Well, I left the driveway at 9 AM under beautiful clear bright blue sky and headed west. I saw a low-hanging cloud bank on the horizon and just assumed the cloud was on the other side of the hills. Wrong! Seven miles from home, I drove into that cloud, the bottom of which was on the ground. Visibility went down to 400 feet, so my speedometer went down from 65 to 40 and I turned on the headlights. Visibility went down to 50 feet and this thick fog last another 20 miles. Then I broke out of that and the blue sky returned, but there was patchy ground fog for the next 20 miles. When I got to Belle Fourche, there was no problem with Dakota Mill & Grain, but then I went to Runnings and bought five bales of large pine flakes (for the cow stalls) and when they tried to load them, they only had two, so I got three bales of small flakes with it and went back in the store to get a refund. Then off to Spearfish to do Walmart and they were out of several things on my list, including the 100 pounds of chicken leg quarters (leg and thigh) I get every month (standing order that the new meat manager failed to order) for dog food. So I had to go to the Walmart in Rapid City to get that. I was behind in my schedule and not being too careful and when I got out of the truck, I slipped on something and fell on my face. I was having a terrible time trying to get up, but some young guy saw me and came to help. He was smoking and it smelled pretty good, so I asked him what it was. He said Marlboro Special Select 100s. I said I had never heard of that one (must be newer than when I quit smoking) and when he had me sufficiently leaning against the wall (I could barely support myself), he offered me one of his cigarettes and, to be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to live through the day, so I took it. Damn! It actually tasted pretty good. I thanked him and he left and a few minutes later, I decided I could stagger into the store, so I put the cigarette out without finishing it (I maybe smoke half of it). I got what I needed and staggered back to the truck and off to Sam's Club for the larger bulk items. They were out of most of what I came for and I was getting pissed. I got back in the truck after putting what I did get into the bed/coolers and slowly backed out. I heard a thump, so I moved forward a foot and got out to see what it was (did I leave the cart back there?). There was this tiny car behind me and a young lady got out. That car was so small, I could not see it in any of my three mirrors. Anyway, I was only going about half a mph so there was no damage to her vehicle or mine, so we chatted for a few minutes, then we both left. I went to the Sam's gas station and got gassed up, then drove back to Sturgis for Chinese take out and a quick stop at Dakotamart to get the milk Sam's did not have, then home and I didn't get here until about 6:15 PM (well after dark and I don't have very good night vision) . After dinner, I unloaded all the shit that needed to come in the house (Lannie put it away as I brought it in) then I had that cat nap I mentioned last night. I hurt so bad I could barely sit up and I still don't feel very well.
While all the above was going on, Lannie did all the farm chores by herself and was also in pretty bad shape (she can tell her own story if she is so inclined).
