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.

The "Jiffy Lube" Saga

A couple years ago I wrote with some enthusiasm about how, being bored in retirement, I had found a possible part-time job I'd enjoy.
I had gone to "Jiffy Lube" to use a coupon to get a special price on an oil change. There was a "Help Wanted" sign prominently displayed on the front door.
The store manager there was a Viet Nam Veteran and we chatted. I asked about the employment situation and, since it was late in our Spring season in Arizona, inquired about the possibility of working at the store the following Fall. This manager was optimistic about my chances.
Wonderful.
This store was within walking distance of our Winter residence, so I could leave the car in the garage in case Sara Jean needed it. And they were asking for part-time workers. I DID NOT want a full-time job.

When we returned to AZ in the Fall, one of the first things I did was go to the store and get an employment application. The new manager there gave me one. I filled it out and returned to the store with it the next day. This new guy told me I ought to hear something from company headquarters within a few days.
So I waited.
And waited.
And waited.

A couple weeks later I returned to the store to ask what was going on.
There, it was pretty obvious this new manager had taken a look at my application and work history, and wanted no part of me anywhere near his store. I was a little put off.
"Look", I said... "I'll do most anything... empty trash cans. Sweep the floor."
He nodded and said he'd pursue what was going on with my application.

But I knew there'd probably be no response to my employment request-
A 24 year old Jiffy Lube store manager does NOT want some 72 yr-old retired Army Major running around, looking over his shoulder.

Ain't that a shame?
I'da been great at that job.

Innovation

I think racing should promote improved technology- in performance, efficiency, and safety.
The rules should be written in such a way as to not stifle, but encourage change for the better.
When race teams try something innovative and it works, it'll soon be adopted by other teams; but only after those that first took the risk have been rewarded for their forward-thinking.
Technology that is too complicated, unreliable, or counterproductive, like the Tyrell Six-Wheeler shown above, will be pretty quickly abandoned.

Rules in racing today are being written to achieve parity in racing-
To equalize the teams for closer finishes, I suppose. And the sanctioning bodies have achieved that goal. In some races today, the winner can only be decided by looking at a photograph.
Some can only be decided by looking at electronic data.
I suppose there is SOME excitement in that. But I think I prefer watching a race where something new has been tried; for instance when there's a new performance-enhancing gadget on the track and there's a question as to whether it'll last long enough to cross the finish line first at the end of the race.

Rules today stifle that kind of risk taking.
And racing has become boring.

Separated At Birth?

Avid watchers of "Downton Abbey", we didn't notice the similarity until we watched the Miniseries "Liar".

Do you see it too?

STICK IT TO THE MAN !

I have family that have actually uttered the words of the title to my post:
"Stick it to 'The Man'!"
And they believe in that ideology.
To the degree I can, I have separated myself from that element of my family.

It set me to thinking about an "Association" that's in real trouble for a number of reasons today, not the least of which seems to be they have forgotten where their bread is buttered:
NASCAR.

This "association" is just now beginning to allow fans to return to the stands to watch the performance of their "talent" on the track. The fact they want us to believe we're watching "stock cars" with Ford, Chevrolet, and Toyota emblems on their hoods is a major pet-peeve of mine and will be the subject of a future post about how stupid the general public is.
But that's not the subject of this post.

This post is about last weekend's gathering in Talladega, Alabama.
Think about they money "the man" risked to make that race happen. Track owner. Promoters. Television coverage and their sponsors.  Concessionaires. Insurance providers. And (shudders)... attorneys...
HUGE amounts of money had to be spent in order for this event to happen on the scheduled date.
And contracts had to be written to cover all aspects of what happens IF it does not happen on the scheduled date... AND what happens if it runs on a later date... AND what happens if it doesn't happen at all.
That's a LOT of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

And what happened?
Mother Nature said, "Not so fast, Bubba", and rained on everyone's parade.
And everyone went to "Plan B".

The race DID happen a day late, after we all went through the heart-sinking thought that someone would be stupid enough to suggest lynching one of the drivers would have been a great idea if only we were still in the democrat-controlled post-Civil War years.
DAMN those garage door pull-ropes!

And we peons have absolutely NO idea what hoops "The Man" had to jump through to make the race happen a day late. (I still watched it, in its entirety, on FOX Sports. Bubba finished 13th, and when the FBI pointed out he should have just closed his garage door he insisted it was still a noose.)
I enjoyed the race, and thank "The Man" and everyone that was involved in pulling off that event.

But here's my point:
I've pointed out here many times that I'm not rich. I have enough income that my needs and the needs of my family are met. I have enough discretionary income left over that we can do "frilly" things like buy tickets to go see NASCAR races if we want.
But someone with a WHOLE LOT MORE MONEY needs to risk a BUNCH of money to make more money in order for me and my family to go watch Bubba finish 13th in a "Stock Car" race.
I have NO desire to stick it to that man. In fact I thank him and all the others that had to put their necks on the block in order to make that even happen.

I fear what I see going on in my country right now. I hope cooler, smarter heads will prevail.
In the meantime I'm cleaning, lubricating, and practicing.
You should too.

Waste Management

We've been home from Phoenix three months now.
Due to retirement, our "home town" trash disposal folks punted our collection service to an out-of-town company.
Are their services more expensive? Of course.
Dealing with them has been a fiasco from the outset-
Three weeks after we arrived home they FINALLY brought out a receptacle for our trash. (And we had to pay a $50 charge for that.) We paid an initial quarterly fee to get them to start regular service.

Today we got another bill from them.
And it's for more than we were told. They've added a bunch of new fees...
Fuel Surcharge. Environmental adjustment fee.
We don't generate a lot of waste. It seems usury. And the company has NOT been responsive when we've called to deal with them.
So we just called and canceled their service. They'll pick up their receptacle in three weeks.

Our neighbors are all having similar experiences.
We WILL find another way to dispose of our waste in an environmentally friendly way. But I fear what we are gonna see, more and more, is a roadside that looks like the above photo.
And then? We'll all be paying someone to pick up our nasty roadsides with our tax dollars.

Some municipalities include trash pickup in services provided by taxes.
That sure seems to be a better way to keep our community litter-free.

The Purple One

When you see some high-ranking soldier on TV with a "barn door" full of ribbons on his left breast, what do you look for?
For me, I first look for the purple one.
Medals on a military man's chest, by regulation, have a priority. Medals of valor rank first. The Purple Heart comes after them. But it will appear in line BEFORE medals of merit and campaign medals.
Thank Goodness, my search of our warrior's chests for the purple one is almost always fruitless.

Today at Wally World I saw him again. I'd seen him a couple weeks ago, wearing his "Purple Heart" baseball cap, and wanted to approach and, these days of "stolen valor", challenge him about it.
At that time I was in a bit of a rush, so I let it go.
Today? I had the time and the inclination.

I walked up to him, pointed to his cap, and said "I got one of those too. Where'd you get yours?"
"Phu Loi", he replied.
And a half hour of conversation ensued.

He was an Army medic. His whole Viet Nam tour was spent in the South of the country, from the outskirts of Saigon clear over to the Cambodian border.
He was the genuine article. And I thanked him for the job he did.

Hearing I was a helicopter jock he made the same statement I have heard a thousand times:
"You guys saved our asses SO often. Thank you."
To which I related the fact that my job in Viet Nam was to use the helicopter to kill people, and when I came home I used the machine to save people's lives.
We both smiled.

He talked about watching us fire the mini-gun at night... about what an awesome sight that was...
How counting bodies after the gunships had done their thing was like walking through a Civil War battlefield.
I said, "I have no idea how many people I killed during my tour."
He said, "You have no idea how many of US you saved."

And as always, the tears came.

"Dream Sheets"

I've used that photo in this blog before. It's a Bell UH1-C model similar to the one I flew in Viet Nam. I LOVED the old bird. Viet Cong and North Vietnamese regulars didn't. Oh well...
They were Marxist/Socialist/Communist/democrats. 

About halfway through my tour of sunny Southeast Asia in 1969 I realized I needed to have a hand in planning my future. At the time the ARMY had a form we called a "Dream Sheet" that you could fill out and specify what YOU would like to happen to your life in your future career efforts. By this time in my ARMY life I had figured out that if I could figure out that if what the ARMY needed could coincide with what I wanted to happen, I had a pretty good chance of actually succeeding in guiding my life. So I filled out the form and said I wanted-
1. To go back to Savannah, GA to be an instructor at Hunter Army Airfield there.
2. To go to Germany to join a helicopter unit there, or
3. Go to Ft. Knox and fill whatever helicopter Command job the ARMY needed.

A couple months before my DEROS- (Date to return from overseas service), I got orders assigning me to Hunter AAF in Savannah, GA.
There, I successfully graduated from the ARMY's "Method of Instruction" school and became an instructor, teaching Vietnamese Air Cadets how to fly the Bell UH1 Huey helicopter.
My assignment there lasted from November of 1969 until August of 1972.
To quote a phrase from the Brad Pitt movie "Fury", it was "The Best Job I Ever Had!"

While you're living your life you are too close to it to be objective.
I had survived my Viet Nam experience.
I was a 22-yr old Captain in the ARMY making more than enough money to keep a smile on my face.
I was flying a machine that by this time I was "putting on" like an old pair of house-slippers.
And I was doing a job that obviously was necessary to help my country.
It took 14 years until I found another job that gave me that kind of satisfaction-
Flying an EMS helicopter.

Memories of Savannah make me smile.
Chatting with others I realize how fortunate I am to have 'em.
Now? I'd like to make some more just like those.

The Apollo Missions

We're coming up on the 21st anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. In Viet Nam when our team landed there, I looked up at the moon in awe and felt pride that I was defending a country that could accomplish such a feat.
We've just experienced the first "commercial" launch of a vehicle taking men into space to rendezvous with the International Space Station.
If you, like me, have an avid interest in history and how it relates to our lives today, I think you'll enjoy Bill Whittle's four-part series on how we... the USA, won the "Space Race" and got to the moon.
Click on the link above to see Part One.

I hope you enjoy the series as much as I did.

"Respect My Authoritah !"

I've been a cop.
It's a lousy job.
While I wore a badge I mostly flew a helicopter above the guys down there doin' the dirty work.
And I was glad I wasn't down there with 'em.
Cops are now, for all intents, front-line soldiers.
And I'm amazed that anyone wants to do the job these days, considering the compensation they get.
If we continue to treat them as we are, I fear NO ONE will want to do the job.
And then... where will we be?

We live in interesting times.