The Wall That Heals

 I'm still alive and kicking, in spite of the once again 44 degrees with four days of rain.  Will this ever stop?  I really could use more of that sitting out and soaking up the sun.  Yes ... still coughing, just not as bad!

It's the night of the week ... another rousing fun-filled night of complaints and angry peasants.  So first, let's enjoy the best part of the day.

Here's my little man getting some Zzzz's only an hour after we got up.  Oh to be able to sleep like a puppy!!

The first chore ... fix the tail lights on my truck.  I thought one of the bulbs had burned out since the bottom half wasn't lighting up.  I keep extra around just for the occasion.  That's funny .. the bulb didn't LOOK burned out and the sun is too bright to really tell.  No one yelled any bad words at me while driving, so I'm hoping it's fixed.  I'll check when it gets dark.

Next up ... oh yeah ... let's get frustrated at the insurance bill for the Lodge.   Remember budget?  Gosh ... I don't even do this much investigation on my OWN house insurance.  I was at the lodge by 1:30 meeting up with our bookkeeper.  She's a joy to work with, so there's that.  

Funny ... several people were hanging outside the back door of the lodge.  What's up?  I had completely forgotten the Wall That Heals was coming to town.  The Elks Lodge donated quite a bit so it would make a two day stop, all organized by a very young college student Elk member who lives here.  It's a replica of the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial, touring across the entire United States.

One big thing our Lodge does is support our military veterans.  Especially these guys!  Sorry I turned my phone, but at least I caught it passing by.  It was preceded by six motorcycle cops with lights flashing, along with several Highway Patrol cars and motorcycles that blocked the entire street.

The truck was followed by about 200 motorcycles, most of whom were Vietnam Veterans.  Everywhere it goes, Veterans are invited to ride along and escort the truck.  It was followed up by six more patrol cars from the Highway Patrol and Merced Police Department, along with several unmarked cars.  It was amazing to watch, and as an old motorcycle gal, it was even more fun to hear all those bikes going down the street.  

After another hour of budget problem solving, it was time for the wonderful game of Bingo.  We were going to be short five people on this night, so I headed up to get the keys to unlock the games.  Who should I find but the King celebrating his birthday.  We even got CAKE!!!  That made up for ALL the budget stuff!

There would be a picture here, but my

email has decided not to accept anything 

I send to myself.  What's up with that??

Oh yay ... it finally came through after I rebooted my phone AND the computer.  There were several rousing rounds of Happy Birthday before I went back to work.

With everything set up, let the games begin.  We were swamped with 135 bingo folks who were quite patient on this night.  That's a first!!  The mini infernal machine, better known as the debit card machine, threw a hissy fit a couple of times, but for the most part spit out all the required receipts.  

Here's the thing.  In order to buy MORE cards, you must have your receipt.  If not you get charged the FULL price instead of the EXTRA CARD price.  The nice lady wanted more cards, but could not come up with her receipt.  That meant she had to pay $3.00 more for the first "extra" card.  She was NOT a happy camper, but paid it, only to come back and demand a refund. 

I SPENT $177 DOLLARS HERE she yelled.  You know I did, why don't you just give me those cards?  Because $125 dollars of that was cash back ... and everyone has to pay for those cards.  I WANT A REFUND.

No problemo ... bring me your cards and I will happily give you your money back.  That wasn't good enough.  She went to the King who by now had been celebrating his birthday for five hours.  He rolled his eyes, she finally brought her cards over and I refunded her $52.00.  Just another happy customer at Bingo!!!

The night was long, but it finally ended.  Well, not until I went another round of insurance budget conversation before escaping out the back door.  I'm pretty sure today will be a COUCH day.  Here's hoping everyone gets a little sun to brighten up their day.