The Writing Studio: Airstream Sovereign Arrives!

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Hardly any of us Schultz’s slept a wink last night, eagerly awaiting the arrival of our new-to-us 1970 Airstream Sovereign. We hired Bobby DeCola of Burnsville, NC to do the tow and he sure made it look easy. This video doesn’t show the 270 degree turn he took without a flinch at the bottom of the driveway, but he handled the hairpin up above nicely and backed The Beacon (as we’re calling it) next to Dad’s wood shop with ease.
We spent the rest of the afternoon cleaning surfaces, vacuuming, sweeping, and washing windows. As we worked, we discovered things that needed repair in equal measure to cool features we hadn’t noticed before. The vintage stereo has an 8-Track player, for instance, and the kitchen lights have a retro switch with dimmer installed. Also: the cutting board is custom fitted to go over the second sink to double the amount of counter space when needed, the bathroom has two swinging doors, the bedroom has an accordion sliding door, and built-in brass-plated round halogen lights adorn the curves in the walls in just the right places. The carpet in the bathroom needs to be torn out, the fan over the stove looks rusty, the pipes are cut underneath the kitchen sink (we knew that), some wood trim needs securing, and one bed needs a new board under the mattress.
Tomorrow, we’ll get the propane tanks filled and test the stove. We’ve got our fingers crossed that the manual will arrive in the mail soon. In the meantime, we’re using Bob Livingston’s top-rated RV Repair and Maintenance Manual.



This
week I’m promoting Monthly Fiction as a gift idea or general purchase
to help support my writing life on the road. 12 stories for 12 bucks in 12 months–delivered right to your inbox–the gift that happens all year long!

From “The Naming of Things” in Monthly Fiction by Katey Schultz


Jet was tired. Bull-screwed, hound dog tired, as the cab driver spun out, left him heaving against the entry sign to Appleglen Apartments. He curled a tight fist into the dappled apple image inked along the border of this month’s banner: Voted Laurendale’s #1 Apartments for Seniors. Appleglen. Jesus, even the name sounded like a remake of a remake, precisely how his entire summer felt, what with his girlfriend, Sweetie, gone and all the hot sunrises of a Carolina summer thick with that same, choking, humidity.

He toiled up the stairs to his second story apartment, fingering the keys, clumsy at first, then aligned them with the lock by sound and feel. Even drunk he knew enough to piss first, drink water until he had to piss again. He set his keys on the counter, let loose his belt, the button on his scrapped Levi’s, filleted the zipper in one fell swoop and the fabric dropped to his ankles.

“Christ,” he said to the dark apartment. “Damn shoes.”…(read more)

Showing 3 comments
  • Mendy (Hillpoet)
    Reply

    LOVE the video and all the updates on the Beacon. I am so covetous and I know that's against some commandment or other. Is it bigger than the house? I bought a little '70's tiny trailer for my writing space when I moved in with Leigh in Asheville. It had shag carpet on the walls and ceilings and ended up making me kinda sick from mildew. But I absolutely LOVED writing out there! Sold it to a gal who is in Roxie Watson, Lenny's band in ATL when we moved. She was completely renovating it. Good luck with the Beacon.

  • Rocky Cole
    Reply

    That was a great backing job. Also, I love the idea of you getting your stories out to a wider audience with your new story a month subscription. I signed up and enjoyed reading "Amplitude".

    It will be like a little gift every month when the next story arrives in email. ~Rocky

  • Jennifer McCollum
    Reply

    Your dad looks proud as punch! The Beacon is a beauty. And I echo Mendy's envy.

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