Anecdotes, Antidotes, and Anodes

Blue Angels 2009

Yes. I know. I've once again posted too many photos. But how do you choose from over 300? 
I snapped these shots (and snapped them very quickly, I might add)  at the Fallon Air Show featuring the Blue Angels.

Who says size doesn't matter?

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

"Debriefing" with Blue Angel #2, LCDR Paul Brantuas.

Tailhook Convention 2009

With so many activities going on here at the convention, today seems to be the perfect day for pimping John's Blog,
Tailhook Daily Briefing.

Where in the World Is Swampwitch ?

 

Any guesses as to where my broom has landed ?

Notice any differences in the two photos?

Anyone care?

Dear Delta Airlines

All I wanted to do was go to Seattle for a few days to visit my oldest daughter and her husband.  Who knew I would end up spending from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. booking a flight ?  Here is an e-mail to the three Delta representatives.  It might shed a little light on how my day went.

Dear Spike, Vincy, and Sylvia,

Thank you for your e-mails concerning my latest experience with traveling our Friendly Skies.  Oh wait, that's not Delta is it?

I just want to clarify a few things:

I know BOTH mine and my husband's Sky Miles account # and BOTH our Pin #'s.

I was told I needed to transfer miles from one account to the other and all
4 numbers were needed. (Which I didn't. There were ample miles in AnodeMan's account !)

I transferred the miles (which I didn't need to do) using both Sky Miles #'s
and PIN #'s.

From the time I transferred the miles to the time I needed to complete the
transaction to confirm my flight, Delta changed my husband's pin #.  Neither
my husband or I asked that this be done.

At at point, I spent 2 hours on the phone with SIX different Delta agents,
one of whom hung up on me because she was convinced I was an idiot who
didn't know how to correctly type in a 4-digit number.

After all of this, the agent who told me there weren't enough miles in my
husband's account was mistaken, I didn't need to transfer the miles in the
first place, was charged ONE-HUNDRED dollars to do so, which I'm told is
non-refundable, and spend a good portion of my day either on hold with Delta,
talking to a computer, or trying to convince Delta agents that the pin #'s I had
were valid at one time until Delta changed one of them.

In summary, the top ten reasons you know it's going to be a bad day is when:

10. You have to book a flight with Delta Airlines.

9. You reach a Delta representative whose first language is not English.

8. You reach a Delta representative whose first language IS English but 
doesn't UNDERSTAND English.

7. Your conversation BEFORE you ever reach a Delta representative is with a
computer.

6. Your conversation with the computer consists of these words:
Representative, Domestic, Yes, No, #@&*# !!!

5. The computer doesn't understand English.

4. In the process of booking a flight, Delta decides to change your PIN #,
which shuts down the process of completing the transfer and confirming the
flight, which necessitates phone calls to:
Giselle
Miss Baker
Logan
Nicole
Katy
Jeff
and one other whose name I couldn't understand (Evidently I don't speak
English.)

3. You explain the problem to the above Delta representatives, and one them
is convinced you are an idiot, unable to type in the correct 4-digit PIN #
and hangs up on you...after you been on hold forever and having another
conversation with the computer, AGAIN.

2. You receive e-mails from Spike, Vincy, and Sylvia telling you they are
sorry for your inconvenience, but they are going to keep your $100 for
transferring your miles, that didn't need to be transferred in the first
place because one of the Delta agents mistakenly told you there weren't
enough miles in your account to book the flight.

AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE A BAD DAY:

1. You have to call United Airlines to book a flight with them, too.

*************************************************************

Message from the Emergency Swampcast System !

The letter below was first posted December 5, 2006.  I thought it only appropriate to re-post it in conjunction with the latest involvement with airline travel.

Bill from the Greatest Generation

Because Bill's post was pre-empted by the arrival of President Obama, and only stayed at the top for a few hours, and because my feeling is that his story is just as important (or more so) than pictures of Air Force 1...Here's Bill...

It's always amazing to me that some of you out there are so observant with what goes on here at The Asylum.  Several posts ago, there were photographs of some goings-on at Gateway Canyons, and many of you commented or e-mailed asking about Bill...even though there were no photographs or mention of him in the post, you recognized this as being where our story about Bill began.

We took Hair-Wee for some swimming and fishing here, hoping that we would be able to find Bill doing well.

We did.

What a relief it was to find him sitting at his usual place at the bar.

Bill once again wanted us to thank everyone who sent him care packages of clothes, blankets, and linens. He named almost each item that he received.  He also shared the ordeal of his long recovery from the accident that landed him in a local hospital lying in critical condition for days and days.  This not only included healing from a large gash in his forehead, broken bones everywhere, and blurred vision...but also dealing with someone he trusted taking his credit card and a treasured piece of jewelry.

Yes, this was the bolo he made himself.  Because it is such a unique piece, the bolo was easily recognizable and because the person who took it was such a unique piece of shit stupidity, he was able to track it down along with his credit card.  But not before several hundred dollars worth of gasoline and other incidentals had been charged on it.

True to form, Bill was not interested in filing charges. He was just happy to be alive another day to talk about catching Old Scar Face.

(For those of you who do not know Bill's story, the beginning of it is on the side bar "One From the Greatest Generation.)

If you look closely at the photo above, you can see the faint horseshoe-shaped scar on his forehead.

WHEW !

This post will be prefaced by an explanation of its content. You may or may not understand. It's just another one of my many quirks.  I am a listmaker. I abide by my lists. If it's a list of things to do, I will add to it even though the task has been completed. Explanation... if a task has not been listed, when I accomplish that task, I will add that task to my list of things to do, and then mark it off.
I know. I know.
You're shaking your head thinking, that's really weird.
OR
You're shaking your head asking, why would you do that?
Well, it just feels good to list that task and then draw that line through it. If you've never done that, try it . You'll feel good.

OK, with that in mind, here's my post:

May 14:      drove to Hays, Kansas (10 hours)
                  was locked out of my hotel room that night
                  was locked in my hotel room the next morning
                  something to do about humidity
May 15:      drove to Bartlesville, Oklahoma (5 hours)
May 16:      Little Miss P's 4th birthday party
May 17:      hung out with in-laws, out-laws, and friends
May 18:      hung out with Little Miss P and company
May 19:      hung out with Little Miss P and company
                  sometime during the last two days, I did laundry and ran errands
May 20:      left truck in Tulsa and flew to Grand Junction
May 21-28: JUCO (Junior World Series Baseball Tournament)
May 29:      flew back to Oklahoma
May 30-31   caught myself coming and going
                  blew up a computer
                  became best friends with the computer geek at Staples                   
June 1-2:    visited with family and friends
June 3:       drove to Antlers, Oklahoma
June 4:       drove to Hugo. Oklahoma
June 5-6:    Hugo High School 40th reunion
June 7:       drove to Lake Texoma
June 8-11:   hung out with The Babes
June 12:      drove to other side of Lake Texoma
June 13:      drove to Bartlesville, Oklahoma
June 14:      drove to Nashville, Tennessee
June 15-18   produced a Country CD
                   no, I didn't sing but they did ask me to sing back up
                   if I would back WAY up
June 19:      drove to Antlers, Oklahoma
June 20:      Antlers High School 40th reunion
                   Yes, I had TWO high school reunions
                   don't ask
June 21:      drove to Bartlesville, Oklahoma
June 22 -23 tried to re-group, re-group, re-group
June 24:      drove to Canon City, Colorado
                   ELEVEN hours in the truck with HansMan
                   Yes, I did hook up with HansMan along the way
                   You think my schedule is discombobulated.
                   You should see his.
                   It was my birthday.  Happy Birthday to Me.
June 25:      drove to Grand Junction, Colorado
June 26-28: Country Jam
                   loud, hot, loud, dusty, loud
                   Did I mention CJ was loud?
                   Either I'm getting old or my hearing is getting better.
June 29        We have a new puppy.
                   A Rescue Boxer...details and pics coming soon
                   We think she's about 9 months old.

Now, you may be wondering what that preface had to do with this schedule. Well, as with my lists, I also "re-write" my schedules just to remind myself what I've been up to...or what I've up to been.

Basically, this was posted just to see if I remembered how to post. I promise to try to visit your blogs in the very near future.

Thanks to everyone who e-mailed, called, and wrote to see if I really fell off the face of the Earth. I didn't, but there were times in the last six weeks when I think I came close.

Hays, Kansas...in my rear view mirror !

It may come as no surprise that I am once again driving. This time without HansMan. Let me tell you, it is a l-o-n-g way from Grand Junction to Hays, Kansas, when only one person is driving. Actually, it's a l-o-n-g way to Hays, Kansas, no matter how many people are driving.   Yes, Hays was where I wanted to be on the first leg of my trip to Bartlesville.

By the time my GPS said that Hays was 30 minutes away, my foot got just a little heavier on the accelarator. My goal had been to leave Grand Junction at 9:00 that morning, but because my hummingbird feeders needed fresh nectar, my departure time was 10:00.

The first thing that happened was cold air was coming out of the left-side vents, but hot (very hot) air was coming out of the right-side vents. And yes, I know to check the dual temperature control for the driver's side and the passenger's side.

Because the temps in Oklahoma would be in 90's and quite sauna-like, my first stop would have to be Ed Bozarth's Chevrolet to find out what was wrong. But by the time, I had driven about 10 miles, everything seemed mornal and I was on I-70 along with what seemed like every 18-wheeler that side of the Rockies.

The entire trip over the mountains, through Denver, and across that flat land of eastern Colorado and western Kansas went without any major difficulty.

My credit card was misplaced for about 10 minutes causing major concern until I remembered it was in  my jacket pocket after fueling up somewhere outside of Denver.

Nine hours later, I checked into the motel in Hays, I could hardly wait to hit the sack and sleep. But that wasn't to happen for at least about 20 minutes. My room was at the far corner of the motel, about a 5 minute walk to the office.  And since my key didn't work TWICE, my dream of falling into bed was postponed for awhile. Evidently, guests before me had experienced the same problem as evidenced by the shoe marks and dents in the bottom of the door. Seems the humidity had something to do with the problem.

Six o'clock the next morning arrived rather quickly and having lost an hour due to the change of Time Zones didn't help either.  Off to the free continental breakfast (1 gallon of coffee, English muffin, yogurt, and banana) were hauled back to my room only to find a door that wouldn't open once again.  Luckily the maintenance man was walking by as I was doing bodily harm to my foot with the door.  His boot seemed to do the trick.

Waking up was no problem as there seemed to be no hot water for a shower. I let it run for about 5 minutes and then decided to just grit my teeth and "bare" it.  Just as I was rinsing the last suds out of my hair, the water finally warmed up.  Whoever plumbed that room must have run the pipes around the block after connecting them to the hot water heater.

After drying about 4 strands of hair, there was a loud "click" and total darkness in my room. No electricity. After a call to the front desk (on hold for about 3 minutes..three minutes is a long time when you're standing in the dark with dripping wet hair).  The lady there told me it was just my room and asked if I was using their hair dryer or my hair dryer.  Their hair dryer seemed to be the culprit and after waiting about 20 minutes, power was restored.

After a quick application of war paint for my face, it was out the door and onto Bartlesville. NOPE. The door wouldn't open. This time I couldn't kick it open because I was on the other side. No matter how hard I pulled on that door, it wouldn't budge. Another call to the front desk to let them know I would be glad to check out of that place if only I could get out of my room.

KNOCKKNOCKKNOCK...somebody !  Help! I'm locked in my room and I can't get out !

To be continued...

It Ain't Easy Bein' Green

During my time in Seattle (and no, I wasn't running from the law as my Nekked Cousin proclaimed in one of his comments) we took a 4, yes, count them FOUR mile hike UP to Rattlesnake Ledge. My SIL assured me it was named so because the outcropping resembled a rattlesnake, not because those critters frequent the place. Granted, 4 miles isn't much of a hike unless it is straight UP, and that you're hiking with two young, very fit people, who seemed to be on a mission to get to the top in record time. My camera was my salvation in that I could stop and pretend to be taking photos along the way, when in fact, I was just trying to slow down long enough to keep my lungs from exploding. But, it was all worth it once we "ascended the summit" and took in the view below us.

Of course, the two miles downhill was much easier, but then,there are those muscles in your shins that are rarely used unless you are using them to keep yourself from falling face-first down two miles of switch-backs. Yes, those muscles were barking at me the the next morning, and the next morning,  and the next...

You could have dipped me in a vat of Ben-Gay and left me there for 24 hours, and it wouldn't have helped !

  

   

 

See that highest point up there? Way up there? That's where GricerGirl and Davipedia took me.

 

One of the many splendid views from on top.

My thought for today, "Time flies when you're having fun. Time is fun when you're having flies."

 

More Bald Eagles

 

 

 

   

 

OK, I'm just kidding. Those really aren't Bald Eagles...
MR DUCKS
MR not DUCKS
SMR
CM WANGS
LIB MR DUCKS

Focus

No, I've not fallen off the Face of the Earth...but I'm close. I'm in Seattle and I think I can see the Edge from here.

They (whoever they are) are predicting Sunbreaks on occasion today. No matter if those Sunbreaks happen or not, it is bee-u-ti-ful here with all the colorful vegetation that we don't have in the High Desert where I live.

My main focus the last few weeks has been ON THIS.  Even though some of the pages are "locked down," many of the links on the left side bar are open to the public.  If you have the time, it might be fun to go look at all these old people.

I have several other focuses, but at the time of this writing, I have forgotten what they are.

For those of you who have the time to focus on new blogs, HERE IS ONE.   Head on over there to get your own Smooth-as-Silk Body Scrub, complete with a Bull$hit Meter.

Now, I'm going to try to focus on visiting some of my globbuds' blogs today to just say "Hi."

P.S.  Some of you have asked why is there only blank space below my latest post.  Because it's been so long since I've posted, you have to click on the little arrows to find my last post. Don't ask why Typepad does that, it just does.

P.P.S. UPDATE: Well, the fabulous DubYaT has once again directed me in the right direction on what to do about  fixin' my blog. If you'll notice, even though I've not posted in a while, the latest ones have magically appeared. Thanks Darlin'...