<HTML>Joe, Thanks for giving us a glimpse of your day, and reminding many or most o= f 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: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-= LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">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 thou= gh most of the pianos are worse than PSOs. Most have not seen service of an= y 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 eithe= r come back to the shop or take some time for myself. Life has been rather cruel, these las= t few months, so I opted to "play hookie"!<G> (One of the nice "perk= s" of working in this business!) The Plan: Hang out on the beach, have lunch a= nd 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 Oc= ean. It's kind of windie, tricky in spots and ALWAYS has a belligerent, "Smok= ey" lurking about! (He got me twice in one day! Yikes! And that was in a ful= ly loaded VW Bus!) There's only one "passing lane" area on the whole 45 mil= e trip. I left a bit early, this morning, in anticipation of "playing hook= ie". Good thing I did, as the great gurus of Highway Matters decided to do so= me paving! (Guess where? The "passing lane" area!)(Following Winebuggos is sooooo much fun!)(Just love that warm tar on my German "Roller Skate"! N= ot!) 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 m= y mood. Finally arrived at my morning client, 15 minutes late. On The Coast, tha= t'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 lunc= h. MMMMM! One of my favorite sandwiches is a "Foccacia". Add to that a cart= on 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 o= n Hiway 101, through several small towns and stopped at a place called Manhattan Beac= h. 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 lu= nch. Spread out my lunch and proceed to devour it, post haste! Started readin= g The Five Lectures. I got through the Preface and was just about to Conkl= in's Lecture and.....Snooze time. With the soft sand as a bed, the warm sun a= s a blanket and the sound of the surf.....ZZZZZZZZZ! Woke up after about an hour and spent the next hour or two just gazing o= ut to sea, watching the Crabbers and assorted beach frolickers. Wow! What a day!<G> Oh, for an extra special "Dessert", I picked Wild Blackber= ries on the way back to the car! (I've got the stains to prove it! <G>)    Hopped back in the "German Roller Skate" and continue= d 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 wit= h 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", (g= iven 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 an= d that's it. (The Initial Plan was for her to keep the field mice out of t= he shop! Not! She goes out and brings them in to play with and then let's t= hem go! grrrr! <G>    Well, that was my day, "Playing Hooky"! I feel much b= etter now. Ready to get back at it, in earnest, tomorrow.    I hope you all have the opportunity to "play hooky" o= ccasionally, it's good for the Soul! Best Regards, Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon) Captain, Tool Police</BLOCKQUOTE> </HTML>