Thursday, January 16, 2020

REMEMBERING GEORGE-BUSY MORNING-SNOWY AFTERNOON

WE WOKE UP TO A SNOWY MORNING
Despite snow squall warnings it was all three of us in the Jeep this morning heading for Goderich.  Two of us had appointments and one of us didn't.  
EVEN MANAGED TO CATCH US A GLIMPSE OR THIS MORNING'S SUNRISE
BIG SKIES OUT OVER THE LAKE TO OUR WEST
FOLLOWING THE SUN TO GODERICH ON HIGHWAY 8
Dropped Kelly off at the hospital door and she slipped inside for a mammogram and ultra-sound.  Pheebs and drove into the parking lot of the Maitland Valley Medical Center across the road and I slipped into the blood clinic to leave some blood behind for a diabetes test.  Expecting the waiting room to be annoyingly overcrowded I happily found it empty with me being the only one there.  Hey, I'm an only child eh.  I was back to the Jeep within minutes so Pheebs and I slipped out to Tim Hortons for a coffee to go then back to the parking lot to wait for Kelly who exited the hospital about 20 minutes later.  
PHEEBS SPOTS KELLY COMING ACROSS THE PARKING LOT FROM THE HOSPITAL
Kelly also needed to leave some blood at the clinic so she slipped into the clinic also finding it unusually empty.  She was back to the Jeep in minutes and we were on our way home after a quick stop at Pet Valu.  Luckily the wind driven snow had not arrived yet so we had us an easy drive all the way home.
WE LUCKILY BEAT THE SNOW SQUALLS HOME
BY MID AFTERNOON IT WAS SNOWING HEAVILY
Chris and Caron have reduced the price on their 2011 Class A 34' Tiffin Allegro diesel Motorhome.  An immaculate coach bought new in the States this is an especially good deal for anyone in the States considering the exchange on the dollar.  2011 Class A 34' Tiffin Allegro Diesel.
Although we knew our friend and fellow RVing Blogger George Yate's pancreatic cancer was inoperable and his health was steadily declining it still sadly came as a thump when I read of George's passing after his wife Suzi updated George's post at Our Awesome Travels.  
I can't remember how we first came across George's blog but it was in the early years of George and Suzi starting out on their travels back in 2006 just a couple months before we started ours.  They were Full-timers while Kelly and I were Snow-birders.
We all finally met in early December of 2015 when George and Suzi dropped in to see us at our Ghost Town Road House in Congress Arizona.  For the days they stayed with us we had us some good eats and a few dusty desert Jeep rides.  We  met again in January at Bloggerfest 2016 held in Quartzsite Arizona and the last time we saw George and Suzi was at Peg Leg Smith's near Borrego Springs California a couple winter's ago.
Anyone who has ever met George will never forget his big smile, the sometimes large straw hats and always the vest.  He genuinely made you feel welcome and you could find his smile in any crowd.  George's blog was always positive, no matter what.  And he wrote it that way 'because he could'.
I think George left a comment on every blog he ever read, mine included.  I, like many others will miss that and miss seeing his daily blog popping up on our side bars.  George's passing will leave a sad vacuum here in Blogland and if there is a heaven I'm sure George is there and was out for his first walkabout this morning in his new neighborhood.  Maybe a couple miles even.  All the best George and thank you for being a positive light in so many people's lives, including ours.  See ya down the road...……..
GEORGE AT BLOGGERFEST 2016
AT OUR BAYFIELD HOUSE TO SHOW US HOW TO USE GOOGLE TRAVEL MAPS
WELL YOU ALL KNOW WHAT GEORGE IS DOING HERE:))
KIBBITZING IN OUR DRIVEWAY
LOOKING FOR A CRESTED SAGUARO CACTUS IN THE SONORAN DESERT NEAR CONGRESS ARIZONA
AT OUR CONGRESS ARIZONA HOUSE
AT HOME IN THE DESERT
GEORGE AND SUZI AT 'INDIAN ROCK' NEAR CONGRESS ARIZONA
::An Archive Post:: On Saturday February 13th 2010 I was part of something very unusual for me and it was something I had instigated myself.  In the socially oriented world of RV'ers Kelly and I have never been the norm.  We keep to ourselves and maintain a very low profile avoiding social events, gatherings, and happy hours, etc.  But on this day in 2010 I turned the tables around...… A Get Together In The Desert.  And you know what, when the day was done I was very glad I had invited all these friends over:)) Click on the photos to enlarge them when you get there.
A SNOWY AFTERNOON
::Al's Musical Favs:: Gymnopedie No 1:  One of my all time favorite piano pieces which my mind regularly sees as an emotional segment in a movie about a young English fighter pilot in the skies over Britain during the second World War. 
GROANER'S CORNER:((   An Italian, a Scotsman, and a Chinese fellow were hired at a construction site. The foreman pointed out a huge pile of sand and told the Italian guy, "You're in charge of sweeping." To the Scotsman he said, "You're in charge of shoveling." And to the Chinese guy, "You're in charge of supplies."  He then said, "Now, I have to leave for a little while. I expect you guys to make a dent in that there pile."  The foreman went away for a of couple hours, and, when he returned, the pile of sand was untouched. He asked the Italian, "Why didn't you sweep any of it?" The Italian replied, "I no hava no broom. You said to the Chinese fella that he a wasa in a charge of supplies, but he hasa disappeared and I no coulda finda him nowhere." Then the foreman turned to the Scotsman and said, "And you, I thought I told you to shovel this pile."T  he Scotsman replied, "Aye, ye did lad, boot ah couldnay get meself a shoovel! Ye left th' Chinese gadgie in chairge of supplies, boot ah couldnay fin' him either." The foreman was really angry by now and stormed off toward the pile of sand to look for the Chinese guy. Just then, the Chinese guy jumped out from behind the pile of sand and yelled... "SUPPLIES!!"
----------------------------------------------

=====================


17 comments:

  1. Nice Tribute to George. He will be sadly missed.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Lovely tribute to George and I too, hope he is enjoying a walkabout in heaven. My prayers are with Suzie, their family and many friends.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your tribute to George is the best!

    ReplyDelete
  4. A great tribute to George! Like you, I met George and Suzie at Pegleg in Borrego. What a wonderful chat with a wonderful ambassador for the RV community.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wonderful tribute for George, such a great guy.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nice tribute for George, he will be missed by all of us.

    ReplyDelete
  7. How wonderful that you actually spent time with George and Suzie. George was a truely wonderful person. Yes he will be missed by all that read Our Awesome Travels. RIP George. Nice write tribute Al

    ReplyDelete
  8. An excellent tribute to George. We will all miss his sunny views and wonderfully positive attitude.
    Wonderful photos today Al. The snowy scenes make me almost melancholy.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That was a nice tribute. I wonder if they will bury George with his hat and vest? Although I don't RV anymore and have never met any of you bloggers, you get to thinking that you know people and their pets from their writings and photos. And when they pass away, you miss them and feel sad, even tearing up when you read that they are gone. Sometimes you get and read of warnings that departure is coming, sometimes you don't. It was like that with Tioga George, Lynn, and other bloggers you welcome into your life. Life happens, death comes, We grieve.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Those are some nice shots of George, Thank you for that Al. We didn't get to meet George and Suzie but he was a great support to us in our early days.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Al - I've been enjoying the change to your blog this year as you are at home in Canada. The Archive Posts are great. I didn't follow you then and am enjoying going back in time with you. Just spent almost two hours back in 2010! Am also enjoying your "up north" photos as well. They take me back to the midwest where I've moved from. Florida's green is not the same and your photos give me the taste of what I miss. Even the snow doesn't seem as cold from here, just beautiful.

    A really wonderful tribute to George. I followed him and Suzie because of your sidebar. Never commented to them before, but am still sad because I got to know them through his blog. What a guy!!! His attitude was just amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  12. We met George and Suzi when they were passing through my area on their way to take a sea voyage. Really wonderful people. My wife and I both liked them and enjoyed our meeting. Now Both George and my wife are gone.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Nice tribute and pictures of a special man.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Very nice tribute to George. Michael and I enjoyed seeing the photos from your archives about our gathering long ago. So many of our friends we met back in those days were fulltimers and so many now live in sticks and bricks. Thanks for the memories Al!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Great tribute to George. It was nice that you included so many pictures. My my, beautiful snow!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Really nice tribute to George. He and I commented on each other's blog for years, yet sadly I never met him in person. It was really nice to see your pictures of him with your meetups. Blogging world will not be the same.

    ReplyDelete