An empty park

I slept well, not exactly the sleep of the innocent as I am long past that but close enough and got up at a reasonable hour, for us. After a quick shower and a change of clothes, we went out for the morning walk around the park, which incidentally, is full again with RV’s, all sporting something in red, the Razorbacks colors. Many were sitting outside talking with family and friends and eating breakfast. A couple were playing a game which comprised of tossing weighted bags at a board 20 feet away trying to get the bag either into the hole for 3 points or onto the board for 1 point. 

Several had dogs and Sandy just had to go and either make friends or instead, growl at them. She also made friends with many of the RV owners. Mikey was hiding behind me, as usual. We wandered around greeting new people as we met them and came back to the guy we had met yesterday and chatted for a while before moving on with the walk. 

Back in the RV, I fixed breakfast making sure the dogs got some of the bacon sandwich and then did a couple of maintenance chores before settling down for the emails, none of which were important. I had already caught up with the day’s news as depressing as it is. I felt great sorrow and depression at the state of this country and the rest of the World. We really are going to hell in a handbag as the saying goes.  

I was reading yesterday about the current situation in the Armed Forces, which apparently are down in numbers. The article went on to say that so many of the recruits that apply are either overweight, mentally disturbed and unstable and a risk to themselves and others and are turned down. These are the next generation of this country and somehow, it does not surprise me. I have only got to look around when I am in Walmart’s for instance and when the occasional slim woman or guy walks by, they stand out amongst the fat and grossly overweight people of both sexes. Even many of the younger kids are the same way. Of course, I have no idea of their mental state but if the two are connected… 

I wonder what makes a person allow themselves to get like that. Too much food and drink and too little activity is a big part of it. Mentally, the television and easy access to the internet and the junk on it is a lot that drives people as they are ready to believe anything they read especially if it is in line with their thinking. I have mentioned it before but like the Roman Empire and all the other great civilizations, sooner or later they all implode, and we are going in the same direction. 

I continued to write and reminded myself that I do have some serious business to take care of. With the scammers forcing the bank to change account numbers, many of the contributions and automatic payments will not go through and I need to make a lot of changes to the accounts. It will require a lot of research on my part to find each account and reset up the payments as some of them have been there for years. I worked on some of the accounts but as today is Saturday, could not contact several of them so in the end, gave it up to wait for a weekday. What a bloody hassle. 

I checked the mailbox to the park and my new Debit card has arrived. We were on our way out walking and I stuffed it in my pocket to activate it after we return. We wandered around and walked the circumference of the field. On our way back, Sandy just had to visit the other couple of dogs that were outside with their owners, and we chatted for a bit before continuing.  

Arriving back at Quatro, I went through the motions of activating the card which proved much more difficult than I had expected and needed the service of 3 different operators as we got cut off twice. Finally, we got it right and now I have an active debit card but with a different pin number. Something else to remember. Bloody scammers… 

I sat and wrote for a while and then we went out for one more walk of the day before adjourning back to the RV for the evening. 

Written 10/01/2022. Read my other stories at https://pondblog2011.com

Southgate RV Park, Fayetteville, AR Sunday Day 25 10/02/2022

A few days later, busy again for Game Day.

Our first walk was as expected as many of the RV’s had either already left or were leaving. I chatted to a couple of them, and one wished me “Safe travels home”. I thanked him and did not tell he that we are here for at least two more weeks depending on the Jeep repair. Heck, he may even be back before I leave depending on the next home game. 

We wandered around and I noticed that my immediate neighbor to my left has pulled out. He was a long termer, and I did not hear him with his preparations to leave. Not surprising as I do not sleep with my hearing aids in and although, not totally deaf, my hearing is restricted somewhat. 

Back in Quatro, I fixed my own breakfast, a couple of small meat patties each on a biscuit and shared it with the dogs. That is, if you can call tiny handouts, sharing and then turned my attention to emails and as usual, trashing most of them. There were a couple that needed my attention because with the change of bank accounts, the original automatic payments that I have set up, are no longer working. My plan is to wait to receive an email from whoever I owe money to and then reset the payments to the new account. I tried to get ahead of the game but some of these automatic payments were set up years ago and finding those accounts is difficult. I decided that when the vendor does not get his money on time, he will quickly contact me, and I can reset the payment method then. What a pain. 

I turned my attention to the blog jotting down the most recent events and posting the one I wrote yesterday and the day before. It looks like I am getting ahead too far and will need to start doubling up again to bring the posts closer to the current date. Just doubling Saturday and Sunday apparently, is not enough. 

I decided against my better principles to watch Man City play Man United, one of the teams that I support, in a local derby played at the Man City ground. City played very well and at half time, were 4-0 up and most of the Man U supporters walked out in their hundreds. The game ended 6-3 in favor of City. They showed pictures of Sir Alex Ferguson, the famous Man U manager from old sitting in the stands. He managed for 27 years and won just about everything there was to win before retiring. Sadly, the team has never been the same and has had 7 Managers since then counting the present one who, between them, have not been able to reproduce only a few of his accomplishments. 

The other team that I follow is Brighton and Hove Albion and is the one that my Great, Great Grandson, Solly March, plays on. I watched them yesterday and they managed to draw with the mighty Liverpool also one of the top teams. Incidentally, Brighton is above Liverpool in the English Premier League, and both are above Manchester United. The season has only just started and only 7 games have been played out of 38 so there is a long way to go. Even so, early form is generally a good indicator of what the season might look like. Incidentally, the season runs generally for 10 months what with the many Cups and other competitions. 

Following the game, we went out for a walk around the park staying mostly in the shaded areas. The park is virtually empty with just 9 RVs on the one side that are mostly long termers and the little cluster in the area we are located which lost one this morning. The remaining 8 appear to be rented housing for the Hispanic workers. I am not sure when we can pull out as it all depends on the Jeep repair but no earlier than October 14. Then, I must worry about the repairs to Quatro although, quite honestly, I have no idea of that status.  

We wandered around and a Class A pulled in followed by a Jeep driven by a young lady. They drove around the park looking at the open sites before choosing the one with the only remaining bit of shade. Must be, they were given permission by Jerry to just, “choose a site”. We all like shady campsites as RV’s are not renowned for their insulation properties and if they are a Class A with big front windows, then shade is of the upmost importance. 

We returned to the RV, and I sat and wrote for a while playing catch up before heading out of the door for one last walkabout. 

Written 10/02/2022. Read my other stories at https://pondblog2011.com