Fat Cops?

With apologies to the original writers of the tune:
"Fat Cops, Fat Cops.
Whatcha gonna do?
Whatcha gonna do when they run from you?"

About Secretary of War Hegseth's comments to our military leaders-
Shouldn't that also apply to our Law Enforcement personnel?

The List

I've let this one lay dormant for too long, apparently.
It's time to add a few horrible people's names:
Tom Hanks.(Twice for him now!)
Stephen King.
Help me with a few more, please. I'm tired of lining the pockets of enemies!


I'm confused-
If you are in the business of selling your talent to the masses, why would you express yourself in a way that would anger 50% (+ -) of your audience? Add to that the fact that most of us non-Hollywood types think you live in a cloister of like-minded people and have NO IDEA whatsoever how real folks make a living out here in the world.
Why not just shut your pie-hole and let 100% of your audience enjoy your work?

I present to you my list...
The list of folks that I refuse to support with my hard-earned $$$$$ because they're destroying my country.
"The List" will be updated and re-posted as new "smarter than you and me" folks make themselves known.
(Feel free to leave suggestions for additions in your comments.)

Robert Altman
Ed Asner
Alec Baldwin
Ellen Barkin
Rosanne Barr
Meredith Baxter
Joy Behar
Tony Bennett
Sandra Bernhard
James Brolin
Jimmy Buffett
Jim Carrey
Jackie Chan
Ladies and Gentlemen- Cher!
The Dixie Chicks
George Clooney
Elvis Costello
Sheryl Crow
Matt Damon
Ted Danson
Johnny Depp
Danny DeVito
Pee Puff Diddy-Daddy
Phil Donahue
Richard Dreyfuss
Roger Ebert (Assumed ambient temperature.)
Mike Farrell
Will Ferrell
Tina Fey
Sally Field
Jane Fonda
Megan Fox
Janeane Garofalo
Danny Glover
Whoopi Goldberg
Kathy Griffin
Tom Hanks
Woody Harrelson
Heart
Dustin Hoffman
Scarlett Johansson (Man I hate that she's on this list!)
Samuel L. Jackson
Ashley Judd
Val Kilmer
Kris Kristofferson
Jennifer Lawrence
Spike Lee
DAAAAAAVIIIID LETTERRRRRRRRMAN!
Jennifer Lopez
Madonna
Bill Maher
Barry Manilow
Paul McCartney
John Mellencamp
Bette Midler
Jay Mohr
Michael Moore
Liam Neeson
Chris Noth
Bill Nye
Rosie O'Donnell
Keith Olbermann
Gwyneth Paltrow
Sean Penn
Rob Reiner
Tim Robbins
Alan Rosenberg
Tim Roth
Linda Ronstadt
Susan Sarandon
Jerry Seinfeld
Martin Sheen
Sarah Silverman
Bruce Springsteen
Martha Stewart
Ben Stiller
Oliver Stone
Barbra Streisand
Wanda Sykes
Gore Vidal (Assumed ambient temperature.)
Kanye West
Oprah Winfrey
Henry (The Fonz) Winkler

Our 2019 "Taurus SHO"-

We spent Independence Day just outside Destin, Florida in Santa Rosa Beach. 
Weather was typical for the Florida Panhandle...
90+ degree days with humidity to match. Sara Jean, my sun worshiper tried to tan for a day and couldn't take it.
So we enjoyed the evenings and spent the days indoors enjoying movies and Mini-series on TV.

But during daylight one day we made a trip to Wally World. Getting into the car I remarked:
"Ya know, this car is now six years old. And even with its low mileage the battery is still on its last legs. When we get home we'll need to replace it."
(And now you're gettin' ahead of me, aren't ya?)

Yesterday we went to our local Wally World to replenish our supplies. 
It was HOT, so I put the groceries in the back seat.
Brake depressed. Push the "Start" button.
"Click! Click! Click!"
And our video screen dash went crazy for a few seconds.
Disbelief.

Wait a few seconds.
Try again.
Same result.

I hitch a ride with a friend and ride the three miles home to fetch the Ram Diesel truck and our jumper cables, then return to WalMart and connect the two vehicles.
"Click, click, click".
So my words from a month ago come back to haunt me.

We have frozen goods in the back seat, so time is a factor.
Back into the store. Buy the highest Cold Cranking Amp battery I can find.
Get my emergency tool kit outta the trunk, remove the old battery and replace with the new 850 CCR battery. Depress brake pedal and push "Start"...
363 twin-turbocharged horses instantly come to life!
Smile.

And remind myself to listen to my own expert advice in the future.

Wonderful Wildlife-

 Up before dawn, I find myself on my patio watching the sunrise. 
I'm also present as our deer make their way to their daytime sleeping quarters and the family of geese on our pond make their way from the center of the water to the bank to eat their breakfast.
And then there's our squirrels-
We have four hickory trees on our property and the squirrels absolutely LOVE them. In the early morning hours I have counted as many as ten of the little grey "tree rats" chasing one another around our property.
They're fun to watch. But...
They're also destructive as all get-out.
They chew on our home.

We live in a home made of logs. I think squirrels are one of those rodents that must chew in order to wear their teeth down. When they chew on the logs of the exterior of our home the sound is amplified throughout our home. It's disheartening and a little helpless feeling to hear the sound of your home being eaten away by these pests-
Why aren't they just taking advantage of the hickory trees?

And then it happened-
They started gnawing on the screens of our upstairs windows. 
Sara Jean was confronted in our upstairs bathroom by a squirrel that had eaten a hole in that screen, and it was the straw "that broke the camel's back". 
I got the "havaheart" trap out of storage.

Using sunflower seeds as bait, over two days now, I have trapped NINE of the little grey devils. 
They're still a pain in my backside because I want to treat them humanely-
Each time we catch one I load the trap into our car and transport, then release them in a stand of trees about a mile away from our home.

So we're giving them  a new lease on life. A neighbor suggested we paint the tails of our captured rodents red so we know if they're finding their way back to chew on our home.
We haven't done that.That may be a mistake. 
Our hickory trees are mighty tempting.

Faces

 I am, and always have been a sucker for a beautiful face.
Fox News knows this.

Another Reason To Come To Tennessee-

Our son is now living in Clarksville Tennessee near Ft. Campbell. We make the three hour drive to visit him every couple weeks.
 Yesterday, while running errands here, refueling the Dodge/Cummins I paid $2.889/gallon at the "Speedway" gas station. Across the street at the Shell station the sign out front advertised their diesel fuel at $3.599 per. The price of gasoline between the two outlets showed a similar difference so I also filled a couple portable five-gallon containers to use in the Taurus when we return home.
In spite of that disparity in price the Shell station still had customers lining up to refuel.

 Do people simply not pay attention to the signs?

Fat Tuesday-

After I made reservations for our cruise departing 2March a couple months ago I panicked, realizing our departure from New Orleans might coincide with Mardi Gras. My initial research indicated the festival would begin on March 4th. Suspicions began at the Car Rental return when the lady guiding us to our parking space was festooned with what appeared to be a Circus Clown outfit in VIVID Purple, Gold, and Green.
My comment while observing the crowd on our way to the French Quarter was, "Boy I'm glad we got here a couple days early!" Purple, Gold, and Green was the "Uniform of the day" being displayed by THOUSANDS. We had to disembark our Uber ride early because the walkers were moving faster than we.

Surrounded by music, dancing, drumlines, and  huge numbers of people looking to have a great time, it's impossible not to have a smile on your face... until the numbers of folks become so numerous you fear losing contact with family members... which I did twice.
I'm glad we are here.
Never again.

Our NCL ship departs for a week tomorrow afternoon. First stop- Cozumel.
We have the package including WIFI.
Updates will follow.

Lewy Body, Update 1-

Sara Jean never comes here to "Pitchpull", so I intend to use the blog to update you on what is going on in our dementia experience.
(She reads ALL my FaceBook posts and has already forced me to delete some of my comments there.)

Yesterday she was chatting with someone on FB and turned to me to ask, "How do you spell 'us'"?.
Seeing my reaction she realized the depth of her question and started to cry.
This is no longer my wife. The disease has taken over.

Today her temper is on a hair trigger. I cannot point out changes in her behavior without getting an angry response. I MUST learn to be more careful with my answers to her questions.

I married this beautiful woman "For better or worse; in sickness and in health."

The road we are traveling will be more and more difficult as we continue.
I don't seek sympathy here. I know how this story unfolds.
I just need a place to vent.
If you see "Lewy Body" in the subject line, you may want to skip what follows.

Dateline- Duc Pho, Viet Nam

(This ain't no B.S.!)

I was on the ground on standby at the airfield at Duc Pho, Viet Nam commanding a team of two UH-1C Huey Gunships to provide support for a subordinate infantry unit of the 123rd (Americal) Division.
This was a typical "Hurry up and wait" type mission for us and we were sitting/waiting on benches outside the operations shed.

We watched as a guy, (almost certainly CIA), flying a "Helio Stallion" landed and carried a box full of "Who knows what" secret stuff into the OPS office. When he walked out of the office he turned to us and said, "You helicopter guys think you're SO special? Watch this!").
The wind was blowing straight down the runway at about 30 knots. He started the big turbine on the nose of the airplane, taxied to the runway and got airborne.
He then flew straight to the departure end of the runway, reduced the throttle on this unbelievable flying machine and allowed the wind to blow him back to where he started his takeoff roll. He then landed on the spot on the approach end of the runway from which he started his takeoff.

Were we "Helicopter guys" impressed?
You Bet!

Cummins Diesels-

A Saturday last summer-
I had just pulled into the parking space at the WalMart in Clarksville, Tennessee and was allowing the turbocharger on my truck to cool. This normally takes about a minute or so.
During my wait I became aware of a man standing just outside my door.
He didn't look threatening. I opened my door.
"What year is your truck?" he asked.
"It's a '97."
"How much you want for it?" he asked with a smile, (with no idea how many miles were on the clock. 268,000.)
Knowing exactly where he was headed I responded "What's it worth to you?", even though I have NO INTENTION of selling my truck.
Again, he smiled.

We chatted for a few seconds and together we realized two things-
1. He initially thought I might not know the value of the truck and that he might be able to lowball me.
2. He soon realized I knew exactly what I owned and that he wasn't able to take advantage of my ignorance.
That settled, we had about a 15 minute discussion about the market for old Dodge/Cummins trucks, and parted amicably.

I had spent several months on eBay searching for the truck I wanted to buy...
A two-wheel drive extended cab Dodge Ram truck with a 12-valve Cummins engine and long bed.
I wanted a truck with a standard transmission. They are FEW and FAR between. I had to settle for the automatic.

Growing up in Central Indiana I had a friend whose Father had a pickup... a '53 Ford F100 with a Flathead V8 engine.
I LOVED that truck... loved the looks and the sound of it. It was simple and ready to do work.
It was A TRUCK!

Over the last years I've owned a few trucks-
Two Chevy S-10's that served me well during the almost 200,000 miles I drove them.
A '95 Chevy K1500 bare-bones truck that was geared WAY TOO LOW for Interstate driving that I sold within two months of purchase for exactly what I paid for it..
I wanted a truck, and knew what I'd need in the future.

As a kid my family went camping, and I had fond memories of that.
Sara Jean's indication of early stage dementia made me realize while she was still "with me" I wanted to do some traveling with her. I figured some sort of camper in our future would serve that need, but would require a truck to tow a camper. A 3/4-ton truck would be most comfortable.

I'm a HOOSIER kid; Indiana born and raised. I have been aware of the Indiana based Cummins company since Freddie Agabashian drove a Cummins Diesel powered race car in the 1952 Indianapolis 500 and shocked everyone with the power of that race car.

A few years back, Cummins had gotten together with Dodge to produce a pickup truck and those trucks had proven to be "Torque Monsters" and reliable. Buyers seeking a pickup with the power to tow heavy loads without niggling troubles have sought them out. 
Early "12 valve" versions like my truck are now respected and sought after.

-The following Sunday, literally 24 hours after being approached in the WalMart Parking lot, the doorbell at my son's home rang. At the door I found two nice looking young (30-ish?) men.
"We're interested in the truck. Are you interested in selling it?"

I LOVE my truck and I'm not interested in selling it right now.
But it's nice to know it will probably increase in value from this point forward.

 

 

 

 

Why I Wish I Was Elvis-

Elvis, like me, kept a hole puncher close at hand.
When something on television made "The King" angry, he picked up his hole puncher and made a smoking hole in that appliance.
Ruining a television meant nothing to him.
I wish I was Elvis.

Cheese Eating, Wine Drinking Surrender Monkeys !

I'm trying to find good things to say about the French.
Supporting us against the folks with terrible teeth... the British, they are our oldest ally. We must respect that and thank them.
And they build damned good things that fly.
I just hope we always remember how quickly they'll give up and wait for us to keep them from speaking some language other than French.

Religion and Politics-

This morning Sara Jean asked, "What was the first time in your life you felt as if some news item had slapped you in the face?"
I answered almost instantly... "The assassination of President Kennedy."
And those memories started flowing.

I was raised in Central Indiana... a VERY conservative, very Protestant area. (Richard Nixon carried the State there in 1960.) One of the BIG political issues about JFK was his catholic religion.
The fear of many was, if elected, would the Pope then be our de facto president? Kennedy's performance proved that fear to be without foundation and his election probably is the reason a candidate's religion is no longer much of a factor in campaigns today.
And the thought of that issue set me to thinking this morning-
Joe Biden calls himself a catholic. Some of us wish he was a whole lot more CHRISTIAN.
In my view he and Pelosi have given catholics and Christians the appearance of having no religious principles.

The memory of the political consideration of JFK's religion now seems ironic.
Can a Muslim now successfully run for the highest office of the land?

He/She/It-

I'm grateful to GOD Sara Jean doesn't have a PENIS.
How in the world do we find ourselves in Bizarro World?

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?

"I've noticed you've not updated your blog in a while" she said.
Yep.
-Don't know if you'd call it "writer's block" or simply lack of excitement/motivation to put words to page.
But I continually find myself asking "Didn't I already address that subject?" Or "I've beaten that dead horse 'way past death". Whatever.

This election seemed like sunrise after a long stint of bad weather for Sara Jean and me. We're smiling, and looking forward to the future with lefty heads exploding so often we get "tired of winning".

"Morning in America."
"The shining city on the hill."
Anything that irritates Rosie O'Donnell these days makes me happy.

We're in Destin Florida. We watched the election returns here while in touch telephonically with a couple sane friends here. It was glorious.

I'll try to do a better job of updating here.
In a few months the blog will celebrate its 20th anniversary.
There may be confetti, cake, and ice cream. (I'm still eating low-carb so don't depend on that!)

Wise Stuff That Came Out of My Mouth:

I'm sure I'm not the first. But while my son was growing he'd sometimes express extreme displeasure at the way his life was unfolding. Frequently I would reply,
"If you wanta keep gettin' what you're gettin', keep doin' what you're doin'."
I know... this is a corollary to "Doc, it hurts when I do THIS!"
SOMETIMES my son would actually listen to me.
Someone needs to have a frank talk with voters.

But would it do any good?
The country needs to take a look at the things we're doing and stop hitting ourselves in the head with that hammer. Sadly, it appears close to half of voters are masochists.
(Hope and Joy!)

Some medicines are hard to take because they are distasteful, painful, or have uncomfortable side effects. (Or some combination of all those.)
Our country has Cancer.
I think it's time for radiation and chemotherapy.

Retreat!

(Click the "YouTube" link if necessary to watch.)

Those with military service smile at this video.

A couple years ago I had dropped Sara Jean off at a military hospital for her to go to the Pharmacy and pick up her medications. Doing that was taking a little longer than normal.
Waiting in our car I was watching four children in a playground across the street, playing on a swingset.
Suddenly the kids stopped swinging, simultaneously turned to face the same direction, and placed their right hands over their hearts.

I knew instantly what was going on. I got out of the car, faced the same direction as they, and offered the hand salute as "Retreat" was sounded.

The incident brought a question to mind:
These "military brats" are being brought up in homes that know the sacrifice our servicemen and women make in order to protect and support the Constitution of the United States.
They know how to pledge allegiance to the flag.

And, unfortunately, they ARE different than most kids today.

How Far Is "Too Far"?

I'm trying to add photos/videos here to better make my point, and "Blogger" has clamped down on posting photos we may not have the "right" to share.
So I need your imagination to make this post work.
Imagine the image of Kathy Griffin holding the decapitated, head covered in blood of someone who looks suspiciously like Donald Trump just below here. (If you're not aware of the sickening photo, go look it up now):












You won't need imagination for this one:

Is this okay?
Would it be okay for me to post an image or video of Vice President kneepads being raped and murdered?
I don't think so.

How do we heal from the evil and madness that our media is promoting now? How do I reconnect with friends now that I know how naive/stupid they are?
Lord be with and guide us.

Let's Do "True Communism" !

We hear so often... "Communism would work if it wasn't perverted by people like Joseph Stalin!"
It's hard to reason against that argument.

If Clem and Ziggy and Herbie all got together to plant a garden for the "benefit of all", and for which they had spent an equal amount to buy seed, then all contributed an equal amount of work to till the soil and plant that seed... then all three spent an EQUAL amount of "sweat equity" to cultivate, water, then harvest and share the fruit of their labor-
That would be true communism.
What are the chances you could get three Alpha Males together to do that?
How often have we seen this scenario tried?

When the Pilgrims first landed at Plymouth Rock... they tried it.
And if it had not been for Native Americans they would have starved.
It's why we now have a holiday called Thanksgiving.

But I'm ALL FOR trying it again.
And this time I want to be in LEADERSHIP of this attempt.
I want the Dacha.
I want the fine car that others will envy.
I want to be able to LOUDLY rail against anyone trying to take advantage of my poor, disadvantaged brethren.
And I want to be able to determine who owns the guns while my considerable security force protects me.

Where can I sign up?
Want a piece of this action?

If My Head Wasn't Screwed On-

We bought a nice sofa table to install in our living space at our son's home and waited for a day where the weather was completely clear for the three hour drive from our home to his.
Loaded the table into the bed of the truck. It is a solid wood piece and pretty heavy, so Sara Jean could barely lift it over the tailgate.
Got the other incidental stuff we always take loaded and started the journey.
Fifteen minutes down the road and I'm wondering where we'll buy the cheapest diesel fuel along the way when it hits me-
I forgot my wallet.
And my phone.

So we're 15 minutes into our trip. Returning home to fetch my wallet containing my driver's license, credit
cards and cash will consume over 45 minutes.
"We'll just use mine" says my spouse.

So no driver's license this trip.
And I'll be watching my "P's and Q's" on the road.

I gotta start using a pre-trip checklist!