Tuesday Evening Musings

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This “responsible adult” stuff stinks! It cost me nearly $500 today. Just kidding…not about the price, but about “complaining.” I got my car maintenance done today, and I usually get the three oil changes/tire rotations/inspections package. So I paid $200 for that today. The good news is the next two oil changes and tire rotations are free! My license tags are ready to be renewed. There’s no sense in waiting until July 30 (the deadline is the 31st) to do it; and, since we can renew online, I got that out of the way. One more big “ouch” from the car coming soon (insurance is due every six months, so that’ll be in August). While at the dealership I sat in a 2024 CR-V hybrid and admired it. It’s pretty stinking nice. I told my brother I loved it, then quickly added, “But not $38k love it.” The $500 or so I was out today isn’t even what an “average” car payment runs these days! So I’m joking. In reality, I’m very blessed. Last week I ordered something from the outdoor company REI. It was supposed to arrive today, and it didn’t. I went to the UPS store and discovered, when they ran the tracking number, that REI hadn’t even bothered to ship it (all the while telling me it would be here today). I thanked them and told them not to bother, so they refunded the money to me. Now I can get something else that I don’t need instead! There’s a mob tour in Newport, Kentucky (one of the suburbs of Cincinnati, Ohio), and I got ticket for my niece and I to take the tour next weekend. You usually think of places like New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Cleveland for “mob” places, not northern Kentucky. No, lots of connections. The inventor of the 1920s gangsters’ favorite weapon, the “Tommy gun,” was born in northern Kentucky. I’m sure Lou will back me on this: a lot of people, to this day, think the 1977 Beverly Hills Supper Club fire in northern Kentucky was a mob job. I’ll give you a report after the tour! Two doctor’s appointments on Friday and two more the third week in June, then I can head off for someplace. Of course, weather permitting. When I was in Texas earlier this year I wanted to go to Lubbock, but I saw the weather was forecasted to be bad there so I didn’t go. That turned out to be a good move, because they had a horrible wildfire in the area, fanned by 80 MPH winds. The photo is one from the “Derby getaway,” the low-head dam at lovely High Falls State Park in Georgia. I really enjoyed that visit. My Georgia State Parks pass has expired, but I certainly got my money’s worth out of it!! I’m glad they have that option of buying an annual pass. Indiana, next door to us, doesn’t offer discounts for non-residents. Our state parks are free, as are Tennessee’s and Ohio’s. Florida offers a free state park pass to disabled veterans, even if they aren’t Florida residents. So there, Indiana! Y’all have a great evening or day! PHOTO: the dam at High Falls State Park, Georgia.