I'm Back

Well it's been almost 12 years since I last posted, so I thought maybe it was time to start anew. Twelve years gets away from you in a hurry if you aren't paying attention.  My original profile indicated that I was "heading toward my golden years". Well it seems that I have struck gold and the "heading toward" has turned into "trying to survive".  

Actually I am doing well and have very little (but not nothing) to complain about.  I have thought about rekindling this blog more than once, but (and this is where the 12 years older comes in) I couldn't find  where it was located. So, I am back and intend to start recording my thoughts and ruminations once again. As you might have noticed, the old blogger Bill was not very prolific (3 posts).

Again, my posts will be unrelated, random thoughts of the day if you will. They will, at least for now, be in no sequence as they relate to my life. I hope to go back and explore some old experiences along with thoughts on the present and maybe the future.

So here we go .......

A new blue car

I am blessed with a great (albeit small) family.  My older (by 14 years) sister has always looked out for her "little" brother in many ways. Included among her many generous acts has been the practice of giving me her old car when she feels the need to buy a new one.  Lucky for me she tends to buy very nice cars. She usually keeps a car for five or six years, but never seems able to put more than nine thousand miles a year on them.

So it was at the end of May that I acquired my third "new" car from her, a very nice, low mileage 2006 Toyota Avalon. This car is blue - the last car was blue - hence the blog title.

But this blog is really about the lessons learned, or relearned, about transferring the title of an out-of-state automobile.  Marlene lives in PA and I live in Ohio.

We started out at 11 in the morning and our first destination was the bank to notarize the title.  This took all of 15 minutes and we felt that we were on our way to succeed in our task.

The next stop (only 4 miles away) was the Title Bureau.  Once again we found a good parking place and were delighted when we walked in to find no one in line.  The clerk took us immediately and very efficiently began to process our title.  After a few minutes he pushed the title back across the counter and announced that we needed an "out-of-state inspection".  This of course could not be handled by the Title Bureau but had to be done by the License Bureau next door.

So we marched next door to find a much longer line.  We were eighth in line but they had several clerks so our wait was less than twenty minutes.  Once again a very efficient (and much more personable) employee waited on us.  It turns out that for $3.50 he would walk out to our car and verify that the VIN # on the title matched the one on the car.  This constitutes an out-of state inspection.  He also mentioned that if we were hoping to eventually get license plates we would need an emissions test.

 By now it was 12:30 so we decided a lunch break was in order.  After a quick burger and fries at Five Guys we were off to get our E-Check.  This, unfortunately, was not next door but more like ten miles away.  The car had gotten a PA emissions test four weeks earlier, but this of course did not count in Ohio. Who could possibly trust a neighboring state in such matters.  Lucky once again there were only two cars ahead of us the E-Check station and we passed with flying colors in only twenty minutes.  Better yet the inspection was free!

It was now after 2:00 and we had no title or license plates.  Another ten mile trip and we were back where we started at the Title Bureau.  Our luck was holding and again we were quickly taken by another friendly clerk.  This time we scored big.  For a mere $18.50 we were granted a spanking new Ohio title.  We were the only one's waiting while they printed the new title and when it was ready they called out or names as though there were forty people in the room.

No matter we were on the last leg of the journey as we walked next door once again to the licence bureau.  One the first trip in to the License Bureau we had gotten a "jump to the front of the line card" so the wait time was minimal. We got the same clerk as the first visit and he laughed when he saw we had returned with all our paperwork.  Ten minutes and $54 later we had our license plates. 

Total damages to accomplish our goal: $75 in fees (Not counting lunch), 4 hours and 45 minutes and 50 miles driven.

What did we learn? One - leave plenty of time  -  my original estimate of an hour and a half shows the optimistic, naive nature of my personality.

Long term lesson - never rely on government bureaucracy to accomplish a task as efficiently as a private sector business would do.  We met only nice, friendly, efficient people today, but they couldn't overcome the cumbersome web of out-dated, redundant, unnecessary procedures created by people who have no clue of what the needs of the customer might be.  If it takes almost 5 hours to transfer a title and buy license plates, think what would happen if government officials were in charge of our health care industry.  Big government is always inefficient and wasteful.

By the way - if this is the biggest problem I face, I must live a pretty blessed life!

Epilogue:  Our original blue car ( a 1999 Lincoln Continental) was listed for sale on Craigslist last Sunday - we got three responses by Wed and it was sold by Thurs.  I bet the State of Ohio could have done the same thing in less than 60 days if they really tried.

Vacation - from surreal to sublime

We recently went on vacation and I thought it appropriate to reflect on the experience before the memories fade into yesterday.  Let's start at the end - we had a great time and look forward to returning some day.  Our itinerary took us to Las Vegas with a major side trip to the Grand Canyon and Sedona, Arizona.  If you can't do too much, why do it at all?

But there is so much more to vacations. First they have to be planned.  Our plan started when my sister-in-law decided she wanted to be in Las Vegas to celebrate her birthday.  Since she lives in Georgia and we live in Ohio, we rarely get together, so this seemed like an ideal chance to spend time together and go somewhere fun at the same time.  There were lots of nuances that needed to be worked out (Kathy went out four days earlier than me, we needed to change hotels mid-week, and then we needed arrangements for our side trip) but in due course it all got accomplished.  Some people would set aside an entire Sunday afternoon to get this all done, but I was able to drag it out over more like six weeks.  I'm confident that this procedure is recommended for building a strong marriage, because it gave us the opportunity to have many many discussions.

In reality, the planning is one of the best parts of any trip.  You get maps, study weather conditions, learn facts about an area that the residents never knew existed.  But all of this is great fun and the anticipation of what is to come is a big part of the vacation experience.



Leaving  the real world



   Kathy had never been to Las Vegas before, but her sister, Chris, goes there whenever possible and has her favorite spots all picked out.  The two of them were joined by Kathy's nephew, Scott, and the whole group stayed downtown at THE D - formerly Fitzgeralds. Before I arrived four and a half days later, they had toured the strip, enjoyed The Fremont Experience and had taken a side trip to Laughlin.  Upon my arrival on Saturday (Scott had to leave on Friday) we transferred home base to the Marriott Chateau, which is a upscale highrise timeshare hotel, but lacks a casino and restaurant. I enjoy the sights and people watching, but I'm not into lots of walking and I have never mastered gambling enough to enjoy it.  Kathy and I are perhaps the only people on earth to spend a vacation in Las Vegas but never spend a dollar gambling.

Chris insisted that we go to the Sunday Sterling Brunch at Bally's.  I like eating as much as the next guy (ok - maybe more than most any guy) but I figured one Vegas buffet is pretty much like any other. Wrong! Only in Las Vegas would they create a totally over-the-top brunch buffet with every type of appetizer, entree and dessert imaginable.  Of course it included an endless supply of champagne.  Thanks Chris, this was a truly memorable feast.

Chris left on Tuesday, but before she left we did trips to Red Rocks and Mt. Charleston.  Again it was great having an experienced traveler with us.

After dropping Chris at the airport we headed out to the Grand Canyon, about a four hour drive. We got in too late to see much more than a couple of hungry elk on Tuesday.   It turns out mid-April is an ideal time to see the park.  Winter has just subsided, but the intense summer crowds had not yet materialized.



Grand Canyon

This was my first time to the Grand Canyon and it's immense size, beauty and diversity were beyond my wildest expectations.  We stopped at several lookouts and each one presented a unique view of awe inspiring vistas.  It's probably cliche to say it took my breath away (or maybe it was the uphill walks and the altitude).

Sedona

Then it was on to Sedona. As you descend the winding road from Flagstaff  into the valley you once again feel that you are entering into a special magnificent place in nature.  On Thursday we did the things tourists do - a three hour "Pink Jeep" tour that took us off road and to some legendary venues, a casual lunch overlooking the fabulous scenery and a relaxing visit to local shops and galleries.  That evening we found a remote parking area and watched the sun set over the distant mountains.  It takes a full hour to go from the sun sitting atop the horizon to complete darkness, and the changing colors, shadows and illusions are fascinating.

We drove back to Las Vegas on Friday, had a great dinner at Todai (an Asia buffet) and got ready for our 6 AM departure.

It was a good vacation - we returned home tired yet refreshed, we had lots of pictures to remind us of our good times, and we had created memories that will bring a smile to our faces long into the future.

The contrasts and similarities between the surrealism of Las Vegas and the sublime tranquility of natures beauty were amazing.  Both venues bring millions of tourist to their doorstep each year.  Both present us with a mind boggling array of spectacular colors and unequaled visual sights.  Yet one draws us by being the incarnation of chaos, decadence and intensity, while the other enchants us with it's natural beauty and inspiring solitude.  One was created in the last century, while the other was created before mankind. I enjoy Las Vegas and look forward to returning, but I am truly effected by the magnificence of nature in a way that brings peace to my inner being and serenity to my soul.







And so it begins

My son writes a blog and I enjoyed reading it so much I decided to start one myself. I have no illusions that anyone will follow it, and that's fine with me.  At this point I don't really have a "blog mission", I just thought it would be fun to write down some of the random thoughts I have about the world I live in.

I decided to call my blog "And so it goes ..." for a variety of reasons.  Mostly I have liked the phrase ever since I heard Linda Ellerbee use it, many years ago, as the closing to her news broadcast every night.  But I like the sense that what is being communicated is a snapshot of life or a comment on a current topic, but really has no greater intrinsic meaning than what I am thinking about at a moment in time.  There is no common tread being developed or explored, so each post is intended to stand on it's own.

I had forgotten that Billy Joel wrote and sings a song with this title, but I listened to it today and decided it will be a fitting theme song.  I also noticed that about a dozen other blogs and at least two books share this name.  Again this seems fitting because nothing I intend to blog will be completely original thought or require a unique setting to be appreciated.

So, I guess what I am confessing is that my title is pretty blatant plagerism.  Of course, most of my blogs will lack originality as well.  If you happen upon my blog, and obviously you already have, let me know what you think.....unless you really hate it, then just don't come back.