And Here's Your RED Ticket!!

 First off, thank you all so much for the Code comments.  My other trailer-pulling diesel buddy said basically the same thing ... except for the air filter part, which I'm going to check on today. 

Good Morning California!!  That sounds a lot more enthusiastic than I actually am this morning.  Late Bingo nights always get me.  To add to my uncomfortableness (is that a word?) it was cold all last night, making my hip feel like I got kicked by a mule ... which basically happened.

I was a little too wild trying to carry three big containers of fabric into the rig, when my hip bone caught on the stair handrail.  OUCH that hurt!!!  It ached just enough to wake me up at 2:00 am, followed by shivering.  I can't believe it's the end of June and it's so cold at night, I need to put a quilt back on my bed once again.  I'm not complaining about the weather though ... I love the cool air!!

Surprise surprise ..... it's Bingo time yet again.  The only night of the week when I grit my teeth while smiling ... sometimes with raised eyebrows.  The good news however, is that Mr. Cooper is finally getting back to normal.  This is the first happy face I have seen in over a month.  

Yes, Mom caved.  She went to the pet store and bought the softest toy she could find, then she cut out the squeaker (because it's too hard to bite) and sewed it back up.  We played the keep away game for all of five minutes.  He was in Heaven!!  It made my heart smile too.

I was kind of sad to have to run off to the Elks Lodge, but run I did.  It's interesting to note that at least half our clientele are new.  I don't know what happened to the old ones, but very few of the regulars still attend.  The new crowds are much younger.  I'm guessing the average age is 35-45.  

Sometimes that requires dark sunglasses.  Have I ever mentioned the wigs?  Oh my goodness ... you have never seen hair color (or styles) the likes of Bingo players.  It usually matches their two inch long fingernails, enhanced with shiny jewels the likes of which I've never seen before.  It makes it difficult to get money out of their purses.  Picking up flimsy bingo cards is even harder.  I'm very careful not to get stabbed.

New players always requires lot of explanations about how to play and what our rules are.  Of course no one likes the rules!!  Especially when it comes to that little red ticket that might just win you 25 cents!!  You would think it was worth $200,000.  

On this night one of the much older regulars lost her ticket.  Yup she walked right up and actually screamed at me ... YOU DIDN'T GIVE ME RED TICKET!!  Oh my gosh ... she was SO angry!  No doubt she dropped it on the floor because every single transaction ends with ... "and here's your RED ticket.  Good Luck!"  I was just about to call the King over when she slammed her hand on the desk and walked off saying something in Chinese ... or maybe it was Portuguese.  

Later I had someone give her another ticket because I felt bad that she lost it.  No, she didn't win anything.  There's one thing that stands out about Bingo ... most of them will do anything to win.  Now if it was a $1.00 ticket ... like last night ... you have a chance of winning $245.  

BINGO!!  Just like that, one new gal came up and asked what her pull tab card said.  My dear it says you won $245 on that one dollar tab.  As you can imagine, she was ecstatic!!  That's a rare occurrence, since only one in 500 cards is a winner.

And THEN ... the worst thing happened.  The caller got his numbers mixed up and the crowd went WILD!!!  I've never heard such yelling before!  It not only delayed the game, but he had to reset the entire console.  It was pitchforks, shovels, spears, knives and flaming torches for about ten minutes until he got it reset.  I hid in the other room.  No use letting some of that rub off on me!!

Sadly, the corn dogs are no more, so I ate my big hotdog with relish ... not the pickle stuff, but with enthusiasm, which instantly made my stomach hurt.  It's hard to keep reminding yourself that bread is a no-no.  I followed it up with a few M&M's just for good measure.  It was just enough to keep me awake on the way home!!

Thanks to the Knights, I've learned of a new mechanics shop in town that seems to have a good reputation.  I'm taking my truck down this morning to see what they say.  Luckily I'm armed with information so they don't pull any wool over my eyes and say I need a new turbocharger.  I'll let you know what happens!!