But there is NASCAR in Talladega this weekend! Only a 3 hour ride from Chatt, and it may have to be a day trip since even the Motel 6 is gouging $110 for both Saturday and Sunday night. I've never done NASCAR so I think one way or another, I'll go.
Went by the LazyB today and liked the fact that the hay bales used by the excavation guy to retain dirt and soil erosion, are now sprouting grass! Also he put down straw on the edges of the parking area and that is also grassing up nicely! I'm still a ways away from step two, building a retaining wall - it will be 10' tall at points and will cost near $5000. Since I just paid Uncle Sam $5000 for the priviledge of accessing my own money out of my 401k, the wall will have to wait.
On the plus side, my Mack gets kicked out of the firehouse when our new mini-pumper is delivered. But GM is going bankrupt and has done NO work on building our new fire truck! So ole Mac has several more months of comfort in the firehall.
After 2 or 3 hours there this afternoon, I drove back to Chattanooga and sat down to relax. Was just contemplating a shower and heading out for a beer when the pager went off for a brush fire that was endangering a residence. Now in our neck of the woods, we have a cowboy - he is the Ga Forestry Dept guy who get to fight all brush fires on state land (and a lot of our area is state land, railroad right of ways, interstate rights of ways, parks, etc). They call us to cover their ass. He responds in a pickup pulling a trailer with a grader on it and bulldozes fire lines. He doesn't fight fires. He can get oodles of bucks for spending hours more time on the dozer than it would take for us to fight traditionally with a brush truck and a tanker. But so it goes. I heard no response from other members until our Chief finally came on the air in his Battallion vehicle. I called him on the cell phone to let him know what I knew (there had been someone burning brush near the LazyB when I was there earlier, but it was private property). I told him to call me if he thought we needed the manpower and Ga Forestry was still requesting us. He told me he had a couple of other calls and the engine would soon be enroute and asked me to come get the tanker. So off I went in the bimmer, around Moccasin Bend on the interestate and to the hall. Very tough trying to drive a vehicle you're not familiar with in the dark! I had a huge flashlight set on the floor so I could see the controls and I hit the emergency lights, double checked the shift pattern on the 10 speed tranny, and pulled out of the firehouse crawling up the hills dragging 5000 gallons of water behind me.
We did nothing. After 3 hours I put in my 2 cents worth that it was obvious that the home was not in danger, that the forestry dude had no need for urgent access to water, and if he did, he could go find a hydrant hisowndamnself! We left. But I got to run lights and siren, still a thrill for a bucket firefighter at heart (bucket being the term used for the passenger compartment in a traditional fire engine).
So, Saturday. Do I pay the bucks and head to 'Dega? Or get up early, go Sunday, and pay bucks for a room that night instead of driving home after a long day in the sun? Or do I make it a day trip? Or do I blow it off? I've been to Indy, it can't get better than that, not at a super speedway anyway (MAYBE at a short track like Bristol ). I'll spend the day sitting at the LazyB admiring the grass and being close to the firehouse, just in case. But who knows what I'll do about Sunday. I guess you'll have to check in Monday and find out!gnite.
By the way, when you speak of your "Mack", are you talking about that beautiful firetruck you posted a picture of last year? I'd like to see it again...it was magnificent!
