Spelling Goof, Amazon Goof, Tony "Chilidog" Carruth–RIP

Currently located in Gold Beach, OR

Ok, so the above cartoon is NOT what Rogue River means, it is NOT the Rascal River…but a kind longtime follower pointed out in an email this morning that I was calling the Rogue River the Rouge River.  Oh, how my face turned ‘Rouge’!  But believe me, in my 60+ years, this is not the first, nor will it be the last, that either my spelling, my typing, my screwy California elementary education of the 1960’s (they stopped teaching phonics just in time for me to learn to read and spell), and/or my brain has failed me.  

As an adjective, rogue means moving away from the usual path or trajectory, being rebellious, divergent, or independent-thinking. ... Rouge is an adjective, it is French for “red.” In the cosmetics industry, rouge is another word for blush, the powder that is used to color cheeks and cheekbones.

According to the Mail Tribune, out of Medford…

The French were the first to name the river Les Coquins,which means the Rogues…

And, the translation of “Les Coquins”…

So perhaps the Rogue River is the Rascal River after all…but I KNOW for sure it is not the Rouge River, the only thing Rouge around here “IS” my face.  All references to the Rogue River have now been fixed…some dating back to 2012…at least I hope they are all fixed.

Got a text and an email from Amazon this morning (Friday) telling me that the items which I received yesterday (Thursday) had been shipped.  On Tuesday I asked them at the RV Park office if I could get an Amazon package.  She said, yes, just have it sent to the RV park under your name.  I did, and it would be here Thursday.  On Wednesday night when I looked at the status, it said, “Preparing to Ship”.  The same notice was on my Amazon account Thursday morning, and I finally found on the Amazon site how to contact someone…which I did through online messages.  A nice man or lady named Priyanshu looked at my order and let me know that the shipper indeed have it, and it would be delivered no later than Friday.  An hour later it was delivered.  Since the status said, “preparing to ship”, I did not have any info on the “shipper”…did not know if it was UPS, FedEx, USPS or some kid riding a bicycle (I knew it wasn’t a Drone, since those have not been legalized as of yet).  Anyway, Priyanshu offered me a month extension on Amazon Prime, which I accepted…so I got our delivery, got an extra month of Prime for my time dealing with the “hick-up” that Amazon had.  This is not the first time…it has happened at home before.  At home I did not have a “departing” deadline, as we do here…so I was more concerned this time.  Well, I guess Amazon has a “Rouge” face too.

For a couple of years while working for the Library System in Pine Bluff and Jefferson County Arkansas, I lived just two houses down from a young man, Tony Carruth, about 30 years old, who had a bike shop, along with ramps and dirt paths around his property.  He could be seen practicing out in his property, doing all sorts of tricks…and freely showing and teaching young kids, boys and girls, how to do bike tricks and general riding and bike maintenance.  Tony had been riding all his life, and also had been a motorcycle motocross racer too.  But he was mostly known for being a early BMX (bicycle motocross) professional of the late 70’s and early ‘80s…when the sport was young.  I asked him once if he ever raced “Hangtown” outside of Sacramento, and if he knew some of the motocross riders I saw at Hangtown the few times I attended….he did know them, but I think he said he never raced Hangtown.  Tony and I were never "friends", just neighbors...and whenever I saw him, I said hello and when we were able to, we talk just a bit.  One heck of a nice guy.

To the right is a picture of a local youth using Tony’s homemade ramps (which at the time were old and worn) which I found on the Internet.  As I said, Tony was very open to having the youth practice and use his ramps.  The City of White Hall where I lived ‘finally’ listened to the youth and built a skateboard park within their city park…and Tony was right there pushing for it.  When they held their annual Founders Day, they had a parade…and Tony and some of the other “kids” (Yes, I know by this time Tony was nearly 40, but he was ALWAYS a kid at heart) would demonstrate their riding abilities.  After the parade there is a day full of activity at the park, and Tony and his kids would put on demonstrations, which were always a hit.  Tony did this all, and the only thing he got paid for was when he sold a bike, fixed a bike, etc. through his Tony's Radical Sportz shop which was right there at his home.  And I know, from personal experience, that he did not always accept money for the work he did…especially from the kids.

Below is from an article on xgames.espn.com from nearly seven years ago:

Back in August, while in LA for X16, I was lucky enough to hang out with X Games ramp builder/FBM Bike Co. legend Ryan Corrigan for a bit. While chatting, Ryan relayed a story about his hometown scene of Little Rock, Arkansas to me. The local Little Rock legend, Tony "Chili Dog" Carruth, was turning 50 this year. When Ryan and scores of other Little Rock locals were younger, Tony was the man with ramps, who let everyone ride and supported the scene through darker times. And now, Ryan wanted to give back.
His plan was simple: go home to Little Rock, and give Tony's backyard ramps a much needed makeover. Ryan got friends and sponsors to donate money, and put a solid week's work into reconstructing the backyard setup.

Chilidog at the Houston AFA Contest July 2016

Today, my daughter Stephanie, who is in White Hall visiting her mother, informed me that Tony’s house burned down last night…killing him and his mother.  He lived next door to his mother if I remember right…he stay with her often due to her age…she was 83.  It is always sad to lose a truly good person…there doesn’t seem to be enough of them around in this world.

RIP Tony

Tale of the Amazon Package

A few weeks ago my sister Sandy introduced us to Slow Cooker Liner bags.  She had cooked a pulled pork in her Crock Pot , pulled out the bag and didn’t even have to wipe down the slow cooker (although she gave it a quick wipe down), we were sold.  We like the Crock Pot when we have electricity…but the mess is sometimes hard to deal with (too much water use to clean it fills up the grey tank).  Now it is going to be so easy, and very little water usage.

I placed the order on Friday, and with Amazon Prime that means it would come on Sunday.  It was being shipped via USPS.  A little before 4 I got my text notification that it had been delivered, went out front and NOTHING….it was not there!  My online notification said “Your package was delivered. Please look in your mailbox or wherever you typically get mail.”   It also gave a USPS tracking number.

The USPS site said that it had been delivered, and left on the front porch.  With mom and dad just two doors down, I thought maybe it got delivered there instead…but no, it was not there either.  Nor was it at either neighbor’s house.  There are only nine or ten homes on the street…I just couldn’t understand it.

So I clicked the “I can’t find it” button, doubled checked the address (we have had many things delivered here in the past four years), and then pressed the “Still can’t find it” button.

Well, that did not help much…even tonight (Monday night) it is giving me the “It still may be on the way…” message.

We have a LARGE family…most of it on my mom’s side.  She was one of eleven children, dad just had one brother who we called “Uncle Red” due to his red hair.  Although he is no longer with us, Aunt Flo and their eight kids are.  Uncle Red’s first wife died back in the ‘60s after having four kids.  Uncle Red married Aunt Florence who had three kids…they solidified the family by having an eighth child.  One of the younger boys’ wife works with a lady who also lives on the same Court as my sister and my parents.  She called dad this afternoon and said that her co-worker had a package delivered to her house on Sunday which was meant for them…and that she would drop it by after she got home. She probably didn’t even see it until she was leaving for work this morning. Now how crazy is that???

Why the postal worker delivered to the wrong house is beyond me….the address was very clear on the package, and the addresses are not even a close match.   Unless the postal worker heard about how Skruffy actually touched a squirrel yesterday and it scared them???   Don’t worry…Squirrel got away totally undamaged, and Skruffy seemed to have a bit of a strut in her walk the rest of the day. Yep, I think that scared the postal worker away….