Motel 6 Bait and Switch

It has been a nearly a week since I headed on the road and had no internet access. Well, I could have accessed the Web at the Hampton Inn, but I changed so many of my passwords I had no idea which sites and passwords matched up anymore.

Before I do much of writing I need to document and fact check what occurred Sunday night. I vividly remember the few episodes I viewed of “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” from too many years ago. Pee Wee had pissed off “Miss Yvonne” who came storming up to him exclaiming, “I’ve got a bone to pick with you, PEE WEE HERMAN!!!”

This is Jamie saying, “I’ve got a bone to pick with you… MOTEL SIX!!”

I’ve been doing road trips since the 1970’s and know how things work. If there has been one constant over the years it is: when you stay at Motel 6, the price emblazoned on the outside sign is the room rate for one person with an add on for each additional person.

Many motel chains will have teaser rates with asterisks on their billboards along the highway or add “and up” after the low teaser rates so they don’t have to honor the low advertised price. I believe the proper term for this is “Bait and switch”. In all the years I’ve travelled and stayed at Motel Six, the price on the outside sign is the price I’ve paid for the room. That is until this past Sunday night.

Billy and I packed up and left the phonograph show at just about 3:00 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The construction and traffic on the I-90 west of Chicago was horrible. Last year we took I-90 through Chicago to see if that would be any easier from all the toll pull-offs etc on the by-pass. Let me just say it was a disaster. Never again! This year we by-passed Chicago by taking our usual route of: 290 to 294 to 80 to 65 south.

We lost an hour going back to the Eastern time zone.

Our stop for the night is usually the Motel Six in Lafayette, IN. This location is perfect for us timewise. It is some 500 miles to Tuscaloosa from here. We have stayed here for many years without incident…that is until now.

When Billy and I checked in Billy put the charge on his American Express, and showed his AARP card for the senior discount. We were both numb from the drive. On top of the horrendous Chicago traffic, there were a couple downpours and accidents to contend with. Every year my road trips to and from Chicago get to be more draining!

Anyway… the desk clerk at the Motel Six was not that competent. There were shady characters in and out of the lobby the entire time we checked in. We were given a room with two beds located in the back of the building. Bill left his vehicle packed with valuable show merchandise parked in front. We drove to the room in my truck. My stomach knotted up. It was like being “in the hood”. All these room doors were open, trash was everywhere, beer coolers, questionable people strolling around-hanging out and smoking. They always say to go with your gut instinct. Billy went to change rooms before we headed to the Outback for supper. This one guy was sprawled out on one of the Lobby chairs chatting up the desk clerk while another lady was crying and weeping with her drama. Bill said he needed to change rooms and would check back after we ate.

At the Outback we went over the bill. The final total was some $62.00. That seemed kind of high with a base rate of $39.99. On the bill we were charged $55.99 for two adults, and the AARP discount was never applied!

We returned to the Motel Six to change rooms. We had not used anything in the old “ghetto room”. I made sure all was in order and moved out my bags back to my truck. I parked in front next to Billy and waited for the outcome.

We were changed to front second story room. Billy was given a number of reasons as to why the $39.99 posted price was not honored:

1. The motel was booked solid. This was hard to believe as the parking lot was pretty empty. The number of available rooms signaled by half open curtains was pretty high.
2. Only the “old style” rooms with carpets were at that price. We were paying extra to stay in a “Euro Vision” room.

A new key was made up for the different room. Billy went up and it would not work. Returning to the office this clerk cut another key and went with Billy to check things out. She had the old key and said, “You have to shake these things to get them to work.” The old door key would not work for her. The new one did. This poor clerk was upset when Billy said we were going to contact corporate headquarters. I felt sorry for her as she was only trying to do her job as best she could in a miserable place.

Monday morning we were awakened at 5:30 by construction work going on in the next room. What a nightmare this ordeal turned out to be.

I did a quick survey of the grounds to get pictures for document of the signage, and empty parking lot. Two “questionable guys” were hovering in the stairwells doing God knows what.

We go to check out. The stench of incense was overpowering in the lobby. I’m assuming the Motel manager is now on duty. This woman was not very friendly. I’m guessing she got an earful from the night clerk.

She questioned about what was wrong with our first room. Billy replied, “We did not want to stay in the ghetto.” The look on this woman’s face was priceless. I don’t think she was accustomed to such bluntness. I’m assuming the state might be paying Motel Six to house homeless people here. There is an attitude I’ve witnessed in major cities of the homeless and what we witnessed the night before fit the stereotype perfectly. When asked about the bill she pointed to the sign on the wall showing the base rate was $49.99 for one person, $55.99 for two. I took a photograph of this sign to compare and contrast to the outside sign.

I questioned her as to why the outside sign had $39.99 posted as the room rate. She replied, “That is only for walk-in’s.” When I said, “That is what we were…we were “walk-in’s.” She then pointed to the sign and said, “$55.99 is the rate for two people.” It was evident there was no reasoning. This woman said she was a franchisee of Motel Six so she was pretty much in charge. That might be true, but to pull people in with a fraudulent posted rate is crooked in my book. If the sign was $49.99 I would have no gripe.

It is not the money; it is the “bait and switch” practice. Motel Six Corporate will be hearing from me, as will the attorney generals office of Indiana.

Second Floor Do-Over / Spring Brick Swap

I’m so far behind in my journal. In a way this is good as it is evidence that I have so many things to do the time to leisurely write is not there!

I have been going full speed ahead to get the worst of the upstairs done. There is a lot of fine tuning that is in the future, but I think I’m safe to say over 50% of this years redo is complete.

Last week I finished up the window rebuilding, drywall work and painting in the dormer. It was hot which made for uncomfortable working conditions. The space is so cramped I had to wear my kneepads pretty much the entire time. The sweating caused friction between my kneecaps and the gell pads. All I could say was “Ouch!” to the chaffed, raw skin. As I was washing up the floor I tried to remember the last time did up such a cleaning…. My mind was a blank! The one dark board is where I had to rip up a board from the floor to run the gas line across to the dining room!

Early Friday morning I took off for the brick swap in Emory, VA. I remembered it being a lot closer than it actually was. I kept reminding myself, “It’s just the other side of Knoxville, TN” just north of Bristol. Well, it was some 137 miles “north of Knoxville”!! 
Arrived at John’s open house right at 3:00. It was like old home week seeing all my friends from all over. In no time I was blocked in parking wise. There went my plans of getting to the Comfort Inn to get cleaned up before supper.

I’m always amazed when I see how other collectors display their bricks. John’s display collection is done pretty much by states of manufacture shelved under his front porch. This gave me some ideas for the next real brick project when I decide to rebuild the fence at the end of the driveway.

Driving to Macado’s Restaurant for our super I noticed a Norfolk Western Whistle sign on the right of way. This is identical to the sign I acquired last September. I had to run down the Railroad Tracks to get a picture of it in use!

I was able to get a seat on the patio with Alan and Jackie. What great people. Alan’s dad was one of the original founding members of the club who recently passed away. Alan’s dad loved hearing my crazy stories about bricks and fire hydrants. I have him to thank for many rare bricks I treasure.

Alan was saying how at my swap last year he was amazed to be able to find store brand raspberry Kool Aid at Winn-Dixie. That rang a bell and I brought up “Rootin-Tooting Raspberry” from the “Funny Face Drinks” of my childhood. That got us going!!! I have a brick he would like to have. I’m lucky in I have a few left from last years “patio step reconfiguration”. Will get him some special drink mix and get a flat rate box out next week.

It was just a few weeks after my swap last year I acquired a hoard of bricks from a guy in Knoxville. The "fancy circle" bricks were picked up on my last trip. He only had some 30 of these which was just enough for the two steps with a couple left over.

Saturday morning was the actual brick swap. I brought some 45 bricks to the swap and I vowed to return with less than I arrived with. My “toe brick” was a Pyro-Granite brick; I picked up a Big Four block at the same time. I have a boundary marker for the “Big Four Railroad” the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St Louis. I’m hoping this Big Four street paver might have a similar history! The Terre Haute Bricks I wanted were gone when I passed by that spot. I pretty much slowed down and just did sporadic brick picking up. I honestly have enough bricks for the future projects I have on hand and don’t want to deprive the newer collectors. Well into the swap as things were slowing down I was still able to get some good bricks without depriving anyone of their first choice bricks. There were also bricks added to my hoard from other members who did not want to carry the weight back! It has become a custom to put orphan bricks into my truck!! LOL!!!

There were a lot of great donations to the auction. It is amazing to get two people fighting over a rare/special brick and see the price get into the hundreds of dollars. I’ve got a real soft spot for the old ornamental terra cotta that used to adorn buildings. A great piece was here. It was the white fancy piece on the table behind the auctioneer and runner. It was one of the last things auctioned off. I was standing in the back and just held my bidding paddle up and nodded my head to the auction runner! That was the one piece I really wanted and I did get it!!

I also got a new crafted brick made by one of our talented members with a banjo engraved into the frog! It goes perfect with the encore Banjo!

Banjo Brick:With the Encore:

A member who gets into lots of scrap iron donated a wonderful cast iron water valve cover and ring. I threw up a bid to get the ball rolling and ended up being the lone bidder! I plan on putting this in my front yard to really annoy people!!! Here is my Toe Brick, Big Four Block and water ring and cover. Stumpy was investigating as I snapped this picture!

As usual it was a really fun time. I wish I had more time to spend in the area…but I have to be on the road Wednesday for the phonograph show in Union, Illinois. There is a chance to pick up a hundred or so bricks along the way…….

Missing My Dagney

Sunday, September 08, 2013

             I was holding Daggy on my lap loving her down when the phone rang about 4:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon. It was the Vet. He told me he could stop by after he closed up. Originally it was planned on him stopping by Sunday morning to put my Dagney "to sleep".  As much as I wanted some more time with my cat I told him that it would be best to get the deed over with.

Immediately I took Daggy into the kitchen and opened up a can of tuna fish. I drained out the water into her bowl. This would be her second bowl of “tuna fish water” for the day. How she loved that special treat. I then laid down on the bed with her on my chest. I made a triangle with my thumbs and index fingers which she rubbed with her face. This was one of her favourite interactions to do with me. Her whiskers were fully extended meaning she was content and safe in “cat language”.

This picture is from September 2006 showing Daggy in one of her favourite spots: on my chest giving me kisses.

How my heart was breaking. My poor little girl. She had been incontinent for about a month. I could live changing out the dog training pads, but there was more. She no longer climbed the stairs to her “kingdom” on the second floor. That was her domain. She seldom ventured into the backyard, driveway, or front porch on her own anymore. It did not seem right to be weeding and not have Daggy “helping” me by demanding love and attention. There were a few spots in the bedroom she now claimed being pretty much inactive 24/7. I could tell she was having difficulty walking. She no longer stood for very long. Her joints must have been aching.

The door to the driveway was open so I was able to meet the Doctor and his assistant when they arrived, holding Daggy to my chest. They came into the bedroom. Daggy was very docile as I held her on my lap, sitting on the edge of the bed. Under normal circumstances she would flee with any stranger entering the house. I stroked, talked, and loved on her as the sleeping injection was given to her. When her tongue slipped out, I knew she was under. The Doctor laid her out on the bed and she was given the injection to stop her heart. It was painless and she died in familiar surrounding. I just hope I’m as lucky when my time comes….

It has been very dry here for the past few weeks. I had to use the pick axe to break open the ground where Daggy was to be buried. She had a spot she loved to lounge and soak up the sun. That is where I laid her to rest. She was placed in a linen pillowcase that was handed down from mom’s first cousin, Elsie. There was a monogrammed “E” just under the hem stitching. She was then placed inside another flannel pillowcase that had been my mom’s. I gently lowered her into the ground. I had a pile of loose topsoil nearby I used to fill in her grave. The hard lumpy clay would not do.

I keep looking for my little girl in her favourite spots as I walk around the house. She is out of her pain…it will take a while for me….

My Dagney:  1998-2013

Brick Swap: Friday 5/31

             Finally things are returning to my old routine after the madness of the brick swap. Let me just say it was an overwhelming experience. Hopefully once I return from the road Monday my life will return to my comfortable rut......

        The little kitten has moved on. I’m afraid the little guy will be feral. I was never able to get close at all. He had been living under my house being able to squeeze in between small “vent holes” formed by brick spacing. Once I was able to get these holes plugged up this kitten left and has never returned. A student on the next block over told me there was a feral black cat that was famous for having litters located by them. Surely this kitten came from there. I wish it well.

This is as close I was ever able to get to the kitten. Shot through the back door with Stumpy looking on:

        I was in panic mode doing up the house cleaning and last minute preparations. I cooked up three pork butts for pulled pork sandwiches, made two bowls of cole slaw, and obsessively tweaked the spread sheets.

Thursday evening the club president and his wife stopped by to pick up the ballots I had for the election of the new board. They promised to stop by early Friday to help me prepare for the open house Friday afternoon.

Friday morning I ran out to first get the coffee urn from the rental place. Then, I looped over to Walmart for just a few things. Sam’s Club is right next door. My Sam’s membership through Joe is a Business membership so I’m able to get in early. Five boxes of cookies, a huge cookie tray, buns, and four bags of ice were my purchases. My brick friends were waiting for me as I pulled in the driveway.

        The truck was unloaded and I parked into the street away from the house. I had a sign fabricated to show the house location which I placed right in the middle of the driveway to keep people from driving in.

Everything came together and the afternoon was just a blur as I acted as host. Usually at meetings like this the host house is off limits as bricks are displayed outside in sheds, patios, and walls. I showed some main people how to operate the simplest music boxes so I did not have to be present for the demonstration. The Encore Banjo was the real hit.

Scenes from the open house:

        We were all laughing when I told the members to just enter the house through the side driveway entrance. One lady said, “But, that is your bedroom!” I told her it was fine, there was nothing to worry about. The bed was not exactly made up which got them laughing. This woman said it was evident I was a bachelor not worrying about how the bed was made! Truer words were never spoken. In hindsight, if I only had another day to fine tune cleaning wise the house would have been a bit more presentable. In the grand scheme of things those small annoyances never amounted to much.

        Everyone had such a good time swapping stories and visiting. The weather held beautifully. The sun was brilliant, but it was not all that hot. These people have such varied talents. One member from Texas presented me with a brick wearing a Utilikilt! On the front flap it was embroidered: IBCA BAMA BRICK BASH 2013. I was so thrilled.

        Things really did progress pretty smoothly. I was so flattered on the positive feedback I got on my printed directions and hotel selections. It was the Tuscaloosa tourism director who worked with me blocking out the rooms and doing the bidding. I learned from working the run set up for the past six years the importance of being clear, concise, and always expect the worst. I printed out maps from Google with the routes outlined along with printed directions. The club has a Facebook page, where I had these maps also posted.

        The afternoon really flew by. I was afraid that having the only open house people would get bored. Far from it: it was hard to get people to leave for the dinner which was held at Wintzell’s Oyster House. I was a bit worried. I had a reserve for 35 people and would be responsible for a 28 minimum. There were 35 on my spread sheet for the dinner. For a group this size I worked with the restaurant and decided upon a buffet with entries of: fried shrimp, fried & baked chicken pieces, and pot roast. Sides were Cajun rice and cole slaw. Desert was bread pudding. A beverage was included along with a cash bar. 

        Back to the present: Billy arrived here Monday. We are going to convoy to the phonograph show in Illinois. He ended up not driving his truck towing a trailer. He can pack his wife’s Honda Element to within an inch of its life!

       For the road trip I have our overnight stop all picked out in Seymour, IN. This is the Travel Lodge using the cheap coupon in the discount walk in book. Right next door is Brewski’s: the dive with the great hamburgers.          This will work out to about a seven hour drive on Wednesday and a five hour drive on Thursday.

        Must get to work on building the brace for the back of my truck. I’ll be returning with another heavy treasure, a cast iron lamp post that originally saw service in Chicago! This will be installed in my back yard where I now have the plain 3” pipe light that used to be in my front yard. Redoing all these jobs has me thinking so much of Ron and how he used to describe me as: “That Jimmy, he is like a squirrel in a cage that keeps going round and round and round!!!”

Brick Swap Saturday June 1st

             I’ve got to take a break after unloading the lamppost. Using my 2x6’s and other lumber I was able to get that heavy hunk of cast iron safely off the truck bed single-handed.  What a beast,,, those old boards were creaking and groaning. That wood was salvaged back in the late 1970’s from an old house that was being demolished. They have supported more heavy loads out of my truck over the years!

        Let me get the Saturday June first Brick Swap all wrapped up. I was up very early to get everything together. The park where the swap was to be held opened at 7:00 and the actual swap would be at 9:00.

These pictures arrived in the mail yesterday. The Encore Banjo stole the show!

        First off I was not sure about water, so I had the 100 cup coffee urn filled and in the back of the truck. Then I went to Krispy Kreme for 3 dozen donuts. This was the first time I have been here since it was rebuilt after the tornado. The total for the donuts came to $25.50. I don’t know what the cashier did but the receipt showed in the thousands! It must have been screwed up as an hourly reading or whatever. Driving down 15^th St I heard a noise. Looked out the window and saw the lid of the coffee pot in the middle of the road. Quickly pulled over and was able to get it. Mercifully there was little traffic so it did not get run over. There were a couple Mexican workers at this construction site giving me the strangest looks… I guess it is not everyday you see a guy in a Utilikilt chasing a coffee pot lid on a busy street!

        I had to stop back home to get the special tablecloths that get put out at the swaps. They have a brick pattern and each swap is recorded in magic marker upon them. I refilled the pot with fresh water and duct taped the lid down! I was able to pull the truck right up to the shelter and unload everything. Got the coffee going right away. I was so glad to hear that water perking through! The morning was gray and overcast with a few “spits of rain” now and then. There was a wonderful breeze and rain never materialized. In all actuality it was a perfect morning for a swap.

        Got the truck in position and unloaded my trader bricks. I was bending over into the truck cab and said a little bit too loud…”Oh SHIT!” I apologized to the people near-by. I had just realized I had left the “take-a-way” coasters in the dining room. Time to make another trip home! It was not far and it was plenty of time before the swap.

Brick swap coasters:

        I was so glad to have coffee to calm my nerves. The only thing I had to worry about was the sandwich delivery. At five minutes to nine I gave a five minute warning, and then a one minute warning before sounding the truck horn right at 9:00 a.m.

Examining and staking out coveted bricks:

        As usual it was mayhem! Unfortunately I was not able to get the one brick I really wanted, but I did get a lot of other bricks… We had the swap itself all finished up by 10:00. All the bricks were off the parking lot and packed away. A park ranger showed up while all this was going on. I had to sign off on the rental form and he wanted us to know there was a party right behind us for the shelter at 2:00 p.m. He was fascinated when I explained to him what was happening. I assured him the shelter would be clean and empty well before the 2:00 p.m. deadline.

I called Firehouse Subs and was assured the sub order was all set for delivery before 11:00 a.m. Everything just pretty much fell into place. All that early planning eliminated so many last minute headaches.

        We had a great stock of items for the auction. All the monies collected go directly to the club to offset the publication of the Brick Journal and sponsoring the swaps. I got two great decorative building pieces and a very readable “DON’T SPIT ON SIDEWALK” brick. So many times the lettering on these bricks is difficult to read. These bricks were incorporated into sidewalks back in the early 1900’s to raise awareness to Tuberculosis which can be spread by spitting.

Brick installed into the front walk:

        The auction was just about over when the subs were delivered. I offered a choice of Ham, Turkey, and Roast Beef. I kept track of who ordered what on an Excel Spread Sheet. I printed up a sheet in very large type to remind everyone who ordered what and arranged the subs by the meat. I had a chuckle as one of the ham subs was labeled “Hamlet”!   The subs were supplemented with cookies for desert from Sam’s Club. The subs were my last real worry of a “disaster”.

        The IBCA enjoyed one of the most successful auctions ever. We raised over $1,600.00. I know I overspend at these auctions, but knowing the money all goes to the club I don’t care.

        Everyone got to take a coaster home as a remembrance of the event. I insisted on doing the clean up. There was not that much to do. The food went well; there was only a case of water and some assorted sodas left. I dumped out the coffee and I’m glad to say the shelter was left in better condition than we found it.

        I was home at a little after 1:00 p.m. The last job I had to do to finish out the swap was to get the aluminum coffee pot lid fixed up. Using an old chisel I was able to get the dents out of the edge. Carefully using the ball of my hand against a piece of wood I was able to get the depressions out of the top of the lid and bring back the right contours. The plastic handle was shattered. I lucked out in the plastic lid on my double boiler was just about an exact fit. The scratches polished out with 4 0 steel wool. Unless you actually looked for particular damage, the remains of the “crash” were pretty undetectable. I returned the coffee maker to the rental place. It passed inspection and I got my deposit back!

        I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders once I returned home. I was elected to the Board of Directors. Things are pretty laid back so hopefully there will not be much drama associated with the position. I’m not into politics, all I want to do is to help advance and improve the club.

Why My House Is A Mess

       

   There is a reason my house is such a mess. In preparation for hosting the brick swap, I had the Tuscaloosa tourism director over to iron out some details last November. She raved over the upstairs living area of my house and explained how I could clean up game day weekends renting that area out. After giving the matter much thought I realized I could easily cover the taxes and house insurance in one football season. That space has just been collecting dust so I have been cleaning out boxes that have been packed since I moved my belongings here in 1996. I kill so much time getting lost in the family stuff I have packed away. There are boxes of letters I have I'm afraid to open for the time I will spend..
Here is a fast picture taken before starting this entry showing what I'm up against!

These past few weeks have seen me listing things on E-bay to move out. At this point in time the money is really secondary. It makes me glad to know this stuff will be appreciated.

One project I have been mulling over is a journal entry on mom and dad’s courtship and marriage before shipping overseas during WWII. That project got put on hold. Going through old suitcases this morning I discovered papers describing the troop trains my dad manned in the early days of the war.

This copy I have looks to be the original typed copy. I don’t know if this was ever published or run off as a stencil.

My dad seldom talked of his experiences during the war. Like so many men of his generation, he was tight lipped on his personal experiences. To read about what his life was like in 1944 brings him back to life to me.

It is times like this I’m in such awe of present day technology. I know for kids who have grown up with computers, what still impresses me so much is mundane and routine to them. It is mind boggling to me to be able to scan papers from 1944 and upload them to a website and then share with people from the all over the world.

Dad died in 1985. I don’t think he would mind me sharing his life this way. He loved meeting people. He never met a stranger. I also like to think that in sharing this information a better understanding of the war can be had. It is through the everyday people a greater sense of history can be learned.

My Dad:

 This paper was not a standard size so some overlap occurred. I went through and blanked out the repeated text which makes reading much easier.

Sidewalk and Driveway Brick Adventure Part:I

I have taken my journal entries documenting the installation of the brick driveway/sidewalk and have combined them to tell the story of this adventure in some sort of order. This entry begins at Stanton's Antique Music Auction in Michigan. This was a three day auction starting 2:00 p.m. on  Thursday and ending on Saturday afternoon.  Billy drove from Gainesville, FL to my house in Tuscaloosa, AL. We drove up together. It was great fun annoying the other auction goers baiting them on the brick pick up!!

U-Haul Adventures

Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Saturday May 5^th was the big day for me! The main reason I made this road trip with Billy was to acquire 832 Nelsonville star paver bricks located in Ohio. Each brick weighs in at about 10 pounds which makes this load of bricks total in at over four tons. The bricks were located in a little town north west of Dayton, Ohio. It was imperative I be able to get my U-haul truck as near to these bricks as possible. There was another problem in the pick up time for the truck. I was picking it up at around 5:00 p.m. on a Saturday. Many U-Haul locations are closed at that time.

The town of Troy, Ohio was the perfect pick up location. Once I made a truck reservation and had a number to deal with, I contacted U-Haul through their website to explain my situation. They do not guarantee you the size truck, or pick up location you request. I was flexible with my pick up location, but I could not vary from a 14ft truck. The maximum weight it could “legally” carry was around 6,000 pounds. The next larger size truck at 17ft was rated to carry even less weight. I did not want to spill the beans I was going to be carrying bricks, but I wanted them to know it was the weight limit as to why I needed the 14ft truck.

I have to give praise to U-Haul. Within a couple hours I had an E-mail reply from their website with a number to call for scheduling truck pick-ups. I spoke with the most competent scheduler. She put me at ease that I would be able to get the needed truck along the route I was travelling. When I learned Friday it would be at the Troy, Ohio location I was ecstatic.

We got on the road and headed to Troy, Ohio a little late to pick up the U-Haul and adventure. It was just before six when I was behind the wheel trying to get the feel of driving a box truck for the first time since 1996. I had my Garmin to direct me to Arcanum, Ohio where the bricks were located. Billy was following me. I was driving on narrow country roads. The road I drove out of Troy was called, Horseshoe Bend road. I saw a sign which read “no busses or trucks”. I figured they meant semi trucks. There were hairpin turns where this road dropped to a creek. I had to back up on the worst bend to be able to negotiate the turn. I was a wreck by the time I arrived at the brick pick-up.

The 834 bricks were located on pallets against a far wall of a garage. Billy was able to back up the truck pretty close. We had to transport those damn things by hand. Justin, the guy selling them had two helpers, so there were five of us. We had one person in the truck while two people made up stacks of bricks four high and the others convoyed them to the truck. Ever so slowly the truck got filled. I was so glad to close the door and latch it shut.

Four plus tons of bricks stacked in the U-Haul:

Our destination for the night was the Motel Six in Dayton. I deliberately chose this location as an Outback was just down the road. I tried to call to make the reservation, but the call would not go through. We decided to just take our chances and show up.

It was only about a 25 mile drive to the motel location which was one exit south on I-75 from the interchange of I-70. The Motel Six is now a Best Value Inn. I checked us in. Billy backed the U-haul into a parking spot up front and I put my lock on the latch.

We washed the worst of the dirt off us and headed to the Outback. It was Prime rib tonight after the day we had.

A hot shower did wonders before bed. We slept in and did not get on the road till after 7:00 a.m. Traffic was light through Cincinnati. It took a while to get comfortable driving the truck. It was a few hours into the trip before I got at ease enough to start passing and driving a bit more aggressively. I’m so glad to be driving this load on a Sunday instead of bumper to bumper weekday traffic.

I was telling Billy at the rest stop before Louisville, that it would be shorter to take the Watterson Expressway around the city. One of the state workers overheard this discourse and he recommended we take the longer Gene Snyder Expressway. He explained there was still clean up going on from the Kentucky Derby, and the Snyder was only about four or five miles longer and was easier driving.

This was good advice. We stopped for lunch in  Bowling Green at the White Castle. We took a break leaving the truck in the White Castle lot and driving in the Honda to the Flea Market. This is the nasty place I used to frequent back when I lived and worked in Bowling Green. I was cornered and asked if I played the bagpipes because of my Utilikilt! The human interaction that garment brings me!

It is a five hour drive to Tuscaloosa from Bowling Green. Nashville was a nightmare to get through as I-24 was closed down for construction. Once we were able to exit onto 40 west things picked up again. Normally I would have detoured to Trader Joe’s in Nashville. Not this time. I just wanted to get home.

It was about 6:30 p.m. when I parked the truck in the empty parking lot across the street from my house. I was numb and “rubber legged” as I stepped down and out of the cab. We had covered some 600 miles.

Life With Bricks

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Monday morning I started unloading the bricks. Using a length of 2”x6” with a backing of an old piece of wood siding on my moving cart, I was able to figure out how to move 18 bricks a trip. That does not sound like a lot, but it works out to wheeling 180 pounds down the ramp and then stacking the bricks at the end of the driveway. Billy took over in the truck stacking the bricks into the cart. We worked in tandem. The truck unloaded much faster than it loaded!

Got the truck all cleaned out and we dropped it off at the U-Haul. Before I dropped it off I had to make sure the tank was ½ full. It used to be you got the truck with a full tank and you returned it with a full tank. What a pain in the butt to figure out how to get a ½ tank. It took some three tries. I think Visa thought there was a problem as after the second swipe, I had to go inside to see the cashier.

Those bricks were driving me crazy… Wednesday I went to work to do a mock up how this new sidewalk will turn out. I decided to go with a “herringbone” pattern. This is how I’ve seen most sidewalks laid with this style brick.

Today I started the day working on the front gate. The gate and post are supported by cement, but the past few years the gate has been shifting. I fixed up a brace by using galvanized ½” pipe. I used up an old tee fitting to join the two pieces of pipe, and sized it so it just fit between the cement gate foundations. Then I took pipe wrenches and opened up the pipe enough to get the correct spacing. Then the trench I dug which is where the pipe ran was filled with cement.

I have to wait till that all sets up before I work on the crushed limestone base for the new bricks.

Bricks are Installed

Thursday, May 17, 2012

This boy is tore up. It seems I’m saying this line more and more. I have been in overdrive to get the new sidewalk installed. The worst of the job was done when I put the first bricks in back in 1999. I just had to enlarge the sides a bit and scrape down the crushed limestone base to compensate for these bricks being a bit thicker.

This is the first time I’ve ever laid brick in a “herringbone” pattern. I have read enough on laying a brick walk, but a video on the “You-tubes” showing how you start using a center line with the bricks pointed down, and then adding to the sides going up. Add another course pointed down, etc…. was invaluable. Using a strait line to line the first course up made a real professional looking job. I was seeing bricks in my sleep!!

I had so many neighbors stop by to comment as work progressed. One neighbor stopped by with her son who is now tall as me. She remarked how she remembered me installing the old bricks in 1999 when she would push her son in the stroller!! She just shook her head when I told her I was going to use those bricks to brick over my driveway. But, I had to wait till it got over 100° to break up the cement!

There was little waste in cutting up the bricks with the saw. The edge on left side needed a 45° cut. That corner bit of "waste" fit perfectly in the space left on the right side!  Even so, I hated to cut up that beautiful brick. The distance worked out perfectly to where I did not have to trim and cut down the last course of bricks to fit.

It is always a good day when you are working with bricks!

Here is a shot of the bricks with the second coating of sand ready to be soaked in between the bricks.

I was flooded with memories as I worked with the old bricks. The bricks which edge the walk are termed “vanilla bricks” as they are unmarked. I’m thinking these bricks were used on alleyways and secondary streets as they are not at thick a full street paver, but are thicker than a sidewalk paver. These bricks I discovered dumped on an old railroad right of way. I used to get more bricks at this location. Usually the police would stop by to see what was going on when I'd be loading these up. Back in the early 1990’s there was never any question. They figured I was doing a service cleaning up junk. I doubt I could get away with that now!

Another Brick Project:

Saturday, June 23, 2012

           I need to get the last road trip all recorded, but life has taken over! Once I get caught up with some brick work, I'll get the trip written up.

           It never fails. Once the temperature and heat indexes go off the charts, I decide to start another “brick” project. With the front sidewalk finished, I decided to start on bricking up the driveway. I had all the bricks I had previously used in the front walk along with some 500 of the star pavers from the Michigan/Ohio road trip. Since these bricks are all a uniform size, I decided to take the easy way and just lay these over the existing concrete pad.

I’m always so in awe of people who can plan things out on paper. I have to do it as I go. I did a dry run laying out the bricks to get an idea how things would pan out. The bricks along the outside edge of the driveway were cemented in along with the “flower” pavers across the driveway width.

The bricks were laid out in a dry run.

  The bricks were then powerwashed and laid in a “herringbone” pattern. That was my job yesterday! 

Today I will get to work on the star pavers getting them arranged, cleaned and laid. It looks like I’ll be short enough bricks to finish up this section of the driveway. I will have to dig up some of  the bricks I laid last fall in the back yard to finish up this project and just replace them with street pavers!

Feeding on a Frenzy

Tuesday, July 03, 2012

              I’m going to start this day at the beginning. Daggy licked my face waking me up right around 2:00 a.m. Dozed back to sleep a bit but was up for good at 3:30. It was so good to sleep in a cool house. The night had cooled off a bit so I turned off the air and opened the side door the driveway after putting on the morning coffee.

Stumpy hearing me in the kitchen came tearing in for some food. As per our morning routine he got his pill in a bit of wet food and then a full bowl after eating that little portion.

Daggy and I retired out to the driveway. I sat on the steps while Daggy went to investigate a cicada buzzing under Michele’s car next door. Stumpy joined her and they proceeded to do their “cat patrols.” It is hard for me to imagine it has been 14 years now those two cats have been exploring together.

Just the simple act of sitting on those back brick steps watching the cats brought me such a feeling of contentment and well being. How I savor such moments.

Before I knew it I had to run to the boathouse for practice. The moon was hanging so huge and low you would think you could just reach up and touch it. I was kicking myself for not having my camera when I saw the view from the dock. Then I remembered my Tracfone has a camera. I did my best to take a picture. I have to figure out a way to download from my phone to the computer.

We had a troubling practice. We were constantly “down on port” which made a miserable row for me rowing port in the bow seat. My shoulder is still sore ….

As I was watering in the front yard the phone rang. It was Joe. Oh my God.. we dished for nearly two hours! How I miss not having him more in my everyday life.

He was the one who coined the journal entry for today as I was explaining to him my latest E-Bay brick adventure! This life of mine … I would not trade places with anyone for a million dollars… I’m having so much fun!!

There was an E-bay listing for 900+ Nelsonville circle bricks located up in Indiana, some 635 miles away according to my Google maps. This listing had a freight calculator, something I had never seen before. According to the listing calculator, Dayton Freight Lines would move this load door to door for $1,300. This seemed too good to be true, so I checked with Dayton to see if this was on the level. Long story short they do not service Alabama and could not do the move.

I contacted the seller and explained how Dayton could not move this shipment, and they may have a problem down the line. There was no way I could do a round trip or even one way U-Haul move for under $2,000. A round trip truck at $29.95 a day plus 89¢ a mile adds up. The truck for three days would be $89.85 and figuring the roundtrip mileage at 1,400 miles: $1,246.00. Figuring 10 miles to a gallon: 140 gallons of gas at an average of $3.00 a gallon $420.00. Just all that adds up to $1,755.85 and there are not the overnights, food, tax, insurance, etc accounted for….

Any savings doing a one way rental would be lost in getting to Indiana via bus or plane.

The dealer got back to me with her best price on the bricks along with a rock solid quote from another shipper at $1,000. delivered to the street in front of my house. The bricks were a little bit more than I initially wanted to spend, but the cheaper shipping more than makes up the difference. This shipment will be delivered after I return on the 16^th.

This afternoon I will mortar more perimeter bricks around the edge of the driveway for the next “brick driveway expansion!”