Happy Thanksgiving
from your friends at NAM

Send NAM an email [ Click Here ]

Beware — Credit Card Scam

We have several reports from people who paid for their campground membership by credit card then had problems when the campground fraudulently charged unwarranted fees, etc. to that credit card without permission from the member.

‘Never authorize a camping club
(or anyone else) to ‘draft’ money from your account when they want it.’ It may seem to offer a way to make your life easier - until they either make a mistake or try to cheat you.

Even ‘honest’ people/companies make mistakes
There ARE crooks out there.

It’s much easier to protect your money than to get it back!

So You Want to Buy a Campground Membership or a Timeshare

Where to get the best deal?

The most expensive place you will find one is at a high-pressure sales pitch. You know: Get a free trip or a free gizmo by attending a 2 hour arm bending presentation. “Don’t do it!”

The best place

is from a previous owner. You can find them on eBay, Craig’s list or in your local newspaper. Even there you have to watch out.

After you lock in your good deal with the previous owner
and ‘before you pay any money’ — you need to know:

• How much are the ‘transfer fees’ charged by the provider of the membership/timeshare.

• What is the ‘Annual Maintenance Fee’?

• Are there any ‘Other’ fees?

• What are they and how much?

• What assurance do you have ‘in writing’ that they will honor all of the provisions of the original contract?

• What happens if you someday decide that you want to quit camping or using the timeshare?

• They’re nice people, surely they won’t cheat me... (Wanna buy a bridge?)

You MUST be prepared to walk away from what originally looked like a good deal if you don’t get the right answers - in writing.

Remember:

• Campground memberships and timeshares are not investments!

• They ALWAYS depreciate in value after the purchase.

• There are more people trying to sell than there are who want to buy.

  ---

I Remember a Childhood Thanksgiving...

I Remember

a Childhood Thanksgiving...

The family gathering.

Family and special friends are there.

The children playing.
“Children! Be quiet now. You’ll make grandma and grandpa nervous.”

We were too little to sit at the grown-up’s table.

All is quiet now.

The family turns to grandpa. “Almighty God, thank you for bringing us together this day and thank you for our many blessings ....”

The food is on the table but grandma and momma won’t sit down. They wait anxiously as each food is tasted and approved by everyone at the tables, the grown-up table and the children’s table.

“Let’s each say out loud what we are thankful for.”

“I’m thankful for my family, my job, for life itself.”

“I’m thankful for my puppy.”

“I’m thankful that the angels watch over me.”

“I’m thankful for you - honey.”
(That was grandpa.)

These memories are warm and comforting now, even though grandma, grandpa, mom, dad, aunts and uncles are gone. Families don’t get together as we used to.

Oh, we still love each other.

We just don’t get together as much.

What am I thankful for?

I’m thankful for my wonderful friend
-my wife, for my sons and their beautiful wives and for my grandchildren.

I’m thankful for my friends (that’s you.)

I’m thankful still, that the angels watch over me...

And I pray that they watch over you too.

God bless you on this day of Thanksgiving.

I Desperately Need Your Help !

I’ve been a baaaaad boy... I think I might need a new place to live.

Went shopping this morning and saw a sale of ‘candy bowls’. These were special candy bowls.

They had a plastic, battery-operated hand in the middle of them and a concealed motion sensor.

When anything gets close - the hand grasps like a fist and slaps down into the bowl - as it plays a loud screaming noise.

Now HERE’s where I get in trouble. My wife loves her cat but it doesn’t like me and I don’t like him.

Cat food is like candy for a cat isn’t it? You can see where this is going, can’t you...

Think I’m kidding?

The candy bowls are on sale at ‘Lowes’.

Holiday ‘Pumpkin’ Pie

Don’t throw away that Halloween Jack-o’-lantern.

Here’s an quick, easy, tasty way to turn it into a delicious treat:

Ingredients:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

• Spray the pan with cooking spray.

• Coat the inside pan with the cornmeal.

• Dump left over cornmeal into mixing bowl.

• Add the pumpkin and mix thoroughly.

• Add the eggs and mix again.

• Add cinnamon, clove and nutmeg - mix again. (People like it a bit spicy.)

• Add the Splenda (or sugar) until it tastes really sweet.

• Add flour - mix (looking for thick pudding consistency.)

• Pour the mixture into the pan.

• Stand a row of pecans upright, side-by-side against the entire edge of the pan.

• Make a design on top with left over pecans.

• Bake 55 minutes to an hour (Until slightly brown on top or bottom.)

• Let cool
  eat it before anyone gets home.

Stand up for right!
Even if the odds are against you.

Stand up for the weak.
Your God will bless you.

Stand up for the good you see in others.
There is good in everyone.

Stand up even if you must stand alone.

Fight the self-doubts
you might find within you.

They are vexations to the spirit
And to the soul.

Be strong and courageous.

Make this a better world;
Through each act of kindness,
understanding,
or encouragement.

Dan Hopper

I am only one,
But still I am one.

I cannot do everything,
But still I can do something;

And because I cannot do everything
I will not refuse
to do the something that I can do.

- Edward Everett Hale

Always be the best person you can be.

Don’t worry if you sometimes fail.
Just brush yourself off and try again.

God forgives you and loves you anyway.

Every day, without your permission
the world changes because of something you said or did.

Your duty is to try to make those changes for the better.

Dan Hopper

BOO!

You thought we forgot Halloween didn’t you...

Here’s my favorite Halloween story:

A man was walking home alone late one Halloween night when he heard a BUMP .. BUMP ...BUMP ... behind him.

Walking faster he looked back, and saw the image of an upright coffin banging its way down the middle of the street toward him

...BUMP...BUMP...BUMP...

Terrified, the man began to run towards his home, the coffin bouncing quickly behind him ... faster... faster...

BUMP... BUMP ...BUMP...

He ran up to his door, fumbled with his keys, opened the door, rushed in, slammed and locked the door behind him.

However, the coffin crashed through his door, and the lid of the coffin flew open.

... clappity-BUMP .. clappity-BUMP
....... clappity-BUMP - BUMP...

on the heals of the terrified man.

He rushed upstairs to the bathroom, and locked himself in. His heart pounding; his head is reeling; his breath coming in sobbing gasps. With a loud CRASH the coffin broke down the door bumping and clapping toward him.

He screamed and reached for something, anything ...but all he could find was a box of cough drops! Desperate, he threw the cough drops at the coffin...

....and then
........... The coffin stopped.

What happens
if you get scared half to death - twice?

Support NAM, Make a donation...

Please send a tax-deductible donation to:

NAM
4740 Silver Oak St.
Dayton, OH 45424-4650

We will send you a receipt for your tax deductable donation and one of these amazing, no-battery, “Forever Flashlights” as a Thank-You gift.

This “Thank You Gift” does not need batteries. Just shake it a few times and it will stay lit for several hours - then just shake it again.

Easily carried in your purse, pocket, or tool box. (Grandkids can hide it under their pillows if they are afraid of ‘night goblins’.)

Your Donations really do help.

NOTE: We’re considering reducing the frequency of this newsletter so the money you donate can be used more effectively.

If you have any advice or concerns please contact us:

Please send us a letter or an email.
Let us know how you think we are doing and how to do it better.

[ Click Here ]