Saturday, October 1, 2011

Broken Down Ol' Twister Goin' RV Boondocking on a Leakey Budget...

 ... and too stubborn to quit... just keeps on kickin'.

You know, I've run on about it before.  Anyone with a pocket full of cash and the desire to to wander can buy a half million dollar motorhome and wander to their hearts content, and if diesel jumps up to five bucks a gallon who cares? They just stick their card in the machine and fill up that smokin' diesel gulpin' monster.

And you know what? More power to 'em. Those folks are lucky son's of guns, though, I feel pretty sure they're carryin' burdens of their own. And you know what else? Contrary to what some might say, the greatest majority of 'em worked just as hard for their treasures, as you and I have to come up with our dust. :) Sometimes there's just no explaining why some prosper and others go bust... Is why we call 'em Lucky! :)

My guess is though, there's a whole lot more guys an' gals like me than those lucky ones who are flush.

You know what I'm talkin' 'bout, Gypsy blood and a hikers wallet with big dreams of Roaming Free.

I'm not about to go judgin' anybody. Ya make your best guess, take your chances... some hit it big and they're off for the sunny slopes... others do their best and work hard, only they come to find out  that their guess was bad, or more often, events without any possibility of them exercisin' any sort of control whack 'em hard.

There's so many things to keep track of... and, even if you KNOW a job needs doin'... if it only costs five bucks, but there's only four in the bank... that job just can't get done... Now, get a few of those lil' jobs stacked up and a fella can get to feelin' like he's runnin' a marathon, uphill, carryin' four of those big Ol' opera type singin' ladies on his back.

No offense meant ladies! You sing good!

So...here we are, back where we started, and my list of all those lil' jobs, stacked up with a couple of big ones, could get to lookin' pretty tall... IF ...

IF, I let it. But you know what? The thought of the alternative, havin' to give up my wanderin' ways and park my self in one place for more than a Long Camp... to me... is SOOOOO much taller and terrifyin'. Kinda like the first Bronc I ever climbed on... I thought that horsehide monster was a fire breathin' dragon. Just knew she was gonna eat my liver!

... and, as it worked out, turned out to be up to the job she did! Even if she was just a runty lil' sorrel mare and no dragon... But, I kept pullin' my nose out of the dirt and climbin' back on... Sometimes I'd win... many times not...

Bottom line? I ain't quit yet. I never sold my saddle!

The Army threw me out, said with a broke spine I was too busted up to soldier any more... so, Too dumb to do anything else... went back to cowboyin' for a lot of the next twenty years...  :)

What I'm gettin' at is what I've palavered about for a long time. I keep repeatin' myself for two reasons; First... I need to say the words to remind myself... and second, I know, folks get weary same as me. They lose sight of where they're tryin' to get. I want 'em to not quit, NOT give up.

If a dumb, bald headed, pussgut of a broke down twister, can turn around and become a published author, better'n half way through his first century, and keep himself and his wore out rig, scrubbin' the rubber off his tires on the roads that're strung out across the west...

... You folks that are prettier and far more talented can too.

The only thing I've got goin' for me is a crotchety unwillingness to give in. Hell, If my donkey behind can push on through with sheer stubbornness; You folks that have true education, artistic talent, the ability to understand High Finance :) and a deeper knowledge than me... CAN TOO!

Just 'cause you're as broke as me don't mean didly.The key is in refusing to say; "Ok, I quit."

Gonna build a house? Buy the first two boards an' a couple nails... stick them suckers together... then go figure out how to get the next pair. Eventually, you'll get the dang house built.

That's what I'll be doin' for the next lil' while.

I've got some repairs to make... but... one thing I hate... I Hate... I HATE! is having to go back and do a repair, over and over again. It holds you back. Rather than moving on to new projects all your energy seems to get used up just treadin' water...  Worked a few ranches like that. The bosses wouldn't allow you to do it right the first time. So, rather than spending fifty bucks to fix it once and for all... they had you spending ten bucks... fifteen times... Just plain dumbness the way I cipher.

We could have been spending most our time improving those places... rather than all of it... puttin' band aids on band aids.

I don't want to be rollin' down ever rougher roads, worryin' is the rig gonna snap in two. So... some how... some way... we're gonna fix it right, and correct what those "Engineers" and Bean counters layed out wrong, when they built this rig... without runnin' the design past some Ol' redneck who knew better, (without a fancy certificate hangin' on the wall) First! :)

So, yeah, we're broke, and the rig is busted... but... in a week or two, it'll be patched up again... and dented, dusty and still "Broke"... we'll be rolling again down another lonely road! Promise!

So boys an' girls, one more time... I'm determined to show that a guy... or gal... who wants something strong enough... or already HAS IT, and just only wants to KEEP IT... Can do just that.

IF... they Cowboy Up, grab that Bronc by the Head, and chew on his ear!

Fixin' Broken Fivers... With a Mouth Full of Ear
Brian

***I'll start posting some pics over the next couple of posts... the 0riginal Fifth Wheel Pin Box Failure, The West Yellowstone Pin Box Repair, that was NOT a repair... and then, the Proper Repair, along with whatever other changes I might make to work around the weak/Minimum construction that MOST RV MANUFACTURERS employ.***

Return to the main site of goin' RV Boondocking or Visit my Sister website Motorcycle Touring on Freedom Road

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

"a fella can get to feelin' like he's runnin' a marathon, uphill, carryin' four of those big Ol' opera type singin' ladies on his back. ....No offense meant ladies! You sing good!"

I got a kick out of those lines.

Brian, in this post, not only your determination comes through, but your humility and generosity of spirit, and your sense of humor, too.

And I want you to know that you have been an encouragement and inspiration to me over the past year and more, as I've followed your blog on and off...dreaming of breaking free of career and house. I haven't yet made the leap--first due to lengthy illness and then to the disappointing price I'd have to accept for my home and the little money that would leave for a life on the road--but I keep looking longingly at the horizon, and...

May the sun find you one of these days very soon, chasing delight again on freedom's wheels.

Michael