A LONG HOT SUMMER

During the winter of 2001/2002  I  concentrated on ways to make my retail sales grow. It was taking me to long to set up and tear down after shoots. The business Had grown to much for me to be able to travel around the West, Mid West and South East as I had done in the past.

I decided to open permanent retail stores in gun clubs, with the gun club personal handling the sales. Initially I opened  3 stores in the Central Texas area. I knew when I did this that it meant I had to stay in Central and South Texas in the summer. My only escape would be a trip or two to Amarillo and one to the Grand American in Ohio. 

I think someone must have been slipping Magic Mushroom powder in my Mountain Dew. Whatever possessed me to think I would be able to handle that heat and humidity in Central and South Texas in the summer time day after day,I will never know.Or maybe it could have been I was thinking with the wrong head.

 

Above and below was a typical store set up

  

  

One exhausted Redhead 

I though I might get some relief from the Heat and Humidity when I left Texas  August 1 for the Grand American trap shoot in Ohio. No wayJose, it was  hotter than it had been in several years and the humidity was worse than Texas. 

On the way back from the Grand, a motor mount on ole winne gave up the ghost. I was on the outskirts of Joplin,MO. I found a shop and they were in the process of replacing the motor mount.

I checked in the Upoc groups and Jeanie had left a message in group. Her voice was not the same, I sent her a text message asking if I could have her phone number. When she sent it to me, I called her to ask what was wrong. She said it was a family problem, as we talked she told me she was divorced and that day  her husband was moving out. It had never occurred to me to ask her about her marital status because we had both married and single people in the group and I was in a relationship.I ask her for her address and she gave it to me. I walked across the street to a flower shop and sent her a Bear hug mug of flowers. She was always such a ray of sunshine in the group I thought that was the least I could do.

 

This is the pic Jeanie sent me  in  Nov 02

In the late summer or early fall of 2002 is when I decided that Texas, year around was just not going to work. The next problem was that If I went back to traveling as much as I had before then I was only going to be able to do a shoot every other week. The set up and break down time didn't give me enough time to travel between the major shoots in the summer time  or the chain shoots in the winter time. Winnie was already way past due for retirement,but still going strong.

Then I found ole Blackie, that would solve part of the problem. I thought about a new vendor trailer but I had never seen one like I would need. I decided to order one custom built to suit my needs and then do the final work myself.

  

Blackie

When I got Blackie ready to roll I gave Winnie to a Homeless guy , who helped me on occasion

Tomorrow Turkey day In California.

 I plan to have a great day I hope you will Join me.

Rojo