Memorial Day recovering from minor congestion and cough...

  So I was watching TCM in HD and enjoying them, and then I started questioning the technical aspects for weapons, tactics and truth in the world of entertainment illusions about History as we would have liked it. When you start to wonder what the Marines were armed with in the Boxer Rebellion, or should they have eliminated the anti-inversion skirt on the parachute in Bridge too Far, or why Charles Bronson rowed all the way to that port with the modern loading overheads, that weren't around in 1944, way too picky am I.

  But the story is also part of the problem, today we are honoring war dead, and looking at Hollywood heroes - internally pretending we would be that brave, cool, comical or deadly. I was never that cool, brave, comical and my deadly was all about weapons systems and effect on target. And sure enough, when I was most withdrawn from civilization I couldn't even get up enough nerve to say hello to some beauty pageant young ladies being escorted around to the deprived depraved for someone's happiness. Had lost my tongue when they made me wear a shirt to protect the ladies' innocence.

  The wars, their history, and even the men that went and served all betrayed by media exploitation. Remembering what one of my college professors told me about the television coverage of the Gulf War, they were using the sports reporting, instant replay, color analysis and little human interest stories. All we had seemed to be an Arab king and kingdom, the best the Soviet could sell to the Iraqis and the wonder about what their Republican Guard could come up with.  There are many first person views about the wars, worth more than the Historians that change why a new super weapon was used on the Japanese, like we were trying to eliminate a race... but we were just trying to find a solution to the problem of invading the Japanese homeland, we had survived invading Germany, but they had similar beliefs to the rest of Western Civilization, the Asians had population and an entirely different way at looking at their lives.

  Things that really aren't as true as Hollywood wants you to believe: everyone is a little bit evil, pain and coercion will make anyone do what you want them to do, money can always buy friends... the only truth I like is the one in one movie, which says "Only the dead have seen the end of war."

Remembering is worth a day or even the weekend...

  Memorial Day weekend... and I remember Rim Dungey, whom I don't know, except he was about two years older than I, and died in Vietnam. So I remember him but y'all may know many others to remember for your own reasons, do so, say a little prayer for them.

I don't know if the links still work, will check them after I post. Bow tie makes me think it was a prom picture, or he was really that different than I am, although I have had a bow tie or two.

My wife is worried about my congestion and cough, but I am almost human again after two days down, so I will go easy and just remember that there was a Rim Dungey that never made it to retirement although he paid into Social Security. Take care out there, God loves you and we will try and remember you after you are gone.

attention span deficit is the norm, hardly a disorder...

  Don't know if the speed of information transfer causes the decrease in attention span, just no ability to stick around and finish the sentence, thought or essay.  If you text, you shorten everything with little stuff, light stuff, not really serious stuff and it is gone not to be remembered by posterity.

   Does seem to be a bigger problem than I have words and space to analyze and convince you since you are already tired reading along to see if I am going anywhere with this.  Think I will sneak off to read a book.  Remember reading all night? Spent a lot of college time reading everything except my course books, which were dull.

   Testing is multiple choice, was that an indication that we don't develop minds to think in large concepts and block and blocks of logical reason? 

Well, back to normal - awake in my own bed and not having to get up...

  I have had a great Appleseed weekend, at Port Townsend, teaching marksmanship, history of April 19, 1775 and helping America gain two more Riflemen qualified citizens...

  My Facebook account shows me a memory posted from 2010, same time in May, but it is at Wade's DAR in 2010, look at the people, no shade nor popups, equipment line right behind the firing line, lots of shooters lots of fun. But HOT!

  And when I posted it, I did mention that I hadn't cooled off until arriving home to the shades of those tall trees behind our home. This weekend was cooler, I had forgotten to bring my sweatshirt or shooting jacket or sweater (travel light, freeze at night) , also seems I hadn't had enough water to stay healthy.

  During in processing, there wasn't enough effort to putting name tapes on the shooters, day two we fixed that.  All instruction presented, one AQT on Saturday, about five on Sunday. Two Riflemen patches earned and presented. All shooters progressed very well. I was really proud of how far Dylan had come from his first to last AQT, steady upward progress, as he grows into his rifle he will make a mark. Gabe did well, but he was distracted his concern for his son and still learning that all his body parts affect his shot, when he got off that support foot toe gravity steadied the position very well. I expect his next Appleseed will be the one he earns a Rifleman patch. I did forget to mention video taping your shooting positions and techniques for later review.

  Lucas had a coach and competition, Lisa providing an excellent opportunity for the crew to find out if we were reaching the shooters, she was listening and practicing exactly what we presented and enjoying the events and the people. Our second Rifleman patch was earned on the second day, but she hadn't been with us on Saturday much, so I think everything she knew and practiced was all from Appleseeds and instructors in her past and just the desire to show Dad what she could do, and she could do, definitely.

  It is always a bit unsettling to hear your name mentioned as being some how responsible for someone's start in the Revolutionary War Veterans Association or Appleseed Project, but I did hear it. Seems I am remembered, and I always think reputation becomes bigger than the reality if embellished enough. When they mentioned the You Tube video I almost blushed. Still I am happy that I have been a member, off and now steady on, since 2005.  And that I can continue to make a small contribution to making America the very best it can be, in Liberty under the LORD.

  No pictures at the range, although long before lawyers there are some old Appleseed pictures and links on the left side of my Blogger site: Earl's View, focus on the front sight. So I give you a picture of the Marina where three of the crew and a shooter slept on a boat.  Everyone helps out in many ways, to promote the program, make coffee and danish happen by breakfast and to just speak well of the efforts, I am so thankful there are so many that Seventh Step so well with such great results. Hope to see y'all on the trail or another Appleseed, one day.

So 'they' aren't covering the conservative view much...

  Silly, herd mentality isn't a free thinking independent liberty lover of the LORD weakness.  Group think, fads and fashions and foolishness abound in the lost - cause everyone does it, everyone sees it, and everyone knows it - so it trends.  Pet Rocks, trolls, and beanie babies? Not in many homes, because they weren't really a common value just a trend. I would think, that media and politicians want you to be part of the everyone - and only for exploitation and their power.

   Conservatives are those quiet folks on your street, that don't bother you, mow their yard and teach their children to be polite.   If there are as many conservative, quiet folks as I think, Donald Trump will have difficulty being elected by them. One on one maybe Ben Carson sees something the media hasn't found, but Mr. Trump isn't coming to the YMCA nor the rifle range nor my church to meet me - I will never know, and I have seen enough poor manners and bad behavior to know that is not the person I want for America's President, but then I think America hasn't figured out how wrong they have made their own world, yet. So who is elected might not matter...

  Conservatives will work to keep their neighborhood safe, clean and happy - but not with loud noises from overwhelming technology. Just by kind quiet Hello, please and thank you. I am sure there are more good conservative folks that don't want labeled that enjoy Facebook for its real value and there is never a trend among them, they keep moving and talking and posting and their friends enjoy and like here and there, but no surges nor purges needed. These are good folks.

You don't fit much, do you?

  Nope, I am all that you see, and so much more.  But recently they (you know 'they') have been saying all kinds of things about me and my kind. And I have to look around to see whom they are looking at... and I am the only other person and what they are describing can't be me.  At Murphy's 5 and dime I was once looking over some magazines and paperbacks and two elder ladies (old women) were talking about a skinny boy with tight trousers and too long hair, so I looked around and it had to be me.

  But they say that if I don't want Hillary to win, I have to vote for Trump, and I don't think that is the way the world works. I don't do what everyone else does, ever, mostly. If I do it, it must be something that I want to do and it needs my attention.  Now in America, there are many, many more of us than there are of 'they', and the whole effort for centralization of government, money, banking, medicine, and morals is to make us better sheep to be shorn. 

  I don't have any trouble being prolife, even if it is a minority view (which it isn't). I have no problem not reading what everyone else is reading, seeing on television, using the same poor language choices, finding brunettes better than blondes. Finding smiles better than words to tell me about the person.  If there is a Presidential candidate that wants my vote, they have to be better at being a leader, cause I don't follow just because they have the authority. Convince me, it doesn't take a lot, just some of your time and trouble - I was once pretty smart and that may be the problem with current culture - it just isn't as smart as I am. Rather watch a good magic show. Wouldn't you?

She made me human, and that was a real achievement...

   Mother's Day 2016, and everyone knows all about mothers. On a Sunday morning news program a woman talks about government maternity leave acts and how America must progress to be right. Isn't this the same government that says abortion is legal? My mother even took a young woman into her home to prevent one abortion. So she would reserve the right to protest effectively government stupidity, but paid maternity leave is much better than most government ideas, it supports love and life.

   I was blest to have my mother, and until she really got to know me she always hoped I would be so much better than I became.  I had her songs, her hugs, her stories, her care for my hurts (and I am no more affected by gravity now than I ever was) and poetry.  What young boy could ask for more? We imagined, built castles, played heroes and became family - I got brother and sisters and we could all scramble for her love and attention, not realizing how wearing we could become, probably because there was an enforced mid-afternoon nap.

  She was firm, kind of, and she set standards that weren't the same as everyone else's. I had a serious talk about my male sexual functions and waiting until I was married for it. Because that was what my father and mother had done, but those are old values and so unrealistic.  I was thirteen and going on a first date with a young lady and had to know the rules. It must have been very effective, I really was far away from hearth and home before I slipped into sexual sins...  Like my smoking and drinking, it would take some recovery time to clean up and fly right... but then resistance to evil was part of the training of parents to children, for everyone's safety and good health. She did better than she imagined, in my alternate home/family I was trusted and welcomed, and two adult women had a loud and lively discussion about me and my trustworthiness with other children and no adults in house. I never felt so honored by adult women that I thought highly of ever again. And I didn't betray the trust of either woman. Mothers, they are the first touch of civilization upon young male humans, because I do think that without them the boys will never be softer, the clash of bodies will always be for conquest and victory, where would the gentle touch be?

   I could depend on my father for sane reaction to my accidents and hurts, he never ran to save me, calmly walking and making help happen. But when I had my motorcycle crash and was being taken to the hospital, I kept insisting that they talk to my father, not my mother because she would be overtaken by her imagination of my hurt and trauma, she really could get into sharing my pain. She was a romantic and Dad was pragmatic.   But I could always entrust her with my treasures, like the lady love of my life, while I was sure Dad had reservations left over from his war or just a hard judgement of his son's foolishness... it all worked out, my mother could talk to my father and we would get ready to make the family greater, if I was really as adult as I thought.

   I would say that I miss her, but that wouldn't be the truth, for I will always have her in my life both DNA, and our years together and apart, she would make me write at least once a week as we were apart, and I still dream and talk to her in my mind, and I look forward to the day I will again be back inside that special love she gave so much of...

Day four of Earl's hard work pays off programming....

  My wife is getting all dolled up... since we are going out. I have crashed after sweating away three pounds on the rowing machine and bicycle at the YMCA, really you don't need to know but I was caught with the 'I want to win King of the Hill' before I start working on my other race challenges, and I only needed eleven points today, so I went for fourteen. And after wasting four months of non recording for the annual challenges, which I signed up for all three today, hoping to finish them all successfully before I expire all parts and warranty.  2016km or 1253 miles, 50K (50,000) calories, and the All In (which seems to be all challenges for the year).  We will be working on all those loose parts, glad they changed the bicycles out for the bigger screen newer models. Anyway, a great day at the gym.

  I stopped and purchased to decks of cards, Bicycle Dragon Back cards, regular size, for Canasta or whatever. Blue and Red backs, nice cards.  I opened the pack and found America has gone politically incorrect while I was not watching. The Blue deck has Blue Hearts and Blue Diamonds, so the next time I am playing cards and feeling the Blues - this is my deck.

This program at the YMCA is working, I am level three now...

  I haven't figured out if I am Lawful Good or Random Neutral, and the DM won't tell me. I often wished I could have lived as the Initiate Brother, the book is much better and the Bearer is awesome as he gains his powers.  Still the ActivTrax program is bringing me along well. I don't like Jack Knifes but I must get them done, I don't like Body Front Lunges but they do make me use my body as it could be used - so get used to it. Level three? Only if there are a hundred levels.

  On my Expresso.com account I am entered in three challenges starting May 6, and seems like I have already entered the Mountain Madness or whatever it is called. I have to score fifty points and with only two rides in two days I have already 22 points, two more hard rides and I will make my fifty then I can settle in and just run up the totals.

   Have signed up for two Appleseed events, I have missed them. And I have to get the Trusty Triumph back on the road, and recycle all the glass containers.... empty liquor bottles...