We don't evolve as much as we talk about it...

One of my cousins emailed a picture to me, a bit out of focus, and from long ago, 1986.

 Film, a bit dark, out of focus, but it is my father, I could tell by how he was sitting, where the hat is on his head, glasses and socks and shoes. I didn't recognize the girls and asked my cousin.  He said they were his daughters, in Jackson, Mississippi that summer.

So I stuck it into Photoshop Elements and fixed it a bit, not enough to take it back into a photograph with detail, just enough to be a painting by some French fellow. It is still my father, sitting like I still do, with his cap cocked back like I still wear mine when not shooting or sleeping under it.

A very fine Sunday...

Since we had Men's Bible Study at Dennis's home last evening we were wound up and ready to worship the Lord and study His word today. The discussions at Sunday school took from everyone and gave everyone many things to consider in the coming week.

After class I said farewell to the normal sit around and talk some more guys, wishing them well and I headed for the range. To get some more time with my new rifle, particularly check the zero with ten rounds, shoot thirteen in a Red Coat target and another forty within the time and position constraints of a regular AQT. While looking at what others are shooting, how well they are shooting and talking about anything Appleseed since I had a trifold or two and some spare Red Coats to share.

Now, if I settle down, I will one day be a fine shooter, for sure I must quit thinking about the next target I can only affect the one I am shooting NOW, not the next one. I blame all rounds that don't hit center on the need for speed, which is only in my mind. I had time on each stage without worry, even with a couple of stove pipes, I am getting better at clearing the brass and getting on with the shooting.

So I didn't clean the Red Coat, make all hits count, but I was close. I only got 190 points on the AQT, mostly because of three non-counting flyers, and then poor time use and NPOA verification on stage four, should have checked it twice. I am so good at giving advice that I don't follow, for no good reason. Sigh.

Still it was a beautiful day, which finished with me watching Name of the Rose on video. Sad movie and story, very well done.

Why is Justin Beaver on my news feed, on my favorite talk programs?

Must be as an example of what famous wasted life is worth, not much. Yes, I know I have spelt his name wrong, but then I don't worship nor adore him. I may have heard some of his music, but I couldn't tell you that in truth. I am still stuck on 'cut my bangs with rusty kitchen scissors'.

My visit with the heart doctor was great, not that I am sure how anything might get paid for, but I liked talking to him about me (always one of my favorite subjects) finding out about his grandfather fighting in WWII against the Japanese and what my new tests are going to be - and I won't have to return to see him until March 7.  All good.

On the not so noticed news, is the Japanese response to the Chinese expansion in the Pacific. Funny how Main Stream Media thinks Justin is hot enough to cover, like bad boys being boorish is news. The Korean, Japanese and Chinese are working on another confrontation to the hilt. My money is still on the Japanese, they can make all the nuclear weapons they want faster than Iran can.... but they don't want any. Until the current President Obama, America provided their nuclear deterrent. Now, I expect they would sink all the Chinese vessels at sea from afar, precisely. Yep, that and robotic assault weapons. And they still haven't unleashed Godzilla.

Finding what is lost...

I went to Battle Ground, Washington to find what I was missing  - much of which I didn't realize that I had lost along the way. I was a bit early so went into a Mall at the Sears entrance. They didn't seem to have any 22LR ammunition so I wandered out to the general areas and found a Calendar, Game and Toy store. I hadn't been able to find, on the internet, a Revolutionary War calendar - I knew there had to be one, but the search engines were looking for what 'everyone' is searching for or the sponsored 'finds'.  But in this shoppe, there was ONE with torn packaging looking exactly like what I wanted, so I grabbed it, and was willing to pay the sixteen dollars for it - but only paid four - since most of January was no longer to be counted. It was the New Nation Calendar by M. Kunstler, Lang Publishing. Happy me.

On to dinner at the Mongolian Golden Tent, met the others and the Instructor (ItsanSKS) for the weekend. Got coffee and built some stuff to toss together on the grill. I was shocked by some of the questions, things I hadn't thought about but in general most of the conversation was about past Appleseeds and friends along the trail and the future of the RWVA in the Great NorthWest. We moved to a quieter room for better conversation, desert and more coffee. More stirring of our minds, and focus, and reminders of what being new feels like. Kind of invigorating, being young again. We closed the place down and I drove off to the school house where I would park and sleep in the Caravan or inside if it got opened. George opened it, turned on the water and water heater and I rolled my sleeping bag out and didn't notice the cold outside of it.

Waking Saturday morning I got out of my bag and noticed it really was cold, so I looked at the great wood burning stove, looked for matches, found none, put some kindling on the range and turned up a burner and started a fire to move a flame to the pile of kindling in the stove. Worked! The the flue and the flame and constant adjustment for clearing smoke out - until they stopped opening the top to look. Breakfast is cooked and shared, there would be more food than feasters all weekend. Can you say Elk Burgers? Can you taste them?

After breakfast, set up for instructions, introductions and we were off on a full weekend of training, talking and performance. Pictures here. Excellent outline, constant participation by all, questions answered and diversions re-routed back to course of instruction -- just like we would have to do at an Appleseed.

Six Steps in making a Rifle safe, step six is 'No one touching'. Six steps in making the shot, the first two steps are natural lead ins from the Steady Hold factors, without explaining Natural Point of Aim, one more verification on NPOA and then trust it and fire in Rifleman's cadence. The sling has three medal parts we own the names now - J-hook, H buckle, and Camlock, cinch the loop down to snug, take your firing hand and pull on the J-hook and loosen the sling by pulling it across your chest.  Cross ankle sitting position is with the edge of the feet flat on the ground. COF, target, position, # of rounds, holes in paper, time limit, Magazine prep and Extras.

Stage Craft, how do you present. Suggested video recording of your presentation of instruction, of your History presentation. Looking at oneself critically for ways to improve. Just in rotating the butt of the rifle away from the body and smartly into the shoulder pocket, short firm and complete. Teach hasty sling and loop sling before prone steady hold factors, save Hasty, hasty for the Standing position.

Teach talking targets after prone, yellow sheet as reference.  IMC and FO/RS  Always TPI, Total Participant Instruction - List Discuss List Chorus back.  Always good examples, always saving questions for proper time, no diversions from topics.

Dinner of Elk Burgers, I think I had six of them, and a couple more on Sunday. Slept in the school house another night, with a fire in the stove and the chief instructor in his sleeping bag, too. Overall, great motivating and informative training in perfecting the subjects of Appleseed. Today I signed up for two more Appleseeds at Port Townsend, WA. There is another weekend in July but I have Fish camp that time, so I will have to find other Appleseeds to help.

Fears, you just have to realize they are fears... based on brain activity or hurt...

So I have fears. Not as many as many, but enough that I feel normal and responsive to what could happen, and how to make it better before the battle I fear.

I made a lot of folks, that don't know me, worried just enough when I passed out, but my doctor and the doctors that really checked me out only fear one remaining thing - that I won't listen to their professional advice.  That I do understand. The heart doctor from the Army Hospital called yesterday, and then again today. I was home and answered today with all the responses he wanted and one he wasn't ready for, but he said he would look into it. I believe he will and fix it. I trust him.

Fear of returning to exercise, not mine, so I did, but I did it in little efforts not some hard charging damn the torpedoes full speed ahead... mode. It felt fine, I really am at the age that a little romance would go so much farther than fourteen human reproductive acts. It is the same with exercise, keep moving, it doesn't count only if not moving, the days of repeating marathon training sessions and karate practice drills over and over are gone - not needed. I have been there, done that, and still have t-shirts and trophies for my best. Same with exercise. Now some of my doctors don't know, but my personal physician does and he is okay with my check up and testing. I can't fix all their fears but I don't have to share them, nor restrict myself to their fears zones.

So I avoid New York, California, Colorado, New Jersey and now Maryland. They fear me, I understand that Maryland has a list of proper pistol carriers and is ambushing them when they enter the state. There you go, allowing yourself to be restricted by the fears of the different state protective services, or local jack booted uniformed thugs. I do think that race played a big part in the ambush, fear you know. But Maryland, is now on my list, and I have been there armed before. Fears.

Now the National Rifle Association has a mission statement, that Harvey Weinstein has never read, but he knows what they do so he is making a movie that will cause the NRA to wish it were DEAD. When they listed all the terrorist propaganda entertainment movies that man makes - I was thinking he is shooting himself in the foot (or head?). The Lawyers will get to sue him for promoting terrible gun handling that seems to produce dead bodies all over the place, which is what he thinks the NRA does. Not because he knows anything about firearms, just how to peddle porn - gun porn, sex porn it is all the same to him, all he needs is the money. So he is going to make a movie that only stupid liberals will watch to see the truth about the NRA. The smart liberals will stay home. They fear what exists, not what doesn't exist. I will have to check and see, but I am betting that I don't own any of his movies in video or dvd, although I know I have seen a couple - but the gun violence and martial arts were not very good. Actually, I do own a couple, but even bad people do good things some times.

Seeing how the market is, when the stocks of the gun industry tank (which they won't) I would be buying like crazy. Actually, why couldn't I get 22lr again today? I have been good. But maybe I don't fear the famine enough yet, I still have bows and arrows, so patient I am. No fear!

I recommend the movie LONE SURVIVOR

Since I am just me, and no one really pays too much attention to me I still say it is a great movie.

A WAR movie, very.

It has been attacked as propaganda - which is really the reason I saw the movie before reading the book. Normally I do it the other way.

I can see where the call of 'propaganda' came from, it was from some one that has no personal value system, that doesn't understand the military, the Special Operations community, and certainly has no real idea of what Afghanistan is nor ever has been.

I will own the DVD as soon as it comes out. Even the special effects guys got most of the explosions right, not all of them but most. Great movie, sad story but heroic on so many levels. I do recommend seeing it.

I wonder where yesterday went...

Bad start for the week was Monday. And I don't even have a place I was supposed to report to for work or something. My gym bag was packed and waited by the door. But I was out of it. Two bowls of oatmeal for the day as I had a very upset stomach, then after another six hours of fitful sleep I was on to steak and green beans.

I did my rowing 6.2 miles in 56 min 36 seconds. Stop and get a drink, measure BP and Hr and then go for the Expresso.com Bike. Pick the 13.5 mile course and pedal away, getting over fifty-five seconds ahead of my personal best. But on the down hill side the ghost starts to catch me and finally does at about ten miles, about the same time I am slowing down, tired and sweaty and a bit under the weather. I want to go and sleep. That was when I woke, wondering how that guy got in my house, oops! I am still attached to the pedals, get free, lay there having everyone wonder if I am okay, what is my name, do I hurt anywhere (just my pride). Well, I had decided to keep going when I should have stopped. My blood pressure and circulation wasn't meeting all demands and when the brain is drained it shuts down, kind of like the Federal government, no one in charge, everyone sleeping it off.

The bike shut down when there was no more activity, I thought I had lost all my electronic exercise - I was competing to complete the Titan Challenge, 5000 calories burned off in January. Well, I was told to lay still, and the medical alert guys from the Fire Department were on the way. What was my name, when was I born, where did I live, what was my telephone number, was there anyone to call? Nice concerned worried people. The medics got there, more professional worried people - by this time I was cracking jokes and trying to wipe the concern away from their faces. I only look old I am still thirty-five inside, just a conservative thirty-five. The closest hospital emergency room was where they wanted to take me, I told them Madigan would be better, and they liked that.

So one took my locker key, got all my stuff out of the locker, took my Caravan and parked it near the emergency room and gave me back my keys. All the data, was entered into an iPad, radio contact with receiving emergency rooms, details of event (how do you keep from being a problem - when you wake up -RUN away and escape!).  I wasn't allowed to walk, gurney and wheel chair, lots of blood work, continuous monitoring, one IV drip, more nurses and doctors than anyone should need in a day - how I impressed them. Well, I didn't stop breathing or my heart pumping, although one doctor asked if they could shock me back into rhythm or do chest compressions, and put an oxygen tube down my throat. Which I told her sounded like a threat but sure if I needed either. Her husband and she transferred recently from Fort Bragg, 82nd Airborne, and I had to ask if he was adjusting to working at half speed. She knew immediately what I was talking about. After a deployment she told me that 'we would get a command' which I told her was a great way to think about that. Not that the Medical Corps doesn't have its own command structure and she as a Captain would get promoted one day and might become a commander - I don't really know how they pick commanders outside of the combat arms.

I got some chest x-rays which they compared with the last set they had done on me, they found the same question they had the last time and suggested two more tests for that, after I see my family doctor and check in with him. They know something about ornery old men, and made me promise three or four ways to cooperate with their concerns. So, they took the needle out of my arm, the monitoring was turned off and I got my stuff and wandered the parking lot looking for my Caravan, which was where he had said it would be, luckily I was one of the few. Drove home, picked up the mail, ate mondu soup, had coffee and watched a video. Then checked my exercises in the computer and find on the Expresso.com list - they gave me credit for starting the run. "1/14/2014      Totals: 11.1 Miles 446 Calories 0 Chase Score

Completed Laps" And now I have 2400 calories down, only 2600 left to go. 

Think I will now go to bed and get some sleep.