Greybeard, Dandelion Farmer?

Yeah, that's a possibility.
You may become one too!

I got trapped in the "Youtube surfing vortex" again this morning.
(When will I learn this is a thing to avoid?)
One of the videos I watched educated me about the possible coming "Rubber Apocalypse". I had not previously heard about the disease in Southeast Asia attacking rubber trees. This is bad for several reasons:
-That's where the majority of our raw materials for rubber come from.
(I knew this already because of the Michelin plantations in South Viet Nam), and
-The trees are virtually all clones of one another. So when one gets the ailment, it rapidly gets transferred to all its brothers.

I was surprised to learn that ALL airplane tires are made from natural, not synthetic, rubber.  And natural rubber apparently is the only choice for several other products used around the world. If this disease spreads rapidly, these products will face critical shortages soon.

But there is a glow rising on the horizon, and it also surprised me:
Dandelions are a possible solution to the problem. They also produce a natural rubber, and can be grown almost anywhere in the world. With them, the U.S. might become "rubber independent" in a couple years.
I'm thinking even I can grow 'em, and I don't think our pesky deer population will be interested in my crop!

Now?
Watch for the Biden administration to find a way to restrict this move to independence.

Water. WATER!

My son moved to Phoenix Arizona. I had never been on the ground there for any length of time.
Shortly after he moved there we went to visit him for his Birthday in July. On his birthday the car thermometer read 123 degrees Fahrenheit. Rear windows in cars were exploding. Sara Jean and I decided the pool was a good idea. It was not. The only way to be comfortable was to be completely submerged. Any body part exposed to the sun was... miserable.

The distance between home and Phoenix was 27 hours drive. I began to pay attention to water levels in Lakes Meade and Powell, and began to worry about my son's life. If the "SHTF", several million people are gonna be searching for water for their families. I expressed my concerns to my son.
He's no fool. After a while he saw that his old man wasn't stupid.
He sold his home in Gilbert, AZ for more than twice what he paid for it 7 years ago, thanks to Californians realizing their stupidity, wanting to flee crazyland and move. And they are moving to a city that is going to ration water soon... it's just a question of WHEN.

With Sara Jean's health questions, Big Bubba wanted to be closer to our/his home, but not so close that we are on top of him all the time. He decided he'd like to move to Texas or Tennessee because of those State's tax structure. Nashville TN is a "chip shot" of a drive from us now, so he started concentrating on that area.

We drove down yesterday and looked at three homes in the Clarksville, TN area. Entering one, we all immediately decided, "I could easily live here".
Big Bubba submitted an offer on the home.
Today we gathered documentation to prove we could afford the loan.
And mid-day today we got word that the sellers had accepted his offer. It's a "Red Letter Day" for us all.
The Cumberland River is within walking distance from this home. "Land Between the Lakes" is a short drive. My son WILL NOT be dying of thirst.
I like that. And I like that he's now a comfortable drive from our home.

I still think trouble in the future is a question of "when", not "if".
And now the "When" is not such a threatening thought.

Trump Said-

Trump said hydroxychloroquine would work against Covid-19.
Stupid, until...

Trump said the virus was created in a laboratory in Wuhan China.
Stupid, until...

Trump said building a wall on our Southern border would stop thousands from coming to the U.S..
Stupid, until...

Biden says he knew/knows absolutely nothing about son Hunter's business activities.
And who is stupid?
We are.

Change Two To Plan "B"

My Dad was a Wizard.
"Jack of all trades"... I've written before about how he could do MANY things, and do them well.

In 1963 he bought a new Chevrolet "Corvair Greenbriar" Van, bought a bunch of plywood, and turned the thing into a really neat travel camper. In it, our family of four took many camping trips, including an unforgettable trip West from Indianapolis. We headed West via a Northern Route... Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone, Grand Tetons, and into L.A. to visit kin.
Returning home we passed through Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and Painted Desert. As a 16-yr old with a freshly printed driver's license, I drove most of the miles on that trip.
My folks then later graduated to a pickup camper mounted on a 3/4 ton Ford Pickup, then a 27-foot Winnebago motor home. My memories of those camping trips are some of the fondest of my life, and I thank my departed parents for them.

About ten years ago, after much study of the market, I bought a Dodge Ram pickup with the 5.9 liter Cummins diesel engine. My intent in buying the truck was to eventually mount a camper in the bed and set off with my wife to check things from our "bucket list".
It's likely now that I am slowly losing my bride to dementia. So the idea of buying a camper and starting our Nation-roving trek has been accelerated. I've been perusing YouTube videos to get an idea of what's out there and how to proceed.
And HOLY COW... are there a bunch of things to be considered!
But maybe the biggest thing to be concerned about is something I never heard my Dad consider, although I know he probably did:
WEIGHT.

Many of the newer model campers are aluminum framed, (as opposed to wood, which rots when it is continuously wet), so they are lighter by design and better maintenance-wise than in days of yore. But then on top of building them lighter they add "options"-
Microwave ovens. Awnings, (or two or three of 'em). Pop-out sliding rooms. Queen sized beds. The list goes on and on.
And if you add a bunch of these "accessories" you can easily increase the weight of the camper to a figure that will eventually break the back of the truck. In addition, I'm now finding out my beautiful Cummins diesel engine weighs approximately 700 pounds(!) more than it's gasoline-eating brother.
I've always dreamed of the luxury of being able to go, at a moment's notice, to sights we want to see with our home (and STUFF) on our back.
I like the idea of not having to make hotel reservations, (though I know staying in a dedicated campground is likely to be about as expensive as a motel room.)
But this venture has sure turned out to be more complicated that I thought it would be.
And of course, $$$$$ will be flowing outta my pockets.

But that's what retirement is for....
Isn't it?

Karen Is In Control?

Several months ago I got a notice from a legal firm in Florida that my parents had left some some unclaimed funds while retired there.
I'm always suspicious of stuff like this, but I called to see if it was legit. The respondent indicated that all I had to do was fill out some forms they'd send, and the unclaimed money would be mine.
So I punted the project to my son to pursue. And he did.

Four months have passed. Yesterday I got a check. The check is for four figures... not an insignificant sum.
From my checking account I wrote a check to my son for the indicated amount, then endorsed and tried to deposit the (Florida) check to my checking account at our local bank.
"What's this money for?", asks the bank person.
Thinking to myself, "That's none of your damn business!" I lied...
"It's an annuity payment."
I watch as she plinks around on her keyboard. Soon, a puzzled look comes across her face.
She calls her superior to her work station. The superior also gets a puzzled look on her face, then asks, "Is this an annual installment, or a monthly one?"
Now alarm bells go off in my head. I'm trying to make a deposit. The bank will make money on this deposit. They can put a hold on the funds I'm depositing. There is three times the amount of money I'm depositing already in the account. Where is their risk exposure?
I've now reached my tolerance for "Karen".
I say, "If there's a problem with the check, give it back to me and I'll take it to another facility and they'll take it without a problem."
"There's no problem with the check. This is just our rules."
"Then the rule is stupid. I understand you have no control over this stupidity, but I'm VERY close to closing this account and taking my money somewhere else. Take the deposit, or give me back my check. And tell your leadership that they are stupid."

At this point she clicks the keyboard in front her her, prints out the deposit slip; puts the slip into the tray and slides it out to me.

What the hell is going on? The only explanation I can imagine is that this is further information gathering.
Control.

And I like it not at all.

Catalyst

 VROOOOOOOM!

Sleeping in, it woke me. My neighbor drives for the local "Meals on Wheels" organization and he came home to pick up something he had forgotten when he went to work. The noise was so loud it was obnoxious.
Seeing him later I asked, "What the heck happened to your truck to make it so noisy?"
"Someone stole all the catalytic converters off our trucks last night!"

Four handicapped-accessible buses.
Three 3/4 ton Vans.
All purchased with tax-supported funds.
Re-equipping them with new converters is gonna cost big $$$$$.

We live in a town of 7,000. Like virtually all towns across the nation, there are "Help Wanted" signs in ALL businesses, big and small, in our town.
Staying home, collecting unemployment, and little odd jobs like stealing Catalytic Converters off vehicles owned by public assisted operations is apparently a perfectly comfortable way to live these days.

And like most of the rest of our government's mistakes these days, the costs will be passed along to others.
What a country.

The Most Difficult Thing In Aviation?

  

"If you can drive a car, you can learn to fly an airplane."

As a helicopter flight instructor, I've made this statement for years.
I still believe it is true. I fly helicopters AND airplanes, and the only thing I ever found remotely difficult about flying the fixed-wing was landing with a strong crosswind.
(Manipulating the controls of the helicopter automatically adjusts for crosswind landings. Having first learned to fly helos, crosswind landings in fixed-wing aircraft seems totally foreign and uncomfortable to me.)

But there IS one task in all of aviation I believe may be more difficult than learning to hover and do a perfect normal approach in a helicopter-
And that task is landing an airplane on a pitching, rolling, moving deck of a ship.

This video is 27 minutes in length. If you have any interest in aircraft carrier ops or in the history of how we got where we are in Naval Aviation, I think it is worth your time.

And I'll now be searching for a copy of the original "The Fighting Lady".
Neat stuff.

11July- Bristol Tennessee

We wake in Bristol,TN. Within sight just down the street is a stop light that resides right on top of the Virginia/Tennessee State Line. Today we intend to drive down "State Street" and try to find the brass marker marking the VA/TN line and get a photo. That done, we want to drive a short distance out of town to the Bristol Motor Speedway and see the racetrack where so many NASCAR events have taken place.
Then, on the way home, we'll stop and view any attractions that catch our attention...
"World's largest ball of aluminum foil"?

This road trip we once again committed the cardinal sin-
We tried to pack five pounds into a 3-pound bag. We didn't properly consider the amount of driving we'd have to do to get to the things we wanted to experience.
I like to drive. And that's a good thing. Because my two companions on this trip have spent much of the drive time sleeping. While awake they have their noses poked into their Smart Phones.
Me? I've been loving the passing scenery. I've now and again enjoyed the feeling of being pressed into the seat after pushing the "Go Pedal" of our Taurus SHO to the floor, marveling at the fact that this quiet, comfortable car still gets over 25 miles per gallon of fuel while going up and down these mountains.
Trees alongside the road are tall enough to cause gaps in reception of our Sirius/XM radio...
Beautiful, and simultaneously irritating.

Many will feel the same way as we-
Maybe the BEST thing about a vacation is that it makes you realize how comfortable you are in your own home; your own recliner with your own remote control at hand; your own bed.
We'll be there tonight.
Thank you Lord for safe travels.

Dateline- Raleigh, NC

Long day in the car yesterday-
We spent the night in Petersburg, VA. Elsa was acting up as we went to bed, and the forecast was for "partly cloudy" the following day. With all the ground we needed to cover to do what we wanted, we hoped for sunshine. And by the time we rose Mother Nature was cooperating with a "partly sunny" day.

We've decided we LOVE this part of the country. Grass and trees are GREEN. And the tree-covered mountains are absolutely beautiful. Roads we have used have been in great repair. And fuel prices here are not horrible.

We toured the "First Flight" memorial at Kill Devil Hills. Nice little museum there, and walking the same hill where Wilbur and Orville learned to fly using their gliders gave me great respect for the brothers.
(By the way- In the telegram Orville sends to his sister to tell her of their success on 17Dec, he signs his name "Oreville". Have we been spelling his name incorrectly all these years?)

We departed Kitty Hawk and drove South on North Carolina highway 12, down the Hatteras peninsula, stopping first at the Bodie Lighthouse, then the Hatteras Lighthouse. Both beautiful. The peninsula is extraordinarily narrow in many places, making me wonder how it has survived the many hurricanes it has been exposed to. Sand dunes in spots are 15' tall on both sides of the road, making you feel as if you are driving down a pipe with no top. With the (Wright Brothers) wind that blows here most of the time it is obvious road crews must be ready to frequently clear the road of encroaching sand.

We drove back Northwest-bound last night through scattered showers, arriving Raleigh, NC about Midnight. We're meeting friends for Brunch here today, then plan to drive to Bristol, TN to spend the night.

We'll be home Sunday.
Prayers for safe travels are appreciated.

July 2021 Road Trip

We won't have a diagnosis of Sara Jean's condition until mid-month. But we are noticing changes in her thought processes and both of us now think the news will be bad. To that end we have decided to check off some of her bucket list items as quickly as possible.

She has always wanted to see Cape Hatteras.
We are in Lexington, KY this morning, surrounded by Blue Grass and beautiful fenced-in pastures. Today we will drive to Petersburg, VA to spend the night and be ready for a drive to see the rocky coast.
Before the day ends we hope to also check off one of my bucket list items- The Wright Brothers "First Flight" memorial at Kill Devil Hills.

Beyond that we are making things up as we go along. Headed back home I think I want to put one leg in Virginia and the other in Tennessee at Bristol.

If you have ideas about what you think we'd enjoy seeing/doing, please leave a comment.

The "C.T.O.L."

Since retiring, I have been struggling somewhat to find constructive things to do with my life. I feel...
Unfulfilled.
Today I realized I've had a valuable job all along, and just didn't fully realize it.

Some time ago I had a friend who, upon arriving home from work would shout, "I HOPE WE HAVE STOCK IN THIS ELECTRIC COMPANY!"
And then he would make the rounds in his home, turning off all the lights in unoccupied rooms.

Me? I probably DO have stock in several power-producing companies via the Mutual Funds I own.
Nevertheless, I have also become an environmentalist. Waste troubles me. Burning unnecessary electricity pollutes our environment, doesn't it?

Therefore I have taken on a new, vital job in our household-
I am now the "Chief Turner-Offer of Lights" in our family.
Sometimes it seems like a full time job. At the end of the day I am physically and mentally taxed.
But I'm saving the environment.
And I am proud.

Hatred

 I've been re-watching Ken Burns' series "The Civil War", and came to the realization that the South must have felt about Abraham Lincoln much as Marxist/Socialist/Communists do about Donald Trump.
Did Southerners quietly, or even exuberantly, celebrate the death of the man most people feel may have been the best President our country has ever had?

The Right To Bear Arms

 "The first battle of the Revolution was fought over gun control. The British government wanted to seize the lawfully owned firearms of the colonists. If British troops could disarm the militia, there would be less of a threat to their control."

"Those ignorant of history are doomed to repeat it."

On this Independence Day, please-
Don't be ignorant of history.

Independence Day

Russia has a 4th of July.
China has a July 4th.
England has a 4th of July.
The 4th of July is a special day for our country.
Remember to wish others a "HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY" to remind them this day is unique for us.

Knowledge About College

 If I take a loan for a full college load now, do I have to repay it?
If so, WHY?

Gilbert, AZ In The Rearview Mirror

 Big Bubba has been living in Gilbert, AZ almost 8 years. He bought a 4-bdrm/2-1/2 bath home so we could live comfortably (separated if necessary) from his personal space. We've spent four months in this home for those eight years from mid-December to the end of March. Weather during these months is as near perfect as you could imagine... 70+ degree days and 60+ degree nights most of the time. During the time we spent there this Fall/Winter, it rained three times.
We've grown to like the neighborhood. It is clean, well lit at night, and almost all our immediate needs are within walking distance.

Big Bubba sold this home this week. Many factors impacted this decision. The biggest of course is family related. His aging parents will need him more and more, and we don't want to be exposed to 120-degree heat for half the year. Our son has also finally tired of the heat. There's a joke in Phoenix that is true:
"My wife arose before me and used up all the cold water."
Turn on the cold water tap and when the water exposed to the home's air conditioning is used up, the cold water feels like bath water. (Big Bubba turns off his water heater in late Spring. It's unnecessary)

It's a seller's market in Real Estate these days. In the time he has lived in this home, the value has more than doubled. It's a good time to pocket his equity.

But a BIGGEE that I've had him considering is the bare water line marking the shores of Lakes Meade and Powell. Water depth in both lakes is shockingly down. Although there is some attention now being paid to the problem, most residents of the Phoenix metro area... and for that matter in virtually all the big cities served by water from the Colorado River, are in denial, big time.
It's gonna become a crisis at some point now. (180,000 more water users illegally crossed our Southern border in May, and I'm reminded of an old truism: "That which cannot continue... won't".)

It's a good time for him to bug out.
We will miss our Winter walks in perfect weather. We will miss our wonderful Gilbert neighbors.
And we hope they come to their senses and bug out before water begins to be rationed in the West.
But we also know... addicts sometimes have to hit rock bottom before they realize behavior needs to change.

Life Throws A Curveball

 "AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

It's 0300 hours. I'm shocked awake and turn to find my wife sitting bolt upright in bed and confused, looking around the room as if something is threatening her.
This, obviously, is not a comfortable way to be awakened.

When he was 8 or nine years old our son went through a phase during which he had "Night Terrors". We'd hear him in the wee hours crying, and when we asked what was wrong he couldn't explain why he was upset.

Sara Jean has been having late-night hallucinations for some time. She awakens and imagines someone is standing at the end of our bed, or right beside her. Frightened, she screams and in doing so, wakes me.
We sort of equated her problem with our son's situation when he was young.

She's been sensing changes in her thought processes lately. She can't think of words, phrases, or memories to share during conversations. The problem, to her thinking, has accelerated during the last months. She has shared this with our Doctor and he has administered a simple test to check her for "mild cognitive impairment" then declared her normal. But over the last month SJ feels she has declined dramatically so we scheduled a new appointment. And at this time she finally shared the fact that she's been having these nighttime hallucinations.
"Hmmm. Sounds like 'Lewy Body'" he says, very casually.
I had never heard the term. And he said it so nonchalantly I brushed it off as no big deal.
It definitely IS a big deal.
Five to 8 years life expectancy, says the internet.
You may as well have come upside my head with a 2X4.

We've scheduled an appointment with a neurologist and won't know details until after meeting with her/him. In fact, the only way to know with certainty that someone has "Lewy Body Dementia" is after an autopsy.

But this changes everything.
ALL our retirement planning has been modified.
We are now looking at a serious "bucket list" and want to check off items on that list as quickly as possible while we both can share and enjoy them.

Life is short.
Don't be miserable.
It's a tremendous waste of time.

"British Marine Reacts-"

I made note of a few things while watching this video.
This "Commando" is VERY proud of his service. This "Esprit De Corps" permeates the elite of our military. The "Joe Blow" average trooper might have volunteered to serve in order to get an education to further his/her civilian career, but the Aviators, Submariners, Special Forces, etc? ALL those guys are damned proud to have gone that extra mile and took the greater risk to defend freedom. I was glad to see it.

A couple years ago I accompanied my son to a retired "Titan" Missile silo near Tucson. The lethality of that one weapon could pretty much have wiped humanity from the face of the earth... and we had ELEVEN of them around the U.S.. The overlap of weapons we have across our services is mind boggling. We retired the Titan system partly because it was obsolete. Think of the protection we have in place today.

Supercarrier groups?
Just look at the support and strength it takes to deploy those systems!

I had a friend that worked directly with the F-111 and B-2 systems and knew the factoid about the Bumblebee comparison.
Again... mind boggling.

It's easy sometimes to worry about the lack of manpower in our military compared to say, WWII today. But why risk human lives when we have machines that can do the jobs of many, and do them better? And this trend will continue.
How long before we enter "Star Trek" territory and start marching human "results of attack" into "disintegrator rooms"?

In the mid-60's that concept seemed SO far fetched.
In today's world with Karen in control?
I'm not so sure.

Subway Megan

 I used to like Subway restaurants... felt the sandwiches were reasonably priced and if you were careful about preferences, they could also be sorta "healthy".
But like so many businesses today, they inadvertently "stepped on their poncho", as we Dogfaces used to say.
They hired Purple-Haired Megan Rapinoe to be their Spokesperson. If you're not familiar, she's the Olympic Soccer Player that was one of the first to take a knee when our National Anthem was played.
She's now regularly appearing on their TV commercials. It's yet to be seen if this will be as big a disaster for them as was pedophile Jared Fogle.

Not one red cent, Subway.
And maybe even an apology?

D-Day, + 76

"Those that don't know history are doomed to repeat it."
That's a paraphrase of a quote by someone smarter than me.

My Uncle Garlin was on the Battlesthip West Virginia in Pearl Harbor as she sank on 7Dec41. He then spent the rest of the war on a destroyer.
My Uncle George was aboard a glider that crashed upon landing 76 years ago. His ankle was broken in the bad landing and he spent the remainder of the war in a German P.O.W. camp.
My Father was injured by Mortar fire in the Philippines all thse years ago; received the Purple Heart and was sent home early due to his injuries.

I am VERY aware of the sacrifices made for me by the "Greatest Generation" and I tried my best to meet their standard.
I don't need a "Safe Room" or "Safe Space" to survive.
I am scared to death of the attitude I sense around me.

Hope for the best. Prepare for the worst.
What cannot continue... WON'T.

Dr. Fauxi, Our Hero?

"It's worth the risk" Fauxi said, when questioned about the possible connection, direct or indirect, to the Wuhan laboratory.
-3,500,000 million deaths later? He perjures himself when asked about the connection.
At what point does our liberal media tell the world about our hero?

Greybeard The Hobo?

When I was VERY young, an older cousin had a serious argument with her husband and, wanting to get away from him as quickly as possible, ran to the rail yard to hop a freight out of town.
She had apparently been enjoying a few adult beverages and somehow lost her footing while trying to board the train, fell beneath the wheels, and was killed.
The story has always fascinated me, partly due to the grisliness of it, and partly due to the idea that she intended to escape an ugly situation by hopping the train. I wish I had gotten the chance to know her.
I imagine she'd have been "interesting" to know.

Trains and helicopters... Aren't they pretty much opposites as to what they do and how they do it?
"Simplify and add lightness" is the aeronautical engineer's credo. Make a part BARELY heavy and strong enough to do what it must do without failing and killing people.
With trains, seems to me, the opposite is true. The weight of the locomotive is absolutely critical to the machine's ability to do what it must do.
Weight? Schmate!

My fascination with trains has lead me to the guy in the video below... "Hobo Shoestring".
He looks like a bum. He's got a Southern twang to his speech that would make someone from one of the coasts dismiss him as a "rube".
He's neither. He owns an apartment in Johnson City, Tennessee, and refers to himself "houseless, NOT homeless". He has produced and published LOTS... maybe hundreds, of videos about how the rail system and components of trains work, and he ain't dumb... to me he's VERY interesting.

If you, like me, have an interest in how trains do what they do, I think you'll find taking the time to watch his stuff worthwhile.
Start with this one, and lemme know what you think:

 

L.B.D.

"Lewy Body Dementia".
Ever hear of it?
We had not.

It's what drove Robin Williams to kill himself. He was initially misdiagnosed as having Parkinson's Disease, as some of the symptoms are similar.
L.B.D. is probably the second major form of Dementia, just after Alzheimer's.

There's a LOT of dementia happening in our world these days. Part of the reason for that is that we are living longer lives. Part of it is that we are exposed, more and more, to some pretty extraordinary chemical compounds in our lives.
Dementia runs in our family, so there is also a genetic factor. Whatever... when you notice you have "C.R.S. Disease", you begin to wonder if it is normal, or the beginning of a long, rough road ahead.

More on all this in the future.

Those Poor Palestinians

Palestinians-
The would LOVE to wipe Israel off the map.They cannot do it because their most efficient weapon is a rocket they cannot guide to it's target. So they must launch them and hope they hit right in the middle of some elementary schoolyard.
Their next most potent weapon?
A sling and a rock.

IF they would put their money and efforts into improving the lot of their people, the lot of their people would improve.
Duh.

Biden? He's this generation's Neville Chamberlain, trying to appease Iran.
Thank you Biden voters.
You've proven the truth to the old Chinese proverb-
You've made life "interesting".

Cracker Barrel

We used to like Cracker Barrel.
Used to.

The food there was uniformly "fair",  sold at a moderate price.
Breakfast was available anytime the restaurant was open.
The Country Store was an interesting place to peruse.
But for us, the thing that we valued most about Cracker Barrel was their "Books on CD" program.

We frequently take long trips in our car. We'd stop at Cracker Barrel and get a bite to eat, then find the Books on CD carousel, buy a book we found interesting, and listen to it during our drive. When we finished with it we could stop at the next Cracker Barrel we passed and return the book for a refund, minus a couple bucks for "handling". We used this service a LOT, and recommended it often to others.

On our drive home from Arizona this Spring we stopped and ate at Cracker Barrel. Finished with our meal we strolled around the store looking for the CD carousel and couldn't find it. When I inquired as to where it was I was told, "We discontinued doing that some time ago."
I'm heartbroken.

The TSA and Covid-19 restrictions have made flying a very unpleasant experience these days, so we'll be in our car for most future trips.
The Cracker Barrel Books on CD program could have been an important part of those trips.

But I won't miss the unexceptional food.

"We're From France."

Coneheads.
Something about their appearance makes them pretty easy to identify.
I have to be careful about stereotyping individuals of their group, but DAMN it is hard sometimes!

1. We watched the cop-cam video of an incident in Minnesota. Five or six Coneheads were congregated around a car in a drive near the street. One of the Coneheads, a female, had a big knife. A policeman disembarked his car and his camera picked up the sight of a scuffle. The Conehead with the knife was trying to "cut" one of her fellow Coneheads. The Law Enforcement Officer shot and killed the knife-wielding Conehead, and the incident made National news.

2. My wife and I just returned from an excursion to Chicago via Amtrak. Shortly after we had settled in for our trip a group of recently released Conehead prisoners joined us in our car. Obviously elated about being set free, they were really feeling their oats and apparently they wanted to share their excitement with everyone else in our car. One of the Coneheads intermittently stood up and, addressing some of his fellows looked around to make sure everyone could hear his comments-
"F*** this."
"I F***ing told him..."
"That Motherf***** thought he was bad."

This public display continued for 20 minutes or so. I started to reach for the Conductor call button and Sara Jean said, "Please don't. It'll just cause trouble."
And then we sat through another five minutes or so of Conehead celebration and loud exposition. I once again started to reach for the call button, and SJ stopped me once again. "I'll take care of this" she said. She went to the cafe car and told the attendant there what was unfolding in our car.
"If you don't get this under control, my husband will try. I don't want him to get hurt."

Five minutes later the Conductor appeared.
"Sit down and be quiet or I will remove you from this train."
He came and told us IF he removes Conehead prisoners from the train... they go back to prison.
Our Conehead suddenly found a way to be a quiet Conehead.

3. We reserved a room for the weekend in a nice motel close to the Memorial Service we would attend. At 1900 hours or so we began to hear what sounded like children running and screaming up and down the hall. When I investigated the activity I found three Conehead children, without Covid-19 masks, using the hallway as a way to stretch their legs. Now and then their Mother would come out of her room and scream at her young offspring. They ignored her.
I made the decision to not call the front desk until 2200 hours, hoping by then the halls would be quiet. Kids are suffering mightily during this Covid-19 stupidity.
The kids settled down, thank Heaven.

But the next night at about 2000 hours we heard a female screaming that sounded something like "Get the mouse out of here!" We eventually figured out the dialect and realized the scream was saying, "Get HIM out of here!"
When I went into the hall to investigate I sighted a large female Conehead standing in the hallway pointing and looking at someone in her room.
She wanted to share her emotion with all 30 or so rooms that adjoined our hallway. Once again we retreated, hoping the dust would settle. Again, thank Heavens it did.

4. In Union Station waiting for our train we were in the Food Court eating at Chick-Fil-A. Sara Jean noticed a fellow passenger, a pretty Conehead, wearing a beautiful dress. As we departed to head for our train SJ walked near her, got her attention, and complimented her on what she was wearing.
Her eyes became daggers. No response.
I can only assume this Conehead truly WAS from France and didn't understand the compliment.

Some Coneheads claim their like are discriminated against when it comes to housing, job opportunites, and life in general.
I know there must be Coneheads amongst us who are embarrassed by the behavior displayed by their obnoxious brethren. Are those Coneheads actively trying to instigate change?
I hope so.

We are a divided Nation.
In some areas that division is palpable... uncomfortable.
And I am worried about where we, as a Nation, are headed.
I know this post might get me in trouble, but I love my country and hope we can once again be "E Pluribus Unum".
ALL LIVES MATTER.
Can we work toward making the world a better place for everyone?

"ART" Comes In Many Forms

"C'mere... I wancha to try somethin'!"
My Mother was standing in her kitchen with her hands full of stuff that looked just like the photo above.
She was fashioning a rose out of cake icing.
It was absolutely beautiful.
"This is really easy for me to do and I want you to try it so I know if I just have a natural talent."
I took the tools in my hands and gave it a shot.
The result of my efforts looked like a hot cookie fresh out of the oven.

She was motivated to take a cake decorating class. Actually, the class didn't teach her much.
She baked a wedding cake for a member of our family.
It looked wonderful.
It tasted like a home-baked cake.
She left the reception with orders for three more cakes.
Word of mouth took off. She started baking a wedding cake and several cakes for parties and receptions each week.
Her "Hobby" was making pretty decent money.

My Dad was in charge of deliveries.
After a while the responsibility of producing and delivering something SO important to a once-in-a-lifetime event began to weigh on them both.
So they stopped taking orders, and disappointed LOTS of people.

And every time I go to a wedding and see a beautiful work of art I'm reminded of my Mom the decorator and my Dad the deliverer, and the fact that someone went through a lot of stress to get that cake delivered, intact, tasting like something others would want to put in their mouths.

It's a good memory.

Taxation Without Representation!

Washington D.C. voters say they're being cheated-
They're citizens, but they have no real say in Congress.
They want to be our 51st State so they'll get two U.S. Senators and representation in the House.
I have a better idea.
Move the Nation's Capitol to Kansas City. Give the D.C. Real Estate back to Virginia and Maryland.

This solves at least two problems:
It makes our seat of government less susceptible to enemy attack, and,
It gives D.C. residents new representation in Congress via their new State residences.

And we don't have to worry about designing a new 51-State flag...
Yet.

Frontier.com

Fifty-Nine minutes, 12 seconds.
That's how long I spent on the phone with my Internet Provider.
I woke yesterday and tried to watch some YouTube videos on our Roku System...
No workee.
We got a connection to our router, but no internet connection.
I reset everything that had a "reset" button.
I unplugged the router for 20 seconds, then plugged it back in.
Still no dice.
None of our neighbors have a connection.
Oh well... give 'em a little time to fix the problem.

I tried two hours later...
Same result.

So I called Frontier.com's service number and, as usual, got someone with an accent that made it difficult for me to understand.
"Go unplug your router."

I made three phone calls yesterday and spent maybe an hour on the telephone. I finally got the person on the other end to admit there was a technical problem at their end. She assured me they were working on it and the problem would be resolved soon.

I woke today with hopes she wasn't blowing smoke up my delicate tush.
I now understand why my tush was irritated.
We still have no internet connection.
I can complain if I just email them at "Frontier.com/service". I may do that just as soon as I have an internet connection.

I spent an hour this morning, mostly on hold, waiting on someone to tell me when I'll begin to get the service I am paying for.
Instead I'm informed a new router is being drop-shipped to my address because my router is more than a year old and MAY be my problem.
I'm now at the Public Library writing this.

So, you tell me...
What are the chances the new router will fix what ails us?

My 200,000-Mile Checkup

"Have you registered with the VA?" my friend asked.
"No. Why? Should I?"
"Well, we were exposed to Agent Orange and they're now finding LOTS of health difficulties associated with it popping up in our peers. You need to register with 'em just in case you have problems later."
And so I registered. And they've given me a pretty extensive semi-annual physical ever since.
My latest was yesterday.

Height/weight/blood pressure/heart rate.
Cholesterol levels.
O2 saturation.
Blood work.
Pee in the bottle.
Take a peek at the eyes and ears.
Stethoscope listening to various functions.
And more.

My VA Doctor is a Pakistani female, complete with head scarf and now... wearing TWO face masks.
With her heavy accent and "muff murf stamig?" through the two masks, it's almost impossible for me to understand her questions.
But we muddle through.
She's VERY efficient.

My weight is down a little. My tinnitus is worse. PSA is okay. Cholesterol, Vitamin D, Sodium... all okay.
Neutrophils, auto... Neutrophils, absolute... Eosinophils and several other "Phils"?
Who is this "Phil" guy and why are they watching him so closely?
But apparently  all my "Phils" are fine.
The only Clinker in the closet?
My blood sugar. Thank you Mom. (Or maybe this is MY Agent Orange problem?)

My glucose level and A1C are both off the chart. I know why.
And we've all heard "Denial" is NOT a river in Egypt.
My glucose problem is caused by COUPONS.
Yeah, that's the ticket!

Burger King. Culver's. Little Caesars. McDonald's. Taco Bell. Wendy's. And tens of other fast food joints...
All send out coupons to tempt me.
And "Cheapo Me" takes complete advantage of 'em.
That's a LOT of carbs. And I think "Phil" is an expert at turning carbs into blood sugar.
I think Phil also loves the BIG nightly glass of Merlot.

But my relationship with Phil has to change.
My Pakistani overseer is now pointing a bony finger at me, promising me insulin shots if I don't get this glucose situation under control.
Her finger is a scary thing... reminds me of Halloween.

Retirement was supposed to be easy, relaxing, and enjoyable.
This is beginning to look a lot like WORK.
Where did I take that wrong turn?

George Floyd

Don't we already know the outcome of this trial?
If Chauvin is found guilty, many will be outraged. But the only bad thing that will happen will be he will go to prison.
If he's found not guilty, cities will burn, and people will die.
Black lives matter.

Yesterday I learned something I had not heard anywhere in the "News"...
Before he was even on the ground, Floyd said, "I can't breathe".
So he was an ill man, already suffering from respiratory trouble before Chauvin laid hands on him.
He also had a bad ticker, and was under the influence of several drugs.
None of that matters.
Black lives matter.

Do you see any way short of Civil War to get our country back to sanity?

"It's not fair..."

Sara Jean says, "It's not fair. Women get old, wrinkly and ugly. Men get older, more rugged, and handsome."
But that's only true with some-
We watched "Executive Suite" with Barbara Stanwyck this morning.
A WONDERFUL, talented actress, she got prettier as she aged. In "The Big Valley" I thought she was beautiful.
And Errol Flynn certainly did not die a "rugged, handsome" man.

Genetics play a huge hand.
But environment and attitude also play a major role, don't they?

Dolly Parton - He's Alive (The 23rd Annual CMA Awards)

My annual Easter post-
Dolly still gives me chills.

 

                  

Shot

Covid vaccinations-
The rebel in me pretty much said "Let 'em shove it up their ass."
But my wife is a "Nervous Nellie" and worried about things like needing to get on an airliner if the vax is required.
So I acquiesced. We scheduled and got our shot yesterday. Part of the reason I agreed was because the vax was the Johnson and Johnson single-shot vaccination.
So... done.

And now it seems there are questions about the J&J vaccine that will impact some 15 million people.
Our "experts" have struck once again.

What a load of feces.

Mice Eat Mice?

Six weeks in the Florida Panhandle... wonderful. But that part of Florida can be cold, windy, and wet simultaneously during Winter, so... BUG OUT TIME.
Fourteen weeks in Phoenix... great. If you spend time there you can easily understand why old farts like me spend Winters there. In the 3+ months we were there it rained three days. Temps this year never dropped below freezing. Normal days we experienced 65 degree highs; 45 degree lows, with humidity generally running 20% or so.
Nearly perfect weather, but we Midwesterners began to yearn for a raucous thunderstorm about the beginning of March!

We rented a Toyota Corolla for the trip home and decided to take an extra day in hopes we'd not be so exhausted when we reached our destination. I also decided to take different route home.
In the past we have driven South via Tucson/Deming, NM, El Paso/ Dallas-FTW/ Little Rock/and home.
We've also traveled via Holbrook, AZ/Albuquerque/Amarillo/Ok City/Tulsa/Springfield/and home.
Both those drives are long and, for the most part, boring. This time I decided we'd head North out of ALB and drive up the East face of the Rockies, hoping they'd be snow-capped and beautiful.
We were not disappointed.

The Corolla was comfortable. It drove nicely, got about 35mpg at 75mph, and had "smart" adaptive cruise control, (which henceforth will be a requirement for any future rental choice!)
We did NOT order a GPS option, and that turned out to be a mistake when I depended on memory as we headed North out of Colorado Springs...
Thank God I realized I was lost early on; stopped at a Fire Station, and a fellow Public Service worker got me back on the proper path home!

Motels we stayed in:
A "Comfort Inn", a "Super 8", and a "La Quinta". Since all we require in our temporary housing is a clean place to sleep and bathe, (and breakfast of some sort is also nice), we generally go the "budget" route for accommodations. All our stays were satisfactory, but I was surprised our normal choice, the La Quinta, had NO breakfast offerings at all.

The trip was uneventful. After gratefully spending the night in our own home and bed we returned the rental car and came home to resume our normal routine.
Scooter and truck started without fuss. But while I was sitting in my pickup allowing the battery to get it's first charge in months I caught a glimpse of movement to my right and saw either Mickey or Minnie sitting transfixed on the passenger seat. After a few seconds, MM decided to beat a hasty retreat into the bowels of my Ram/Cummins pickup somewhere. It was after a little searching that I noticed the roll of toilet paper we leave in the truck for emergencies had been well-used for nesting material.

Last night I set the trap... on the passenger-side floorboard, with peanut butter as bait. Investigation this morning found the trap gone!  I searched beneath the passenger seat... beneath the driver's seat...
Nuttin'. But further investigation beneath the extended-cab jump seat revealed the trap with a half-eaten mouse lodged against the rear bulkhead of the truck.

So the question now is-
Did Mickey get a bellyful of Minnie...
Or Vice-versa?

Road Trip Random Thoughts

-Topeka Kansas is the home of Harry W. Colmery. Who knew?
-Kansas is windy. Fifty knot gusts made me thankful I wasn't driving an 18 wheeler.
-Anyone that thinks Kansas is flat has never been to Ft. Riley.
-Renting a car without GPS is a big mistake.
-But having a "seek" function on the FM radio proved there are LOTS of  "classic rock" stations out there.
-Four cylinder engines are buzzy and irritating in mountains but get GREAT mileage.
-Buzzy rental cars help you realize how much you love your non-buzzy car.
-Windmill farms are majestic and simultaneously an eyesore.
-In fifty mph winds, windmills feather. (Shut down.)
-Cell phone coverage on Interstates is nothing short of amazing.
-There is NO comfortable way to drive more than 700 miles in one day.

Care to add to my list?

Driving Miss Sara

We're two days into our trip home from Phoenix. We spent the first night of our drive in Albuquerque. Experienced a HORRIBLE traffic jam on Interstate 40 near Gallup, NM, nearly dead-stopped for almost two hours. This is the seccond time we've had terrible traffic there and WILL NOT be coming home that way again. 

Decided to take a different route home from ALB this time and headed North on I-25 toward Denver- up the Eastern face of the Rockies. The peaks were snow-capped and GORGEOUS. 

Spent the night in Limon, CO in a tacky little motel room. Since we only spend a few hours in the motel we've always felt so long as they are clean and have basic "necessities" like a TV and microwave, why pay a fortune for those few hours? 

There's just no way to make a 24-hour drive comfortable. But flying, more and more, is becoming such a burden I no longer want to do it. Our rental car, a Toyota Corolla, is a pleasure to drive.
It's getting 35 mpg at 75mph and has something I will NEVER again be without-
"Adaptive" (Smart) Cruise Control. It takes much of the stress out of driving long distances on the slab.

Home tomorrow night, our neighbors inform us our wild onion crop is ready for harvest.
That's a smell/experience I always enjoy in the Spring.

I'm homesick.
And ready for Spring storms and home "Honey-do's".

"It's Snowing!"

We set out from Phoenix yesterday with a GREAT plan-
Leave comfortably around Noon +-. Drive North to Hwy 74, then go Westbound to Wickenburg. Just Northwest of there, hang a turn onto Northbound 89. Make our way through Yarnell where the "Hotshots" lost their lives in the fire some years ago, then continue to Prescott. Just East of there take 89A through Jerome and Cottonwood, then on through Sedona to just South of Flagstaff and spend the night at the Air Force recreational facility at "Ft. Tuthill" County Park.
Beautiful.

All went exactly as planned. Weather was "Clear Blue and 22", and we drove through Sedona as Ol' Sol was getting low in the sky, casting intense red rays on the already red stone cliffs there.
Breathtaking.

The "Best Laid" plan was to spend the night at Ft. Tuthill, rise at a comfortable hour and have breakfast, then drive a couple hours North to "Horseshoe Bend" near the AZ/CO State line. Time permitting, I wanted to also hit the South Rim of the Canyon to take in the view there. At that point I intended to take the pulse of both Sara Jean and Big Bubba to see if they wanted to pound the pavement back to PHX, or get a room for the night in Flagstaff and head back to Phoenix rested on Wednesday.

The Air Force facility at Ft. Tuthill was a BIG disappointment. The problem MAY have been partly due to the WuFlu virus. The place was... umm... Spartan, to put it kindly. We slept fitfully.

Morning dawns. Sara Jean opened the draperies to the room.
"It's snowing!" she says.
And indeed it was. Four inches of the stuff on the ground.
Not just flurries... big, wet flakes coming down, limiting visibility to about a mile.
The chances of seeing anything at Horseshoe Bend or the Grand Canyon?
Zip.

So we leisurely lolled in bed until checkout time, then drove and had Brunch at Denny's, after which we all agreed to point the car South to Phoenix where our phones said it was 65 degrees with a chance of rain.

Sara Jean's first view of the Grand Canyon will have to wait for another day.

How Much Longer Can We Afford this?

Got a "safety recall" letter last month on the Yamaha Super Tenere... the front brake switch might be faulty, and lots of things could possibly happen if it acts up- brake light not illuminating, cruise control suddenly disengaging... other bad stuff. That bike is now 7 years old with almost 30,000 miles on it, but the repair including parts and labor was free.

When the bike was finished the service manager came to me with forms that needed a signature and showed me a few things that he felt needed attention. Front fork seals are leaking. A cover over the ignition parts is also leaking. And the right saddlebag that needs replacing? A steal at $500 !
My question- "How much to fix the fork seals?"
The hardware- $75.
Three hours labor?- $495.

No thank you. I'm sorry, but that sure seems usury to me.
And I'd feel not QUITE so bad if I knew the mechanic was receiving the vast majority of that charge.
But he/she/they will not.

We'll probably ride the thing until the wheels fall off.

Fastest Way To Lose A Pound!

The entire Greybeard family gave blood yesterday.
It was Big Bubba's first time to donate.
Sara Jean has donated a few times. I've lost count of my donations.
There are many good reasons to donate. Most of 'em you already know. In addition to the instant 1lb. weight loss, I've read that donating will make you live longer and look better...
Something about lengthening telomeres? You can look it up.

Anywho, we increased the supply of A+ blood in the system by three pints yesterday.
Consider donating. It'll make ya feel better and maybe regain some of that "youthful glow"!

"If You Could See Me Now..."

You'd be lookin' at a guy who just passed his Amateur Radio "General" license examination.
Whew!
I WAS NOT sure of the result when I turned my test in for grading.
This one had my head swimming. When they grade it they only tell you if you passed or failed, so I may have passed by the skin of my teeth.

No matter. The ticket will arrive in a couple days, and I can now RELAX.
For a while.

Ham

And I don't mean with Navy beans and cornbread!
I'm talkin' about Amateur Radio.

In the early 60's I was dating a gal whose Dad was involved in Citizen's Band radio. When I'd pick her up I'd hear him chatting with others in his radio shack and go visit with him until she was ready to go.
Eventually I realized I was more interested in him and his hobby than I was with her. I learned a lot about radio from him and eventually bought my own "rig", and got my Dad interested in CB in the process.

In those days you had to apply to the FCC for a CB license in order to be able to transmit on the band.
I sent in my application with the nominal required fee and got my license. I became "KNK6124".
(The license to operate on the Citizen's Band no longer is required, going away about the time the C.W. McCall record "Convoy" hit the airwaves. That was also about the time CB became profane and for me, impossible.)

Dad and I were both interested in Ham radio at that time because that realm offered a lot more options than CB...
More available bands and frequencies, and the potential for "around the globe communications".
But there was a problem... at that time you needed to pass a test showing proficiency in Morse Code in order to get an Amateur Radio license. Neither of us had the time or inclination to learn Morse Code.
My interest in CB waned when I was drafted.
Sixty years pass.

I have become a mild "Prepper".
And one of the "nice to have" things, even if it means just communicating/coordinating with neighbors is a little "Handheld radio" and Ham Radio license.
And SMILE with me... the requirement to know Morse Code no longer applies.

Last month I scheduled my exam with the local Ham Radio Club here in Phoenix. I took the "Technician" exam and easily passed it.
I immediately rescheduled for the "General" license and will sit for that exam tomorrow (Saturday) at 1000 hours.
I've had my nose in the study guide now for a week. This exam is NOT so easy as the Technician exam, and I'm a little worried about my possibility of success.
Keep your fingers crossed for me, or if you're of a mid to- say a simple prayer for me.

I'll keep ya posted.

"Chunky"

He may as well have hit me upside the head with a 2X4.
Referring to one of his co-workers, my buddy's Father said, "He's 'chunky' like you."
Chunky?
At the age of 12, I hadn't given much thought to what others thought about my appearance.
But there it was. I was "chunky".

I inherited my difficulties with weight from my Mother.
At 5' 2", I have a photo of her when she weighed 190 pounds. She fought obesity her entire life.
I have too, although thankfully not to the same degree.

In retirement it's easy to develop bad habits.
Sitting in the recliner, remote in hand, I was beginning to enjoy the rut I had dug myself into.
It was when I could no longer button the waist of my Levis that I realized I had do dig myself out.

Running?
I hate it. I've ALWAYS hated it.
And my compound fracture in Santorini gave me pause about pounding on my right ankle anyway.
But walking is comfortable for me.
Sara Jean is also noticing "changes", so we agreed that walking was our exercise of choice.
We try to walk a minimum of 3 miles daily.
We walk at a 3mph pace, so our three mile walk takes us...
Duh... an hour. But when the weather is perfect and we have smiles on our faces listening to "Oldies" on our little radio, we'll continue our walk, sometimes up to 5-1/2 miles- shown on our "Map my walk" app on our phone.
The results have been slow in coming. But we put the pounds on gradually, so taking them off slowly is best, isn't it?

When I could no longer fasten my jeans I weighed in at 228 pounds.
I'm now down to 201, and struggling to get below 200. (As you lose weight the body becomes more efficient because it's not doing as much work as it was. Pounds begin to be VERY difficult to lose.)

My stomach is flat.
I'm sleeping better and I no longer snore.

Long ago my friend's Dad did me a favor. He made me take a close look at myself, and I've been aware of my weight and appearance since.

I'm happy to say I don't think I'm "Chunky" today.
"Hunky"?
I'm workin' on it. ;>)

Manhole

At 0300 hours, strange thoughts can occupy that wide-awake time.
Two mornings ago the thoughts were of things I have done that few have experienced.
Descending into a "Manhole" is one that I can check off my list.

In the few months after High School, before getting drafted, I worked for Indiana Bell Telephone company as a "cable splicer".  The job required me to splice multi-colored wires correctly to insure Lily Tomlin's phone would work when she wanted to "ringy-dingy".
That meant I had to don "gaffes" and safety harness to climb utility poles.
And since some of the telephone cable ran underground, it meant descending into a hole in the street.

We had to park the truck, flashers on, to protect the workplace from traffic. Then we had to strategically place dayglo orange cones so that no one would run into the truck.

Manhole covers, by necessity, are heavy. 100 pounds? At least.
If you look at one closely you'll see there is a notch on the outer edge. That's where you'd insert your special tool to pull the cover off the hole. It wasn't easy.

Frequently the hole would be full of water. We carried a pump for that purpose. Pump the water out so you could do the work, but some holes would have a steady stream of water flowing into them so you had to either leave the pump running, or intermittently climb out and start the pump to remove the water as needed.
Noisy.

Toxic, heavier than air gases were a possibility. We had a device that could measure the environment in the hole to detect them. If necessary, we had fans with flexible ducting to drop into the hole to ventilate the work area.
More noise.

So into this noisy, ill lit, damp area you'd descend with tools to do the job.
Workers all over the world are doing it as you read this.
Thank God for them.
I'm glad I don't have to do it anymore.

Do you have a "Bet you haven't done this" story to share?
I'd love to hear them.

Let's Play "WHAT IF?"

 Okay Bunky, let's play a little game of "WHAT IF?"

What if you're involved in a poker game and you continue losing, in spite of having some of the best hands of cards you've ever had in your life? You suspect something is wrong, but you cannot prove it.
So you keep your mouth shut and leave the game.

A short while later, one of the other players in the game tells you, "I saw the cheating. One of the players had an Ace up his sleeve." In addition to his comments, you find out there was a video of the game which proves his accusation is correct.
What do you do?

Some would go and confront the cheaters.
Some might even threaten a violent act.
Some, who had lost enough in the game to be desperate, might even commit violence.

Now my "What If?:
There's another game scheduled shortly, and the same players will be in attendance.
IF you cheated last time, what will you do this game?
And IF you had your head bashed in because you cheated, what is your likelihood you'll risk harm to life and limb in this game?

I think democrats, rightfully, are scared to death of Trump and his supporters.
We are not likely to forget what has happened.
And we sure as HELL are not gonna allow democrats to cheat us again.

Are we?

Supersize Me?

Pizza Hut. Wendy's. Taco Bell. Jack In The Box. Del Taco. McDonald's. Burger King. Little Caesar's. Denny's.
All within easy walking distance of our Winter home here in Gilbert, AZ.

Coupons. Promos... All the above issue them.

I'm a "feed your body good fuel" kind of guy.
But Satan is in the details.
It is too damn easy to "Yo quiero Taco Bell" cheaply with a coupon and save the leftovers for tomorrow.
And dishes?
Wad 'em up and throw them away.

Are You Rich?

 A "jingle" in my pockets...

At the age ten I befriended a guy who was 12. He delivered "The Indianapolis News" in "The Valley"...
A close-knit section of folks near my home.
He had money. I accompanied him while he delivered newspapers. He bought me a candy bar and a soda.
That made a big impression on me.

His Dad got a job in a different State and he had to move.
I wanted to be able to buy a friend a candy bar and a soda.
I asked to take over his paper route.

At ten, I would be the youngest "paper boy" in the State of Indiana. The regional manager of the newspaper came to our home to interview me.
Was I mature enough?
Could I make change?
I showed that I was, and that I could.
And I delivered that newspaper for the next four years.
I ALWAYS had a "jingle in my pockets".

That little job taught me everything I needed to know about how to succeed in life:
-Spend less than you earn. Save some of the rest. Enjoy the fruit of your labor.
-Some people don't know how to budget their income. Be compassionate, but don't be a fool.
-Old people die. When you know and love them, it hurts.
-A business needs to grow, or it dies.
-Saving a little each day over a period of time pays big dividends.

Sara Jean and I now find ourselves in a position where we can do what we wanta do, when we wanta do it.
But it has taken over 60 years of planning and budgeting to get where we are.
(And the government may be about to throw a wrench into my long-term planning.)
When you are old,  life is better if you had plans and executed them when you were young.
I look around me and see a BUNCH of people that needed immediate gratification. Some will HAVE to work until they no longer are able.

"The Ants and the Grasshopper"...
There are alternative endings to that story.

Grasshoppers should thank GOD for the Ants!

Withering Away

My son does not read books.
He listens to them.
I think this is likely true of much of his generation.

During our road trips some time ago we discovered the joy of Cracker Barrel's "Books on CD" program-
You can buy a book at a Cracker Barrel, listen to it; then return it at a Cracker Barrel along your route and get a refund, (minus a buck or so).
Delightful.

But if I am "reading" a book, I prefer the codex.
I find myself frequently saying "uh...waitaminit", and backtracking a few pages to fill in the hole I somehow missed.
That's harder to do when listening instead of reading.
And I prefer paperback to hardbound, because for some reason they seem more "mobile".

I have loved magazines all my life.
My parents subscribed to "Life" magazine and "The Saturday Evening Post". When these magazines arrived I'd hang over the coffee table with the magazine on the floor and read my way through them.
What a fond memory!

When I got old enough to be interested in cars and motorcycles I subscribed to several different mags:
"Car and Driver". "Road and Track". "Motor Trend". "Cycle". "Cycle World". "Cycle Guide".
Yes, overkill.
I saved most of those magazines... they're now stored in an old footlocker in my office.
Some of them MAY have value to someone with a piece of equipment featured in one of 'em...
...eBay, here we come.

Many of these mags no longer exist. Some of them exist with a reduced frequency of publishing.
Some exist only in "digital" form. All of this, to me, is "death by a thousand cuts".
I always keep a magazine or two in the "throne room" to read while I pass the time waiting for something else to pass.
A "digital" magazine IS NOT satisfying under these conditions.

This week I received a hefty copy of "Cycle World" magazine.
Thick. Heavy. On paper that feels good.
And in the front of the mag the editor informs me "this is the last hard copy" of Cycle World. :>(
They're going to digital only.
They'll lose me as a subscriber. I WILL NOT be taking my laptop into the bathroom with me.

I know... change is inevitable.
But that doesn't mean I hafta like it.

A Fork in the Road

Winston Churchill, I think, is the greatest man of the 20th century.
Have you seen "Darkest Hour"?
It's a MUST. Get-r-done.

I've watched videos of Charles Lindbergh urging the U.S. to stay out of WWII.
He was a courageous man. But he was DEAD WRONG about Hitler and the Germans.
And we almost waited too long to get involved in protecting people's freedom.

I watched the events unfolding at the Capitol yesterday.
And I'm upset.
But I'm also sick and tired of smart people doing stupid things.
Our Nation has been "Codependent" for too long now, helping parasites to hurt themselves, and us.

Is it time for the "Tree of Liberty" to be refreshed?
Maybe.
And I hope all of you I care about are prepared for what's coming.

Another "Dad" Memory-

My Mother raised me.
Dad was there, in the background.
He provided. He presented an example. But he was aloof.
I always thought losing Mom would be hardest.
I was wrong.

I woke in the wee hours to a mechanical sound I knew was trouble. It was VERY cold outside, and our furnace was making strange mechanical noises. Snug in my bed, I could feel the temperature in the house begin to drop.
I heard Dad get out of bed and walk past my bedroom, then out the back door. I knew where he was going. Our garage with all the tools was detached.
Soon I heard the back door open, then the sound of the tool bag being dropped on the floor of the utility room. "Clink, clunk, clank"... the sound of tools being manipulated resounded through the getting-colder night air.
And then the furnace came back on, making normal furnace sounds.
And the room warmed.
And Dad went back to bed, to catch a few more Z's before he had to get up and go to work.
Roof overhead. Food on the table. Comforting warmth.
To provide.

We had a very strained relationship until I was drafted and left home.
We never got as close as I would have liked. He was too Macho for that.
But we did get closer.
And I thank God every day for that.

My Dad-
WWII Veteran and Purple Heart recipient, would have been 99 today.

Life Throws A Curveball

I HAAAAAAAATE talking on the phone. I use mine as a tool, NOT a social device.
I tell that to all my friends.
Few listen. I let them talk to the machine.

He'd call. He'd be drunk. He wanted to talk. He needed me to listen.
I got to the point when I saw his number on my phone I'd let his go to voicemail.
Eventually, he'd call Sara Jean.
She LIKES to talk on the phone.
It was a heaven-sent match. They'd talk, (he'd talk, she'd listen, with an uh-huh inserted now and then), for HOURS.

We've known him a long time. He's had a strange upbringing. His life is... let's kindly say "unorganized".
Money is not a difficulty, but it may be a problem-
The problem is that he doesn't have to worry about it.

He's out of work. He wants to work in the discipline he has trained for.
Those jobs are scarce. He's been unemployed for, let's just say a LONG time.

So he sits alone in his beautiful home, with his beautiful car in the garage and he drinks.
And he calls my wife. And she, thank God, listens to him.
For hours.

In Arizona, we were looking forward to coming home so we could get face-to-face with him-
Go out to eat. Engage in other activities to distract him from the problems in his life.
He was excited. Told us he loved us both. He began to plan activities for our return.

And then I got the call from his Mother.
He's dead.
Morbidly obese. Heart attack.
We are crushed.

Yeah, life is not fair.
Make the most of yours.

A Wonderful Life!

 It's one of our traditions.
We watch "It's a Wonderful Life" during our Holidays.
Great story.
Great acting.
And Donna Reed, (she misspelled her name) is certainly "Eye candy".
I hope your day is as satisfying as ours.

Monolith!

LARGE Monolith found by helicopter pilot in our kitchen.
Investigations continue. Stay tuned.

 

Mayday, Mayday!

Our government is corrupt.
Our Court System is corrupt.
Our Law Enforcement, at the management level, is corrupt.
Our Vote? Meaningless.
Can someone explain to me how we now differ from Mexico?

Arlington

Happened upon Jimmy Fortune singing this on TV last night.
You may also get a little dust in your eyes-

Irresponsible Youth

WSF's comment to the post immediately below sparked a memory:
I was headed home on leave before departing for Viet Nam, driving my '68 Olds 442, (Oldsmobile's version of the Pontiac GTO platform) on Interstate 65 between Louisville and Indianapolis.
Thinking about what the future held- FM radio blasting; dress uniform complete with medals and badges hanging on the hook behind the driver's seat.
And that was when the Plymouth GTX pulled alongside.
He looked my way. I looked his. And right feet hit the firewalls.

The big number on my 442's speedo was 120. But there was then a gap of about half an inch where the speedometer needle could continue it's journey.
I figure I was going about 130 when acceleration on my car really began to die off, and I watched as the big GTX showed me its ass.
I backed out of the throttle with a smile, wondering what engine that Dude had under the hood... 440? 426?

A few miles down the road the red flashing lights came on in my rearview mirror... Indiana State Police.
I pulled onto the right shoulder and wondered how much trouble I was in.
"License and registration, please sir."
He went back to his car. Most of ya know the situation.
Anxious anticipation.

He came back to my door and asked, "Where ya going, Lieutenant?"
He had noticed my uniform. I told him-
"Viet Nam. I just finished flight school. I'll be flying helicopters there in a month."
He lifted his ticket pad and wrote a few lines.
"I clocked you at 85 in the 70 back there. I'm gonna write you a warning."
Odd smile on his face.
He knew better. I knew better. He knew that I knew better.

"I have a son in the infantry over there right now.
YOU SLOW THIS DAMN THING DOWN, Lieutenant!"

And as he turned to walk away he momentarily turned back and asked,
"How bad did he beat ya?"

But he didn't wait for an answer.

Monsters On Four Wheels

The GM/Ford/Chrysler horsepower race started in the early '60's.
"She's real fine my 409".
"....But parked in her rickety old garage is a brand-new, shiny red, Super Stock Dodge!"
"Hey little Cobra, don't ya know you're gonna shut 'em down?!"

Insurance companies had not yet awakened. Premium gasoline was $.35 per gallon.
And they drank it to the tune of 13 mpg, IF you were careful with your right foot.
But WOW... the sound! The feeling of being pressed into the seat.

Cars like the one in the video, (with just slightly less power), could be purchased at our local dealership.
Want a sense of that sound and fury?
Watch the video:

DO NOT Roll Over And Play Dead!

Sad. Just Sad.

Am I different than everyone else?
When I am bored with the computer on my lap I poke around and check on people that once were important in my life...
Past associates.
High School class and schoolmates.
Old flames.
And ex wives.

I was doing that today. There are several old girlfriends I would LOVE to know what has happened in their lives since I last heard from them.
I've found a few.
Too few. The search goes on.

I've had two wives.
I cheated on the first and she didn't take kindly to that.

My second wife is wonderful... treats me like a King. After divorcing "the second-best wife I ever had" I was gunshy about remarrying and lived with my present wife 10 years before I finally figured out I wanted to keep her. My present wife resented the second-best wife I ever had BIGLY because of that.

Today I was bored and started doing what I always do when I'm bored.
I surfed around trying to find lost people from my past. And there it was-
Her obituary. Complete with photo and long narrative about what a dynamo she was.
She was a teacher. I have no doubt she was a damned good one. Some of the condolence notes rave about her.
I paid for her Master's degree in education. I'm glad my money improved our world.

It's still a gut punch.
Divorce is generally ugly. Ours certainly was.
I couldn't realize at the time that she was doing me a great favor.
And I'm oddly sad.

The Times THEY Lived In

In 1948 my parents purchased a little home South of Indianapolis, Indiana.
It had two bedrooms and one bath, on a 1/4 acre lot.

Dad worked an 8 to 5 job.
Mom was a homemaker. She saw us off to school, and was home when we got off the school bus.
By today's standards, to say our home was "modest" would be understatement.
But our family never lacked essentials. We never went hungry. Dad would come home and read the conservative and liberal Indy newspapers until Mom had food on the table.
Then we would all gather and eat together.
What a concept.

Today's kids want the "3-bdrm, 2-1/2 bath" as their "starter" home.
That requires two wage earners if they're lucky.
Dad might have to work two jobs... maybe Mom too.
And that reality may bring a Nanny into the picture.
Is this "improvement"?
When we look around at the overall mental health of our Nation, are we happy with what we see?

If they're broadcast in your area, take a look at "Leave It To Beaver" reruns, but put Mrs. Cleaver in a housecoat or simple cotton dress and try to imagine the world I grew up in.
I know... it's nearly impossible.
Try anyway.

The Times We Live In

It was when I met our mail carrier at our mail box that I noticed it-
A BIG puddle of bright red paint, reaching from the center of the road to the shoulder, immediately in front of our home.
"Yeah, I've seen several of those puddles along the way to get here", he said.
Tracks through the puddle indicated one car had already passed through. Fearful the paint would splash all over following car's bodywork, I pieced together sections of garden hose and tried to dissipate the puddle.
I was mostly successful, but remnants of the patch remained.
What would cause someone to dump blood-red paint in front of several homes along our road?
I called the Sheriff's Department.

"No, we've not had any other reports" said she, "but I'll call the City and see if they've had any."
I did some investigating on my own and found little spots of red paint on our side of the road, stretching half a mile West of us.

I've been very open about my political views. Was this done by someone marking republican homes in our area? The thought sent a chill down my spine.
Was the "trouble" I've been expecting about to begin? Did I need to get a long gun out of my safe and have it close at hand?
And so I thought about it all afternoon. Was there any OTHER explanation?

Four hours later I had my "Eureka" moment.
It was "trash pickup" day. I had pulled our trash can out for pickup the prior night. When the truck stopped to pick up our can, it apparently dripped the paint all over our side of the road and left spots of paint intermittently for at least half a mile West of us.
I sighed in relief, then picked up the phone again to report my thoughts to the Sheriff.
She laughed.
But it's a sign of how tense we all are in this political environment, isn't it?

I'm still preparing for trouble.

Using A Loose Rein

I'd hear this sound walking past his room:
PSSSSHHHHHSHHHHHH !
And it sounded as if spit had to be flying all over the room.
Peeking in the door I'd see my young son lying supine on his bed with his model of the "Enterprise D" held at arm's length, flying through space. Sometimes the Saucer Section would detach and go off on a mission separate from the main part of the spacecraft, then return and be re-attached. These maneuvers always required extra spitty sounds.

He watched "Star Trek, The Next Generation" religiously. Eventually, mostly to just have something in common with him, we started watching too.
The shows were well produced, well acted, and the stories stood alone even if you didn't particularly like SciFi.
He watched "Babylon 5". We watched "Battlestar Gallactica" together.
But he LOVED "Stargate, SG-1."

His schoolwork didn't mean much to him. His report cards showed his disinterest. And this made me angry enough once to literally jump up and down in the living room like a madman trying to get his attention devoted to getting his education.
But we never came down hard on him because of his TV watching.
Turns out, he WAS getting an education...
From the television.

His marks improved in college and he got a job immediately after graduation... with a company building a video game devoted to... Stargate SG-1.
He's a nationally-known expert on the movie and various Stargate series.
And his knowledge has earned him a living for years.

Now he has started a new venture; a podcast devoted to the show. And it is taking off.
It's exciting to see how many absolutely DEVOTED fans the show still has. In his first month now, his podcast audience has grown every week.

If you are a fan, or have any interest at all, give him a look.
And let me know what ya think.

Living In Rural America

So often, I'm just not in the mood to contribute here.
Is that because I'm able to rant on the "Book of Feces", as my friend Larry calls it?
Maybe.
Some snippet thoughts, just to post a post:

I love our neighborhood.
My "Chicago born and raised" wife is having trouble with it.
Neighbor to the West has Chickens.
And a large mixed Standard Poodle dog.
He's a love.
The chickens come into our West side yard and rid us of bugs and worms.
One of the chickens is a rooster.
He is a FINE specimen, and knows it.

Neighbor two doors to the East has chickens AND ducks.
The ducks waddle across our property into our pond.
They're fun to watch.
The chickens and ducks wander over and eat stuff I wouldn't wanta eat from our West yard.
One of these chickens is a cock.

Neighbor immediately to our East has two Chihuahua dogs.
These dogs prefer our home to theirs.
The MOMENT we show signs we are awake, they are in our laps...
Until 2130 hours.
We LOVE the dogs.
But they constantly bark at the Standard Poodle mix who also runs free in our yard.
BARK, BARK, BARK, BARK all day long.
The poodle doesn't care.

At about 0430 hours, the rooster to the West decides it is time for the sun to rise.
When he crows, the rooster to the East tries to convince him the sun won't come up unless he summons it.
Back and forth, back and forth...
I've decided the sound IS NOT "Cock-a-Doodle-Do!".
It is "Er-a-Roo-Aroo".
Believe me, I've heard it enough to know now.

Yes, we have our windows open in this beautiful Fall weather.
But we pay a price.
Dogs bark.
Roosters crow.
And "Miss Chicago" complains about it all.
She's worse than all the critters.
God be with me.

I'll try to post more than once monthly.
But no promises.

"Take a Chance On Me"

 I once read an article that suggested when we look into a mirror, the reflection we see is a face we want to see. We change our expression and turn our faces into the best light so we see what we want.

Our PBS station last week aired a bunch of programs about various cultures, concentrating mostly on music. I recorded documentaries and semi-docs about the "Stones", the "Who", Neil Diamond, Leon Russell, "Riverdance", and ABBA.

Last night I watched the ABBA program. Back in their prime I had a HUGE crush on Agnetha.
They showed Bjorn, Bennie, and Frida as they attended an anniversary showing of "Mama Mia".
Those kids have gotten so OLD! How is that possible?
When I look in the mirror I've aged very little.

I must be livin' right, huh?

Reverse Mortgages

I got pulled in by "clickbait" that turned out to be a place for others to argue...
Tom Selleck is evil because apparently he's shilling for a company that wants to steal "seasoned citizen's" homes.
I have no intention of biting, but it sparked a question I've had for some time:
How does getting a reverse mortgage on my home differ fundamentally from refinancing it?

I've given considerable thought to refinancing our home, then using that "nest egg" money to either buy real estate, or precious metals, or both. I could then pay off the refinance over a period of years while holding the solid stuff in my hand, or enjoying a piece of property that hopefully will increase in value.

I don't know anything about reverse mortgages, obviously.
Are they a scam?

Research Laziness-

 Depth perception and distance measurement are important to survival, not only to pilots, but to all creatures.

Our neighbor is raising ducks and chickens. She allows them to "free rein" during the day, and while grazing they spill over onto our property and beyond. Watching them today a question I've had for years again popped up:
With both our eyes facing forward, our depth perception is determined by the difference in information we get from eyes located a slight distance from one another on the front of our face.
Ducks, pigeons, etc. have their eyes on the sides of their heads. When they walk they move their heads in a back and forth fashion. I've always assumed they do this to get different perspectives about how far an object in their world is away from them.
Is that assumption mistaken?

Guns, Unions, and Freedom

 I don't like Unions. Or should I say I GENERALLY don't like Unions?
After I graduated High School I joined one because it was a prerequisite to getting the job I wanted.
I joined another more recently when our employer refused to pay pilots time-and-a-half for overtime.
(Stupid employer. The company ended up losing more than just fair pay in that negotiation.)

I've been watching an "American Experience" episode on coal mining in West Virginia from just after the "Civil" war until just after WWI. It's a very interesting episode in the life of the country.
When the Governor of the State of West Virginia threatened to deport miners who were trying to unionize, those miners started buying guns and ammunition and fought back against coal company thugs and even the WV National Guard, and after a very bloody period, won their rights to a better life.

When idiots tell you that you're stupid to think you might need firearms to protect yourself against your government, ask them if they're aware of the "Paint Creek" and "Cabin Creek" uprisings in 1912 West Virginia.
Those "Union" men could not have succeeded if their 2nd Amendment rights had been infringed!

HIYO SILVER! AWAY!

Some years ago I took a substantial position in physical silver. Since then, the value of my stash has been up a little, down a little. And that's been fine with me. A major move in precious metals value may be an indication of coming economic trouble.
Last week, for a short while, the spot value of silver was nearly twice what I paid for mine. And I wonder-
Are people finally paying attention to what our government is doing to our deficit/national debt, and beginning to get the jitters about the value of the monopoly money we have in our wallets?
Maybe.
But silver is still at a reasonable price.
It might be time to buy some. (And I mean PHYSICAL silver that you can hold in your hand and put into your gun safe next to all that ammo you've been buying.)

God help us all.

"New And Improved"

Four years ago our old TV gave up the ghost. In our little town the local TV repairman has retired.
I'm not at all sure anyone out there would have attempted a repair anyway.
Best Buy had a few on sale and we went and reviewed picture quality on those. We liked what we saw and bought a 55-inch Samsung 4K HD model.
"Would you like to purchase the extended warranty"?
Three years coverage... Too expensive for my taste. We declined.  

We've been VERY satisfied with the set until a few months ago when we started seeing a dark spot forming in a small portion of the screen. That spot quickly changed and became a bright spot that looks somewhat like viewing the sun through a moderate overcast.
No big deal.

But today we notice another "sun" beginning to appear about 12-inches and East of the original sun.
Is this the way things will progress with this appliance?
How many bright spots will we be able to tolerate?

A similar TV today can be purchased for less than $500.
So stay tuned.

Cruisin'

My wife likes to "cruise".
Me? I'm easy to please.
I'd be just as happy, (maybe even happier), to get in the car and point it to destinations with stuff I'm interested in... mostly historical sites.
We just spent three days in Vicksburg, Mississippi in a hotel overlooking the river there. I was mighty disappointed that many of the Civil War Museums there were closed to the public due to the Chinese virus. Nevertheless, I was edified to look at the terrain there and imagine General Grant trying to figure a way to take the city without getting his butt handed to him.

We had booked a cruise that was scheduled to depart Venice, Italy 10 October. Our gut has been telling us this trip wasn't gonna go because, 1- Venice ain't accepting tourists right now and,
2- The cruise lines are no doubt going to wait until they're more comfortable that this disease is under control.
Fine with us. We didn't want to get on the boat then have a bunch of folks test positive and have to be quarantined on the thing for an extended period of time.
Anyway, we were notified yesterday that the cruise was cancelled, and offered a list of options as to actions we could take now.

One of those options is to ask for a complete refund.
Another option is to leave that money with the line, take an upgrade in living quarters on the ship, or take a 125% credit to use toward a future cruise, booked before the end of the year to sail before the end of 2021. We took the 125% credit and booked a cruise similar to the one just cancelled that will depart Venice 20 April.

I'm trying to imagine how much the cruise lines are hurting. It's gotta be a HUGE financial hit.
Nevertheless, I'm a little miffed at the fact they've had several thousand of my dollars for a few months in their clutches, and offered no interest on it if I decided to take a full refund.
Oh well... they're not a bank, and banks ain't givin' crap for interest on money either.

So in April of '21 we hope to depart Venice and spend 11 days eating, relaxing, and visiting several Greek ports (and one in Turkey) before disembarking in Athens, Greece.
And this time I'll try not to compound fracture my right ankle on the cliff in Santorini!

A Blur Of Black

It's true that time heals wounds. But WOW, three weeks later we still tear up at the loss.

She was a street find. We quickly realized she was easily trained. She was quiet, social, and gentle.
We were hers 14 years.
And losing her to cancer made me wonder- How do parents who lose children function at all?

We were blessed to share her life.
And we'll never forget our Lucy.