Pilot's Log

Our former web connectivity host company took down Mum's website over the weekend. I'm mulling over having one made in her memory somewhere. I'll want to talk it over with brother and sister first, tho'.

I fully intended to post more often here...but my own connectivity has been horrible due to the weather. Either rain or heat. That and I haven't felt much like writing a lot of stuff.

Besides, what is there that I can write that you are willing to read? Riddle me that.

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I was more "into" Autumn in Florida than I was up North or here in Tennessee. Mainly because, once that first north wind swept aside the Monsoon Machine of May through August, a person could actually go outside in Afternoon and not worry about too much sun or the rains. Yes, you had to worry about Hurricanes more in Autumn than Summer, but the Hurricane season was over in November and the weather stayed fairly pleasant almost to Christmastime.

Yes, that horrible storm system that hit the Southeast Wednesday night hit us too at Rather Manor. Luckily the blow wasn't a vital one as such...but Mom's garden was demolished. What hailstones and falling branches from stricken trees didn't crush was trampled underfoot by the recovery effort. Morale here isn't very good but we have to credit the British Royal Family and the wedding for getting Mom's spirits back above the red zone.

Cleanup and replanting are likely to take weeks. We hope to have help soon, but all across the area everybody has troubles of their own.

Extremely heavy rain today. Worst in years, IMO. The street in front of Rather Manor had flooded for a while before the water could flow to Dumplin Creek. This place needs a better drainage system.

Moonshine didn't need to have a new belt put on the engine after all. The previous change was only about 30,000 miles ago, so in theory it should be good for nearly again that much. But my thinking is if I have to take the car in for another service on a different issue, I just might have a new belt put on at that juncture anyway.

Mum's waiting on a contract for the re-release of one of her older books.

Poor Trevor Bayne. Today is his Daytona victory celebration in Knoxville, and the weather shut down the town. Welcome to fame.

Today the class projects involved the differing methods of inspecting components. As a result, my fingers have been coated with "penetrant" dye and it will probably take a few days to wear it off. I look even more frightful than usual. :(

At least I'm not as frightful as the weather is looking now. Cold and windy and not-sticky-yet pellet snow.

Moonshine and I had to earn the trip back to Rather Manor from school this afternoon...heavy showers, with a downpour cell over 11E between Alpha and Talbott. Thought the car would hydroplane but I suppose the tires are still fresh enough.

Or "Tech Envy I Can Use".

Got a Father's Day circular from Radio Shack and saw the specs on a memory chip to fit my camera, for $25. SIXTEEN TIMES the memory I'm using now. Room for over 2700 pictures, or TWO HOURS of cheap-@$$ low-rez silent video.

I can dig it. Wonder if I can swing it someday.

* * *

Dad is over at our elderly lady neighbor's place, chatting and doing odd jobs for her and so on. When he finishes, he'll bring her beloved Chrysler Cordoba here overnight so he can take it to her mechanic tomorrow morning. Again, Dad jokes to me every so often that he'll lobby for her to leave the car to me in her will.

* * *

Mum is re-reading Black Tie Affair as prep for re-typing it for a re-issue. She got the rights back from Kensington and not only is it a slam-dunk for an e-book version, but a friend of hers who produces audio books wants it.

* * *

Inner Child got a huge helium balloon from the used-car branch of Ted Russell in Knoxville just as they were closing overnight. Dunno how big it really is as I had to deflate it down to 27" so it could fit through Moonshine's back door.

It's raining and Moonshine really needs a wash. Sometime this week, I promise.

Once again, HobbyTown USA in Knoxville hosted the Bizarre Bazaar for the gamers, and once again I took a load of game stuff there to sell--and wound up buying some stuff and selling nothing.

Once again, it was Free Comics Day and I missed going to a comics store. I doubt there were any comics I would have wanted this time, tho'.

Once again, the hot rods gathered at Tennessee Valley Fairgrounds and there was no point in my going to it. (I could afford admission--but had no camera that worked!)

Once again, I went to a donut shop and walked away without buying anything, due to my straight-jacket of willpower.

Once again, Sempai Mike called me to ask about stuff I already told him about or didn't know answers to.

Once again, storm clouds threaten us from the West.

Once again, Moonshine out-hustled more powerful cars at traffic lights, including two Mustang GTs in quick succession.

Once again, I miss good friends and good times.

Right now, we have perhaps half an inch of snow on the ground topped with sleet/refreezing rain mix. Which means that unless something drastic happens I'll probably spend both Saturday and Sunday completely in the confines of Rather Manor. But I did enough travel on the Mountain Home jaunt Friday to make up for it.

Since Dad found the copy of The Great Gatsby my thought was to have it to read in the waiting rooms of the hospital. Only I realized how familiar I happen to be with the book, and only felt the need to skim a couple dozen or so places. Read it the first time in High School, then again, likely in a break between summer terms or after I graduated college. Saw the Robert Redford movie at least once that I can recall.

The bizarre alternative fiction recesses of my mind played with the possibility of a revisionist antithesis story, one in which Gatsby comes straight back to Daisy after the Great War and forgoes his meteoric rise of vainglory. Would Daisy marry him, or keep looking for a Tom Buchanan? Would Jordan steal him from Daisy and ruin him? Something tells me somebody else had this idea first.

I may work on the final chapter of Chillin' Out soon...well over ten years after I started it. I guess I was spurred on...Gatsby had a hand in it...but so did other things. More To Come.

"Whine not about rainfall, lest it become snowfall."