Awake: 5:31am Temp 30 sleep 6+47 sunny overnight @ Newell campsite.
Kathy & I attend 9:00am Mass @ Sacred Heart church for All Souls Day.
My daily check @ the Newell warehouse tells me our Plasma TV was not
picked up yesterday. UGH! That’s disappointing with 2 days lost in the
shipping process. Walking back from the warehouse thru the service bay,
both Cresley & Mike (schedule coordinators), tell me our coach will be
called in for service this afternoon. Apparently some of the techs worked
overtime last night to catch up with time lost due to “lean management.”
Back in our bus, I make a 3rd phone call to Bax Global. This time, I am
transferred to the Sony TV lady (Denise), who handles the TV’s that are
shipped to San Diego for repair. Now this gal sounds like she knows the
system & will call & find out “what happened!” 20 min later, she
apologizes for their contact @ Tulsa & assures me that our Plasma will
definitely be picked up today.
Kathy camps out in the customer lounge most of the afternoon…….using the
high speed internet + kibitzing with Newell owners Mary & Rod from
Melbourne, FL.
Shortly after 1:00pm our coach is driven into bay # 18 by John. Larry, the
engine mechanic gets right after changing the pro check canister on the
Series 60 Detroit Diesel engine. About the same time, John & Tracy start
adjusting our # 2 slide. Over the years, it’s gotten a little maladjusted
& needs a tuning up. A while later, Charlie does a load test on our 6 AGM
(Absorbent Glass Mat) (house batteries); unbelievable as it is, he found
the bottom 3 AGM batteries CAPUT. I was watching as he load
tested….drawing 750 amps for 5 sec, then watching the recovery rate.
Charlie & I hustle to the warehouse to notify Bob to fork lift 3 new AGM
replacements to Bay # 18….on the double. Bob does his duty pronto while
Charley asks for help & Ron is assigned to work with the exchanging
procedure. Each AGM battery weighs 150 lbs. Luckily the AGM batteries
have a 5 yr warranty with rebate starting @ 2 yrs. I don’t understand why
our AGM’s failed so soon. The guys tell me they have had such good service
(lasting 5 yrs or more) since switching away from the lead-acid battery to
the AGM. Our coach is backed out of the service bay & re-parked in the
Newell campsite just before the quitting horn sounds for the week.
7:50 dinner: Leftover Bratwurst with Italian sauce with spaghetti squash &
mixed salad.
Evening movie: “Sling Blade” with Billy Bob Thornton, Dwight Yoakam, J.T.
Walsh, John Ritter, etc. Fascinating portrait of a mentally deficient man
(Thornton) sprung from prison 20 years after killing his mother & her
boyfriend; now he attempts to blend into “real life,” helped by a boy who
befriends him. Incredible controlled performance by Thornton (who also
wrote & directed) anchors this long but rewarding tale, which leads to a
somewhat inevitable finale. 1996. What more can I say….except: you don’t
want to miss it!
High temp=52 Lights out: 12:30am
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