ARCHIVES - 1996 to FOREVER

We left our intriped hero contemplating a good rest and good deeds accomplished on the morrow; however, we find him at 04:30 finally getting out of bed because sleep is over with, maybe three hours total. He showers and shaves and goes out at daylight to tackle electrical demons.

It does not go well. All of the lights on the damned trailer should work, but none of them do.

After an hour, he gives up in frustration and lays aside his voltmeter and his pride... and calls for help.

A commercial establishment, the Sunflower rentals in North Topeka.

He tools over there, lightless, but the cops don't see him. Score one for our hero.

Guy looks at the rig, shakes his head and says sorry, I can't help you today. Your trailer needs to be re-wired completely. He is properly thanked for his time and asked what is owed him, and he says nothing, happy to help.

And he directs our hero to the U-haul place on the other side of town, 30th and Topeka.

And they tell our hero that they only work on U-hauls.

But they have some information! Jim's trailer sales, where our here bought the trailer eight or ten years ago, was open.

So our hero...

No, wait, I'm getting tired of this third-person shit, I don't do it well, it was me, dear readers, *me*, and the term *hero* was sarcasm in the first degree....

So... Jim's, they helped me. Got the whole damned thing working. The truck, it seems, had not been wired anything close to correct. Well, I didn't care, it was working now, and I was on the road about 11:30. Nice people there, I'm gonna take the trailer in next week and get the floor replaced and the bearings packed.

And the wind, it was blowing from the south at 35 MPH with gusts up to 50. It was a total bitch driving, yes it was.

But I got there in pretty good time, my gas mileage was about 7 MPG.

Karen was originally pretty pissed at me, but I apologized before she could say anything. I really should have gotten the trailer ready to go early in the week, but dummy me, I thought that I could just plug the damned thing in and go.

I'll know better next time... and you will too, if you have the ability to learn from other's mistakes. Framed in that fashion, I'm a pretty good teacher, dammit.

The place was a mess, of course... and Mom and Karen were both frazzled. Poor Mom, having to cull her possessions twice within six months.

I had made a date with Jesse to eat supper with him and Brenda at 17:30, but Mom's cousin came over with her husband at 17:15, and I really wanted to stay and visit, but we really couldn't.

And I'm afraid that I wasn't very good company at supper, either.

We got back to the house at 18:45 or so, and Mom went to bed shortly after that, and then Karen did, and about 21:30 I did.....

And I stayed there, trying to sleep, until 01:30.

But that's part of tomorrow's story, heh.