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!

Living In The Past

I am retired from the U.S. Army.
I am a recipient of the Purple Heart.
When I wear my "Army Veteran" cap folks around me frequently say, "Thank you for your service".
And that is somewhat awkward.
My response is always, "I was honored".
And I am.

To the extent it is possible I still attend reunions-
Officer Candidate School.
Viet Nam Helicopter Pilot's Association.
And the unit I served in while in Viet Nam.

Those reunions are therapy for me.
More importantly, they are therapy for my fellow warriors.
For some of them, those years were the MOST important time of their life.
More than fifty years have passed since our time "at risk" there.
What have we all done in the ensuing 50 years?
Those years were NOT the most important of my life.

I spend these reunion times LISTENING, knowing I can honestly say "I would not trade my Viet Nam memories for anything", but many others carry deep wounds from those experiences.

I still have PTSD.
But I truly feel my problem is pretty minor.
Before we commit our human treasure to war in the future, we MUST consider the long-term effects of our decisions.
And this doesn't take into consideration the material expenditures, which are considerable.

Boeing

Some years ago I was, for several days, attending a helicopter safety school and was seated next to an Air New Zealand 747 Captain. I liked the man and the feeling was mutual.
While in that class we received word that a DC-10 had crashed killing all aboard, and I got a chance to chat with him about how he compared the two airplanes.
He indicated there was no comparison.
"The DC-10 was conceived AFTER Boeing conceived the 747. Nevertheless the airplane was built, tested, and hit the commercial market before the 747 was fielded. The DC-10 is a good airplane. The 747 is a TANK!"

There's a saying from my childhood that always makes me smile:
"I've always thought the 'Cadillac' was the 'Rolls-Royce' of automobiles!"
Similarly when flying, I've always felt more comfortable reaching for the safety card stored in the seat in front only to find I've boarded an airplane built by Boeing, feeling I was aboard the "Rolls-Royce" of airplanes.

I'm not sure now I can say that.
And that fact makes me slightly heartsick.

D.E.I. or Die?

Harley- Davidson.
Jack Daniels.
Tractor Supply.
John Deere.
Bud Lite.
Have we dodged a bad outcome here?

Maybe.
I hope so.

The "Peter Principle"- A Permutation.

One of the things I have seen during my military career that has slightly overflowed into my civilian life will be uncomfortable to discuss here at "Pitchpull" but is MY truth that we can discuss:
On several occasions I have watched a male officer advance into senior ranks bring an attractive female assistant along with him as an "aide" while rumors flew that the reason she was being advanced was not because of her expertise as an expert in any field.

We're seeing that unfair scenario unfold now at the presidential election level with the democrat candidate.
And no one is talking about it.

I fear for our country's future.

Practice Makes Perfect?

I need to practice making holes of different calibers in paper targets.
But "Bidenomics" has made things so expensive, I'm reluctant to practice making holes because I'll have to replace the pew-pew hole makers.
I'd buy a reloading system if I was sure I'll be able to buy primers in the future.
Am I worried for nothing?

Newspaperboy

Now and then I feel the need to publish an "I, Me, My" post.
Our environment motivates me to do that today-

I'm not sure how I met "Dennis". He lived in the addition across the fence behind us, so maybe that was a factor. Whatever...
Dennis delivered "The Indianapolis News" evening newspaper. Dennis and his family were moving, so he had to find a replacement.
About halfway along his route there was an old community grocery store. We delivered a newspaper there and Dennis asked, "Want a candy bar and a soda?"
I heard the change jingle in his pocket. The fact he was able to reach into his pocket and pay for both of us impressed me and planted a seed-
"Why couldn't I do this?"

I was 10.
A manager for the newspaper showed up at our home. He wanted to make sure I could correctly make change for our customers when I did my weekly collections.
Mom, Dad, and I had practiced.
I passed the test.

My first "job", I delivered those papers for four years. That job taught me A LOT-
How to budget. How to save. How to take care of customers.
And how to deal with customers in an older community that sometimes would not be there when collection time came, having passed on.
Tough, because you learned to care for them.

With money earned on that route I saved enough to buy my first motor scooter at 12. (In our community, our Law Enforcement Officers looked "the other way" when they saw 12 yr-old kids illegally riding motor vehicles on our roads.)
With funds saved from that route I talked my folks into allowing me to buy my first car from my Dad's brother when I was 14.
(This they WOULD NOT allow me to drive until I was legal!)

Today? It's hard not to compare my generation with kids who have their noses stuck into IPhones and IPads that have been given to them by their parents.
(I'm also guilty of wanting our son to "have it better than I did", so I don't throw my stones with too much force.)

But I do wonder-
Are we doing these kids any favors over the long term?