Photos Update

My book is being sold by other concerns and I don’t know how they got my book. A very good condition of The Last Voyage of the Cosmic Muffin is being so my Livrenoir a Bookseller out of Brooklyn and London. They want $32.00 for my book. I’ll sell it to you for 18.00 and I’ll even autograph it for you. If you check out Amazon you can find a very good condition of my book for $10.00 from Coastal-Village-Books.

And for all of you who live the Ocean State, you pick up you copy of The Last Voyage of the Cosmic Muffin at Barrington Books, in Barrington. Last night I sold four books at my book signing. Tony Allen set up a little table just inside the front door and I was able to greet their customers who came in after 7 PM until closing. Matthew from the Newport Church of Christ in Middletown, RI stopped in and bought a couple of books, one for the Church and one from a friend named Lynn who belongs to a book club. Happy readings and God Bless.

I spent some time speaking with a lady whose car was recently consumed by fire, torching everything but the watermelon in the back seat. Apparently the water content of the melon was enough to protect it from the conflagration. Among the loss were a couple of books her teenage son Peter was reading for school. She and her husband of sixteen years were in the store looking for replacements, since the library’s books were all checked out probably by kids who put the assignment off during their summer vacation.

And then there was an artist, insurance actuary ( I am not sure, but you might get the picture) who has been writing his novel for the past three years carting his laptop down to the beach to be inspired by the salt, sea and sand. What impressed me was the fact that he knew what a floatie was. He admitted he did not have interest in reading my book. I was okay with that, but suggested that perhaps his girlfriend would be. To that, this talkative gentleman had no response.

Tony kept two autographed copies and cut a check for the four I sold. It wasn’t enough to pay for the stay at the Melville campground for five days, but it buys another tank of gas. I think I will hang around New port through the weekend and begin my siege on Connecticut on Monday.

Phoenix

There is no reason in the world to have a smart cat and no good can come of it. It is undisputable that Phoenix is a smart cat. One only has to look into her eyes to see an intelligence that belies that of the dog’s reputation. It is no wonder why she constantly has her nose in the air. One might think it as arrogance, but it is a means for gathering information as much as a statement of her status.

I was awaken by the sound of her pawing. But before I could come to a full state of alertness she had once again managed to open the RV door slide and jump through the opening. By the time I got to the door she was gone. Earlier in the day, I had her out on a leash. She demonstrated a strong desire to just keep walking, without regard to her surroundings or a need for security found in hiding underneath the RV, picnic table or even the nearby bushes. Instead she heads for the road, as I am sure she has seen me do over the past several days.

For two weeks she has watched me open the slide to the door. For the past several days she has begun to paw at the same slide and the other day she got it open and jumped. It was well after dark and I thought for sure she was gone for good except she did fall for the “time to eat” ploy.

This time it was the middle of the afternoon. I immediately walked away from the RV so I could get a good view of its underside and a panoramic view of the road behind. Sure enough she was plotting some escape route from the far side of the RV. Surprisingly she came to me when I called. And again I tossed her back into the RV and she protested with a pathetic meow of abuse.
I have put duct tape on the side, leaving the tacky side out to deter her from pawing it. It is now no easier chore for me to get out of the RV and I must never leave The Rig with just the screen door closed.

Peddle Power, Middletown, RI
I was on my way to Newport on my bike facing a hard head wind. I kept up the ride for no other reason than I had nothing else to do this afternoon. After enjoying a thin shake called Awful Awful at the Newport Creamery I continued on into Newport riding the precarious route along the sidewalks for the two lanes on Route 114 are narrow and heavy with traffic. I did not make it out of their parking lot. I had a flat tire and it was a good hour ride back to the campsite. Fortunately, I had noticed a bike shop about a mile back on Route 114 and I was equally fortunate to bring my Chaos with me. I would not have to walk back in my riding shoes. I changed into my Chaos and began the long walk back to either the bike shop or the campground.

The bike shop, Pedal Power was open and the mechanic Paul fixed my flat, replaced my worn tires with a slicker less resistant tire and made some adjustments to the brakes and derailer. I don’t do any heavy trail riding and I needed a new rear tire ever since I left Hawaii last year. My ride back to the campsite I was very pleased with my new tires even when the wind direction changed.