What a weekend!!

Weekend before last we were able to share our lake experience with my Mom and my Aunt Carnice.  Fall colors were in full force, the weather was absolutely perfect, the company was better and the food was delicious.  By the last count there were 97 houseboats tied up on one short stretch of shoreline.  Our group ended up with 13 boats tied together.  There were a few regulars missing.  Notably my washer partner!  By the way, we are undefeated and are currently legends in our own minds!  We began on Friday night with a cruise down the lake to get to the rendezvous spot.  Along the way we ate chili and soup shared with good friends.  While Momma had been to the lake with us before, this was her first time out from the dock. 

A good night's sleep and the real fun began.  Carnice, Cannon, and I made a run back to the dock to pick up one of his friends.  It was a cool ride but the scenery was outstanding.  Shortly after we returned to the houseboat we had smoked brisket and Boston Butt for lunch.  Kittrell and Steven showed up in the runabout.  Momma, Carnice and I, along with Zoe and Koko took a cruise down the lake.  We saw the Hurricane bridge, Al Gore's houseboat, Alan Jackson's lake house, and went all the way to Center Hill Dam.  As we floated just above the dam we saw what we believe to be an eagle.  We has a  leisurely trip back, enjoying the fall colors, the lake houses and just the simple pleasure of each other's company.  We also walked the shore looking for unusual rocks.  We found several and developed stories of what they were when Indians roamed that part of the forest.  One was determined to be an Indian diet device, a flat rock approximately 3X3 with a hole in it.  The rock was hung by a thong through the nose so that it hung in front of the mouth making eating very difficult :-).  The remainder of the afternoon was spend preparing for our community fish fry.  As usual some of us were concerned about having enough food, but just like the Bible lesson of the loaves and fishes, we had ample delicious food. 

Sunday morning broke sunny and relatively calm.  We had nearly 50 at our worship service.  If you ever sing "How Great Thou Art" on the top of a boat with God's majesty all around you, singing it inside will never be the same!  After a short discussion we untied from the bank and took off for a three hour cruise.  Under the bridge, circle in front of Floating Mill, back toward Sligo, around the Big Island and then back to the slip.  During this cruise we dined on Shrimp 'N Grits, homemade chess pie and chocolate cake.  Once the boat was safely tied up Momma and Carnice packed up and headed back home.

Once again another great weekend punctuated by family, friends, fun, and food.  Thanks so much to everyone who had a part!  And thanks to Momma and Carnice for coming to share our love for the four "F's" on Center Hill Lake!

Is it all worthwhile?

What makes it worthwhile?

Have you ever asked yourself this question?  It may have been about a job, and event, a relationship, a hobby, or you may have asked it about life in general.  I tend to ask myself that question on a regular basis, and rarely is it the same answer.  Lately I’ve been forced to ask myself and evaluate the answer for several different things.  Now before you get all concerned, none of them are my marriage, my family, or my life.  There has never been a question about those. 

The latest activity to undergo this scrutiny is the time and resources we expend on the houseboat.  If you take a piece of paper and draw a line vertically, then list the pros on one side and the cons on the other, you are supposed to get a clearer picture of the correct direction to go.  This process has been attributed to Benjamin Franklin who obviously didn’t use it in his kite flying experiment.

As I listed the cons they start with the obvious, monetary expense.  There was the payment for the boat itself.  When you first start out you evaluate this purchase like many others, how much down, how much per month or if I sink my money here will that be the best use for it?  We went through that process and decided we could afford it.  Then came the “hidden” expenses.  You have this boat.  Where are you going to keep it?  At 66 feet long and 16 feet wide, it’s not a put it on the trailer and take it home every weekend proposition.  So add in the expense of slip rental.  By the way, did you want to hook up to the electricity on the dock?  Add that in also.  I’m sure as a responsible adult you want to insure your asset from damage or loss and yourself from liability should you have an accident.  Put down the cost of insurance.

Many never leave the dock in their boat.  That just doesn’t fit our style so chalk up fuel.  And not just drive motor fuel; you will want to stay cool, or warm and cook while you’re out so remember the generator too!  You know what it costs to maintain your vehicle’s engine.  Multiply by three for the boat.  Add in the 11 batteries, light bulbs for both a 12-volt and 120-volt system, and propane for grilling and front deck heating in the winter, satellite TV, and all the miscellaneous expenses of maintaining another home.  Don’t forget travel to and from the marina too.

WOW!  Why would anyone ever choose to own a boat?

Let’s start down the other side now.  First there is the relaxation of being away from it all.  Even though we have internet and cell phones, you can always use the excuse of being on the lake with little or no service.  Don’t forget that until your kids have driver’s license they will be glad to come to the lake with you and take off in the runabout.  (Add that to the expense side)  The time you get with them and the memories you make will be cherished for years to come.  If you enjoy the beauty of God’s creation you will really like the lake.  Even with the water down over 20 feet, Center Hill is a beautiful place.  Watching the ducks as they grow and mature, the turtles stacked up on logs sunning, fish everywhere, and just the magnificence of the surroundings is priceless.  So now compare the sides.  For me, that might be enough to swing the scales toward ownership.  But the primary reason we have continued our lake lives, is yet to come.

When we moved into our boat we knew one family at the marina.  Now I can’t number the people we know.  I’m not talking about knowing names.  I mean really knowing them.  You see, even when you enjoy something as much as we do Center Hill, there are down sides.  But when you walk down the dock and have people speak, and ask how you are, and most of all really care, then that makes it all worthwhile.  The people on H dock at Sligo, with a few “A, B & C” folks thrown in for good measure, constitute a community.  We have welders, and builders, mechanics and techno geeks, teachers and realtors, retired and wanna be retired, young, old, male, female, single, married, all joined by a love for the community but mostly a love for God.  We are a family, dysfunctional at times, but a family.  Try messing with one of us and you’ll see!  We live together, laugh together, cry together and worship together.  We share everything and do our best to see no one goes wanting.  Come eat with us sometime if you want to see this community in action.  I love to say that even on a bad day we have enough food left over to fill a pick-up truck.  And this bunch can cook!!

Money can’t buy this friendship.  It only comes from those with a shared purpose in life.  You see, it’s the true fellowship that tips the scales!  Thanks to all our lake church family.  Without you it wouldn’t be worthwhile!

Round Two, or is it Three?

Food establishments did pretty well this week.  I only had one minor issue.  Wendy's gave me a regular Coke instead of a Diet, but unless you have very discerning tastes, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.  Especially when every restaurant's mixing valves are a little different.  So thumbs up to Sonic, BK and Arby's.

Other people I pay for service split 50/50 this week.  At Dacco we use Cintas for our executive uniforms, at least until November 1.  For three years they have serviced us weekly.  About a year ago the clothing began to show signs of wear and stains became a regular part of our returned clothes.  After rounds of complaints we finally gave up and began to search for a new supplier.  When we notified Cintas we received no response.  Last week my uniform delivery contained only shirts; no explanations, no "I'm sorry", no "it was a mistake".  I take that as validation that we made a good decision.

On Saturday morning Cyndi and I ventured out in the houseboat to fill up with fuel.  First I called the ship's store to make sure they were open.  I was answered very promptly and pleasantly. I began to get ready to back out but had battery problems on one engine.  After swapping them around we started our trip.  As we rounded the end of the dock I radioed and told them we were coming in.  Tony came out, helped us get tied up and helped with the fueling process.  After I paid he came back out and helped us get untied and on the way back to our slip.  As we turned around and headed out Tony got on the radio and thanked us for our business.  In my opinion this is the type service I expect and appreciate!

On another note, Cyndi took the wheel for a short stint.  This was her first time to actually drive the houseboat.  I'm looking forward to having her continue to learn to drive, just in case!

Week One

As promised in the initial blog, I will give this weeks results of the service, or lack thereof, I received.  On Monday I went to Arby's on Willow for dinner for Cyndi and me.  The order was 100% correct.  The sandwiches we made to Arby's standards.  We were given more than enough condiments and napkins were included in the bag.  The service was friendly and the drive thru attendant smiled and made small talk conversation.  She informed me as soon as I drove up that they were cooking fresh potatoes and it would be a couple of minutes.  I don't know about you, but I don't mind a short wait for fresh food.  Within 3 minutes the food was delivered and I was on my way.  My only complaint, the potato cakes I ordered were blazing hot, but the curly fries had seen better days.  Overall a 90!

Sonic half price burgers are a regular on Tuesdays for us.  The Sonic on Jackson took my order promptly, filled it 100% accurately, and within a short amount of time.  The quality was very good, I love onion rings crunchy and these were just right.  The service was quick and with a smile.  A 100 for Sonic.For the week the food establishments did pretty well. 

We made the decision to discontinue our cable service and switch to Directv.  I went to The Technology Store and signed up for the service.  They made an appointment for Wednesday for the install.  Chris called 20 minutes before the set time to make sure everything was still a go and then showed up right on time.  He made the install, making sure everything was working properly before he left.  He also gave me a card with all the numbers to call in case anything wasn't correct.  On Friday I went to Charter to return the digital receivers and cancel the service.  I expected to have them make me an offer to stay with them.  After all, we had ben with them for nearly 20 years at our current home.  The experience was strictly business, sign here, pay this, good bye.  It reaffirmed our decision!  The Technology Store gets a 99.99.  Charter fails!  If you want to know what will happen when the government takes over any segment of the economy as opposed to the free market working, this is it.  Once there is a monopoly service goes out the window.  There's your hope and change!

Let's get started!

Today begins a new adventure.  While I'm rarely at a loss to share my thoughts, I've never written them down in a public forum.  My sister once told me to never put anything on the computer you don't want the world to see, so I will try to follow her sage advice.

I felt compelled to share my experiences, both as a source of humor for those who need a little levity, and a guide to help others avoid some of the pitfalls I see every day.  Some will be of no interest to many.  You've probably been there - done that and perhaps even have the tee shirt to prove it.  But, if they can be a source of help for even one, then it will have been worth the time.

I eat at fast food, drive in restaurants regularly.  I think it is appropriate that the drive thru is no longer called drive thru SERVICE.  I rarely get an order completely correct, and even more rare is feeling like my business was appreciated.  In this rush rush world, perhaps good service has come to mean fast.  It is my opinion those who don't have time, even for a few seconds, to be friendly, do not deserve my business.  Unfortunately, I would have nowhere to eat should I use that standard. 

Without being unfairly subjective, I intend to post scores for local eateries.  These will be based on accuracy, quality, and those little extras like smiles and ketchup packs and napkins, and yes, even attitudes.

That's it for tonight. 

Tall Cotton