Day 255: Running hot & cold

This is Day 255 of The First Ohio Shutdown, Day 15 of The Curfew That Stole Christmas (or will) and Day 191 of No Truth, No Consequences.

Deb and I are well this evening.

It’s been a while since I’ve highlighted a Quote of the Day, and last night brought us a good one. Reliably colorful Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, speaking on Hannity about the upcoming runoff elections in Georgia, said this:

“Unless you have the IQ of a root vegetable, you know how important this election is. It is a second presidential election. …If we lose in Georgia, Senator Schumer, Senator Bernie Sanders, Speaker Pelosi, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez are all in charge. If this is America, they are entitled to their opinions. But in my opinion, their ideas are barking mad. Barking mad. … So my message to the good people of Georgia, I’m not trying to mess in your business, I know you’re sick of politics, but please take the time and make the effort to go vote. Look at it this way — if dead people can do it, so can you.”

Perfectly correct — I have nothing to add.

Danny Presti owns Mac’s Public House on Staten Island, New York, and Tuesday night he was handcuffed and hauled away for defying state and city bans on indoor dining. Thousands of supporters continue to gather in support of the bar owner, and in protest of government mandates.

There must be more of this kind of resistance. I believe there will be.

If there isn’t, our freedoms will die. It’s as simple as that.

It’s not about distancing, masks, bars, gyms, schools, businesses or any of the other shiny objects the State is using to distract us. This is all about individuals living as we choose to live — like Americans, that is.

Government must not interfere with a business owner who wants to stay open. Employees who want to work should not be blocked by the State from working. Travel, association and worship should not be impeded. Leave it up to the individual.

Likewise, people who judge themselves to be medically vulnerable should accept the risks of their actions as well as the costs — whether that’s isolating at home or moving about in society.

Living as a born-free American is the ultimate resistance.

The matter of State hypocrisy — arresting a business owner for choosing to stay open, in the same city where rioters faced zero consequences for looting and destroying businesses under the veil of “protest” — is a subject I’ll save for another day.

Since we brought Ernie the Beaver home a couple of weeks ago, the bus has been suffering from a refrigerator the seller said didn’t run (and needed recall work) and a furnace that wouldn’t answer the thermostat’s commands. Deb and I decided to call out an independent mobile RV tech to see if these were problems that could be solved in our driveway, or if we should keep our dealer appointment next week in Medina County.

He arrived late this morning and got right to work on the fridge, which Ernie’s previous owner had tried and failed to fix. After a half-hour of confirming power and gas, along with tidying up a bunch of unfinished business, the unit was purrin’ and chillin’ like a champ. The problem?

A fuse.

If you’ve ever worked on a motorhome, you know that this wasn’t necessarily a dumbshit oversight — there are dozens upon dozens of fuses and breakers, housed in blocks tucked into corners all over the coach. It was easy to miss.

Our visiting tech wasn’t authorized to handle the recall work (only a dealer can do that), so he moved on to tackle the Zone 1 furnace. That proved to be more of a challenge.

The thermostat wasn’t talking to the blower — there was power where power should be, but somewhere between control and furnace was a break, and finding that would be an expensive, days-long proposition. Jumping power confirmed that the like-new and perhaps never-been-used blower worked fine. Unfortunately, there was another problem — the burner tried to light but wouldn’t.

One thing at a time.

Our guy recommended installing a separate thermostat dedicated only to controlling the Zone 1 furnace. (Other Zone 1 functions would still be handled by the original thermostat.) He suggested mounting it in the galley, hidden from view but functional and easily accessible. It was a brilliant solution, and we agreed.

With that installed, the refusal of the burner to light — because it wasn’t getting gas, presumably — still had him stumped. Then it occurred to him that this furnace is housed in the curbside slideout, and when it’s retracted (which it was at the time) all of the supply lines bend and fold (and possibly kink).

“Do me a favor and run that slide out.”

I did as instructed. As soon as he triggered the furnace it fired right up. We now have heat in front, at least when the slide is out, and that suits us just fine.

Bonus: Before he left, he took two minutes to fix a leak in the galley drain. Nice.

We’re still congratulating ourselves for the decision to bring him out to Second Chance Ranch. Smart guy. Worth every penny.

But wait — there’s more.

Because the refrigerator recall has to be handled by an authorized dealer, we were still on the hook to drive Ernie 130 miles north a week from today and probably leave him there for who-knows-how-long. At the mobile tech’s suggestion, I called the fridge manufacturer — which is right here in Ohio, believe it or not — with our unit’s serial number. The friendly voice on the other end of the line looked it up and assured me that Ernie’s chiller already had the recall work performed, back in September of 2015.

This was a very good day.

There’s one more problem still to address, an apparent short in the rear brake and signal circuits. But that’ll be pretty straightforward, I think, even if I have to call in some help.

We’re feeling better about Ernie every day.

Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay free.

#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath