Friday, May 21, 2010

Sure Enough!

We've been having a fine week here in Tucson, even with all the doctor visits squeezed in (five separate appointments in three days, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday), and the memorial service for Mike McFall's son on Monday.

The only blemishes for the week were (1) the loss of my key ring on arrival Sunday, (2) our air conditioning is not working as well as it used to, and may need service, and (3) Suzy is at the distant end of her pain control cycle, so is having some tough days. Next Thursday she begins a new pain relief cycle with an epidural injection, and she will be in better shape to take on more of the duties while I'm in the early days of recuperation from surgery.

We're not doing any sightseeing while we are here, but today we are "site-seeing." That is, we are staying on our site and just relaxing. Sitting quietly is difficult for me sometimes, so it's good to be getting some practice at it for the few weeks to come!

So while we are site-seeing, we'll show you another picture of our site here in Rincon Country East RV Resort in Tucson. Every street here is lined with what I believe are Queen Palms, and blooming oleanders decorate the outer walls of the park.

Each morning Suzy has been fascinated by the shadows of the palm trees along our street, as they gradually shrink away from the western wall, moving inexorably toward and eventually beyond our site. Had to get that picture.

Each evening this week we have watched a movie from our collection of DVDs. Early in the week, fellow blogger Margie  had mentioned the film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" starring Jack Nicholson. You really ought to take a few minutes to read Margie's story of a museum about early-day mental hospitals -- go ahead, we'll wait here for your return. Just click on her highlighted name above to go to her blog post.

What did we watch this week? "Something's Gotta Give" starring Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton; "Bucket List" starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman; "On a Clear Day" starring Barbra Streisand and Yves Montand. Tonight we will watch "As Good as it Gets" starring Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt. "On a Clear Day" didn't star Jack Nicholson, but he did appear in a small side role as a laid-back 22-year-old almost hippie, wavy dark hair, and very quiet demeanor. You have to look closely and listen to his voice to even realize who the actor is. This is a Jack Nicholson week!
From 2010 Rincon Country
Jack Nicholson in "On a Clear Day"

Jack Nicholson in "Bucket List"

In between doctor visits and lunches out this week, I managed to get some of my keys replaced at Ace Hardware, but Ace could not do the car key. We also tried the key station at Lowe's, but they could not do it either. They suggested finding a Suzuki dealer, which we did. Yes, they could replace the key (and we also wanted to get a spare key because, when we are towing, the Suzuki's ignition has to be in the "accessory" position. That requires a key, and I really don't like leaving my whole key ring in the car while towing).

The dealer had to charge me $32 for the key blank, and another $15 to cut the key, plus tax! Ouch. I only bought one key at that price. While I complained that this was literally highway robbery, the service writer explained that Suzuki makes these keys out of an especially hard metal (he suggests titanium?) and they are extremely hard to cut and deburr. The other service writer piped up and said, "You should have seen the boss's eyes when he found out how much the key cutting machine cost!"

Hard to believe I had to pay $60 for this single key to be made!

I wasn't overly surprised at the cost, as Mike McFall had told me a new key for his pickup would cost $150, and a lady I met at the dealership told me their second key was priced at about $232. Of course, those keys both include the new "chip" that makes life more secure for us, and income better for the dealerships. Fortunately, the Suzuki XL-7 didn't start using those chip keys until 2007, and ours is a 2004.

After our day yesterday, we sat outside in the evening to catch some of the cool air. As we gazed at what stars are visible above a big city, a bright moving light caught our attention as the park's security guy patrolled in his golf cart. Seeing us sitting out, he stopped and asked what part of Oregon we are from, a question we get about once a week. We chatted for a while, and as I noticed he was carrying one of those mega-multi-million candlepower searchlights, I told him I wished he had come by Sunday evening after I lost my keys.

Rich immediately did a sweep of our site (outdoors) and found nothing. I told him I actually expected to find the keys sitting in the middle of our living room floor as soon as I had replaced them all!). So Rich sat and chatted with us a little longer, and he suggested he would bring over his metal detector. As he left, he walked around the far side of our car, bent down and picked up the keys from the gravel on that side. In plain sight between two shrubs!

The keys are still hard to see in the gravel!

Why hadn't I seen them as I scoured the area? As I mentioned in an earlier post, it was all Kokopelli's doing! He had been hiding them somewhere else, and as soon as I had been required to pay a king's ransom to replace the keys, he plopped them onto the ground where they'd be found immediately. Sure enough, as soon as we replaced them all, we found the missing ones.

What an interesting turn of events! If we hadn't decided to sit out a while last evening, Rich would not have stopped to chat. If Rich had not been from Oregon himself, he might have just waved and continued on his patrol. If I hadn't commented on his mega-million-candlepower searchlight, he'd not have found the keys, and Kokopelli would have had to find some other place the put them for finding later, somewhere else along ... Our Life on Wheels.

10 comments:

  1. Rumor has it that "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was filmed in the building I work in.

    I'm glad your keys were found!

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  2. What a great stroke of luck, and yes what if all the stars did not come together and the guard had not stopped, We love a story with a happy ending. hey he didn't find a couple bucks in change and Sam's high school ring, we've been missing that stuff for thirty years now.Be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

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  3. Well, in the grand scheme of things that lost key story sounds pretty normal. It's almost as if there are really Kokopelli's & Gremlins out here in our everyday lives just trying to thwart us fellows at every turn. Fortunately we have 'hawk eye Kelly' here & it seems she can find absolutely anything despite the Koko's & Gremy's shenanigans. Those key replacement costs are highway robbery but I don't suppose man's greedy madness will ever stop!! Hopefully Suzy get's some pain relief soon. Say, have you thought of a new pair of glasses to help you find things.....:))

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  4. That's quite a story, Jerry! You called it the other day when you said you would find your keys as soon as they were replaced. Nice to know that they hadn't gotten into the wrong hands.

    By the way, where in Oregon ARE you from?

    I liked your pictures of the RV park. The palm trees reminded me of where we stayed in Las Vegas.

    Is Suzy going to update your blog for you while you are having surgery? I hope she feels better soon.

    I enjoy your posts very much.

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  5. That is how it always is!! We try to have triple of everthing..lol It is always me who looses them. I never get tickets are hav the minor wrecks..I just loose the keys! lol

    I hope suzie gets to feeling better soon!!

    Cindy and Walker

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  6. Thanks for the shout out in your post, Jerry!

    Wow, I'm sorry you spent the money on the new key and then found your missing keys. Well you have an extra now. That is the good part.

    Hope Suzy feels better real soon.

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  7. I'm glad events coalesced so your keys were found. Now, if you'd just send Rich my way to help me find the wedding ring and diamond necklace I lost on the way back from having them cleaned at the jewelers, you might be able to reduce about half the friction in my marriage (I'll never live it down).

    Best of luck with the surgery and a speedy, pain-free recovery.

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  8. Well as luck would have it....you found your keys!! Now you have that extra key!! Isn't it funny how things all work together to make something happen.

    Beautiful campground. You guys enjoy your stay. :)

    Mike & Gerri
    http://freedom2roll.blogspot.com

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  9. Well, the good news is you now have a spare key to use in the toad without the expense of having a new, expensive one cut.

    Paulette lost her cellphone last year and after searching high and low, we finally bought a replacement. Two days later, we found her old phone sitting on a coffee table in our living room. How did we miss it??

    It's always nice to find lost keys though no matter that you've replaced them.

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  10. I loved your key story! We have Kokopelli's cousins, the Menehunes from Hawaii. The sometimes do good things, but mostly they're mischievous and sometimes even evil!

    Hope Suzy's new pain management regime is successful so she can take good care of you when you're recovering from surgery.

    That park in Tucson looks really nice. Get some good rest.

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