Another Day, Another Dollar!

Princeton, Texas

Clear Lake Park

Weather Condition; High 104 Low 80, Sunny

We’ve been spending our off days with friends and family. That is definitely one of the perks of being so close to home this summer. We have friends that drop by for visits. My brother also stops by every now and again.  We sometimes meet friends for dinner or lunch. It’s been great catching up with them while we’ve been here.

The local people in this area are very nice. They stop by and give us fresh fish that has been cleaned and bagged, ready for freezing. One man comes by on a regular basis and brings us produce from his garden, another brings us his extra newspaper. We’ve had people invite us to their campsites for dinner.

Yesterday a local couple that camp here on a regular basis stopped by and gave us popsicles.

We look forward to coming back next summer.

It’s been kind of slow here because both our boat ramps have closed due to low water levels. The entire lake only has a few boat ramps open. It’s getting bad.

If we don’t get some decent rain here, the lake is going to dry up.

The Labor Day weekend was busy. All the campsites were reserved. There were however, many that didn’t show. People didn’t come out because it was too hot and the boat ramps were closed.

Oh, and we are under a burn ban too. We NEED rain!!

We did have one incident last week that was funny;

Last week an older gentleman came to the gate house and paid his $4.00 day use fee and said he was going to do some fishing. We gave him a day use pass and let him in the park. A short time later Deputy Dawg (Dawn) was doing her morning rounds when she noticed a truck parked down on the water’s edge. This is a No, NO. There are signs posted that read; No Driving on Grass.

She approached the man and told him politely that he couldn’t drive his truck to the water’s edge and that a park ranger would write him a ticket for that. He begins to complain to her that he has difficulty walking and there wasn’t any place for him to fish. He told her he wanted his $4.00 back. He told her it was ridiculous that he couldn’t park at the water’s edge. He was ranting and raving so Deputy Dawg turned and walked off.

Well, needless to say, he was pretty upset when he arrived back at the gate house. He got out of his truck and marched over to the window, yelling about how he was run out of the fishing area and wanted his money back.

I politely explained to the gentleman that his money had been receipted and that I could not give him a refund. He shook his figure in my face and told me that he hoped I liked my job because he was about to have it.

I asked if he wanted the phone number for our headquarters and he told me he didn’t want to bother me with that. He was going to look it up himself.

He marched back to his truck and told me I was a DUMBASS as he drove off.

I didn’t get the chance to tell him that I’ve been called worse in better places then this!!!

This was before 7:30 A.M. We hoped this wouldn’t be an indicator of what kind of day it was going to be!!!!!

Luckily, the day ended up being pretty pleasant. 

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Loud Children and Louder Parents

Princeton, Texas

Clear Lake Park

Weather Condition; High 89 Low 70, Sunny

I’ve always admired people that had a good listener’s ear. I’ve often wished I could be a good listener instead of a talker. I’m finding with age, that I’m a better listener.

Dawn is one of those people that is a good listener. That is one of the great traits she inherited from her mother. For more than twenty years Dawn has listened to me run my non-stop mouth. She has watched me put my foot in my mouth on many occasions because of my non-stop mouth.

I don’t talk near as much as I did when I was younger and thought I knew everything. That was back in the day when I really thought everyone wanted to hear all about me because that was what it was all about! My jaws could flap from the time I got up until I went to bed. It occurred to me one day that even though I was talking all day, nothing I said was of any importance! I must have driven everyone around me CRAZY!

As I stated earlier, I’m getting somewhat better with age.

Now days, Dawn talks almost as much as I do. She says that’s only because now she has more of a chance!

A major difference is that now days I’m more apt to speak my mind. I’m not sure if that’s a good thing.

Here’s an example;

Dawn and I stopped into a local restaurant the other day for some lunch. It was a little after noon on a Wednesday and there was a line to order.

We patiently stood in line and placed our order. The small restaurant was crowded and the noise was loud.

After placing our order we found a table in the corner of the restaurant. The noise intensified and people were looking around. I stood and looked over a divider wall behind me and across the restaurant were five women setting at a table and beside them were two booth full of children ( at least 8) The oldest child looked to be five or six.

These women had placed their children in the two booths and were sitting almost with their backs to them as they talked.

These children were climbing over the tables, under the tables and jumping up and down on the hard booth seats.

Dawn and I sat in the corner trying to talk and enjoy our meal but it was almost impossible. The noise was so loud. The noise was not just from the children but from the mother’s as well.

These women were talking over the noise of the children. Across the restaurant we could hear the entire conversations these five women were having.

No one else in the place was talking; they were just watching these children and the mother’s that were ignoring them.

Several times I stood to look over the divider wall to see what the children were screaming and yelling about. Dawn told me to sit down and eat my lunch.

I did as told.

We finished our meal and I went to get a refill on my drink and could not pass up the opportunity.

I walked over to the table were the mothers were sitting and leaned over and told them, this is a perfect opportunity to teach their children how to behave in public.

Boy, did I get some strange looks! One mother told me that she was sorry if their children offended me. She said, they’re just children.

I told her that her children didn’t offend me. What DID offend me was that fact that they were talking so loudly to each other so to be heard over their children. I then said that everyone in the restaurant could hear their entire conversation and that no one else in the place was able to have a conversation because they were talking so loud.

They looked at me as if I were some scary being from another planet.

I smiled and walked to the counter to get my drink refill. I noticed the manager standing on the other side of the counter looking as if she was on the verge of exploding.

While at the counter one of the children ran past me to the self-serve ice cream machine and stuck his figure into the spigot of the machine. He had his figure stuck as far as he could get it. His mother told him he needed a cone and didn’t bother to tell him not to touch the spigot. I decided not to have my usual cone before leaving!

Dawn and I were shocked at the behavior of the children, but even more shocked by the behavior of their mothers.

We just can’t understand why these women thought that any of this was appropriate behavior in public.

I would have been so embarrassed if my children even looked as if they were going to get loud or act up in a restaurant.  I would have been more embarrassed if someone approached me to tell me I was being loud.

Maybe it’s just me!

Copyright Notice All text and photos found on cruzin2some.blogspot.com is copyrighted and may not be published, rewritten, distributed or downloaded without permission of the owner of cruzin2some.blogspot.com. All Rights Reserved. ©cruzin2some 2010

Another Day as Gate Attendants

Princeton, Texas

Clear Lake Park

Weather Condition; High 101 Low 77, Sunny

Where does the time go? There just doesn’t seem to be enough time in the day for us lately.

We must be doing a decent job as gate attendants because we were asked if we’d be interested in working here this winter. Would love to but have plans to be in Rockport for at least one more winter. Plus, we’ve bought my mom a plane ticket to visit us in Rockport this winter.

Let’s see, where do I start? We’ve been busy girls to say the least.

The weekend before last, our good friend and her family camped out here at our park and we spent time visiting with them over the weekend.

This past weekend on Saturday we co-hosted a house warming party for a dear friend that bought her first house. That was a lot of fun. Dawn and I prepared the food for the party.

On Sunday we did a bar B Q dinner for some friends that volunteer. They’re leaving early this year in order to attend their grandsons wedding. We had a nice dinner with Jerry, Billie and Joe. Dawn smoked a brisket. She also made cole slaw, cheesy potatoes, baked beans, rolls, apple pie and strawberry cake. Man, it sure was good!

Sunday evening there was a drowning at our park. We had all kinds of emergency personnel with sirens and lights entering the park. We didn’t find out until later that a 49 year old man and his son had gone fishing. The man tied his boat up in three feet of water and swam around a couple of minutes. He went down and never resurfaced. EMS did CPR but he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Very sad.

On Monday late afternoon we received a phone call from my son. He said he was in the hospital with a head injury. “WHAT” He said he was playing hockey and a guy took a cheap shot at another player and hit my son in the head with a hockey stick knocking him out. He ended up in the hospital the following day with a severe headache.  He is 32 and lives in Phoenix, Arizona.  I was having a hard time making sense of what was going on when I talked with him. He was given pain killers and really wasn’t sure what was going on either. A mother’s worst nightmare!

He was making more sense this morning and told me he was fine and ready to get discharged from the hospital.

Also on Monday our rear A/C unit started making a squeaking noise and we had to call an RV repair service out to check on it. Today they cleaned both units and said the fan motor on the rear unit is going out. Of course it is! It is the hottest month of the year!!!

Anyway, he cleaned the units and will be back next week to replace the fan motor $$$$$$$$$.

The fan motor is cheaper than a new unit!

Besides all that, we are working at the gate house and trying to keep cool.

Copyright Notice All text and photos found on cruzin2some.blogspot.com is copyrighted and may not be published, rewritten, distributed or downloaded without permission of the owner of cruzin2some.blogspot.com. All Rights Reserved. ©cruzin2some 2010

Day Four

Princeton, Texas

Clear Lake Park

Weather Condition; High 83 Low 71, Overcast

As usual we’ve been busy. We’ve been working most weekends until now.

It’s been business as usual until Tuesday night. I’ll make this as short as possible!

On our fourth day we have reports to print and cleaning of the gate house.

Anyway, on Tuesday night about 9:30 P.M. we were busy taking care of our duties when Dawn noticed a car slowly approaching the gate house. As it got closer it pulled towards the exit. Dawn said this car is about to drive through the exit.

I looked out the window and watched the black sports car jump the curb and come to a stop about twenty feet from the front of the gate house.

As we watched out the window we wondered if we were about to be robbed or was this another drunk. We continued to watch the car and a moment later the car door opened and an elderly gentleman stepped out.

He walked around the gate house to the window and asked Dawn if he could pay her twenty dollars to use her phone. Dawn told him she wouldn’t take his money but she would be happy to make a call for him. He told her that he was lost. He said he was trying to get to his daughters house. He said he left his home in Arkadelphia, Arkansas at one this afternoon and must have made a wrong turn. That drive should have taken 3 to 3 and half hours.

He gave Dawn a phone number but it was two digits short. She asked him to repeat the number. He did, and this time he was one digit short. He repeated it again, this time he had enough digits. She put her cell phone on speaker so the gentleman could hear. It rang a couple of times and then a recording answered repeating the number dialed and said it was not available. The gentleman leaned forward to the phone and said Wendy, its dad and I’ve been driving around trying to find you. Dawn hung up the phone and I stepped into the restroom with my cell phone and dialed Collin County Sheriff dispatch.

When dispatch answered, I told them who I was and told them an elderly man showed up here claiming to be lost and seemed disoriented. The dispatcher asked the gentlemen’s name.

I stepped out of the restroom, asked him his name and he called out his last name several times. I repeated his name to the dispatcher. The dispatcher said, thank god. We have been looking for him. He told me to keep him there and do not let him leave. He said a deputy was on his way.

Meanwhile, the gentleman asked Dawn if she could call 911. He said his daughter lived next door to the Princeton police department and he was supposed to meet her there. Dawn told him that I had called someone for him.

I stepped out of the restroom and nodded to Dawn to let her know someone was on their way. I then stepped outside and began talking with the gentleman.  Seeing him in the light, I could see he was frail, shaky and appeared to have problems with his balance.  Dawn offered him bottle water. He said thanks that would be great. We grabbed a chair from inside the building and pulled it outside the door.

He sat in the chair and drank the water. I did my best to keep him talking so the wait wouldn’t seem too long. He told us he was going to spend a couple of days with his daughter. He seemed to enjoy the conversation and was talkative.

It took roughly a half hour before the deputy drove up.

The elderly gentleman seemed relieved to see the deputy. The deputy asked to see his driver’s license. The gentleman said his licenses were in his car.

I told the deputy his car needed to be moved. The deputy asked if one of us could move his car for him. He said yes and handed me his car keys.

This is a new model black Chevrolet Camaro with dark tinted windows.

I got into the car, started it and then prayed that the front end wouldn’t get hung on the curb as I backed it up.

I backed off the curb without and damage and backed around the landscape island to the proper side of the gate house. This type car is difficult to see out of in the dark.

The gentleman opened the car door for me and I got out of the car. The deputy again asked for his licenses. The gentleman reached inside his car and retrieved his wallet. He handed the deputy his license. The deputy looked at them and then told the gentleman he knew exactly where he needed to go and would give him a ride.

I told the gentleman he needed to get his overnight bag and lock his car. He said he didn’t have a bag. The deputy asked if he was sure he didn’t have anything in the car he needed to take with him.

The gentleman said he didn’t have anything. He then locked the car and we helped him into the back seat of the deputy’s car.

The deputy told us thanks for our help and drove off.

The following afternoon a woman came and got the car.

We’re not sure what the real story was with this gentleman but we are grateful that we were able to help him.

Never a dull moment, REALLY!!!!!

Copyright Notice All text and photos found on cruzin2some.blogspot.com is copyrighted and may not be published, rewritten, distributed or downloaded without permission of the owner of cruzin2some.blogspot.com. All Rights Reserved. ©cruzin2some 2010