Cash for Clunkers/Claustraphobic Condos

Where to start?? Saturday morning was spent working on our sweeps at the boat house. We had a great crew of people show up. One of the new guys has done a lot of work with kayaks. He brought some unbelievable cleaner and polish for the fiberglass hulls of our sweeps. This sweep we call the I &C now shines like brand new. We also were able to remove stylized "G" the insignia of the University of Georgia, who sold us the sweep. I had the idea about after that capitol G adding "irdle so it would look like our sweep was named the Girdle! Trish set me up perfectly when she said, "Why on earth would you want to name this boat the Girdle?" I shot back with, "Because it takes a lot of little tugs to get it into it's slip!!!" I know I'll pay for that one down the road!!! It is considered bad luck to rename a boat, so I think our sweep will forever be known as the I&C.

In the afternoon I left early to Beseemer, AL. We were having a pot luck dinner with a rowing club out of Birmingham. I got on the road early so I could check out some thrift and surplus stores not far from the party site. I checked these places when Louis was visiting but they were all closed up on the Sunday we were there.

There was not much I was interested in any of these places. Louis explained that when the economy is rotten these places really get picked over. When times are flush, people donate more and shop these stores less.

I had “Googled” directions from my house to the party. I pulled out the printed “close up map” and directions. Damn, I had the directions backwards, from the party site to my house! If I’m right I’m only one exit east of where I should have exited I 59/20. The main road the thrift stores wereed on parallel the interstate. I head west a few miles to find the other exit.

I’m still not sure if all this is right, these roads all merge without any signs. My atlas is at home and the paper fold up Alabama map from the welcome center is pretty worthless.

A Wal-mart store was nearby. I pulled in there and headed to their book section. Sure enough, there were the maps of Birmingham. I was able to ascertain I was correct so far and my destination was very close.

I arrived right on time at 6:00. For once I was not the first one there. For my donation to the pot luck I brought a pan of “baked Corn”. That is always a crowd pleaser.

This rowing club is mainly scullers rowing single boats. From what I can pick up, they are all pretty well uncoached. They are trying to also get a permanent location to store and house their boats. They scull in a lake that is surrounded by private homes that is not too receptive to the lake being used in this way.

One of the members was raving over my corn dish and wanted to know what was in it. I explained it had: 1 can kernel corn, 1 can crème corn, 4 oz sour cream, two beaten eggs, 12 oz corn muffin mix and (here comes the kicker!) two sticks of melted butter. She tried to stifle a horrified look at all the calories from the butter!! LOL!! No wonder it tastes so good!!

After supper there was a brief business meeting. This club wants to sponsor a regatta this fall and kind of wants us to help out. OMG!!! They are so unorganized. I don’t think they have ANY idea of the work effort and planning involved. We handled it very diplomatically so as not to get committed.

Sunday morning I did some research on turning in my truck for the “cash for clunkers” and replacing it. According the Government website my truck is rated for 19 mpg which is 1 mpg over the 18mpg listed to qualify as a gas guzzler. I wanted to check into a Chevy Colorado with a four cylinder engine which has a base price around 17,400.

Jammer went with me to kick tires. There were tons of the huge trucks, but precious little of medium sized like mine. The Chevy dealer had one Colorado, 5 speed manual in white. It was OK, but the bed was shorter than my current Dodge, and truth be told it did not have the features my truck has.

The Blue book value on my truck is around $3,000. I figured if I could get $4,500. through the program that would be a good incentive. But, to spend that kind of money on something I don’t NEED at this point in time is pretty crazy, no matter how good a deal. I just needed to satisfy my curiosity in the matter. I’ll be hanging on to my old truck for some time to come! With 130,000 miles it is still getting broken in!

Heading back home I stopped at an open house for some new condos. An old building was rehabbed from the foundations up. These have to be seen in person to be believed. I found this listing that was posted on Craigslist of all places! The two bedroom unit they focus on has a doorway to a tiny outside balcony. The adjoining unit also has an identical doorway/balcony. These two units are the only units of the six that have access to the outside! The entry ways are from an inside hallway, there are NO WINDOWS! There is no parking for the building, and no access for garbage disposal on site. Boy, talk about planning ahead! I don’t think it will fill up very fast!

Sunday evening was a great row. We had enough to take out two sweeps. Jason coxed us through drills down to the steel mill. We spun the boat and rowed all eight the 5,000 meters back. That is the most we have ever done in an eight. At the end of the row Jason had us gently row with our eyes shut. This makes you concentrate on the sounds of the oars catching and releasing from the river, plus the sound of the seats going forward to the catch. What a great exercise. It was the first time we had attempted this drill. Jason coached in a soft melodious voice to listen and go slow on the seats, and above all to listen…. It was almost like getting hypnotized. The constant motion of the oars, sliding on the seat, and lapping of the oars nearly had me under!

Once we got back to the dock Jason explained how that is nearly universal to happen on the first time. Once you become familiar with the drill it is easy to have your mind wander.

This morning got off to a wild note. Debbie and I were enjoying coffee on the porch after out morning walk. A light brown lab was running loose. I know the dog; he belongs to one of the students around the corner. Traffic can get wild on my street. He nearly got hit racing across my street. We figured he got called home.

Sitting at the computer checking my e-mail I hear Stumpy let out a yowl and he tears over the chain link fence. That dog is still running loose. He is a friendly loveable dog, rolling at my feet and licking my hand. The rabies tags on his collar are from my vet, so I know he is well taken care of. The boys in the house are not home, or will not answer the door.

The dog comes with me to my backyard. I pen him up, and write a note to put on the boys door so they know where their dog is and to keep him safe and off the street. I’m returning home: just as I pass the outside corner of my backyard fence I hear the dog howl. I run in the back to find Stumpy with the upper hand holding this poor dog hostage in the corner of the yard. I don’t need this. I grab Stump from behind and hold him at arms length to get him into the house. He is not happy, and squirms and twists and gets some good digs into me.

My hands were pouring blood by the time I dropped Stump in the back room. The scratches were cleaned out with soap and once the bleeding stops, Neosporin was applied. I went to check on the dog once I was patched up and he was gone. I went to his home and saw the note was off the front door. Hopefully his owner retrieved him: So much for getting a “Thank you” for looking after his dog. I’ve heard the impact of dogs getting hit on my street. It’s a horrible sound you never forget. I never want to hear it again…

After a traumatic morning Stumpy is enjoying a nap under the truck in the driveway as I type this out. Nobody messes with Stump's turf!!