Last Man Standing...

Frank Buckles, the last American Doughboy from WWI is dead. He died Sunday in Charles Town, WV at 110 years old. Mr. Buckles was instrumental the last few years in promoting/speaking about the need for a TRUE WWI Memorial, and was a national treasure...

You can read the article in the NYT HERE. And Borepatch has a nice tribute up HERE with video...

Rest in Peace Corporal, your work is done... And God Bless you...

Singing the National Anthem...

With all the kindness I can muster, I give this one piece of advice to the next pop star who is asked to sing the national anthem at a sporting event: save the vocal gymnastics and the physical gyrations for your concerts. Just sing this song the way you were taught to sing it in kindergarten — straight up, no styling.

Sing it with the constant awareness that there are soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines watching you from bases and outposts all over the world. Don’t make them cringe with your self-centered ego gratification.

Sing it as if you are standing before a row of 86-year-old WWII vets wearing their Purple Hearts, Silver Stars and flag pins on their cardigans and you want them to be proud of you for honoring them and the country they love — not because you want them to think you are a superstar musician. They could see that from the costumes, the makeup and the entourages.

Sing “The Star Spangled Banner” with the courtesy and humility that tells the audience that it is about America, not you.

If you can't or won't, then don't do it again...

Random things...

Got a little range time with Me from Lagniappe's Lair today, and got to meet Murphy for the first time... 60+lbs of friendly, shedding German Shepard does "interesting" things to a fleece jacket...LOL

I don't particularly care for shooting in the cold, but it's good 'practice'... And it looks like 340+ rounds without cleaning are about all the FN Tac 45 will take without cleaning, as it did start having FTFs, so tomorrow it gets a detail strip and cleaning tomorrow.

I was breaking in a new 30-06 and Me was trying to get the final zero on his lefty Savage Tactical in .308...

Those last half inches of scope alignment are hell... 1 click up, 1 click left; lather rinse repeat, drop a flyer, shoot two, adjust... sigh...

ME ran out of ammo, and I ran out of shoulder... 30-06 in a Featherweight DOES get your attention, trust me!

But a fun time was had by all :-)

In other news, I'm beginning to believe the dems ARE going to try to close down the government... I think these idjits in DC are looking at what the dems are doing in WI and thinking they can do the same thing and blame the Republicans (and they are already positioning themselves to do that on the political programs)...

Libya has truly blown up, with Gaddafi hiring mercenaries to come in and kill his 'opponents' (his own people), and the US has 'finally' said they will embargo him and have frozen his US holdings. The 'delay' was waiting for US citizens to get out of Tripoli (on a boat that was WAY too small)...

Hello State Dept? Ya ever hear of HEAD COUNT??? 210ft boat is NOT BIG ENOUGH!!! The Greeks, with half the number of people, had a boat twice as big!

And Zercool has an excellent post up HERE on situation awareness when you are buying or selling via any list... Well worth the read, and good common sense!


Now back to gun cleaning, y'all enjoy the weekend!!!

In the YGTBSM File...

From Politico... By Glenn Thrush...

February 24, 2011

Pelosi edits honorary resolution...on Pelosi

The Democratic National Committee wanted to honor Nancy Pelosi Thursday -- but its praise wasn't good enough for the House minority leader.

When the DNC's Resolutions Committee brought up a resolution commemorating Pelosi's years as speaker of the House, Pelosi's daughter sought to alter the proposal at her mother's behest, adding some of the accomplishments that the elder Pelosi felt the committee had overlooked.

"I have some friendly amendments," said Christine Pelosi, a political strategist, at the committee's session during the DNC Winter Meeting at the Marriott Wardman Park hotel Thursday afternoon. She is a member of the committee.

"You think I'm kidding," Christine Pelosi added, to surprised laughter from the room. The proposed changes, she indicated, came out of a discussion with her mother.

First, Pelosi wanted to add a mention of her fight against HIV and AIDS, because it was "why she went to Congress." Then, she wanted to insert a paragraph on her "accomplishments for equality," mentioning the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 and the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" in December.

"Finally, since, as she said, 'I'm not going anywhere,' she wanted to add, in the final 'whereas' clause, '...and will continue the fight for America's working families,'" Christine Pelosi said.

The committee applauded that point, and approved the amended resolution on a voice vote.

It is more and more obvious Pelosi's ego knows NO bounds... sigh...

I really don't know what else to say, since I KNOW I'd have to start using four letter words to express myself...

Accuracy...

Now THIS is the definition of accuracy... from the pointy end, not the usual view...

The attached video was filmed by some Air Force Joint Tactical Air Controllers (JTAC) in Tal Afar, west of Mosul in Iraq . A marine unit got pinned down in the street. They set their video camera on the bumper of their armored HUM-V, which they were using for cover. Keep an eye on the opposing van parked just down the street. On the audio you can hear them shooting back and forth. The rounds you can hear are from the Marines, and the ones you hear pinging against the side of the vehicle with no accompanying pop are from the bad guys. When the Marine says they just fired the "rifle," it means an F-16 aircraft just launched a Maverick missile. You can hear it come in and see it strike the vehicle the bad guys were using for cover.

Probability is the 16 used either TV or Laser designator...

Old School...

I'd actually forgotten I'd ordered the rig below, as it's been a "while" in the finishing, but it was well worth the wait!!!


This is old school holster work, done by a master craftsman! Kenny Rowe and his son Cody out of Hope, AR did this work for me, based on the old style floral (also called Mexican) patterns dating back at least to the late 1800s and popularized by Heiser around the turn of the last Century.


The belt matches the holster, and both are outstanding! And NONE of the work was done with machines, it was all done by hand, and I can't find any mistakes anywhere!!!





Taking nothing away from the young holster makers (and I support them too), this is the kind of work it is almost impossible to find anymore, anywhere... Kenny has been doing this for over 30 years, and was trained by his Dad, who started doing this back in the 50s! They are a soup to nuts shop... Boots to saddles and everything in between.


And I gotta tell ya, given a choice between wearing Kydex and this...


Well, lets just say the Kydex will be residing in the back of the spare holster box...

Mini Blog Shoot...

A few of us got together at NRA today for a mini shoot, in attendance were The Miller and his son, Bus Error, New Jovian Thunderbolt, Newbius and myself. A couple of others couldn't make it due to work/other reasons...


I got there at 0800, figuring a half hour early would be fine, but NOooo... I was about 20th in line... NJT, Miller and his son were there at 0730 and were about 4th in line (OBTW, they don't even OPEN until 0830).


After sign in, they gave us three lanes, and a hard one hour stop, as there was a waiting list, and reminded us NO PICTURES... sigh...


Anyhoo, we set up proceeded to shoot a WIDE variety of weapons... I "think" NJT actually kept track. On a funny note, NJT asked me to watch him and see if I could see what he was doing wrong, so I handed off a pistol to Newbius and got behind NJT- He promptly proceeded to keep em all in the black, looked around at me and shrugged...


I told him I WAS NOT going to stand behind him every time just so he could get it right...


NJT tried the FN Tac 45 with the Trijicon optic and turned around and said, "This is so easy, it's boring"...


Note to self- When you practice mag changes, KEEP YOUR FRIKKIN FINGER OUT OF THE WAY... Magazines WILL seat even if part of your finger happens to be in the way, and blood gets everywhere... sigh...


We got done about to the minute (I was still cleaning up the lane when the next group started setting up), and cleaned up and adjourned to the NRA museum for a walkthrough. They had changed a few exhibits since the last visit, so I was trying to find all the 'new' stuff since the last trip...


A couple are shown below...


Ironically, Bloviating Zepplin put up a video of this very gun today, so HERE is the link to see the video about it- This is the Lewis and Clarke Air Gun...

And for you Vampire Slayers...

A silver chased, engraved Colt Python, with silver bullets (which were carved into representations of little silver heads)...

And JFK's presentation Colt SAA, beautifully engraved with Navy stuff including PT109. Sorry for the lousy picture, my fault...

And for all you Serenity fans... Fillion's pistol! Based on a Taurus of all things... sigh...

After a lap around the museum, we adjourned to Friday's for lunch and the usual BS session... I good time was had by all, and new friends were made yet again! And we agreed, Newbius has the 'strangest' excuse to buy a new gun... His Astra finally failed, so now he has to go buy a Sig 229, since he's already got the holster, etc. for it...

I'm sure others will put up their recollections, but again, it was fun guys! Too bad we didn't have any ladies there, but we will be doing this again!

Why are we so stupid???

Breda and Tam have stirred up the masses with two different posts about the gun world, and the various commenters showed just about every perspective from agreement, to envy, to jealousy, to dismissal, to out and out stupidity because one or both tromped on "their" pet belief... Now Jay, on the other hand, just does it to stir the pot :-) And Peter chimed in with a bit of background on Tam...

It's not a wonder we (gun owners) are always under attack from both the right and the left. Rather than having open minds, people seem t0 ONLY want to advance their personal agendas, rather than taking a big picture look at what is happening, or actually admitting there may be another point of view.

1911 vs. plastic semi-auto vs. revolver- Honestly, who frikkin cares???

The are ALL hand held weapons, and 'some' of us actually have more than one type... So much hyperbole is out there that you could spend years trying to get to the truth. And if you did, somebody from the 'other' camp would give some example only "they" know about that "shows" their pet belief is right.

Open carriers vs. concealed carriers- Same thing...

Shotgunners (skeet/trap) vs. shotgunners (tactical/hunting)- Same thing...

EBRs vs. "hunting" rifles vs. "target" rifles vs. "patrol" rifles- Same thing...

What we NEED to do, if we can't have open minds, is at least be courteous to those who differ with us.

Not everyone can afford a custom pistol/shotgun/rifle (or multiple guns period), not everyone has the option of multiple carry pistols, not everyone has the opportunity to shoot competitively, not everyone has access on a daily, or weekly, or even monthly to a range, and I'm not even going to get into the restrictions some ranges have...

Not all of us grew up handling/owning guns our entire lives, not all of us have worked in the gun business, not all of us have seen combat, not all of us have had to use a gun in anger, not all of us have had the opportunity to attend training classes for rifles/pistols/shotguns...

And sure as hell, not all of us are experts in ANYTHING gun related...

BUT, we all need to stand together against the gun grabbers, antis of whatever stripe, and those Hoplophobes who cannot stand the fact that we 'civilians' are allowed to own guns; Second Amendment not withstanding...

Do we do that???

Oh hell no... we revert to 'type'...

Like the skeet/trap types that look down their noses on the tactical shotgun crowd and 'agree' with banning tactical shotguns (and forget that their precious $10,000+ 12 ga skeet gun will probably be part of that ban).

Like the 'hunters' who agree with banning EBRs because they are assault rifles (but forget that the 30 cal, 30-06, .308 and other calibers are also military calibers and could very well be subject to the same ban if they are anything other than single shot)

Like the C&R crowd that turn up their noses at anything 'modern' in pistol or rifles and agree with magazine bans (and forget all the Winchesters, Remingtons, and other rifles that will be banned because of their internal magazines), and some of the classic pistols that would go away too...

Like the 1911 vs. Plastic fantastic vs. revolver crowd... sigh...

Why???

Are we really that stupid??? Probably... And the antis and gun grabbers continue to chip away at us because of it...

Just because Heller and McDonald succeeded, we are not out of the woods yet, and America is one of the few countries were guns can be (for the most part) freely owned as long as you are not a criminal...

But there is definitely a segment of the left that DOES want to make us criminals through new and or more restrictive laws, rather than enforce the ones already on the books...

I would ask that you (the few that read my blog, and I truly thank you for that) stop and think before you post or comment and look at the big picture, not just your specific area of concentration/desire/knowledge.

Take a moment to consider there are other points of view, and others (like Tam, Frank, JPG) who really ARE experts and have done the research, done the testing, done the shooting and KNOW what they are talking about...

My Mother and Grandmother both used the saying, if you can't say anything nice (or at least neutral) don't say anything... And if you do, have your research done, and be ready to back up what you say.

And yeah, I'm STILL on that civility kick... sigh...

And no, I'm NOT an expert, but I do own and shoot 1911s, Glocks, Colt Revolvers, shotguns, EBRs, bolt actions and I 'attempt' to shoot in competitions when time allows...

And I would like to continue to have that ability. Thanks for taking the time to read this, and I welcome your comments and impressions (good or bad, but civil please).

Where does it end???

Tunisia toppled Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali; now Egypt. It was interesting to watch the 'variety' of coverage between the BBC, CNN, and EuroTV on what was happening...

Egypt has suspended the constitution, dissolved parliament and promised fresh elections now that the military has taken control, and 'rumors' abound that Mubarak is in a coma in Sharem El Sheik...

I had a moment to chat with an Egyptian this morning at the airport and I asked him what he thought. He said, "I'm not sure we will be any better off, and I truly hope the MB does not take over, because they will kill us." When I asked what he meant, he said he was Coptic not Muslim, and there had been attacks where Muslims had killed 11 Copts in Southern Egypt the end of Jan. He also said this is not the first time Mubarak has had 'medical' problems when things didn't go his way.

HERE is a link to the Coptic Christian movement.

And the military HAVE NOT met with any of the opposition groups, nor have they indicated what, if any changes, they will allow or make to the Egyptian Constitution. But the military ruling council indicates that Cairo remains committed to all its treaties, including its landmark 1979 peace deal with Israel.

But effectively the Suez Canal is limited for our military use due to the unrest. What does that mean? Well, add 9-10 days to a transit from the US to the Persian Gulf, adding fuel costs, wear/tear and other expensive issues to the Navy's already tight budget.

On the other hand, the Israelis are NOT taking anything for granted and have been moving assets around in the Negev, Goliad and other locations "just in case"...

As LawDog indicated HERE, he thinks five years and Egypt will be wishing they were back under Mubarak; I don't think it's going to take that long...

Algeria is up in arms, Jordan is having "issues" with the 'Political Action Front' of the Muslim Brotherhood, but Jordan has a benevolent dictatorship, and the King has already acted to counter the MB there.

There were riots in Tehran today (put down quickly by Iranian Security), Azerbaijan (primarily run by Armenians) has had riots (which seem to have dropped off the news completely)...

Bahrain is having 'clashes' between protesters (supposedly a 'radical' muslim element) and security forces, and so is Yemen...

Bahrain is where our Fifth Fleet HQ is located, which is the primary HQ for our assets working in the Persian Gulf and supporting OEF, OIF and Afghanistan ops, and Yemen controls access to the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea; the Southern access to the Suez Canal.

Libya is potentially going up in flames too...

Who is the puppet master??? This is almost an unheard of amount of coordination between diverse peoples in all these countries...

And I overheard a lawyer today on the airplane say the administration is going to try to seize Mubarak's money as ill-gotten gains, and 'return' it to the Egyptian people.

I just wonder what they are thinking in DC... First they blow the whole thing from the intel, common message, support the incumbent (or at least don't throw him under... never mind); it almost makes me wonder which side they are on...

I expect we will see gas prices over $4/gal by summer, and possibly as high as $5/gal by next winter. Also, with the rise is gas prices, prices for everything else will go up too. And I don't see anybody in the administration really responding to that.

"Happy" Valentine's Day...

The WAPO does contests occasionally, and this is one of the better ones from them...

For Valentine's Day, a romatic first line, followed by a unromantic second line :-)

Enjoy!!!

1. My darling, my lover, my beautiful wife:
Marrying you has screwed up my life.

2. I see your face when I am dreaming.
That's why I always wake up screaming.

3. Kind, intelligent, loving and hot;
This describes everything you are not.

4. Love may be beautiful, love may be bliss,
But I only slept with you 'cause I was pissed.

5. I thought that I could love no other
-- that is until I met your brother.

6. Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you.
But the roses are wilting, the violets are dead, the sugar bowl's empty and so is your head.

7. I want to feel your sweet embrace;
But don't take that paper bag off your face.

8. I love your smile, your face, and your eyes
Damn, I'm good at telling lies!

9. My love, you take my breath away.
What have you stepped in to smell this way?

10. My feelings for you no words can tell,
Except for maybe 'Go to hell.'

11. What inspired this amorous rhyme?
Two parts vodka, one part lime.

Travelog...

And the trivia 'tweaks'... The first was the Glockenspiel At Marienplatz in downtown Munich, and here is a bigger pic of it!

The second, well, anybody recognize THIS? The other guy with me on this trip is a BMW fanboi (he has FIVE of them), so naturally he wanted to visit the Bimmer Museum here in Munich...

This BMW M-1 was painted in 1979 by Andy Warhol, and I swear it looks like he just used a regular paint brush!!!

And now a few "hoods" for your perusal!!!

You can see the collection HERE, these are the BMW Art Cars, the were a couple that I didn't see, but here are few more...

I'm not sure I really call this art, but...

Okay, this one just gave me a headache...

Um... not sure what to say about this one...

For Julie, the Aussie car :-)

Fire and a green rabbit??? Don't ask me...

I'm guessing the eyes were supposed to scare the competition!

Here's another one, that, well...

This one reminds me of those spinning paint boxes, anybody remember them???

This one reminds me of Three Mile Island... Probably NOT what the artist was trying to accomplish...

Flowers??? And a reclining nude on the door...

The headache? It's back...

Ah... drafting paper, THIS I understand...

And who else but Calder... This one truly looks like one of his mobiles!

And this one from a Japanese artist! Lots of gold leaf and silver, sorry for the lousy pic (and this one is NOT a race car)!

You can go HERE and see one 'created' by the Z-4 for it's debut...

And I took a bunch of pics of race cars, antiques, motorcycles, and other stuff... But I'm not gonna bore you with that...

From Disorder to Order...

Well, the follow up from Naples was we went down to the waterfront for dinner last night...

Only six (three each way) OMGWAGFD times... I think I've STILL got some seat cushion sucked up my a**...

Anyhoo... We survived the trip down there, met up with a co-worker who is based out of Naples and had a GOOOOOOOOD meal on the waterfront.

Caprese, pasta Bolognese, prawns, and TIRAMISU :-) All except the Tiramisu was 'washed down' with a local Chianti which, for those wine snobs out there, actually complimented the meal rather than the typical clean the palate French wine. Finished the Tiramisu with a couple of expressos, and a (I swear I only had ONE) shot of Limonchello...

Back to the hotel, got hooked on what was happening (Nothing) in Egypt, so not a lot of sleep...

Up at 0400, off to the airport, and up North we came...

A couple of pics to see if anybody recognizes them...

First- A semi- famous location...

Second a snippet of a painting by a semi-famous American to tweak your interest...

Feel free to guess, and if anybody gets THIS one, well you're truly a geek :-) Just sayin...

My butt is draggin, so nap time before dinner (so much for my diet, yet again)!

History Lecture...

I'm in a 'slightly' better mood today (amazing what some sleep does)...

We're staying at the Caracciolo Palazzo in Naples, down in the 'old' section of town. Built in the late 13th, early 14th century, the palace (and nearby church) was the residence of the aristocratic Caracciolo family and of Joachim Murat, one of Napoleon’s illustrious generals back in the day...

It's been turned into a 144 room hotel in the past few years.

This is the entry way from the street. Gotta say, it's a 'tad bit' impressive...

This is the 'side' door, with the doors closed and locked. These are the 'new' doors, installed in the 17th century and are about 6 inches thick... And yes, that is sheet iron from the original13th century doors on the bottoms of the doors, on the inside, the sheet iron goes up two panels high and it takes two people to open/close them!!!

And an original (17th century) door knocker, but it's missing the knocker ring :-(

The ring fits in wholes on each side of the lion's mouth and one banged on the striker below the head.

This is a close up of the "original" door locks from the 14th century (and still in use to lock the big doors). As an aside, there IS a personnel door you can seen in the side door, but it had to be opened from the inside.

And the original deadbolt, still in use on the side door! Don't think you could pick that sucker... The bar probably weighs 50 lbs! The two ropes go up to the locks at the top of the door.

This is part of the detail from inside the Piazza, note the wear an tear on the ornamental Granite!

And your horse parking inside the Piazza, again original equipment! These are at horse head height, to allow the horse/carriage to be tied up head in to the column. All the columns were equipped with these.

And the obligatory coat of arms of the Caracciolo family, mounted up near the barrel vaulted ceiling, which would be the first thing seen on entry into the formal part of the palace! And yes, it is on the right side as one enters...

Lousy pic of some of the original stairs, and yes they ARE circular, and yes, the were chipped out of granite around a center column that looks to be about 12 or 14 inches in diameter and the stairs are maybe 28 inches wide!

And a view from my room into the piazza- Considering how noisy Naples is (they use horns for brakes, etc.) it's amazingly quiet! The room is kinda jarring, nice, but jarring... Ultra modern furnishings, marble bath (standard in Italy after all), and flat screen TV just 'clash' with the true age of the building, but what the hey... everything works, and I'm not having to go to the WC outside to use the toilet!!!

As far as the rest of the day, well it IS Italy... breakfast was supposed to be at 0630, the restaurant was "open", e.g. the door was open, but nothing else! Ended up with a quick cup of coffee at 0650, in the taxi (OMG we're ALL gonna die trying to pull out in traffic!!!), met a truck going to wrong way on a one way street (and I use the term loosely, as it was two asses and a chariot wide); after a 'lengthy' discussion, much arm waving, selected gestures, the taxi driver backed up to let the truck out.

At that point, I think it'd become a personal affront to him that he had backed down and we'd witnessed it; as the rest of the drive in I don't think he ever touched the brakes, but he abused the hell outta the horn!!!

And Naples is STILL having garbage issues, except it's not overflowing 'completely' into the streets yet; it's only out to the edge of the parking places, and about 2-3 car lengths long... Apparently the EU has once again focused on the garbage problem and is threatening to refuse to take anymore Italian garbage (in ANY form). Just glad we're not here in the summer, it's rather "fragrant" that time of year.

We had a pre-meeting for the meeting, which went fairly well; then had the meeting, and then had the post-meeting-meeting... so that ate up 4 1/ hours. Sigh...

As usual, questions arose, conversation sidetracked the brief, etc. etc... Are we having fun yet???

And we came away with a list of taskers, so we'll see what happens!

Now nap time, then dinner, then back to the airport at 0500 in the morning... I hear that pillow calling my namzzzzz....

Random Travel #9872...

Today was ONE of those travel days...

Worked all day, went to Dulles flew to Munich (no sleep), two hour layover, fogged in, hour late getting out, two approaches to Naples, fogged in, back to Rome, hour wait for luggage, three hour bus ride to Naples... This has been a LONGGGG day... And in a 10 minute taxi ride to the hotel, three OMG we're ALL gonna die moments... STILL trying to get the seat cushion outta my ass...

AND just got a call (that woke me up) that our 1500 meeting tomorrow is now 0830 in the morning... sigh...

And y'all think this is fun...

Volunteers? Anyone? Bulher??? /crickets...

Civility...

ci·vil·i·ty 
[si-vil-i-tee]
–noun, plural -ties.
1.
courtesy; politeness.
2.
a polite action or expression: an exchange of civilities.
3.
Archaic . civilization; culture; good breeding.
Origin:
1350- 1400; Middle English civilite
Middle French <>

Today, in my opinion, civility is a lost art...

Coming back from Japan I had an interesting conversation with the purser on the 777; she been a flight attendant for almost 30 years, lots of it on overseas routes. What started the conversation was a line for the bathroom, a young pregnant Japanese lady and a rude Chinese man.

We were calmly (well more or less) waiting our turn, the bathroom finally came open, and the young Japanese Lady went to step in, only to be rudely pushed aside by the Chinese man with a comment that none of us understood.

The purser happened by at that point and I said something to her about it, and asked that the Chinese speaking flight attendant come and say something to the Chinese man. The flight attendant (female) showed up, and was obviously nervous about confronting this guy.

We asked her to talk to him about pushing to the head of the line and what he said to the Japanese Lady and the rest of us. He finally comes out of the bathroom, she politely asked him why he pushed in ahead of the line. His comment back to her was obviously rude and crude as she blushed and started to bow.

At this point a couple of us 'cornered' the guy against the overwing door and he suddenly got real passive... We told the FA to tell this guy that kind of crap does NOT fly in the US, nor on a US airplane, and WE weren't going to put up with his attitude. She did so, and this guy didn't move from his seat for the rest of the flight.

Any Hoo... I end up standing in the galley talking to the purser, and she tells me it's getting worse every day. Not only the Chinese, who apparently don't believe in lines and routinely push to the front/insult anyone who blocks them; but younger people who 'demand' service, trash the airplane, drink everything they can get away with, play porn videos on the airplanes, etc.

She said it is almost routine to have an incident on every flight now, and said most of the flight attendants have ceded control of the cabins to unruly passengers, rather than get into a knock down drag out in the aisles.

So... this morning I have to go get food (that I forgot on the way home)... Lots of RABID football fans out, some of them either getting an early start on the boozing or just never quit from last night.

I grab what I need, I'm heading for a checkout line and I stop to let an older man with a cane go ahead of me. This punk (I'm not gonna say what I REALLY thought of him), goes around BOTH of us to jump the line.

The older man says to him, excuse me, but you cut in front of us; the punk responded that he didn't give a s**t HE had things to do and we were too slow...

And proceeded to unload his basket, ignoring us completely. We just kind of looked and each other with a what can you do expression...

And then the punk's buddy shows up, and goes to push around us...

I move over and tell him we are already in line and he can wait, he makes a smart ass comment to me and goes to push around me, when the older gent turns around lets loose with a string of invective like I haven't heard in 30 years!!!

He calls both the punks everything in the book and then some, and says if punk #2 tries it, he's gonna shove his cane so far up his ass he's gonna be choking on the tip...

And he's holding the cane like he's ready to perform that act! Punk #2 wanders off to another line, we turn back around and the cashier is about to blow a gasket trying to keep from laughing...

I look down and the old gent's sleeves are pulled up and I see tattoos on both arms, so I ask him what branch? Turns out he's a retired USMC Gunny, retired in the early 70s and he's NOT a fan of the younger folks either.

He also said he 'should' have given the first punk a piece of his mind! He told me he's seen a real downturn in both civility and politeness in the last 20 years, and really the ONLY place it's still in effect is on military bases, since the kids who are in the military still get civility drummed into them in boot and in dealings with others on base.

In retrospect, I can only agree with him... It seems like the gun culture IS truly the only polite culture left!

In other news, this is the 100th anniversary of Ronald W. Reagan's birth.

We could really use somebody like him right now, and I don't see anybody waiting in the wings that even comes close...

Sigh...

Five Lessons...

Five lessons about the way we treat people...

1 - First Important Lesson - Cleaning Lady.

During my second month of college, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions until I read

The last one:

"What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?"

Surely this was some kind of joke. I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50's, but how would I know her name?

I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank. Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade.

"Absolutely, " said the professor.. "In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant.. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say "hello.."

I've never forgotten that lesson.. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

2. - Second Important Lesson - Pickup in the Rain

One night, at 11:30 p.m., an older African American woman was standing on the side of an Alabama highway trying to endure a lashing rain storm. Her car had broken down and she desperately needed a ride.

Soaking wet, she decided to flag down the next car. A young white man stopped to help her, generally unheard of in those conflict-filled 1960's. The man took her to safety, helped her get assistance and put her into a taxicab.

She seemed to be in a big hurry, but wrote down his address and thanked him. Seven days went by and a knock came on the man's door. To his surprise, a giant console color TV was delivered to his home. A special note was attached..

It read:

"Thank you so much for assisting me on the highway the other night. The rain drenched not only my clothes, but also my spirits. Then you came along..

Because of you, I was able to make it to my dying husband's' bedside just before he passed away... God Bless you for helping me and unselfishly serving others.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Nat King Cole.

3 - Third Important Lesson - Always remember those w

ho serve.

In the days when an ice cream sundae cost much less, a 10-year-old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. A waitress put a glass of water in front of him.

"How much is an ice cream sundae?" he asked.

"Twenty-five cents," replied the waitress.

The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it.

"Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?" he inquired.

By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient..

"Twenty cents," she brusquely replied.

The little boy again counted his coins.

"I'll have the plain ice cream," he said.

The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left.. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels Dimes, I meant Dimes... and five pennies.

You see, he couldn't have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip.

4 - Fourth Important Lesson. - The obstacle in Our Path.

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. Then he hid himself and watched to see if anyone would remove the huge rock. Some of the King's' wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.. Many loudly blamed the

King for not keeping the roads clear, but none did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

Then a peasant came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to move the stone to the side of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded. After the peasant picked up his load of vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King indicating that the gold was for the

person who removed the boulder from the roadway. The peasant learned what many of us never understand!

Every obstacle presents an opportunity to improve our condition.

5 - Fifth Important Lesson - Giving When it Counts...

Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a

hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who

was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only

chance of recovery appeared to be a blood

transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had

miraculously survived the same disease and had

developed the antibodies needed to combat the

illness. The doctor explained the situation to her

little brother, and asked the little boy if he would

be willing to give his blood to his sister.

I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a

deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save

her." As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed

next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing

the color returning to her cheek. Then his face

grew pale and his smile faded.

He looked up at the doctor and asked with a

trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away"?

Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the

doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his

sister all of his blood in order to save her.

We can ALL learn from these... Nuff said...