It Was a Total Blowout!

18 Oct 2013--Hi everyone!  It's been quite sometime since we posted a blog..haven't done a lot all year for various reasons, but I have an interesting one for you today.

Cathy and I were finally leaving San Antonio yesterday, on our way to Florida for the better part of 2 months before returning home here again.  We have been joking recently that in odd-numbered years Texas seems to be like the "big black hole" that won't let us go, so even though it is October we were glad to be making a break for it.

WELL, we didn't even get to Houston when we almost had a major disaster!  Let me set the scene for you:  there we were, basically minding our own business, barreling down the highway in our RV at about 65 MPH, when all of a sudden and out of the blue BANG!, the loudest sound you ever heard inside a vehicle explodes right underneath me and we are now listing and careening to the right, out of control, and heading straight for the Jersey wall between the breakdown lane and the grass.  (The Jersey walls are those concrete barriers on the side of the road.)  I was on the phone talking when it happened, yelled something about Holy Crap! and hung up, looked over at Cathy driving, and realized it was taking a herculean effort on her part to try get control of the RV again.  She was practically standing on the brake and had a vice grip on the wheel as she tried to pull the rig back to the left before we smashed into the wall.  We didn't come to a stop for at least 1/4 mile down the road, so I am not exaggerating when I say it was the ride from hell!

In the 1st picture here you can see that we left a trail behind us for about a good 1/4 mile before we came to a stop.  In the 2nd pic you can see 2 things: the majority of our right front tire is back near the group of cars, and the marks on the road where we swerved back out away from the walls--up closer where the car is by itself.  The 3rd pic is just a better picture of how far we drove before coming to a stop.



So what is the wet stuff on the road?  When we finally came to a stop, and before we could get out to see what happened, we immediately smelled something that I thought was burning rubber.  So with hearts pumping and Cathy directly behind me, I opened the door expecting to see smoke from the tire or something, when instead we see that we are absolutely gushing diesel out of the RV.  I yelled to Cathy that we had a major leak and to run for it in case it was going to blow up.  Here is a video where you can see how close we are to the wall, the diesel still flowing (slower now) out of the bottom of the RV, and what is left of our tire.  (I only took these pictures after ascertaining that the rig was not going to blow--haha!)

We were so close to the wall that Cathy and I actually jumped over it as we got out the door and ran to the back on the grass.  Feeling a little safer, Cathy calls 911 and the Insurance company.



So the 1st to arrive was the Volunteer Fire Dept, followed by the Austin County Police.  We were between 2 counties so they passed it off to the guy in the 3rd picture, Sheriff Davis of the Walla County Sheriff's Dept...I called him "Big Tex!"--haha  Big Tex at 1st said he couldn't find us, but then he saw the trail of diesel and followed it for a good 1/4 mile till he caught up with us--haha.



Cathy and I assess the damage while we wait.  What's left of the tire looks like Rastafarian Dread Locks, doesn't it?  You can tell in the 2nd pic that the wheel well is all torn up inside.



And in these pictures you can see that the exploding tire completely tore out the connection and hose that leads to the gas tank underneath the RV.  The 3rd pic shows the part of the connection that you usually place the gas nozzle into when pumping your gas.  When Cathy opened the little door, the gas cap just fell out...nothing to hook onto anymore.



So "Big Tex" calls the local area heavy-duty towing company, Gregory's Towing, and they come to our rescue while he keeps traffic away from us.  Their rig was really big, and I posted the 3rd pic here for my sister Ellen...it was named after you kiddo!  haha  That is Richard in the 4th and 5th pics and his brother Randy in the 6th...it is their family's company.  (I told Richard I would make him famous so he is waiting for me to post this--haha.)  It was pretty cool watching them hook us up...remember that the RV weighs in excess of 30,000 lbs.




It took a while, but they finally got everything hooked up and towed us down the road apiece to Holiday World RV, where they sell and repair RVs.



Fortunately, Holiday World has full hookups...water, sewer, electric for us to hook up to, because it looks like the "big black hole" of Texas has sunk its teeth into us good.  Yesterday they told us it would be at least 1-2 weeks before all the repairs could be done, and then this afternoon they revised that to probably 3-4 weeks!!!!   Good God!!!  NOTHING LIKE SEEING THE COUNTRY, HUH?!  haha  (They have to get the wheel and tire fixed before they can drive the RV into the repair bay, and the wheel will take 2 weeks to get here...they must be rolling it instead of shipping it?)

Here we are trying to wash all the diesel off the RV, and today we took the car to the car wash to do the same.  It will take a couple more washings on both to get it all off.  You can see the diesel big time on the car windows.




And finally, a couple last pics.  Here I am pointing out the violence with which the tire blew.  Inside the RV, at the foot of the stairwell, is a night light.  It not only blew the plastic cover off, it blew the light bulb clear out of the socket!!!  I was sitting in that chair of course...felt like I was sitting on top of a canon!!!



And here are pics of our now-messy medicine cabinet and the kitchen table area where the drawer was yanked open and the chair toppled as Cathy wrestled with the RV.



So that was how we spent our vacation, how about you?

"The 1960s Revisited!"

28 Jun 2013--Hallie, Donna and I had a heck of a couple days up at the State Capitol in Austin, joining an old fashioned protest...and frankly, we had the time of our lives! haha

We started out on Sunday heading to the Capitol and got there about noon time to watch the House of Representatives debate a bill that would end up closing 37 of the 42 Women's Health Centers that provide abortions, among other health care services.  They would also cut back on the time frame in which it would still be legal to get an abortion.  I am not going to debate the issue here, everyone has their own opinion and feelings, just thought I would share some pictures seeing that if you saw the national news at all this week you probably saw something on this subject.



Everyone was raring to go with signs, buttons and the like.



Two women on opposite sides of the issue.  The crowds were split between those basically wearing orange, who were pro choice, and the ones wearing blue, pro life.  The one with the blue shirt is actually pro choice, just wore the wrong color that day!  haha



We waited outside the House gallery doors for at least an hour and a half, waiting for them to open.  I only post this 3rd picture to show you a lady who cut in behind us because she thought she was better than everyone else and didn't have to wait.  Donna actually said something to her about it, but she just ignored Donna...so Donna ended up telling her that there was a special place in hell for people like her!!!!   haha  Hallie got a little nervous at this point that we might get arrested, so she tried to calm the situation down.



The "blue" people...so what's with the "Barbara Bush pearls"?  You really wouldn't believe how many of them had pearls on.



Needless to say, the overwhelming majority of the people discussing women's health issues were men...ugh!!!!



But we did have some hero and villain women, so this is them.  1st pic shows Representative Farrar, who got a standing ovation (against the rules) because on Thursday, during a committee meeting, she took the main sponsor of the bill to task and made her look like an idiot.  The 2nd and 3rd pics show Rep. Thompson, waiving and then hanging from the microphone a hanger that she said was what was in store for women if this bill passed.



Then in the 1st pic we have Rep Laubenberg, the Pro Life sponsor of the bill who in all honesty was a complete buffoon.  If I was on that side I would never want her representing me...let me give you an example of why:
The lady in the center of the 3rd pic is Dawnna Dukes, who is a Rep from the east side of Austin.  Now Dukes looks like she would just as soon kick your butt as to speak to you, and she asked Laubenberg why there was no exception in her bill for rape or incest victims.  Laubenberg said, "Well, we raised funding for emergency rooms at hospitals.  And in the emergency rooms they have these things they call rape kits, and they basically use these rape kits to like 'clean the women out' I guess."!!!!!  It was a jaw-droppingly stupid statement to make, and she actually repeated it at Dukes' urging.  How embarrassing, on so many levels.  Who in the name of God ever voted for someone so stupid to begin with???  She actually believed what she said and had no idea that those kits are actually used for evidence collection!  Incredible!!!  (Then look at the lady in the 2nd pic with the glasses on...do you think she is all there?--haha)



So, we were there till 10 o'clock Sunday night but had to leave before the final vote was taken...the Republicans passed the bill and sent it to the Senate.



On Tuesday, about 10 AM or so, Hallie and I headed up to Austin again to see the Senate side of things. Donna was working, and works in Austin, so she joined us in the gallery about 4 o'clock that afternoon.  This is Senator Wendy Davis, the woman you probably saw on the news, who was holding a filibuster that she started at about 11 AM...she had to talk, all by herself, until midnight to close out the special session of legislature and kill the bill.  The crowds were good early, but grew steadily throughout the day and into the evening, ending up with between 2000-3000 people in and around the building.



I had to take a bathroom break and ran into this male Representative in the elevator.  Can't remember his name but took his picture because I knew Hallie and Donna would know him and disliked him too.  Very Pompous!  In the 2nd pic is Rep Farrar, one of the stars from Sunday, who along with Rep Thompson and Cecile Richards were walking the halls and thanking people for coming out to support them.  If you don't know, Cecile Richards, the blond, is the head of Planned Parenthood and the daughter of former Texas Governor Ann Richards.



Quite a few of the House members stand outside the senate floor railing and watch as Senator Wendy Davis continues her filibuster.  The Republicans said she broke the rules 3 times and tried to shut her down so they could vote before midnight and pass their bill.  During an objection other Democrats talk with Wendy, and the crowd grows a little restless.

To give you an idea of the rules:  The person speaking cannot sit, eat, drink, or walk beyond 3 ft of her desk.  She cannot go the bathroom (I heard on the news she had a catheter--haha) or get any assistance from any other senator.  She can't even lean against her desk.  It is really a marathon of speaking, and she has to remain "on topic"...can't just read the telephone book or anything like that.


 

Building to a crescendo, a Republican objects and says that Wendy created her 3rd violation by going off topic.  (Her 1st violation was when she was relating this bill to the Roe v. Wade decision that they said was off topic (?), 2nd violation was ruled when another senator tried to help put a brace on her back, and the 3rd violation was when she talked about an abortion bill that they passed last year that they said she was AGAIN off topic on...incredible).  The crowd gets a little more agitated and some people are told to leave and are escorted out by the police.



And then all hell breaks loose!!!  It was at 11:45 PM, just 15 minutes to go, when a woman senator, after continuously raising her hand and being ignored, finally said "At what point must a female senator raise her hand or her voice to be recognized over the male colleagues in the room?"  The crowd goes wild, and to the everlasting chagrin of the Republicans, they continue to get louder and louder...for over the 15 minutes left to midnight, and they lose!!!!

Also part of the rules is that the spectators can't speak or make any noise in the gallery or they will be removed.  Well, with 500 people in there, and more than 400 of those on the pro choice side, the yelling and screaming was deafening, and they couldn't get everyone out in time to take the vote.  Wendy and her senate colleagues are raising 2 fingers which actually signals a NO vote, and the crowd mimics them and yells "let her speak", etc.



Here I am, right before the cop escorted me outside the gallery, about 3 minutes to  midnight!!!  What fun!!!  (Needless to say, I went peacefully!!!  Didn't want to get dragged out, or worse yet, arrested.  The cop that escorted me was actually very nice...I think with all my wrinkles and thinning hair he thought I was really, really old, so he was very respectful!  hahaha)

 

Wendy giving the "V" sign and a girl next to me is screaming like a banshee...the noise was really earsplitting.



I am already outside the gallery here, and you can see they have called in reinforcements as the police enter the chamber.  The crowds outside the chamber are even bigger and louder than inside.  Hallie and Donna are at this point somewhere in these crowds...they had left the gallery earlier and couldn't get back in because the crowds were so large.  So they saw everything on closed circuit tv and were in this mix later.




And here I am on the CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley on Wednesday night...Chris called me and said he saw me, so I watched on a California station later...you have to turn the volume all the way up to hear the report, but at about the 18-20 second point of the video you can see me in the gallery (twice), 1st taking a picture and then raising my arms and voice in protest of them shutting Wendy down with bogus violation rulings!!!



So we were either "democracy in action", or "an unruly mob", depending on your point of view--haha.  But the special session called by the governor had expired and at least for a short period of time my side won.  The governor has just called another special session, to start Monday, so they will eventually create enough rules and roadblocks to push their bill through, but we won Tuesday and had a blast to boot!!!  You just gotta love this country!!!