theboondork's RV blog

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10/8/2022

Clicking the pics is a risk.... Are you willing to take it?

I walked around the neighborhood, and took pictures of some of the neighbors Halloween decorations. Some folks have put a lot of imagination into this holiday.

Still packing up the Lance. It seems like all I do now is put stuff in it and seldom take anything out. I don't know how long I can keep that up before all four of my tires are flat but there are still things that need to go in.

In the beginning of getting the Lance ready to go I was putting weight on it, such as solar panels, But I was also taking weight out, like it's Queen sized mattress. But now I'm doing nothing but adding weight to the Lance and it's things I have to have.

And speaking of excess weight, I've decided that I'm simply not going to be able to take my Civil War cannonball collection, I kept every cannonball that was shot at me during the Civil War, so every one has a story. And its not because they're exceedingly heavy, which they are, its because I can't tie them down and they keep rolling back and forth throwing off my weight and balance. So I guess I'll take them to my storage room where I keep my World War II battleship anchor collection.

Theboondork

6 Comments

Linda

10/9/2022 12:19:53 pm

Yes, memorabilia with memories are hard to part with.

Tom

10/9/2022 01:29:28 pm

They sure are Linda. And the deeper you go down memory Lane the harder they are to part with. I think the only thing that saved me is paying for a storage room where my memories can go to die... I like to think of my storage room as the hospice for my memories.

When kids grow up and get married they really couldn't care less about the things we put great value in, so it's hard to pawn off our memories on them, their busy building memories of their own. So we geezers fill up our homes and condos with memories of days gone by typified by our priceless Franklin Mint, Elvis Presley dinner plates, and one-of-a-kind Beanie Babies.

I think I'm kind of lucky that I cleared out most of the detritus of my life when I moved into the Arctic Fox, and here I am again re-examining the value of things I actually need, versus things that only have value in my mind. And yet again on the hard decisions I will fall back on my storage room, the final resting place of things I don't have the heart to let go of.

Tom

OFM

10/9/2022 03:08:41 pm

I left about a hundred pounds of of my old memorabilia (junk) with folks down in Rockport that wanted it before I left last June. None of the folks were related to me either. Now it is time for me to do a more detailed clean out. Just about half of the storage space in the Castle is empty now. No wonder the rig got one mpg better gas mileage coming up here this year.

10/9/2022 03:47:05 pm

Yes lightening the load is always a good way to get more MPG. And lightening the load is definitely something I have to do to live in the Lance. But I think one of my problems is I want to live comfortably, I don't want to just survive in a camper I want to be comfortable no matter what the weather is, or where I'm located and living like that while boondocking requires more stuff than just trying to survive.

I can remember being transferred from Charleston Air Force Base, to Yokota Air Force base in Japan and everything I owned in the world was in one duffel bag that I could actually pick up and carry. And by the time I left Japan I had that same duffel bag plus an old World War II footlocker that my dad used when he was in the Army air Corps and then later the Air Force, full of stuff that I had acquired. And I reckon that was the very first time I owned more than I could carry, and I've continued along those lines ever since.

So what happened in my dad's old footlocker?.... It's in my storage room, until I can give it to one of my sons.

Tom

10/10/2022 12:50:48 pm

Yes, stuff accumulates. When we were first married with Dave headed to flight school we packed everything we needed to live for five months in a VW bug. Coming home we needed a small U-Haul trailer. After just 5 months!!! I blame it on my Dad gifting us a TV and Dave's parents gifting us a stereo during those five months. Plus, we adopted a kitten which also needed stuff. And that's how it all starts.

10/10/2022 02:36:07 pm

And when you buy a home, that's when the accumulation really starts. And if there's a garage or two that leaves more room for guy stuff. And before you know it every square foot is filled with something you couldn't live without.... And apparently the only solution for that problem is full-timing, it works every time it's tried.

When you mentioned flight school it reminded me of what a dangerous job your Dave had flying around in an airplane with no wings. He's a very lucky man.

Tom

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