Can You Believe It’s August 1st Tomorrow?
July 31, 2008
Some of you may have been wondering where I’ve been, some wondering why I bothered to come back, some wishing I wouldn’t and others without a clue.
I can’t believe tomorrow is August 1st. In about one week, I will be back in Florida - THAT’S THE SUNSHINE STATE! Sunshine? What is that. I laughed very loud about 10 years ago when a Florida “cracker” (native for those who don’t know) told me summers were awful in Florida because it rains all the time. After spending my first full summer in Florida, I went and asked this lady if this particular summer had been a dry one. She laughed and then looked at me like I was a real dummy!
I’ve learned also that when people say they hate Florida because of all the bugs, I know they have never spent time in Maine. Rain and bugs and winters that last 13 months a year. And why was it I headed for a better climate?
This summer at camp in Maine has been trying, to say the least. It has rained, rained and then rained some more. To be frank, I’m damned sick and tired of it. Among many things, my driveway into camp looks like the local “mud run”. What a mess.
Oh, yeah! Where was I, literally? I was in Bangor. My wife and I and granddaughter spent two nights and three days there camping out in a tent and visiting with Steven and his entourage of wonderful kids and family. What a great time and I helped him get his outside lamp post up……..it only took how many years?
Camping out was risky. The day we arrived it was raining but didn’t last too long until I started putting up the tent. Once I had the longest of tent poles assembled in my hands, the first of several close lightning bolts lit up the sky but I was determined to get the tent up before the rains got there. Relative success!
I expected to check out this morning and tear down the tent in the pouring rain (predicted) but we got spared. The rains held off until later in the day, although we had a few sprinkles during the wee hours of the morning. I drove home in the rain and while it was dumping on us, quite similar to one of those Florida downpours, I drove through a big puddle which promptly ripped off my serpentine belt (once known as a fan belt).
Now there’s a long story about this &^%#^ serpentine belt which so far this summer has cost me about $900.00. You might remember the time I had getting my car fixed shortly after I arrived? Well, on the way to Bangor, once again, I shredded part of my serpentine and cut and destroyed my AC belt. I limped on to Bangor and made arrangements to take it to my son’s mechanic the next day.
He replaced both belts and told me the last one wasn’t installed properly….yada, yada, yada!
Jokingly, as I was leaving my son’s, I said, “I’ll call you when I lose my belt again!”
So in the pouring rain in Wilton, Maine (two hours from Bangor and one hour from Bethel), I discover I’ve lost my belt. Believe it or not, I was beyond frustrated and angry. There was nothing I could say.
I looked things over and discovered I still had the belt and it was in one piece. I put on a jacket and a hat, dug out my tools and in about 20 minutes, I had the belt back on and headed home, not confident that I don’t have some other undiscovered problem that keeps shredding or tossing serpentine belts. Can you say, “LEMON”?
So, I’m back at camp and there is water stacked up everywhere. It’s a disgusting mess with mud and slime on everything.
Tomorrow, I will drive to Manchester, N.H. and spend the night at a hotel. I put my granddaughter on a plane early Sat. morning. I will then return to camp. (Three hours drive in one direction. Any bets as to whether my serpentine belt stays on?)
What’s the forecast? You got it! More rain! Usually, come this time of the summer, I have real mixed feelings about heading back to Florida but this time, I think it will be a good thing.
I’ll be working and posting - some tonight and some tomorrow and maybe even from a Manchester hotel. I did however, want to let all of you know, I’m alive and well and had a great time with family.
Tom Remington
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Tom, get a new belt, AND, a new tightener spring…(and you DROVE up there)??? That must have cost a fortune!
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