September 13, 2004

September 13, 2004

DAY 88

 

 

Tonight we heard a Louisiana Cajun greeting ; "How y'all comment ça va, chile ?" And I thought Cornwall, Ontario French was about as bad as it could get.

There are 2 morning and 2 afternoon seminar sessions each day, with 5 simultaneous seminars going on during each session, so a choice of 20 different seminars each day. We had planned to split up, with each of us going our separate ways, so each of us could attend 4 seminars per day, thereby attending 8 of the available 20 per day. WHEW ! Today we each attended one seminar. The rest of the day we spent socializing, visiting the outdoor market area, visiting the indoor market area, visiting the truck and trailer dealer displays, more socializing, etc.. We took Toby and Teddy to the Pet Lovers BOF noon pet parade in the park area today. There was one other adult cat, and a very young kitten, perhaps 6 weeks old. There was a small macaw. Yesterday we met somebody with an Amazon Parrot on their shoulder. And, of course, there were many, many, many dogs, including some breeds that we just don't see back home, like a Bedlington Terrier, and a Bruxelles Griffon.

Today we met Bob and Helen Boville, another Ontario Chapter 18 member. It's kind of neat to bump into a familiar face in this sea of over 2200 people.

I phoned the GM dealer just before 6:00 P.M., their closing time, to check on my truck. It's almost finished except for the paperwork. They found that the cable from the battery to the alternator failed / melted, so the alternator could not charge the batteries, the 2 batteries eventually went dead, then all the electronics requiring electricity failed. Not really all that serious a problem. However, the bill is going to be something in the vicinity of U.S. $220, although the service cashier that I spoke to ( the only person there from 5:30 to 6:00 ) wasn't able to explain the work or billing in any detail.

Today was about the same weather as yesterday. Very hot, very sunny, a bit humid. I was looking at a map of the United States today and was surprised to see how far south of Canada we actually are here.

So ... what do you call 50 John Deere tractors circling the MacDonald's in Goshen, Indiana ?

Prom Night.

DSK