Merry Christmas

I shall be off the 'net for the next few days as I spend some time with my family.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out Donald Sensing's One Hand Clapping,for a story on the next of kin notifications, be sure to click the links. Have some Kleenex handy. While we celebrate Christmas or other holidays, how about an extra prayer for those standing on the walls of civilization? Some are on the other side of the world, others will be pushing a cruiser up and down the streets and roads here in the States. And of course, an extra thanks to those who are horrifying the mainstream media by poking around with Geiger counters seeing that our major cities don't become mushroom clouds. Without warrants, at that. Forgive me, New York Times, for not peeing myself.

Another Meme. Five Random Facts

Home, thank the Lord. I have much to write about over the next couple of weeks.

Venomous Kate tagged me with yet another meme. Remind me to just shoot wildly out the windows the next time I drive through the KC area.

Five random facts about me...

My right leg is shorter than my left, following a bad break in 1967. I only limp when I am very tired, though. I have a large scar on that leg that breaks down when it is injured and it takes a month or more to heal. when it is broken down the area looks like strawberry jam.

I was in my late thirties before pieces of metal and Viet dirt stopped leaking out of nasty zits that appeared on my back and shoulders.

My speech and memory are still funky from that stroke in August but my Docs are bragging about how well I have recovered. I hate to think of what it would be like if they were not bragging. On the plus side I haven't smoked at all since I got out of the car to go into the Emergency Room.

Cleaning up my English on the Blog has helped clean up my conversational English. I still know the words, I simply use them somewhat less. Nowadays I mostly only curse at Democrats and drivers.

I usually have at least three books I am reading, one gun book, one history and one fiction. Right now I am reading Freedom Road, a novel about the black truck drivers of the Red Ball Express in the European Theatre in WW2, The Hell With Honor, a history of when Georgie Custer ran out of luck at the Little Big Horn, and Charly Gullett's book on Cowboy Action Shooting. I am also re-reading Dick Lee's Modern Reloading.

Udate: 1/7/06 I just now finished this and posted it.

Shootout at Bloody Basin

I took my oldest grandson and a friend of his shooting Tuesday. I am sure there are closer places but we drove out into the hills to a chunk of National Forest called Bloody Basin. I have spotted no one who knows where that name came from but it is a pretty fair spot for shooting.

There are enough hills for safe bullet impact, many points close to the roads. The boys mostly shot .22 rifles, my little Ruger 10/22 and the boy's Mossberg. They did try something a little hairyer, my .45s and two shots each from the 12 gauge. Oddly the friend of my grandson, who weighs a whopping 92 pounds, was the first to jump on the heavier recoiling shootin' irons, while my over six foot grandson held back. Once we get back home I will a have pictures.

In other news, my sister is flying out from the Gold Rush country and will stay a week or so with my niece in Casa Grande. We will be going to Tombstone and, perhaps, a few other places. We are seriously considering a drive up to Sedona. This is a hippy-dippy headquarters but is supposed to be a pretty drive. We are also considering a drive up to Flagstaff to see that white stuff that falls from the sky on our Yankee friends. I am not quite sure what that stuff is called, shoe, or sew or something. Harvey knows what it is.

Anyhow, all is well, I am just a tad busy. I shall be back to what I allege is normal after the first week in January.

Interesting Weekend

A very interesting weekend in politics. We had the Senate kill the Patriot Act and the New York Crimes, er Times, inform the world about the Evil Bush spying on Americans. What Americans? Those Americans communicating with known Al Q types.

Now I am no expert on the ways of espionage and counter espionage but what I belive is, or was, going on was when our guys and gals in the security business caught one of the Al Q types they would pass the cell phones and computers over to the NSA. President Bush, or his minions, would okay the NSA monitor those numbers and E-mail addys until the normal procedures of going to the FISA court caught up. It is my understanding that it can take up to SIX MONTHS to get a warrant to spy on communications. That is not real useful when we have a matter of only a matter of hours before the whole AlQ gang know that we have one of their gang in the bag. At that point everyone quits calling those numbers and writing those addys.

Wasn't the New York Crimes one of the media outlets moaning and groaning that the Bush Regime did not connect the dots prior to 9/11/01? One must also wonder about who, among the congresscritters crying tears the size of horse turds about Bush spying on 'Amercans' the last four years or so were among thosed briefed on the program.

I am not surprised that Dubya seemed rather unhappy during his speech last night.

What amazes me about all this is how the Left keeps screeching about how we on the Right have all these secret gulags spread all over. Trouble is, no Leftists ever end up them.

Caught A Meme

Phoenix

Machelle tagged me with this here meme about odd habits. I have none, of course. I am perfectly normal, it's all of you wierd folks that are worrisome. I do have a couple though that are different...

I do not drink liquids while I eat. I dunno why, I just don't.

I may have been loading the same handload for forty years or so, still I look it up before proceeding, even something like 3.0 grains of Bullseye behind a 158 grain lead bullet in .38 Special.

I have to take my glasses off to blow my nose. Linda Lou thinks that's strange but she wears those itty bitty glasses.

We only really fight when we go on long trips, Linda Lou and I, yet we go anyway. The fighting is a result of my increasing deafness, it makes it difficult to hear the directions. Sigh.

I never go anywhere without too much ammunition.

Since I am the last person in the universe to complete this I shall not try to pass it on. Well, that and the fact that I just don't like these things.

Fredericksburg, Texas

I spent yesterday up in the Texas hill country, specifically in Fredericksburg. One of Texas's German communities this town was Union during the War of Yankee Aggression, several of the townsmen were hanged over it.

That unpleasantness is long over, Fredericksburg is now a tourist destination. There were two places I wanted to see, the Admiral Nimitz Museum of the War in the Pacific and Texas Jack's. We hit Texas Jack's first, this is a store that is fairly well known among folks in cowboy action shooting. I have done a bit of business with them online and shall do so again. They are also the showroom of Cimarron Arms. I was mainly interested in boots, though. Anyhow, if interested they are http://www.texasjacks.com/

I could have easily spent the entire budget for this trip right there, instead I just bought a stick horse for the two-year old grandson and went about my business. The Nimitz Museum is quite a place, replete with uniforms, medals, guns and stuff and lots of maps.

Bentley the black Pug was the hit of several places, as usual.

Pictures

Okay, here are some pictures of the new rifle and a bonus picture of George's graduation from beginner's obedience school.

A look at the rifle in the gun cart shows just how much longer it is than the Marlin Carbine or the 20 inch barreled coach gun.

George could not keep his graduation cap on too well, doesn't matter though as he didn't learn much, either, but the socialization part worked.

Anyhow, this is my last post until San Antonio, unless something goes seriously wrong, then it is time to see Arizona. Y'all play nice. If anyone insists of trying a comment party while we are on the road, okay. Just bear in mind that my grandkids see this blog and make the puddin' rassellin' word pictures somewhat opaque, please. I hid the keys to the fabled Tequila Mines of Cuervo under the back door doormat, try not to overwork my poor Mexican miners or they, too, whill be sneakin' cross the border.

On the road, again....