Time for my annual Memorial Day Rant

Several years ago, we were coming back from the American Legion Hall on Memorial Day. I was in American Legion uniform having served in the firing detail at the local cemetery. We had gone into the local Stop&Rob for one thing or another (which put me in foul mood to begin with) and at the check-out, Little Miss TeenAmerica wannabe at the register wished me a "Happy Memorial Day".

And I unloaded on her, I didn't yell or raise my voice but said through tightly clenched teeth:

"There is one NOT g-ddamned thing "Happy" about Memorial Day. Everyone in this country that isn't in uniform honoring our war dead had damn well be better dressed in black mourning clothes. I just got back from the cemetery where we paid our respects and begged G-d to care for those 327 mostly 18-20 year old kids who died in mud filled trenches, freezing European forests, crappy little dots of islands, hot shitty jungles or some G-d forsaken desert. They died horrible, agonizing deaths so you could go to the mall and shop without having worry about whether you were in the whites or blacks section, to show your papieren bitte, or ask in Japanese to buy worthless, rancid, Russian bread and then worry about being shot as a spy on your way home. Those people gave you their everything for what you have today. Look around and ask if you want for anything, because I know those poor bastards would feel cheated if you did.

If you saw Saving Private Ryan, then you probably missed the single most important lesson of that entire movie.

Remember that cemetery ? There are about 2 dozen in Europe, there's another big one on Oahu in Hawaii. There are quite few here in the US from the Revoluntionary War to the present, and every American's knees should become weak and tears should flow when they visit those places on Memorial Day.

Because there's no way any of us have "Earned This"."

Home

There is something about coming home.  To the home you grew up in.  It's true you can never go back.  It's just not quite the same as when you were younger.  But still it's home.  It holds so many memories, good and bad of growing up.

Yet, it's comfortable and safe and warm.  It's an old sweater that has seen better days, but it feels good.

That's what it is, safety and comfort.  A place of refuge from the rest of the world, and going home to the place you grew up even moreso.

And soon, family and friends will gather for a day of Food, Fun, and Thanks.  We will laugh, argue, annoy, perhaps cry, and laugh more.  In the end, it will be all good.

Then it will be over.  Too soon.. And we will disperse and go back to our own homes.  The places we live, the places we call home. 

But still there is but one Home.

And it's good to be here.

Deer Season 2012 - Final Report

Well another Deer Camp goes into the books, and as usually happens the new guy goes home with the Trophy.   Yes, since 1989 our Deer Camp has awarded "The Big Buck Award".  There are certain criteria that have to be met to win however.  Your deer must be taken between opening time of Firearm Season on Friday morning to 12 Noon on Sunday.  The deer must be the first one you take.  In other words, if you take a doe first, then you are out of the running for the trophy.  The deer must be back in camp by noon Sunday. You pull in at 12:01 with the buck of a lifetime, and you lose. Size is determined first by points then by Boone and Crockett scoring, yes, we'll break out a tape measure if need be. Decision of the Camp Director is final and shall not be questioned.  the trophy is officially awarded at 12:01 on Sunday afternoon.   The winner must display the trophy either in their home or office for the next year and bring it back to deer camp the following year.  You also must pay for getting your own engraving done. If you win that year and there is no more room for names, then you must create/expand the award. 

The magic of the interwebz and Facebook has also netted us at least two and maybe three new people for next year.  John has a friend from Practical Rifle, and there's a mutual friend from the Aurora Sportsmen's Club that has called me and wants to join us next year.   Plus Pierre Khoury has stated he'll be back next year, and I truly look forward to that.  And if there's anyone reading that would like to join us.  Let me, your humble host and Camp Director, know and we'll get you what you need to hunt down here, and put you on some deer. 

So this afternoon John and Roger will pick up their deer from the processor, Pat, had to leave early this morning, so he already has one of his in nice white packages from the processor, but he's bringing the other home to butcher himself.  I prefer to bring home the white packages, as opposed to doing all that work.  

I'm glad that I had this time with several great friends.  I'm pretty sure that they've had as much fun this year as I've had.   And I'm really looking forward and planning for next year's camp.

Deer Season-2012

This has been one of the best year's I've had Deer Hunting.  In fact, I'll go ahead and say that it has been the best ever.  Why?

I've been down here 3 weeks, the longest time I've spent hunting ever.  Yet, I haven't gotten a deer.  In fact I haven't even seen as many as I have in years past.  My two favorite Honey Holes have seem to have dried up.  The usual scrapes and rubs aren't there and I haven't seen much of any other sign either.

However what has made this year truly special is that a long time friend and former solider that I served with drove all the way from Pittsburgh, on a whim, to hunt with me for 3 days.  I was humbled, honored and reduced to tears.  Khoury, you have no idea what that meant and means to me.  I can't wait for you to come back next year and every year after that.

Then my friend and former ASC Board of Director John Kopecky is down here for his first Deer Hunt. I've got him outfitted with a shotgun, stand and fall arrest system.   I'm setting him up along the pipeline where he have a really god chance of seeing deer along with being able to watch in the woods.  Especially, if he goes up in the tree as high as I go, about 30 ft.  You can see a whole lot more of the woods the higher you go.  Whether or not he gets one, I hope he he has a good time, and becomes part of our Deer Camp.   And John has friend that want's to come, but couldn't make it this year. 

Then my friend Pat is also down here.  This is his third year, and he's as excited this year as he was his first.  He got two deer last year.  Both firsts for him a doe with bow and buck with his shotgun.

Even if I take nothing*, this is the best year of deer hunting ever.    



*Even though as of this post I haven't taken anything with my bow,  I still have this afternoon, and then Firearm Season opens tomorrow and runs through Sunday.  Hope Spring Eternal !!!

Occupy, My Ass.

I've avoided all the idiodcracy of the latest news simply by not having TV.   However, despite my best efforts I still keep reading about the "Occupy" morons.   Here's what it boils down to very simply.

They want to rob you. And they want the .gov to hold the gun.

Yep, that's it.  They want to do to you what the Nazi's did to the Jews.  What Stalin did to the kulaks. 

That's all it is.  They want free stuff, from you, and they want the government to take it from you and give it to  them.  It's a short putt from taxing wealth to confiscating wealth to "elimination of the wealthy".  We've seen it several times in the 20th century.  Which is why many of us who are the producers also own guns.  We're not going to let it happen again.  So to those who want to come and take what I have, simply because I have more than you, through the sweat of my brow, I say "Bring it".

And bring a whole bunch of friends, because I'll have no problem piling up your bodies at my door.

Finding my Muse

Yeah, you.  Get over here.  Sit down and start typing and don't get up until you have something good.  I'll handcuff you and tie you up if need be.

That's what it feels like.  Only at gunpoint.  A very large gun.

Tam has her snarky take on the days events.   

With  Brigid it just seems to flow.  She has a natural ability to write prose that grabs you and holds you.

Roberta gets right to the point..

Mary is a dear and long time friend.

Were I twenty years younger, I'd be chasing Nicki

Then Tony and folks at The Weekly Nitpick, take one subject and do it to death.  Rightly and funny.*


But they all make it look effortless.  With me it's like a term paper due everyday.  That big project the boss assigned to be completed or the company is doomed.   And it's all self imposed pressure.  I feel like I owe it to you, my reader(s).  And in a sense I do, but this is for me and for my son.  It's supposed to be about what I've learned and want to pass on to him.  In case you didn't read  the liner notes.  It's called "The Cancer Ward", not only because I grew up reading Solzhenitsyn, but because I have a terminal case of it.  And an 11 Year Old son.

So I apologize if I'm not as meticulous in writing and posting as I should be.  I'm also out grabbing as much as I can from life in the time I have left.  But do know that I feel guilty when I neglect my blog for more than a day or two.  And I do pretty good when I can get two or three stories ahead and have them in the queue and ready to go.   I can then drop in topical stories and posts without the dreaded "I HAVE NOTHING TO WRITE ABOUT,  ARRRGGHHHH!!!!"  pounding my head against the wall. So enjoy these.  Written in advance as they were.


*I just noticed that 5 out of 6 of my favorite bloggers are women.  Although the Weekly Nitpick has female contributors the vast majority of the articles are written by men, and 3 of the 5 are primarily Gun Blogs.  Women and Guns, *sigh*......

Tab Clearing

When they finished tearing up my street and left these pipes, my first thought was "These will make one helluva potato gun."

Southport, Indy.  Ride it like you stole it, Dude

I wanted to follow this truck to wherever it was going, just hoping that it might really contain a Firefly.

Why in G-d's name does the Dept of Environment and Natural Resources have the responsibility for Food Service Sanitation?  Shouldn't there be a county Board of Health?   One more of example of why .gov is stupid.

My buddy Andrew Graves.  I love this shirt.  The front has a small badge imprinted (South Carolina Citizen's Militia)  under which reads "Constitutional Enforcement Division".  And yes, we were open carrying. 

In addition to the giant pink peace symbol on the hood, it has every liberal bumper sticker ever printed on it.  I'm glad that Hippy-dipshits like this can freely express their stupidity in this great country and that there are brave men and women standing guard around the clock to keep their Hippy-ass from being stoned to death by the practitioners o the "religion of peace". They have the right to express their opinion and so do I.
You are a Moronic Fuck-tard.