Michigan 10

Howdy all!

Well it has been a busy couple of days. It started with Charlie's (WB8NSL) arrival Sunday evening. Monday morning we took off to drop off the Tan van at the body shop to be repaired from the fender bender from the last trip home from Michigan. On our way there I noticed that John Hartman (N5AAA) has been holding out on us and has become Reverend Jon! I feel sure that to become Rev Jon he had to get the "H" out of here! Har! He must be doing a lot of commuting?

After we dropped off the van we stopped by Tony Slemker's shop for a short visit and gave Charlie a chance to see Tony's "Neon Collection". Now this is an on going piece of art work that covers a couple of the walls in Tony's workshop. Incredible!

We then hustled back to the Farley Flophouse South to await the delivery of a new battery for Charlie's pickup truck as it was old and needing replacement. After replacing the bad battery and discussing the world's problems The Battery Dude (Jim - KA8SFL) went on his way and Charlie and I went and met Jerry (KE8ZB) and loaded tower he needed to get moved as they need to be clear of the old property by Wednesday. After we saw how well it was loaded, we decided to take it to Michigan with us so we would not need to unload it right away! A little later we were paid a visit from Dr. Miller (David - KC8UAW). He noted our loading and gave his approval for our trip!

Upon our arrival at the Farley Flophouse North this afternoon, we were surprised to see that the mystery tree had again grown in front of the garage door. Thankfully, Hamhock had stopped by and cut off the top of the tree and all we had to do was remove the stump so we could get "Old Blue" ('74 Ford Galaxie) out of the garage! It seems as though the "Leaf Preservationists" had been by the property as well and posted their warning signs which say "By order of Michigan Natural Resources Law PA128Ob enacted 4/1/02 areas designated to be a member of a "Leaf Reservation Zone" may not have the fallen leaves of deciduous trees disturbed, mutilated or defaced in any manner, so as to promote the natural entropy of the region." It goes on to say "Failure to allow the fallen leaves to assume and maintain their natural positions on the ground is a Misdemeanor, punishable by up to $5,000 and 90 days in jail per leaf violated". Since the primary purpose of the trip to remove the leaves from the yard and driveway, we will have to ponder this situation at some depth.

This evening we met the gang at Grandma's Kitchen (the Windmill is closed on Tuesdays for the winter) and were pleasantly surprised that Big Al (KB8FJB) and Lenore (KC8VSA) came up from Evart (south of Cadillac) and joined Dave (W8TVC) and John (KF8KK) and us for dinner! Fantastic!

Well, we have been on a pretty laid back schedule so far this trip. Even though today was probably one of the nicest days we will have this trip (it nearly made it up to 60 this afternoon) we didn't get outside and get busy until after 11AM. We managed to install the 6 meter antenna for the link into Johnny's KF8KK Repeater System Empire. Johnny plans to install the 6 meter link rig tomorrow.

Friday we finished the antenna installation for the 6 meter link. Hamhock even stopped by for a quick inspection and gave his approval! Johnny came by after dinner last night and installed the 6 meter link and made the final audio adjustments on the local repeater. It is working great!

Now, after careful consideration of the Leaf Preservationists warning, we decided that any document written on the first day of April must be an April Fool joke, so, we decided to take a chance and remove the leaves from the yard and driveway! Thankfully, our efforts have not been covered up by subsequent leaves falling, however, that possibility does exist!

Well, today we went to Dave's (W8TVC) after brunch with the gang. We installed a new 440 beam which will enable Dave to chat on 440 from his radio shack. Even though Dave has a 2 meter repeater at home and a dual band rig in the car, he had not made the leap to enable reliable 440 activity from home until today! Way to go Dave!

We also made a quick stop down the lake at the Retallick Retreat and saw that the "Leaf Preservationists" had paid a visit there as well. Otherwise, all looked good there.

We met Johnny today and was able to attend the "Coronation" as Johnny was dubbed "The Emperor of the wI0OK Repeater System Empire!" Congratulations Johnny! Er.....a......Emperor Johnny......er....Your Emperorship.....a..... As you will see, Johnny looked quite regal and did not have a lot to say about his appointment. All Hamhock had to say was "Harumph!"

Last night we met Dave (W8TVC) and Betty (KC8PCQ) for dinner. After dinner we got to see the new radio installation in Betty's new Highlander. Very nice installation!

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