GREASE THEM WHEELS!

The more you have the more wheels there are to grease. Lately the wheels of my life have needed lots and lots of grease. Lots of grease equals an open wallet. This post is not for sympathy but might serve as a warning. The more you acquire the more hassles you'll have in your life.

Here's what has happened within the span of a couple of weeks:

Two weeks ago a tenant dropped a gallon of bleach on the hallway carpet of one of the rentals. The carpet can't be matched. I know, I know . . . the tenant has responsibility here but I won't go into how much they're obligated to pay and what the costs will end up being.

Yesterday I took one of the LP tanks out of the fifth wheel with the idea that I'd fill it up before our next trip. After a half dozens tries to fill the tank the attendant concluded that the check value in the tank has failed. The cost of repair and certification of the tank is equal to that of the purchase of a new tank from Walmart ($57).

The garage door springs at another rental snapped and fell off. Before the door could be opened so the tenant could go to work the springs had to be replaced.

The garage door motor in bay of the garage where I park the truck crapped out.

The irrigation system at the house stopped working all due to wires being cut during one of Bob's gardening projects. The wire was in a place where it should not have been placed.

A door to let air in and out of the heater/a/c system in the truck jammed and remained stuck in a nearly closed position. The truck's heating/a/c system was worthless. Even though this failure was not through my use but poor quality on the part of Dodge the extended warranty didn't cover the repairs of close to $500.

Last Friday I went to pull the fifth wheel out of it's space in back of the house. The electric jacks didn't work. It took a repairman to find and correct the problem.

Today, for the second time in a month, the office computer crashed. Thank goodness that I own a laptop. Repairs, if they can be made, will be made tomorrow.

Our health plan with Blue Cross is an 80/20: They pay 80 and our due is the 20. It seems to have been reversed. Lately Blue Cross has been paying 20 and tell us that it's our part to pay the 80. I wonder why we bother having a Blue Cross plan.


Am I missing something here? Is someone or something trying to send a message? Yeah, I'd be better off with not a cent to my name, living in a tent in the woods and you know what, if I did I'd be a happy camper. Having so many wheels to grease has its rewards. But it doesn't take much for the rewards to diminish and the wheels turn into a curse.

I should leave home and join the Peace Corps. I've heard that they don't have any wheels to grease.