December 3, 2021

Yesteryear
One year ago today: December 3, 2020, the lockdowns begin.
Five years ago today: December 3, 2016, something new, yard work.
Nine years ago today: December 3, 2012, clam chowder.
Random years ago today: December 3, 2003, I’m done with Denny’s.

           The news arrived late y’day and confirmed this morning. The guitar player canceled out the New Year’s gig. Says he has to visit his mother over the holidays. Well, folks, you know I’m not buying that story. You don’t decide such things when it is already December. I warned Parson what would happen when I saw the guitar player’s ad for another band, that this would result in a conflict of interest. As far as I’m concerned, the guitar player’s other band got a higher paying gig and he’s hanging us out to dry. I was ready for this. These two doggies on the porch step are 10,000% more relliable than your average Florida guitarist.

           Let’s take inventory. Right after Dom passed away, they were going to fold the band. I insisted no, that in fact we should carry on on the presumption one member would always be missing. This latest event means the band is now the drummer and two musicians, I make a distinction. Since the New Year’s gig is a $400 special, I will suggest we play it anyway and tell the audience we are filling in. Now, shall we look a little beyond that time?

           This means I will take on more of the management and I say Polk County is full of wannabe guitarists who hate hard work. I opt that we not only get rid of the present guy, but that we carefully select a new player who really contributes something positive. As a working band, we have the clout to insist. Meanwhile, the three of us can put on a show, my only hesitation is that they did not seem to realize this until I came along. Parson can strum a bit, which is all I need to woo a crowd. Do not confuse my desire to put on the best performance possible with any mania over having to be the star of the show. That nonsense is for the envious.
           Another factor falls into place that you know of. It’s that I can sing and play all my tunes solo and in most cases that involves the novelty of playing the lead breaks on bass. Sure, I fake them, but anyody paying attention will spot the effort. I have 22 of these ready to go and the Reb was first to encourage me, I like that. Approach with caution, as not only does it give the band a different character, the resulting bass show is aa first for most. I am not surprised that guitar player let us down and have no intention of losing any momentum over it. To keep going means changes toward my way. Do I make myself clear?

           Next a report some of you may find strange, but there is probably nothing I can do to help you. Today, for the first time in history, the Reb & I went out to dinner and paid for it with a credit card. No big deal for many, yet it is a turning point for us. My thoughts afterward were good new and bad news. The good news is the cards are convenient and easy to use. The bad news is identical.

Picture of the day.
Balsa model car.
Remember to use BACK ARROW to return to blog.

           It turns out my registration expires one day before the deadline that requires that emmission test, so it will not pass. This found the Reb & I out in Donelson looking at vans. There are two Jeeps for sale, a Gran Caravan and a Caravan. I know nothing of either. The Gran Caravan is a 2012 with a big V8 hemi, the other is a 2016 with a V6, but in perfect shape as it belongs to the mechanic. Similar in price, it is a decision I’ll have to make shortly or drive the Chrysler back home and register it there.

           I’m well into the teaching modules for the latest business venture. As predicted, there is more to it than first let on. However, until foreclosures and such, the operations are conducted at a county level rather than state level. You read the fine print and realize how crooked things can be, some states require you to be a registered private eye just to access public records. For me, this is an incentive, however. Keeps the triflers at bay.

           Once again, we encounter a situation whose name I do not know. Let me put it this way, the Internet has not changed the business methods to most of America. I don’t mean procedures haven’t adapted, but in reality it is a minority of users at the leading edge who used all the features in place. The rest are followers, many of them fantasize they are leading edge. The bulk of these people know roughly enough to get their segment of the job done and not much else. What I’m saying is I’m hitting the same barriers of ignorance as I did thirty and forty years ago with people who are barely that old. You’d think they would have learned a thing or two about computers, but no way.
           My guess is maybe one person twenty has a clue, and of that fraction, maybe a few percent are responsible for propelling all the buzzwords and fads, the others follow suit sort of by remote. They look up a form for you an it is a PDF copy of some old paper document and think they are a power user. I’m not describing it right but you know what I mean. These people are dumbasses trained to do a dumbass job. Put an idiot on a computer and in two weeks he’s a whiz kid, or so he thinks.

           For the evening we went to a community hall and set up a booth for a couple we know. There should be a couple representative pics nearby. Then the group decided on Japanese food in Mt. Juliet. We got ten blocks and saw a hit-and-run, some 22-year-old guy drove right through a light like it wasn’t there. We stopped to render assistance until the authorities arrived, but the other vehicle fled the scene. Later, I had the Kung Pao chicken but t was not an inspired recipe.
           Back home I made up a list of documents I should be familiar with before proceeding with the new venture. Man, there are 65 of them, and you might use only a few. But, when you step up to the counter at the government agency, I advise you know what they are talking about. Do not think this work dismays me, because it serves to scare away the rabble. I’m saying it is a much higher workload than implied by the advertising. I’ve only just begun. We are about to figure out how long it takes to master this trade. Expect mistakes.

ADDENDUM
           We found out what all the racket was next door. The people that bought Jimmy’s place essentially got taken. They paid $170,000 for it and had to put a new roof. Then, they discovered the rafters are rotted and more bad news. That big rock that stopped Jimmy from putting in a carport extends to the building foundation, so they cannot access the crawl space They had to jackhammer out a hole large enough to get in there and later seal it up with blocks. There is no way they will get their money back out of that house any time soon.

Last Laugh