Cosmo and I spent most of the week on Joshua Tree BLM land. My friend Kitty joined me on Sunday and stayed until Wednesday. By the time she arrived I’d made friends with Rob, a young man who was staying in a pop-up camper up the road from me. He joined us several nights at our bonfire which Kitty made happen every night she was there. We had a good time sitting outside, keeping warm by the fire, and watching the moon set, and watching Jupiter and Mars rise.
Saturday, before Kitty arrived, I met a woman up the road who ended up getting stuck when she tried to switch spots and chose a sandy stretch that she was unable to navigate. Rob came down and we used my “Trax” boards to wedge under her tires. Even that wasn’t enough, and we were soon joined by a man named Matt at a nearby site. He brought a tow rope and hooked her up to his truck. The combination of Rob driving her van, me working the Trax boards and Matt pulling finally got her unstuck. She seemed quite grateful for the help.
I had some issues with my water pump this week and after much fiddling found it to be a loose connection. I’ll have to get it looked at soon, but for now it is still pumping water, though sometimes it takes some “jiggling” to make it work properly. Kitty left me a 2 gallon jug of water as backup in case I continue to have problems. I’ll see if I can get it looked at in Quartzsite when I get over there in a week or so.
Kitty left Wednesday morning and Kristy (the woman who got stuck in the sand) left soon afterwards, to go to Las Vegas to have her van serviced. She took Rob with her (he had a court date on Thursday to fight a speeding ticket.) So Cosmo and I were left alone after a week of lots of friends surrounding us. We took a walk up to the loop closer to the road and found a group of vans. I struck up a conversation with a very friendly and extremely handsome man buzzing his hair off. I asked if I could be next (he assumed I meant “next to get my hair buzzed off”) and he said “I’m not sure my clippers would be able to handle that. We had a nice conversation and he introduced himself as “Lefty” (even though he was right-handed) and said he would be at SkooliePalooza. Before I left, he said “See you at SkooliePalooza. Boy, I hope so! ?
I spent the rest of the day on the phone with Verizon Wireless. I cannot log into my account. This happens every month or so when I try to pay my bill. I get locked out for trying too many passwords. I have too many passwords, because I always end up saying “Forgot my password” and they make me pick a new one. It cannot be one I’ve used before and therefore I must pick one that I won’t remember. I write it down, but it never works the next time I try to use it. Verizon informed me that I cannot log in from my phone AND my laptop on the same account. I need to pick one device. If I try to log in on the other device, they lock me out. They also informed me if I don’t log in for 30 days, they lock me out. So basically, Verizon just goes out of its way to make my life miserable. When I DO log in to check usage, or see how much Wi-Fi I’ve used, they always tell me “That page isn’t available now.” So at the end of a 45-minute conversation, where the gentleman from India could not resolve my issue, he said “Would you be willing to recommend Verizon to family and friends?” to which I replied “Have you lost your fucking mind?” He was a bit indignant and couldn’t understand why I might feel reluctant to give my seal of approval to a communication company who goes out of their way to not communicate and not let ME communicate. Verizon has the best coverage, so I stick with them in spite of the fact that they have zero customer service skills and their website sucks. Oh well…
I made myself some vegetables and sauce (broccolini, mushrooms, Brussels Sprouts with some canned cream of broccoli soup for the sauce base) and steamed up some rice. That was my dinner (and judging by the quantity I made, it will serve as several other meals this week. It was quite delicious, so I won’t mind eating it a couple more times.
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I moved back to Ehrenberg, AZ on Thursday morning. I had lots of chores that needed to be done, and I considered going west into Indio and Coachella because they have a Jiffy Lube and I needed my oil changed. I also needed water, a few groceries, gas, and propane, and I wanted to take a real shower. I could do all that in Indio or Coachella (they are so close and small that I sort of consider them one place) and then spend another night in JTBLM, but the temperature there was only going to get up to 61 for the high that day. Ehrenberg was going to be up to 70. I checked and there was a Valvoline in Blythe (last exit in California at the border of Arizona) and I knew they had a great Albertsons grocery store, a Dollar Tree Store, several spots for propane and cheaper gas just across the river in AZ (Gasoline at the last exit in Blythe CA heading east on I-10 was $5.85. Gas in Ehrenberg, the first exit in AZ was only $3.87.) So, I headed into JTNP and filled my water tank. I headed toward Ehrenberg and stopped in Blythe at Albertsons and got a few food items and then a few blocks farther, filled my propane. I went to their “Valvoline” which was far from any Valvoline I’d ever experienced. Normally, you don’t leave your vehicle. You just pull up over the “pit” while the attendant above plugs in your info and nationwide, they know immediately what you got at your last service and when it was. They plug in what you want, and the person below in the pit drains your oil and changes the filter while someone above refills your engine with the oil of your choosing. It normally takes about 10 minutes and the people have always been friendly. The “Valvoline” in Blythe was a rundown, old-timey service station with two bays. You couldn’t drive in and neither had pits for attendants to work below your vehicle. I parked, got out and got a run-around from the woman who seemed to be in charge telling me they could change my oil and a young man saying he was waiting for a couple other guys to “show up.” Not promising. I went inside. She wanted me to pay up front and started filling out paperwork (no computer linking her to the nationwide Valvoline information. I was immediately suspicious.) There were 5 other people in the waiting room, looking not-too-patient about the wait so I asked how long it would take. She said, “12 minutes.” The guy I’d spoken to first turned and said “12 minutes after we GET to you; it will be about an hour before we can get you in.” I just left. I crossed the border into AZ and got my 2 dollar a gallon discount on gas, and went to my old spot on Ehrenberg BLM land. Bonnie came out of her van, waved frantically, and even from that distance, I could see her smiling. I was glad to be back home.
I got settled in and Cosmo and I headed for over for a visit. There was a man in a small pull-behind on the other side of me, in the distance. Later when Cosmo and I took our evening stroll, he was outside with a black dog about Cosmo’s size and weight. The man (David) came over and chatted and Cosmo and Buddy wrestled and ran around the wide-open space. He was from New Jersey, and had lived in Wisconsin, so we had lots to talk about. He also had stayed in many of the same spots that I had camped so we compared notes about “Hippie-Hole,” Empire Ranch, Brawley, Joshua Tree and Dome Rock in Quartzsite. Later when I was down visiting Bonnie, he and Buddy came over and introduced themselves to Bonnie. They hit it off and we all had a nice visit.
My water pump has been acting up again. Rob had suggested removing the wire (it had a plug in connection to the pump) and using some dielectric grease to improve the connection and eliminate any corrosion. I did that and it worked again, but I’m not sure the grease fixed it so much as I just “jiggled” to a better connection. I can tell by the sound when it is pumping that something is still not right, so I’m going to have to find an RV repair place sooner rather than later. I’m hoping someone in Quartzsite can replace it.
Lessons From The Road: I’m not feeling very optimistic about America these days. My visit to the Faux Valvoline seemed pretty much like trying to get service in a third-world country. They were inefficient, pretending to be something they were not, and at least a little bit dishonest.
Likewise, when I went to the Flying J for a shower, the lines wrapped around the aisles (to pay for my shower) and there were only two cashiers, neither one seeming very interested in their jobs or in customer service. I paid for my shower, and they sent me to shower #3. When I went back to the shower rooms, shower #3 was open and dirty with wet towels and washcloths spewed on the wet floor. I went back to where I paid, and the woman who had taken my money for the shower tried to ignore me. I wasn’t having it. I explained the situation and she rolled her eyes (either at me, or at the inefficiency of the Flying J system) and reluctantly sent me to a different shower. The receipt shows a code to use to get into the locked shower room and when I went back, it wouldn’t work. I headed back to the front counter, and the woman once again tried to pretend she didn’t see me, until I shouted “EXCUSE ME.” She got on her microphone and asked for maintenance to come to the shower rooms. Then she told me to go back and wait. I did. No one came. I was just about to go ask for a refund when a very nice maintenance man came, and I explained the situation. He took my code and tried it. It wouldn’t work. He said “I don’t know why they don’t fix this. The lock on this shower room never works right.” He said, “I’ll go get someone to let you into a different room.” I waited some more. No one came. I went back into the store and found him and asked if he would help me. He said, “No one has come to let you in?” I answered in the negative. He came back with me, got on his headset, and couldn’t get any help. He pulled out a key, punched in a code to yet another shower room and opened it and said “Here you go. Use this one.”
I find far too often that American workers don’t want to help. I frequently feel like too many workers hate their jobs. There is almost always inadequate help in any establishment I go to. People say “We can’t get help. Nobody wants to work.” I think the truth may be that nobody wants to work at the low pay being offered, and those that do, resent it. The companies are making record profits and yet they are unwilling to compensate the workers on the front line who are literally responsible for bringing that money in. It feels quite sad to me.
On the flip side, out here on the road, a neighbor who I’d never met came by and told Bonnie he was going into town to the transfer station (waste collection) and he’d be glad to take our trash with him if we had any. People out here are generally friendly and helpful and will do what they can for each other.
I watched a documentary about Leslie Jordan. It was quite moving and at one point when he hit rock bottom he ended up in an AA meeting. When he felt like he needed to drink, he called his sponsor who told him that instead of wallowing in self-pity, he needed to find ways to be of service. He said that became his mission in life from that point on and at every juncture in his career he would think “How can I be of service in this situation?” I felt quite inspired. My goal for this year was to always try to be kind. If I disagreed with someone or they annoyed me, I have tried to be kind and not argue or pick a fight, but to just walk away. I’ve tried to be kind to people I meet who may be irritating. I think they must be having a tough day and if I can’t make it any better, then at least don’t make it worse. I have vowed to add to that in the coming year and do my best to be of service to people I encounter. Be kind. Be of service. I believe that’s the start of changing the world for the better.