I May Have to Quit on the 22s!

I found another inexpensive charmer at the Shrine's gun show. A little Iver Johnson TP22 which is a knock-off of the PPK. This one is yet to be fired. I may have to quit buying the 22 pistols/revolvers as I am gathering a few but there was there one I saw the other day that was pretty interesting......................

Back to Michigan, Again.

February was a good month and a sad month. Mom-In-Law passed as she had enough of dialysis and quit going. My better half bailed off to MI to see her Mom and during that time period, our first grandbaby was born in Okinawa. Mom then passed leaving another estate to close out. I had closed my parent’s estate in 2011/2012.

I flew to MI on the 16^th to meet with my brother-in-law so that we could empty the attic, meet contractors, meet estate sales people, and get with a realtor. Normally this would fall to my wife as it is her mother and estate. To say that she and her brother do not get along would be huge understatement. I ended up playing mediator as he will work with me if remember to be polite and don’t tell him what I really think. I would not care to be here again.

It would normally be closer to fly into Toledo but there was an airshow going on that weekend and decided to fly into Detroit. I hate flying in/out of Detroit as you always have to add time for the “Detroit Factor”. I do not know if the whole darn place is unionized or just slow on purpose. On arrival, I took the shuttle to the Avis Rental. I needed to go to the counter as I had a fistful of corporate free days. There were about 15 people ahead of me and three people manning the counters. Oops, make that two as one just left. It must have been his end of shift. The keys to a vehicle were finally in my hands about 1 ½ hours later. Detroit Factor!  

My in-laws lived in the same place for about 60 years. The attic was impressive in the ingenuity required to load all the historic treasures stored there. I don’t think anything was ever thrown away as it might come in handy later. We took about 5 hours unloading the attic. There was no organizing of anything at this time. It’s hot so just get the stuff down for organizing later.

A few items, that were carefully selected, were tossed out the bedroom window down to the driveway so that they could immediately make their way to trash. I organized a bit later so that I could vacuum up a bit. All those old plastic storage bags disintegrated upon touching them.

Through the week I sorted out what wife and brother-in-law might desire and cleaned up. I met with contractors etc. Finally, it was time to leave. I went to the airport extra early on the 23^rd to account for the Detroit Factor. They could not close out the vehicle at the return lane. The note said to go to the counter. So off I go to the counter to see one person working and five people in line ahead of me. Detroit Factor. When I finally get to the counter, they cannot close it out either. A manager will be required who is not present. Detroit Factor. Took a copy of my return receipts and left to go to the airport. I still had adequate time as amazing as that seems.

I got on the plane and was waiting for the barbarian hordes to get settled in. Looking around, I could feel my IQ dropping. Have you ever gotten that feeling that you accidentally got on the short plane reserved for those who recently escaped the institution? Here comes one really, really obese lady down the aisle counting as she looks at the row numbers. You can hear her say, “sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen”, while bouncing her fat ass off of everyone in the aisle seats. She then loudly complains, “Where the hell is row 24?” Yep, I am definitely on the short plane. Thank heaven I was in the exit row and the obese one was not next to me. As I gaze around at my fellow passengers, I realize that this is the homeliest most overweight bunch that I have ever had the misfortune of being near. I was happy to see DFW to shed myself of that particular group. I picked up something to eat and then finally Tucson. Yeah! Home again.

But Detroit Factor! My Avis bill is still not closed out. I contacted our corporate representative and he is still trying to get Detroit to respond. I suggested a Taser to get their attention or at least the one still standing. He has now opened a case number with customer support to try to get Detroit’s attention. I wonder if Avis is headquartered in Detroit!