Friday, May 13, 2011

Weather Woes and Insults

As I sit here eating my chicken salad Subway (really not that good) and watch the dark clouds come, then go, I am keeping my fingers crossed for a clear sky tomorrow. Correction, I will settle for a cloudy day, just really want it to be dry. Tomorrow is the huge garage(less) sale. Newspaper and radio ads are already in place ...........

I am looking forward to and dreading it all at the same time. The remainder of the camping clubbers arrived yesterday. They decided to disregard my assignment of spaces and simply parked where they chose to. I was distracted enough by the lack of sleep the night before that I just reassigned the other reservations I had and went to bed early with a headache.

He who procrastinates waited until the people were here to get their meeting pavilion ready. You will recall that we have known about this since February. This is just how he operates ........ We have a tent we could have put up for them. It is huge. It is actually a funeral tent. But, he decided to just put a tarp atop the pavilion that was constructed by the pool area last year. It is big enough for the group, but not weather proof. I was concerned about the weight of the tarp and the rain that would gather on top. He insisted that the water would run off, said there was a slope. So, after a heavy rain last night, I wasn't surprised to see that it had collapsed. After 35 years of always being right, you would think he would listen to me. He has repaired that and is on to next repair ........

I mentioned my lack of sleep and had posted about it yesterday before blogger went berserk and dumped my masterpiece of indignant sarcasm. I rented a seasonal space to a family last Labor Day. A family employed in law enforcement. The first site I put them in did not work out well. It was a large multi-generational family with scads of grandchildren under the age of 7. The patriarch of the family was of the opinion that his oldest grandchild could do whatever his heart desired. My other seasonal campers in that area weren't up for having their belongings overtaken. In an effort to keep the peace I moved them to a much larger site and they were happy to pay extra for the space. Most seasonal sites are paid on an annual basis. I am flexible with payment plans and have some who pay quarterly and some who would rather pay monthly. Monthly is nice for us, since it affords a steady income in the off season for us, but either way is okay with me. Things were all okay until they stopped paying. They acknowledged that they owed the money and I was privy to who should have paid which month and who said who had paid. Six months behind and I have heard all the excuses and who is at fault.

So when I decide to go to bed at 10:30 while the procrastinator was wiring the lighting to the pavilion and look out the window and see the headlamps of a truck illuminating the camper of the delinquent renters, I realize right away that they are skipping out on me. I called the procrastinator and he rides over on the golf cart to have a chat. My husband is a trusting soul. He was always the parent who would relent and give in to the child being punished, because they would promise to never do it again. Having been referred to as the Nazi Bitch by a camper last year, I have decided to embrace my new title and be all that I can be. Right away I knew that leaving under the cover of darkness was not a good sign, he who is gullible called to tell me that they didn't have the money to pay us; so, they sold their camper to get the money to pay us. They were here to get it and take it to the new owner and then they will bring me the money. Really, they are.

I had some trouble getting to sleep and woke abruptly at 3:30 and got mad all over again. So, without that good REM sleep the doctor told me I desperately needed I muddled through the day with all the rest of the camping club coming in. I tried to sneak a 20 minute nap in, but that did not happen. For some reason Thursday night is a busy one for travelers off the highway and I closed after I used my last space with a blinding headache. I put a camper in the spot vacated by the hooligans owing me money. And wouldn't you know it ............. to add insult to injury, they pulled the camper over the sewer hook-up, breaking it off.

It would cost me more to sue them than what they owe .............

8 comments:

Brian Miller said...

ugh...what headaches....get some sleep tonight and i hope tomorrow is a bit better...

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry. Hope you can rest soundly and at least get rid of the headache.

Whitney Lee said...

As crummy as all that is, lack of sleep makes it so much worse. I hope that the sky stays dry and that you get some spectacular people in there to help balance out the scum.

mamahasspoken said...

Sometimes sueing them is based more on the principal of the situation than the money. I bet they're across the street, giving them the same song and dance in a few months.

SkippyMom said...

I know it does not cost a lot to file in small claims court and you don't need a lawyer.

It is the time involved and actually proving something without a contract. I feel for you, I do.

And make sure you don't let he who shouldn't make reservations near another camp club. I hate people like that - like the whole world is theirs and the heck with anyone else. sigh

Pat said...

Oh, that just burns me! Those people who ran off without paying should be ashamed of themselves!

I hope you feel better soon!

RVVagabond said...

As someone who "camps" year round as a full timer I can certainly sympathize with you--we've been situated near the bad campers and as workampers have dealt with all types both good and bad. But there are those of us who simply enjoy our stay at a campground, picking up the cigarette butts and beer bottle tops of those who have been before us at our site and then quietly moving on. Really, we're out there!

@ly said...

I agree with the comment above....as a seasonal who pays continually on time without fail...I, too, get annoyed when others "abuse" or leave crap (literally dog poop) laying around! I care about our place and want to keep it nice!