OT-Kinda

[Piannaman@aol.com]

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
Joe,

Thanks for giving us a glimpse of your day, and reminding many or most of us 
why being self-employed is such a great thing...but will we say that on 
September 15th???   

Playing hooky is good for the soul, isn't it?  

Dave Stahl

In a message dated 8/14/03 9:09:25 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
joegarrett@earthlink.net writes:


> I thought I'd share my day with Y'all!<G>:
> I live about half way between Portland and Tillamook, (on The Coast).
> Because of that, I do quite a few tunings in the small towns, on the
> Northern Oregon Coast. I always consider it a "mini-vacation", even though
> most of the pianos are worse than PSOs. Most have not seen service of any
> kind, for years! And, the coastal sea air doesn't help. Even though I do
> quite a few at the  coast, it is more often than not, difficult to fill a
> day, there. Such was today!<G>
> I had one tuning, in the morning. A repeat client with a 6' Chickering,
> 1922. It's in need of a lot of things, but generally adequate and tunes up
> nicely.
>     Anyway, one tuning, then the rest of the day to either come back to the
> shop or take some time for myself. Life has been rather cruel, these last
> few months, so I opted to "play hookie"!<G> (One of the nice "perks" of
> working in this business!) The Plan: Hang out on the beach, have lunch and
> read The Five Lectures!<G>
>     The drive to Tillamook, on Hiway 6, is typical of the many mountain
> roads that cross The Coast Range to the wonderfully beautiful Pacific Ocean.
> It's kind of windie, tricky in spots and ALWAYS has a belligerent, "Smokey"
> lurking about! (He got me twice in one day! Yikes! And that was in a fully
> loaded VW Bus!) There's only one "passing lane" area on the whole 45 mile
> trip. I left a bit early, this morning, in anticipation of "playing hookie".
> Good thing I did, as the great gurus of Highway Matters decided to do some
> paving! (Guess where? The "passing lane" area!)(Following Winebuggos is
> sooooo much fun!)(Just love that warm tar on my German "Roller Skate"! Not!)
> Driving Hiway 6 is quite nice, with plenty of Flora, consisting of Fir,
> Cedar, Spruce, Alder and assorted underbrush. Very Green and almost
> constant, except for the occasional "Clear Cut" that momentarily ruins my
> mood.
> Finally arrived at my morning client, 15 minutes late. On The Coast, that's
> usually not a big thing, as they tend to be pretty laid back. Today was no
> exception. <G>
>     Because it was a repeat tuning client, the piano was no problem.
> Finished just about noon.
> Headed for the local Safeway store to do some shopping and get some lunch.
> MMMMM! One of my favorite sandwiches is a "Foccacia". Add to that a carton
> of excellent Tillamook Milk, a large dollop of potato salad and an apple and
> I'm in hog heaven!
>     Hopped in the "German Roller Skate" and drove North on Hiway 101,
> through several small towns and stopped at a place called Manhattan Beach. A
> short walk through sand dunes Flora, (shore pines, blackberry bushes,
> manzanita bushes, etc.), and down a dune to the beach! The sand is very soft
> and walking through it is like having divers boots on.<G> Oh well, I do need
> the excersize! A short stroll down the dunes/beach to a few chunks of
> driftwood/logs, 20-30 feet from the surf. Good place to plant it, for lunch.
> Spread out my lunch and proceed to devour it, post haste! Started reading
> The Five Lectures. I got through the Preface and was just about to Conklin's
> Lecture and.....Snooze time. With the soft sand as a bed, the warm sun as a
> blanket and the sound of the surf.....ZZZZZZZZZ!
> Woke up after about an hour and spent the next hour or two just gazing out
> to sea, watching the Crabbers and assorted beach frolickers. Wow! What a
> day!<G> Oh, for an extra special "Dessert", I picked Wild Blackberries on
> the way back to the car! (I've got the stains to prove it! <G>)
>     Hopped back in the "German Roller Skate" and continued North on Hiway
> 101 to the intersection, (Near Seaside), to Hiway 26, (East), for the
> return, circuitous though it may be, trip. Hiway 26 is a better road with
> numerous "passing lanes" and a better "layout". Still has the cousin of the
> other "Smokey" lurking about though! :-( No, he didn't get me today.)
> Finally got home around 7pm. Greeted by "The Fur-Ball", aka "Spooky", (given
> name), or "Spook", (when she's being weird. Which is most of the time.) Her
> usual small little meuw was all I got out of her. She's not much of a
> talker. Lets me know that she recognizes the fact that I've been gone and
> that's it. (The Initial Plan was for her to keep the field mice out of the
> shop! Not! She goes out and brings them in to play with and then let's them
> go! grrrr! <G>
>     Well, that was my day, "Playing Hooky"! I feel much better now. Ready to
> get back at it, in earnest, tomorrow.
>     I hope you all have the opportunity to "play hooky" occasionally, it's
> good for the Soul!
> Best Regards,
> Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)
> Captain, Tool Police



---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/7d/13/d8/a3/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--