(Feb. 16, 2007) -- I didn't get an RV Builder's Hotline out last Saturday and I appreciate those of you who noticed and sent an e-mail to make sure we're -- I'm -- still "in business." I am. I went up to Massachusetts at midweek last week because my mother-in-law was having her 80th birthday. My two sons flew in on Thursday night and I had to drive to Hartford to pick them up -- a two-hour trip each way. But it was great because all four of us haven't been back East since 2003 and it was special for my mother-in-law, I'm sure.

We also drove over Saturday morning to Fitchburg to visit my mother for a few minutes (90 minutes each way) before we had to head back to the Berkshires for my mother-in-law's dinner. Then on Sunday, I had to shuttle the boys to Hartford again for their flight and on Monday we stayed in Albany overnight because we had a 6 a.m. flight back to Minneapolis. Fortunately we beat the snowstorm.

Well, that, combined with the amount of work my Minnesota Fantasy Legislature is requiring, left no time to get the Hotline out. That'll happen from time to time; it takes about 15-25 hours of work each day to produce this. In fact, I'm not altogether sure there'll be an issue next week since I have to go to Boston on Wednesday; I'm on two panels Friday at the Integrated Media Association convention.

But I'll try.

In the meantime, I'm doing a little bit of work here and there on the plane; at this point I'm just starting the finishing kit directions and I'm already frustrated. I've followed the first steps in the canopy hinge blocks to the letter, right to the point where you drill the blocks through the F-745 rib. I did all that but didn't drill the 1/4" hole through the F-745 yet when I stopped to be sure I was to do so. By the instructions, apparently, I was, but Gus Funnel's response said it's best to wait so as to be sure there wouldn't be edge distance problems later in the process.

Yep, even Van's doesn't follow Van's instructions sometimes and you have to find this out in the darndest ways. Well, of course, it's too late. That 1/4" hole is drilled through everything BUT the F-745 rib so it can't really be moved later. And I'm not sure if I'm heading for an edge distance issue or not (btw, Dan Checkoway has several nice pages on the canopy frame installation here), and besides it's too cold out in the garage to work and I have other things that need my attention and on and on and on.

Perhaps you recognize this point; it's when the project itself -- and even the small tasks -- can get you thinking too much and bog you down with a combination of information overload and the occasional lack of confidence. The panel needs avionics, I don't have the money for it right now. I'd wanted to get the plexiglass stuff done in July because it's warm, and if I don't get this stuff done now I'll be waiting 'til another summer etc. etc. etc.

Everybody has a different way of handling these periods of waning enthusiasm. My current system is to walk away until the enthusiasm returns; and maybe it'll bring more time with it. It'll get done when it gets done. There's plenty of time.

The idea of time -- or lack of it -- was crystallized when I was home visiting my mother. My Dad, during World War II, kept a diary of every day of his existence in England in 1942 and 1943. I started leafing through it last Saturday and stopped at an entry for December 1942 in which he mentions a bomber crew member who was doing better after my Dad gave him a blood transfusion. He mentioned his name and that he was from California. I thought, "wouldn't it be cool if I could track that guy down." But, alas, I decided that time had probably claimed the lad by now, as it had my father. And besides, I really didn't have time.

This month, the EAA made an old Paul Poberezny picture its calendar background, and I've been looking at the picture (bottom left) for hours. Look at young Paul. He had it all going for him as all "kids" do....

And that's Paul a few weeks ago, on the right. Changed a lot? Yeah, we all do. But I'm guessing that the guy on the left is still very much in the guy on the right. But sometimes we have to work hard to see it, not only in others, but in ourselves.

So that's what I'm going with during this period of "no time and a lull in enthusiasm." It'll come back. It's still in me there... somewhere. I just have to wait. And I can. I've got time.