Sweeps and Slobber

Many of you know that OKC swept Phoenix in Round 1 and the Lakers in Round 2,  so back in OKC,  there was lots of downtime for Chet. 

This happened to be over the date of Chet’s birthday, This allowed for a couple birthday bashes…the first a private, family affair,  and the second a Birthday Bash Chet hosted for Family, Teammates, coaches, etc.   

At one of the bashes, Chet’s Birthday cake was presented…it was a Shoe, modeled after game-worn regalia.  I swear, you could not tell the real from the cake (though I didn’t stick my nose in either to smell..

At the latter, I sat down at a long table of Chet’s teammates who were hanging and eating.  And surprisingly,  watching Basketball on TV.  Now,  to me,  this seemed a little like a plumber who chooses to do plumbing in his personal time,  so I asked if the players were scouting or otherwise analyzing their potential future opponents.  They said, nope,…just fans! 

One thing I did note that separated them from the “average” fan (other than the sheer volume of what they ate and the distance from the floor to their mouths):  The conversation around the table was almost completely about each team’s salary and contract structure.  So-and-so is coming off of this deal and will get X.  That will force the team to make Y moves.  Or will make them more or less of a factor IN THE TRADE MARKET going forward.  I guess it’s not surprising…it’s a game, and they are enjoying that aspect as any fan would,  but it’s also their livelihood and those contract details matter very much for all players’ futures.

At one point, Shai headed over to say hello to us…Liz was getting over a cold,  so she backed away as he approached…disclosing she did not want to infect the team.  He said, “Nonsense, I have a kid and therefore a cold already” and he wasn’t having any of that strategic retreat. Handshake executed!   

While in OKC,  we did have the car repairs done,  this turned out to be another $5k of “stuff,” but the good news is,  none of it related to either the engine or the transmission,  which the codes had implied were problematic.  Turned out to be loose wires related to our towing the car, and possibly exacerbated by removal/replacement of the dash.  Anyway,  the recommended mechanic did a GR8 job tracking down the issues, eliminating really bad stuff along the way.    

As always, when visiting OKC, we have to keep our eye on the weather.  Now, this is not difficult,  because if there is even a dark cloud in the sky,  all of the local TV stations interrupt all programming to go to fulltime, uninterrupted weather coverage.  Switching from radar to radar, including live shots from storm chasers positioned on all sides of said dark cloud.  There will be graphics showing “mesocyclonic activity,” hail columns, shear, rotation, debris plumes, etc. 

At least one of the storm-events turned pretty devastating for the town of Enid, north of OKC…a lot of heartbreaking, live-action video of buildings disappearing.  Fortunately,  we never had anything more than a bit of pea-sized hail on us.     And,  we also had some ACTUAL cold weather…requiring long sleeves!  Something we did not experience this entire winter while in Costa Rica!

While Hanging in OKC, we had little on our agenda until BBALL in the evening.  One of the things I chose to tackle was the re-engineering of a bedroom cabinet into more useful storage.  That is a never-ending goal when you live in a bus,  and in this case there was a “weird” cabinet that was originally intended for a small tube-type TV and the VHS Machine below.  So,  an empty ”cube” of space and some strange drawers.  We had been using it with wire baskets for socks, and underwear in the drawers.  Not very efficient, especially when you consider the UW would fall out of the back of the drawer and on top of the propane furnace below.

I had been thinking about this space for awhile, including a Fireproof Safe for Computer, Documents and what little valuables we have on board.  I did a lot of research on safes that could fit while still allowing room for a drawer.  What I discovered is that 100% of “Hotel-type” safes have right-hand hinges,  and the location of the cabinet meant it really needed a left-hand hinge. None had options to install in either direction (like refrigerators).  I wrote to 2 or 3 manufacturers to see if there was any reason the safe could not be installed upside down…and they all said no, because the doors would fall off the hinges!!???

I eventually found a safe that was a drawer…I think probably meant as a Gun safe, but of course we won’t be using it as such.  I began to consider how this might be “fireproofed” and then installed,  followed by fashioning and improving the drawers around the safe to be more useful. 

As always, when considering furniture or other “carpentry-oriented” bus improvements,  I spend a lot of time thinking,  WWBD.  Some of my vast readership might remember our dear friend, master cabinet-maker Bob White, who has helped with multiple furniture projects over the years.  Bob passed away a couple years ago, and projects like this always bring a tear to my eye.   WWBD: “What Would Bob Do?!”

Anyway,  I spent some time channeling Bob, and I can neither confirm nor deny that there was some Tennessee Whiskey involved, to help plan the project.  I even found myself arguing with myself,  as I KNOW Bob would have.  Eventually,  Bob would have settled on the best way to do the project, and would have started measuring, cutting and assembling the components, while tolerating my “advice.” And,  by “Tolerating,” I mean ignoring!    I tried to be respectful of that process, by ignoring myself as much as possible!!    And,  the project has resulted in a very excellent improvement to the bedroom…even Liz sez so!!!

As I write this, we are now on the way towards Chicago . As we usually do, we found the time and made the necessary route adjustments to visit friends along the way.  First stop,  the Gray Ranch in Eastern Oklahoma.  We have stopped MANY times before…the Bus gets left down by the gate, and we move up to the Guest Accommodations on the top of the hill seemingly overlooking all of Oklahoma.   

This trip had an extra treat:  The morning after we arrived, I drove down to the bus spot near the gate to start the generator (to keep the batteries charged).  I found about 30 cattle huddled closely around the bus.  They were LICKING THE BUS…over its entire surface!  Slobbery tongue marks everywhere!  A virtual WALL of cow pies surrounding the bus!! So much so that they had knocked off all the furnace vent covers and stomped on them (the covers are just little screens that keep Mud Dauber Wasps from getting into the furnaces and building nests).

Cattle are strange, tho.  Despite the fact that they outweigh me by 2 or 3 times,  they scatter as soon as I got out of the car.  In their view, they are prey for everything, no matter the size differential.  My sister claims this is because they know that in addition to calling them “Cattle” we also call the “Quarter Pounders With Cheese!”

After we leave Oklahoma heading North towards Chicago,  we plan a couple more stops to visit friends.  We pointed towards West Des Moines,  where the Florers have a large driveway and the historically bad sense to allow us frequent stops there!  We very much look forward to catching up. 

But  first,  a stop to see The Deitzes,  who live near Bentonville, Ar.  We have visited them B4, and have stayed in the parking lot of a Moonshine Distillery that is about 30 mins North.  This time,  I saw on Google Maps a golf course less than 5 minutes from their house, and from the Satellite view,  I could see a HUGE overflow parking lot.  I figured, nothing to lose,  I would call and see if they would let us park there.  I dropped the Deitzes name because they are members,  and their son (A dentist in the area) lives 2 doors from the POA Chairman’s house.  For whichever reason,  or perhaps because they are just genuinely nice and didn’t need a “reason,” The golf course manager called me back almost instantly and said they would be DELIGHTED, and sent me parking passes. 

And,  they have a restaurant/Pub,  where we can watch the first game of the next round!! 

THUNDER UP!!!!