Go ahead, wear running shorts this morning...

Just because you put them on doesn't mean you have to go run, does it?

You do know it is D-Day, don't you? The D stands for day, the H stands for hour, and there were D-Days for every operation, H-Hours for the moment of attack. But D-Day is the Longest Day, the attack on Normandy - King Harold's Revenge? The Liberation of Europe. In 1984 I wanted to get to jump in the re-enactment - only gravity still works exactly as it did so long ago - I missed my chance. Still, I have walked the famous cliffs and beach, visited the graves and noticed how young most of the dead were, and what day they were killed, thousands of crosses and some stars - real Americans. Don't forget the Canadians, British and Free French - don't forget the Naval forces that had to get them there, the Air Corps that dragged the gliders, dropped the paratroopers, that bombed the heck of anything they suspected of being a strong point. When you drive around France, Normandy is beautiful, and the part still recovering from WWI is still recovering... all worth the visit with the spirits of the fallen. Although we have the movie industry, computer projections of real photographs - none of it would even come close to reading the books of those that survived and wrote it down. And each of those authors were self editing. D-Day.

Healing from illness, accident and trauma does take longer as one is now scheduled for slow destruction. Those growth hormones and careless youthful - time sense meant I don't really remember how long it took to get whole again.  I remember breaking a cast off my hand in the field at Fort Bragg - it was in my way. Now I have time to notice how long it is taking, and I can blog again and again how I am not as good even once as I once was... great song, Toby.

Just think, that the German response to the operations on Normandy was slow, imperfect and exactly wrong - and centralized in the leader. Don't allow that to happen in America, in America people step up and take charge and do stuff - waiting for leadership, good sense or perfection just won't get it done. Washington, DC will stonewall and lie, no matter what happens. Good luck with that as a survival technique.

78degrees and we are almost melted here in the Great NorthWest...

But a man has to do what a man has to do.... so I done it.

That was much better than it looks, and so  much fun!

Top Shot All Star edition....

Well, they finally stopped the drama of Reality television, and got back to head to head shooting and cool targets and cool firing devices. Still, I had quit watching after the second season, with just a couple of shows from the third it was so bad. Not the shooting, not that weapons, just the drama. Teams and voting off, so junior high school. It doesn't really matter, they will never invite me to play, and the really great shooters out there have sponsors, or have honor. Some may have both.

I spent the morning making sure the calendars were flipped, and found it didn't matter, my first two checks I wrote had May as the month - just until I looked up how to spell June. Went through two thousand dollars in just the time it took to write and stamp and address properly. Don't tell me there isn't inflation - I had just as much or more with less in 1973, and still have the books to prove it.

I did go and pick up my shooting jacket with the inside pocket for stuff, it will work. I also put wire fence up for the garden stuff to climb up, my wife is pleased and immediately tried to train the climbers onto the wire and up. Patience, dear they will find it. Will wear it this weekend at the Medicine Lake Appleseed. That will be a wrap for a bit. After I get back from that I start preparing for a motorcycle trip to Minnesota. Family reunion.

Okay I can put the guns away now... for a little bit

I rushed after a very light workout at the YMCA to the sewing shop to find out that they weren't ready and hadn't finished my jacket with the inside pocket improvement. Was a time I would have been upset, angry or irrational about it. I won't even tell you the name of the shop so you never darken their doors and fatten their pocketbook. I felt sorry for them. If I die soon enough they may never make any money from my request. Will pick it up on Monday.

I did like Idaho, visiting the Redneck Roost hobby farm, seeing the changes, and appreciating the wild life (that term would work on the Redneck clan if they weren't so grounded in good work).  No that is not the name of the place, but since edible farm animals are so picturesque, it fit my blog post. I should ask what they call the place, except home.
 
I was helping on the first day of the Appleseed at Lewiston. Only one shooter and three instructors - and if you think multiple instructors can be a problem, chiming in or adding comments and techniques, how would you like to be the only one of four that isn't sure of the language being used - since those three are speaking it so rapidly it can't be absorbed. Rain on Sun dried and baked clay - does no good.

Well, I did shoot at the end of the day and every day not shooting humans for their improvement is a great day to be a Rifleman when shooting. I busted all the times, single shot rifle is my excuse, the truth is closer to 'old and slow', but made a 210, barely. Didn't clean the Redcoat - but I still love that rifle and engaging with it. I still love my wife and engaging with her -- and will work on improving both relationships, knowing why and which is important.

Having had the joy of shooting beside the shooter, I am getting closer to the time I will think that instructors shooting beside shooters in an Appleseed might be good for the shooters. Not there yet, but could be convinced. I was sure that as level headed and polite as our shooter was - it wasn't comfortable having three sets of eyes on oneself as he is asked to perform things he hadn't perfected, yet.


At the table in Redneck's home, the conversation got around to my goals in work, the suggestion of teaching or tutoring Civics/Economics was put forward by Shawn. That was an interesting idea, and I will continue to mull upon it a bit. She was looking at in the Homeschooling realm. It does seem that my mind is a terrible thing to waste, having a life long experience with institutions I am leaning towards more work with real people that might be accepting of my help.

I need to call and make my reservations for Rochester, Minnesota 28-29 June, will leave here on Sunday afternoon heading hard and fast to the East, should still be light in Idaho when I get to the Redneck Roost. After that I will be sleeping on rest stop picnic tables and benches. Do you think I can get well measured at Men's Wearhouse in Tacoma and pick up a suit in Rochester from same company? I once wore a cousin's suit to be fit as his best man or groomsman at his wedding, but I am not a skinny fellow any longer.

I heard a comment about someone wishing you could carry guns in church, and that someone  would carry concealed. I told the speaker that people were carrying guns in church and that concealed is so those that fear guns won't be afraid. Criminals are carrying guns, I am sure in a state where one of seven has a Concealed Carry permit many would be carrying, always. If I weren't such a fat man I might be carrying, hardly seems to be room for me in my clothes some times. Spend more time at the YMCA, working on the yard, and start running the road again. I will only die once, may as well go doing what I love. Take care out there, another Appleseed weekend ahead and I might need to pick the one in Washington, and drop off the one in Oregon.

Good Morning, folks...

I am so prepared for 2013, yes, I do know that it is almost June. But I finally have the experts' advice.  How to be a Man 2013. Seems Esquire magazine has all that I need to know about being a man. And I buy the magazine for the babes. All two of them. That is okay, I also get to read about Brad Pitt - not that I would. I have always liked much of his work as an actor - well, I will put all that on the to be done when I have sometime to need filled with foolish.

But don't I want to know how to be a man in 2013? No, I am still working on Earl, there are things about some other men in the world I have met, some of which are worth doing - but really, I am not going to be concerned with being anything my parents wouldn't be proud of - would you want to be wrong just because someone writes that the NEW MAN of 2013 is ______.


Being a real fashion monster, I had my Appleseed shooting jacket dropped off to get a pocket sewed on the inside of the lower on the trigger side. I do shoot in it, but mostly it is worn to make the shooters feel I am professional enough to pay attention to... If Campaign hats weren't so expensive I would be wearing one, and will give you a pic of long ago and far away... No, never mind, but if you ever saw the Wild Bunch, they had some well adjusted ones.

Mayor Bloomberg isn't afraid, since he is working so hard to make sure the rest of us are powerless while he has a lot of beef surrounding himself - I guess in a way he isn't afraid.  The truth is all the anti-gun folks are very afraid. And they don't understand why the gun people aren't afraid of anything except other good people's foolish intentions. I have another day on the range in Idaho this weekend, on my son's birthday. Figure that if the shooters are few I will get some personal shooting time in, will take both of my favorite firearms. And again, more safe rounds will have been expended and no one was hurt in the exercise of my right to keep and bear arms. Go away Mayor Bloomberg, New York and California are right there with Mexico on my list of places I don't need to ever visit, buy from or travel through. They hate me there. They might be trying to kill me or emasculate me for my benefit... they know nothing about being Earl, only how to be a man.

Risk of... a percent of risk of...

The phrase 'risk factor of...' everything seems to have risk. I got out of bed, what was that risk factor? Well, if I can't get to the coffee pot it could be considerable. For some reason beyond my ken the government thinks it is supposed to modify my terrible risky behavior by pounding the chance that bad things could happen to me.  Gamblers and most folks have a better idea of the odds of something happening than that fearful government.

Scarred by Scandal -- Gibson Guitar? Do you mean there is a risk factor to allowing government to believe it rules and it can get away with it?

I just saw a security guy on FOX News, and if I ever saw a typecast for Mafia hood, he was it. Hope he is as nice a man as I think he is from his shy few words -- probably in a bit of trouble for being caught on live camera feed. Wouldn't want his job, do you think they really grow different men in New York City?

How should we teach them?

I traveled a few hundred miles this weekend and helped at an Appleseed in CdA, Idaho.

I had a great time, and remembered well the people, the tales and the time. Didn't get pounded by rain until I returned to the Puget Sound area in Washington and that only helped to wash all the bugs off the windshield. Although, watch vigorous sneezes while driving on rain slick roads in the mountain rains --- panic, oops here comes another sneeze!

Normally, I would give you a bunch of pictures for sharing my happiness - but camera shy the public seems to have become. I was asked to remove two of the pictures I had posted - so I did - I am not a man that wants to bother anyone. Maybe with all the government spying, we should be very afraid.

But since it is Memorial Day observed I will share more positive thoughts.

Today is a great day to take some young people to the graves - of those that have departed - on the battlefield or years later after having suffered for years and then finally called to that final rest. Someone has to explain to them why we fight wars, and what is a real hero, and why war can't be shown on television or in cinema since emotions haven't a real digital presence.  A great day for an old worn warrior to visit his fallen comrades and tell tales about their service to that younger future hero or heroine.  I liked seeing the scouts putting the small flags in front of the markers, and I hoped they read the campaigns and ranks and tried to picture the people they were - it is time to honor and remember they served. God bless them all.