santa was good and you celebrated the birth of Jesus as the holiday was meant to commemorate. For those of the Jewish faith, I trust your Festival of Lights, Hanukkah, was just that, festive and meaningful. And for those who celebrate other commemorations at this time of year, I hope your holiday has also been festive and meaningful.

Now, as one who considers himself a mild-mannered grinch at this time of year, I'm about ready for the holidays to be passed so we can all return to our normal level of insanity. (And, I say that with a certain amount of "tongue in cheek" humor.)

I missed a Friday Finds last Friday because I was on the road all day Friday and Saturday. Friday I drove to Winchester, Virginia to purchase and have loaded into My McVansion, the new 245 amp hour, AGM, deep cycle battery that will power the "house" portion of the "tiny house on wheels." From there I went to Fairfax, Virginia where I recorded a voice-over for a training program, then to Vienna, Virginia for a festive evening of fellowship and food at a company Christmas Dinner. I've been a friend, vendor and company associate of this company and its owners for 30+ years. Then back to Winchester later that evening where I stayed with a long time friend, Judy, and also met up with my Falls Church, Virginia, former Air Force buddy, Dave,  who also stayed at Judy's for the night.

Saturday morning my friend, Judy, hosted a Christmas Brunch for about 20 of us, all friends for many years. We attempt to gather at least once a year (if not more when possible) to enjoy each others' company and catch up on our lives. After that I met a new "vandwelling" friend, Ron, who had just come down to the area on his way to ??? (he's not sure where he's heading exactly as long as it's away from the winter cold of Berlin, New Hampshire. His "van" is actually a Prius he's modified to not only travel long distances in, but to also sleep and live out of. We spent the afternoon getting acquainted at a Panera Bread Cafe (my unofficial office on the road) and topped off our meeting with a dinner at a local, old fashioned diner in Winchester that I've been going to for over 30 years. After Ron and I parted ways, I headed back to the WV base camp where I've been working most of the week on clearing up paperwork and other "stuff" plus getting the van finished up and ready for the first 2014 Road Trek, actually commencing on January 30th, this coming Monday.

In a few moments, after I post this article on the blog, I'll be jumping into "My McVansion" and heading into Winchester to buy the necessary parts and take them to The Battery Mart where I bought the new "house" battery to install the charging wiring from the van's alternator to the battery so the house battery will charge whenever the vehicle engine is running, right along with the van's engine battery.

Now, for today's finds, while I've managed to read a number of things and I'll likely get them out to you in the near future, I have two things that caught my attention. Both of them happen to be from the same source.

First, I couldn't believe this when I saw it, but it even made the national news on at least one cable network. I guess, for those readers who live in the cities and suburbs and wonder why or how folks like me can choose an alternative lifestyle such as we do, this might be just one of the reasons. Imagine this happening to you...


and this second item today is simply another of so many "wake-up calls" in our country and society. It's not that this hasn't been going on for decades and probably the better part of more than a century, it's simply that it seems to be going from the ridiculous to the sublime. At least that's my take on it. You may think otherwise. Take a look and see what you think.



So, that's it for this week. Have a wonderful weekend and a healthy, happy and abundant (but make it a safe celebration) 2014. 

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