DST

I have no doubt that at one time Daylight Savings Time made sense, but like civil service* employee unions, horse drawn carriages, buggy whips, flintlock rifles, and civil rights activists* it (DST) has outlived its usefulness and purpose.  Getting rid of DST is not a 'sexy' cause, so we allow ourselves to be tortured bi-annually in the name of some vague, mostly undefined common good.  No one I know anywhere likes DST, so why are Arizona and Hawaii the only outliers among all 50 states?  This is the first time in my memory that I woke up on the second Sunday in March and didn't have to 'spring forward', or 'fall back' an hour.  The only time one should have to change all their clocks is when one crosses into a different time zone.....and I totally get time zones......then it is my choice when to cross them and gain, or lose an hour.  You may wonder why I, being a retired person, care about what time it is.  Well, even though my life is no longer governed by the time of day I do take on occasional part time jobs which require my presence at a given time, or I have appointments (dental, doctor, etc) to keep, so I do still need to know what time it is.

*(By the way, for those who will most certainly react to my comment about civil service employee unions, and civil rights activists having outlived their usefulness and purpose, please note that I was very specific in the terms I used.  I am not anti union in the private sector, and I am not against civil rights for anyone, any group, or any individual.)

So Sunday it was time to finish installing the replacement rubber trim on the drivers side of the coach.  It was actually much easier than I expected for two reasons: 1) The drivers side is continuously in the sun all day so the rubber stayed much more malleable (both the rubber and aluminum guide were warm) and 2) There were far fewer cuts to be made since there is no water heater, refrigerator, dryer vents, doors, etc. on that side.  I basically had two long runs, and 3 shorter ones.  The trick, however, was allocating what I had left to fit the extremely long runs.....one was almost 40 feet long.  The longest piece I had was just two inches longer than I needed for that one....whew!

While it was pretty easy to finish up the replacement of the shrunken rubber trim it did take me until mid afternoon to complete the job, and then another hour to clean up the mess I had created.  I ended up retaining a few of the longer remaining pieces, and a few of the shorter ones in the event I need to repair, or replace any of it in the future. Now to just figure out where to store it.....:-)

I spent a couple of hours late afternoon watching an ESPN '30 for 30' film about Jim  Valvano and the 1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack basketball team's improbable run to the NCAA Basketball National Championship that year.  I remember sitting in a hotel room in El Paso, Texas that night (we were on a family trip to St. Louis to visit TLE's family) watching that game between Houston and North Carolina State, and the amazing ending to that game.  I had seen several of NC State's miraculous wins that March and they were clearly a vast underdog to the Houston team, which had several future Hall of Famers on their team, and wanted to be sure I was near a TV on the night of the final.  Then, of course, who does not remember Jim Valvano's losing battle with cancer, and his famous speech at the ESPYS (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Show) just prior to his death that still brings a flood of tears to my eyes.  I am still inspired by his indomitable spirit.......he never quit fighting against cancer, just as he inspired his team to never quit fighting to win a game that seemed lost to all.  In a 10, or 11 game run in March of 1983 they appeared to have lost 8, or 9 of those games until a miraculous, unforeseen finish snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

Thanks for stopping by!