Hi readers:
When I left Andrews on Christmas Eve morning a cold fog wrapped the RV and a tasteful bow atop kept it all together for the felines and me until I reached Big Spring. That’s where the brakes on the RV failed. Roughly 100 yards before the entryway into the parking lot for a chain store for auto parts.
Great, helpful folks there while I was diagnosing the cause of the problem, feeding brake fluid to the pre-Christmas Universe. Determining the next best guess to be a failed master cylinder. And me with almost no tools along.
Ordered the master cylinder inside the store, arranged with them to park in their lot until it arrived the day following Xmas. They showed me an electrical outlet where I could plug in to keep the heater and lights modern.
Hydrox, Tabby and I watched a store employee carrying boxes past us to the dumpster straining to get them over the side. One plastic box appeared to be a great possibility for a litter box, so I went over to retrieve it. I was astonished to observe the dumpster was home to several boxes with taped label, “Manager Disposal”, the contents scattered among the lowbrow cartons and candy wrappers.
The contents: open end wrenches all sizes, box end wrenches, socket sets, miscellaneous other tools, a couple of which I’d surely need for the master cylinder replacement. So early Christmas morning I climbed down the chimney of the dumpster and began digging out every tool I could bring myself to save from the landfill.
Finished in time to have myself a nice Christmas dinner of something-or-other, cuddle a cat, watch a vintage movie.
Next morning the master cylinder arrived, I installed it with the dumpster-tools, ran the RV around the parking lot a bit to test the brakes, and headed off to points south.
Easily the weirdest Christmas I’ve ever been blessed with.
Old Jules
So Far From Heaven 
It’s the weird ones that make good memories.
Happy New Year. Glad this wasn’t a huge fix and bonus for the find in the dumpster. Sounds like Christmas shopping, but free. ;-).
Glad to hear from you. A few day’s silence and the previous medical talk had me worried and for your 4 legged pals. Did your black cat come home? We have to fear coyotes here. My friend says they come past our house at night or between our back fence and the lake. But they have never made so bold as to come in for Feline tartar, for which I am greatful. Haven ‘t read your latest offerings but hope you are well.
Chuck
Did I tell you I did dumpster diving at the box near the middle school, totally unmarked or unsigned and later got told my the FUZZ that I was stealing from a recycler. I had dropped some HOT items I found off at the place station. Never try to help a “you-know.”
Upon contacting the owner if the unmarked box, the apologized for not having any identification and the school didn’t know the function was recycling. I had to dump a lot back in, but the company would not have cared if I kept it had I not freaked when the top cop threatened that I had better toss the stuff I was trying to give them back in the box. NO LIKEM JOHNNY LAW! Much.
You’re health ok, better? Thought you were in trouble. When I had no input from you after 12/20 I was concerned.
Miracles do happen.
I wish I’d read this one first, but stil it made me grin!
God does bless us in unexpected ways. Almost always with things we need at the time we need them. Blessings, Mary
You could have pulled into my brother’s farm there in Seminole (just a short ways from Andrews and he would have said, “Git out and stay a while”……..He would have had all the tools that you needed!!!!!