Rude1's RamPage

WOW!

2012-01-11T16:19:00.000-07:00

I'm not much for hunter jumpers, but WOW!

Westfall Horsemanship

2012-01-10T17:29:00.003-07:00

I found this video of Stacy Westfall's horse Popcorn. It makes me laugh everytime; Popcorn is such a funny guy! Im afraid that if we ever had mud like that, my mare would be just as bad. She loves to roll in the mud (well, what passes for mud out here; more like damp soil!)

If you don't know who Stacy is, take the time to find out. She is IMHO, the best trainer out there (okay, maybe tied with Buck Brannaman). She was the first woman to be invited to and then win the Road to the Horse competition (on Popcorn who she bought after the competition). She won the 2006 AQH Congress with the highest score ever (still standing) just 24 days after her father passed away. She's won numerous competitions and usually rides bridless...

Check out her videos; they are amazing.

Warhorse: Truth is Better Than Fiction

2012-01-08T11:32:00.002-07:00

I haven't seen the new movie Warhorse yet; our small community is usually a few weeks/months behind new releases. However, I found this video about a REAL warhorse, SSgt Reckless, USMC who served during the Korean war (yeah yeah, I know it was a "conflict", but tens of thousands died so it was a war dammit).

Must Read - Media Inaccuracies RE: PTSD

2012-01-08T11:05:00.005-07:00

This article nails the bias depicted in the media about PTSD and veteran violence.

I thought it was just me, but every since we pulled our troops out of Iraq, the media seems to have gone out of their way to sensationalize veteran violence. While we had boots on the ground, the media tried to pay lip service to supporting the troops. But now that we've "brought them home", their (the media) true colors are showing.

Please read the article.

Thanks to Blackfive for the original link.

WARNING Not Easy to Sit Through

2012-01-03T08:51:00.002-07:00

Stacy Westfall had this video posted over on her blog. I was seeing RED after watching it. This woman got off easy; had I been the judge she would be worm food.

Horse people will be especially appalled at what she allowed to happen.

T. K. O.

2011-12-29T11:45:00.003-07:00

Laura over at Fetch My Flying Monkeys is one of my favorite places to go. She is a hilariously funny writer and always has the coolest stuff on her sidebar; such as this little gem...

Thanks Laura, for everything!

Space, The Final Frontier...

2011-12-29T11:42:00.001-07:00

This is AMAZING! Thanks to Laura yet again!

Occupy Wall Street BS

2011-12-28T16:59:00.003-07:00

I've said for a long time to folks around here that the OWS crowd is made up of morons. My usual feeble attempt to convey this is by asking why is it okay to be rich if you're a sports figure or hollyweird nut-job, but the rich leaders of industry are evil?

This is usually answered with an explaination of how the sports/hollywierd-o-s have EARNED their money. (What?? Seriously?? And these people are allowed to vote and pro-create?? W.T.F?)

Newbusters has a great article that shows the top 25 supporters of OWS are worth over 4 billion bucks. They are the 1%...

WVU Salute to Military

2011-12-21T09:14:00.000-07:00

One of the best SNCOs I've ever known and a great friend, posted this on his facebook wall. I HAD to share it. Thanks to Scott for sharing the link, and thanks to all who have served and their families for their support.

Why I Love Living Where I Do...

2011-12-20T19:40:00.002-07:00

I took this pic a couple of days ago. The dirt mound he's on is about 50 feet from the front door. Looks like he made it through hunting season okay!

Boo Hoo

2011-10-04T00:05:00.002-06:00

Boo Hoo, poor Obama was compared to Hitler... what a shame, I mean no other President was ever comapred to... wait a minute, I seem to recall GWB being called Hitler more times than I can remember.

So gee whiz Barry, how does it feel bitch?

BTW, notice the NM plates, which is a shock since NM is VERY probama...

Ten Years

2011-09-10T13:15:00.002-06:00

Ten years, but it still feels like yesterday. As ever, time marches on and I look back over the past decade and reflect on the changes in my life. I've been retired from the military for over six years, have not found a job that gives me satisfaction or a sense of accomplishment since. I have a low tolerance of BS and appreciate our way of life more and more. I deplore what our government has become and is doing to our great country.

I pray each day for our warriors, our country, and our way of life. I will never forget.

I wrote this years ago and use it to remember where we were and where we're going.

It started out as just another normal day; the weather was nice, not perfect, but not bad. The sky was blue with only a few high altitude clouds. It would be a full day of flying for our squadron of F-16s. Again, nothing really out of the ordinary; we had a full schedule planned and my job as the Lead Production Superintendent or Pro Super, was to ensure we had all the jets covered with appropriate mechanics. Their job was to either support the active flying or fix those that had mechanical problems. Just another day…

I spent the early morning like all others; in a meeting going over the condition and plan for each of our 27 assigned jets. Little did I or any of us know how the world was changing while we discussed aircraft status. After the meeting, I went out to my truck to get the daily work started. I was coordinating with the mechanics the who, what and where we would do that day when we had an odd radio call. “Attention all radios this net, this is the MOC (Maintenance Operations Center) with an announcement. All local flying has been cancelled; please respond with your call sign.” “Rude 1 copies” I replied but didn’t really think much about it. Cancelling flying is rare, but not uncommon in the military, but usually I have an idea of why; bad weather, an accident or something like that. This day however, I was just thankful we didn’t have to worry about flying our schedule, but could instead; focus our efforts on the several jets that needed maintenance. Boy was I in for a shock.

I still didn’t have any idea what was going on since I didn’t have the radio on. In my truck, I had to listen to two tactical radios and use my cell phone, so I didn’t play the radio. I was briefing my supervisors about the change in the schedule when another odd radio call interrupted me…”Attention all radios this net, this is the MOC with an announcement. Implement THREATCON BRAVO. I repeat implement THREATCON BRAVO. Please respond with your call sign, MOC out.” “Rude 1” I said then wondered aloud if there was an exercise I wasn’t aware of. I told my supervisors to get moving with BRAVO procedures, and then went over to a Security Policeman driving around the flightline. I asked him if he knew what was going on, but he was as clueless as I was. I couldn’t really call the MOC to ask, since they were probably eye-ball deep in what ever was happening, besides, I knew I would be briefed soon enough. Right now, we just needed to follow orders and get things done.

About ten minutes later, the Chief of Maintenance came out to my truck and started talking about smoke boiling out of the Pentagon. I thought he was talking metaphorically, you know, I pictured all the Generals with smoke coming out of their ears as they worked some issue. I still didn’t know. Then he talked about the crash into the WTC. “What the hell are you talking about?” I asked. “You haven’t heard? Where have you been?” he asked. Out here doing my job, now what the hell is going on?” He told me we were under attack. I couldn’t comprehend what he was telling me, so I went into our ready room and saw the images of the second plane flying into the south tower. I was stunned for about 20 seconds, then knew we needed to get focused and be ready for whatever tasking we would receive.

I immediately called my supervisors together and had them round everyone up and form them up in the hangar. I needed to talk to them. I don’t really remember what I said, but it was along the lines of “Our country is under attack. We need to put our personal thoughts and feelings aside and focus on what we’re trained to do.” “Anyone with family in NYC or Washington, get with your supervisors after the brief.” “I know you’re worried about them, but I’m sure you won’t be able to get through to them for a day or two, so try to contact them, but don’t focus on it.” I told them to focus on what we needed to do to get our jets combat ready. We’re trained and ready, let’s show them so when the commanders start looking for jets; we’re right at the top, ready to roll.

I told the supervisors to keep an extra eye on anyone with family in the area, not to let happening. I told them to let everyone take breaks when they needed to get updated on what was happening, but to make sure they didn’t forsake their jobs. I didn’t need to worry since our biggest problem was getting folks to take breaks; no one wanted to stop working. Those men and women, some no more than pimple faced kids, had to be ordered to eat or rest. These people were (ARE) DEDICATED. I was so proud of each and every one of them, and humbled to have been leading them.

We got our jets ready and were standing at the ready, wondering what our tasking would be. Since I was the Lead Pro Super, I had to attend the pilots briefing to let them know what the status of our fleet was. As I sat there, listening to the latest intel I couldn’t help but feel for the first time in my life, that I was glad I wasn’t a fighter pilot. I looked at their faces as they were briefed on the possibility and rules of engagement of engaging and firing on an unarmed airliner. I couldn’t read their expressions, but know they had to be conflicted inside. I know they would have performed their duty had they been tasked, but was praying they wouldn’t have to. Thank God they didn’t.

The rest of the day was a mixture of meetings, giving and taking orders, and praying. Praying for the victims, praying for our leaders, praying for those who would be asked to go into harms way. Yes, it was only a few hours since the towers fell, but I know we would be sending folks into harms way.

Later that night, after working a 17 hour day, I was able to call my wife. She was on her Air National Guard weekend and 500 miles from home. She told me they had been on a C-130 getting ready to fly a training mission, when they suddenly shut down the engines and told to get off the plane and return to their squadron. After they were briefed, they went into action putting together emergency response kits (her unit is and Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron) and verifying everyone’s qualifications in case they were called to help. She too had a very long day and told me the folks in her squadron were just as dedicated and focused as mine were. I had no doubt about that; the people who serve, whether active duty or Guard or Reserve, are a patriotic, dedicated, honorable population. I’m humbled to be in their company.

While talking with my wife that night, we finally allowed ourselves to grieve. We cried on each others shoulder, even though it was over a phone line. We prayed together. We cried together. We comforted each other.

Since that day, we keep the victims, their families, and those in harms way in our daily prayers. We refuse to forget; please don’t forget either.

The Ultimate Friend

2011-08-25T17:23:00.002-06:00

I wish we never had to lose another of America's finest, but know that until the job is done, stories like this will keep coming up.

God Bless our warriors and their families. Have a tissue ready...

Dogs really are man's best friend and I hope Hawkeye finds peace someday. My prayers are with Jon Tomulison's family as well as all who died in that horrible attack.

2011-08-19T10:50:00.002-06:00

Once again the gubmint is trying to "fix" it's financial woes on the backs of those who serve the greater good. I'll fight this proposal tooth and nail to the end. Military members have to serve honorably for 20 years to be eligible for their retirement and they do so in far off and oftentimes hostile environments. They have earned their retirement.

Now, if Congress is willing to forgo their retirements (which they are eligible for after a mere 5 years) then we can start to talk, until then, I say this to our elected officials: Keep your fucking hands OFF military retirement.

Military members who complete 20 years of honorable service are eligible for 40% of the average of their last 3 years pay, with a 2.5% increase for each year after 20. So if a person serves 25 years, they are eligible for 52.5% of the average of their final three years of pay. To be eligible for 80%, a member has to serve for 36 years. In comparison, the starting amount for a member of congress' retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of their final pay. Remember, congress is eligible for their retirement after only 5 years; oh yeah, and they are not in harms way.

He Has My Attention...

2011-05-25T09:43:00.002-06:00

Herman Cain has definately gotten my attention lately. He's saying things I've said for years and so far, he's making alot of sense.

It's way too early to tell who I'll support, but right now I'm leaning towards Mr. Cain.

I'll keep you posted!

2011-05-13T14:24:00.004-06:00

Outstanding!

Okay, Blogger just pissed me off; I posted two updates over the last few days, and now they're just f'ing GONE.

Anyway, I know alot of you have seen this video, but I just had to post it... Had to.

WTF?? Now they're back???

You've Got to be Kidding Me

2011-05-11T13:46:00.000-06:00

Deb has a post you HAVE to read. I'm still laughing!

It's Not Unusual...

2011-05-11T13:31:00.000-06:00

God Bless our Troops!

I'm sure many of you have seen this, but I can't help myself! I had to post it. I. Had. To. ;)

I Hope I'm Wrong

2011-05-03T17:21:00.003-06:00

So now it starts...

I hope I’m wrong, but I foresee the writing on the wall. The leftist bleeding hearts are going to start putting pressure on SEAL Team Six for killing OBL instead of capturing him. I hope to hell these warriors are not scapegoated and charged with murder, as so often seems to happen.

It seems to me, as an admitted pessimist when it comes to this administration and the MSM, that ground work is being laid to vilify yet again our great military. I hope I’m wrong.

Keep an eye on this folks and stand ready to defend the SEALs if necessary.

2011-04-28T17:57:00.002-06:00

My dear friend Cara wrote a nice little piece about Queen Elizabeth and it made me think of the two years I lived in England, and my feelings about the country and the Royals. I suppose I am an anglophile. I loved living in England and most everything I came in contact with there.

I remember being shocked at warm beer served in the pubs, and now, almost 25 years since my first pint, I still can’t stand most American beer.

My wonderful wife still doesn’t understand why I love British comedies; she just doesn’t get the humor. I personally can’t stand the American version of “The Office”, but will roll on the floor watching my dvds of the original British version. Sheila knows what I’m talking about there!

As for the Royals; I’ve always admired Queen Elizabeth. If her actions during WWII weren’t enough, then the way she has served her nation as Queen speak volumes of her character. I don’t necessarily agree with a monarchy per se, but I do respect how she has handled her position.

I remember being given the day off of work for Charles and Diana’s wedding, so a few of us went down to London town to check it out. WOW Talk about pomp and circumstance! I can’t even begin to describe the atmosphere that day. Of course, we were young GIs loose on the big town, so there were a lot of pints involved, so a lot of the day was lost…

I remember being in London on July 20th, 1982 when the IRA detonated two bombs killing four members of the Blues and Royals, seven of their horses, seven members of the Royal Green Jackets, and injuring over 50 others; both civilian and military. We had left Hyde Park an hour or so before the explosion, and learned of it when we entered a pub. The carnage we saw that day on the “telly” in that pub still stick in my mind.

I’ve visited England several times over the years, and I never get tired of it. As a self-proclaimed history buff, I love touring the country and just experiencing it. I still remember being 19 years old, standing at Warwick Castle and suddenly realizing how lucky I was to be a hick cowboy from a small mountain town in Colorado, and actually seeing places I learned about in high school history. Many people I went to school with still to this day, have rarely traveled outside our valley, let alone clear across the Atlantic.

Basic Finances for Government Idiots

2011-04-22T17:54:00.001-06:00

I just don’t get it. Do our elected officials really think we the American people are stupid? Granted, by our own actions we’ve help perpetrate that idea by continually, year after year, allowing them to get away with their lies. We allow them to spout worthless platitudes that sound good, but don’t say anything of substance. Then we allow them to keep right on passing legislation that puts our nation further and further in debt and at risk.

The most important lesson I ever learned was to think critically. To LISTEN and analyze what is being said; to look beyond the words and find what is really being said.

For example, when president O says that “We cannot continue to spend more than we bring in…” I know what he’s saying is “raise taxes”; not “let’s reduce our spending”. And we keep letting them do it to us!

I wish I could get away with that sort of mentality. “Hey boss, I’m spending more than I make, so I need you to give me more money.” Hey, that should work right?

For those of you like me who are feeling the pinch of $4 + a gallon of fuel and rising costs on just about every conceivable consumable, without an increase in wages, we’ve had to make some adjustments to our budgets. I’m spending less. I’m doing without certain things and trying to be as efficient as possible.

What I HAVEN’T done is borrow more money to offset the increased living expenses. In other words, I haven’t raised my debt ceiling.

I’m not surprised that president O’s first and seemingly only reaction is to increase the government’s income. He did the same thing during his campaign; whenever funds were slowing down or lacking, he just went out and stroked the sheep to give him more money. He raised over $745 MILLION dollars (with vast amounts from questionable sources) for his campaign, nearly double what McCain raised. The point is, it never occurs to him to adjust spending, just go get more money!

Sorry Mr. president, but you can’t just keep telling us to give give and then give some more. You need to make dramatic and drastic cuts to spending if we’re ever going to get out of this mess.

How about this Mr. president; ask all the non-producing citizens (and especially non-citizens who are getting benefits from Uncle Sam) to give a little. Have them give up some freebies that us producers are paying for.

They talk about the evil corporations and how they’re sending jobs overseas or paying very little in taxes. They rely on our ambivalence or ignorance to not ask why corporations are doing these things. Because our elected leaders have hobbled them with so many regulations that they can’t afford NOT to send jobs overseas, or that THEY are the ones who wrote the tax codes, GIVING the corporations LEGAL loopholes to reduce their tax liability. Who’s really to blame?

And why is it that when they raise taxes on the “rich”, my taxes still seem to go up? Hmmmm, interesting phenomenon.

I’m by no means the smartest guy around, but I listen and think for myself. I ask questions instead of blindly accepting what is being said.

WARNING Adult Language Ahead

It’s time to quit fucking around and pull your head out of your ass Mr. president, and everyone on Capitol Hill. Stop fucking lying to me; I’m smarter than you think. Be a leader and make some tough calls for once. If you’re not willing to do that, then take your ass back to Chicago and go organize a community or two.

Patrick the Pitbull

2011-04-13T12:34:00.004-06:00

I meant to post this the other day when I first heard about it, but time and other things got away from me again (yeah, big shock there!).

Time and time again I’m reminded why I have such little faith in the human race. More often than not, I think I’d be so much happier if I could close off my life from the rest of the world and just live my life with my animals and a (very) select few other people. I know the few readers of my blog will agree with me that this story is beyond words. I’m so angry that it’s a damn good thing that Kisha Curtis lives in New Jersey and not anywhere near the Rude1 Ranch, since firearms are plenty around here.

I’ve never been a real fan of pitbulls, simply because my canine companions are generally of the working dog or retriever breeds. However, I know that pitbull’s generally get an unfounded bad rap simply because of the idiot humans who abuse them and train them to be violent. Plus the media inflates bad press about the breed and fuels more fear of them. This breed, more than any other, has suffered severely from misinformation.

No matter your feelings about pitbulls, this story should piss you off beyond measure. No creature deserves this horrific treatment. I wouldn’t have blamed this dog if he was afraid of and/or violent towards people after how he was abused. Thankfully, he appears to recognize the love and care he is finally getting and isn’t harboring any ill will, however, time will tell.

I can hardly look at the pictures and videos without tearing up and seeing the red rage. I was almost physically ill the first time I saw the pictures. Words can’t describe the magnitude of my anger towards the piece of shit who did this to that poor dog.

Heros come in all shapes and sizes, in all kinds of places. We usually think heros are our military, law enforcement, fire fighters and medical professionals; and rightly so. However, the garbageman who took the time to look into the garbage bag and call the authorities is a hero to me, as well as the staff taking care of Patrick.

**UPDATE**

Patrick Seems to be doing quite well, all things considered, under the loving care he is recieving. He still has a long way to go, but he is a fighter in the good sense of the word. His pictures show what a special little guy he is.

Thank you to those caring for him so well, and to all who wish him well.

Oh and I see the piece of Shite (my Scots coming out) Kisha Curtis is out on $1,000 bail. I hope they throw the book at her and then smack her in the head with it.

Amazing: Channing Moss and the RPG

2011-02-09T08:59:00.004-07:00

I found this link through Broadside and had to share it. There are graphic images so be forewarned; however, I dare anyone, even all you steely-eyed warriors out there to not shed a few tears.

God Bless our brothers and sisters in harms way. Thank God for our military medical professionals, and everyone who helped save this fine young warrior.

Horse Crap

2011-02-01T16:01:00.003-07:00

Greetings from the West dear friends! Evidently, I’ve severely neglected this ole blog for quite some time. Sadly, life does get in the way, and I guess I don’t think most of my ramblings warrant posting. Oh well, who gives a shit anyway right?

Actually, I thought that winter would bring things at work to a crawl since the farmers can’t do much, but not so! We’ve been super busy and even behind a bit, so I’m pushing the guys hard to get caught up before planting season.
We’ve been pretty lucky in the winter weather department this year; very little snow except up in the high(er) country. I say higher because the ole Rude1 homestead sits just over 9,000’. We’ve also had fairly decent temps this year, with only a few really cold days and nights. Much nicer than the -28 for months we had the last couple of years. I know the farmers want more snow, but I’m just happy I don’t have to plow every other day.

So I was reading BR’s blog the other day and he mentioned how Smokey was being a bit of a pain for the farrier. Well, I suppose I should have paid better attention because my mare and I had a little disagreement on Sunday as I was trying to pull her shoes and trim her feet.

I really should know better since she has always been a bit finicky about having her feet done, but usually she just pulls a bit and tries to step on my feet, then quiets down and lets me do what I have to do. Things were going well at first, she was well behaved as I pulled her front shoes and trimmed her hooves. Things started going south when I started on her hinds. First, she kept pulling her foot out of my hands and stomping her hind feet. We went back and forth a few times like this with her showing her impatience and me talking and rubbing her till she let me pick them back up. Finally, she kicked me in the calf as I was pulling her left rear shoe. Well now, we can’t have that so I went and longed her around for about 10 minutes. She was bucking and showing her dislike for a few minutes, then calmed down and did what she was supposed to. She was listening and obeying my commands like she always does, so I figured she was ready to finish her feet. Boy was I wrong!

I went back to working on her left hind when she pulled her foot out again and tried to kick me. So back to longing we go. I worked her to the left for about 10 minutes and she did perfect. Just as I started her to the right, she came in close and was crowding me. As I stepped back away from her, she kicked back and caught me right below the ribcage, dead on. Now I’d like to tell you that I cowboyed up and ignored the pain while getting her back under control, but that would be a damn lie gentle reader. The fact is, I don’t care who you are, when a horse kicks you full on in the stomach, you go sailing back flat on your back as you curl up into a little ball sucking for air. The good news is that she didn’t catch me directly in the ribs, but the bottom rib on my left side is either cracked or at least severely bruised. Who cares, there isn’t much you can do for it either way, so why go get an x-ray? I can tell it isn’t broken so I’m just taking it a little easy for a while.

In hindsight, I should have known better. She is notorious for being picky about her feet. Usually, it’s just a little inconvenient, but I think that since she’s been in the pasture all winter with little to do, and with the weather starting to get really nice (that is until today) she is getting a bit of spring fever. My wife was upset at my mare but I reminded her what Jeanette Walls wrote in Half Broke Horses; she was just being a horse and really it was my fault. Besides, by the time I was able to get back up and figure out I wasn’t seriously hurt, too much time had passed to correct the mare as she wouldn’t understand the why she was being corrected. Not to worry, we’re going to spend a lot of time teaching her to be more respectful.

So now you know the latest news from the Rude1 Ranch. I’m a bit sore, but none the worse for wear. The mare is running around the pasture with half a pedicure, but we’ll finish that up once I can bend over again.

Goodbye Little One

2010-09-11T12:53:00.010-06:00

Two days ago one of my dogs died. It's still a terrible shock since he was the younger one of our dogs, and the most active. In fact, he had surgery about six months ago and the vet said he would have guessed his age at 6 or 7, not the 11 he was.

Reno was one of those dogs that everybody loved, and he loved everyone back as only a dog can; unconditionally and with all his heart. He was a constant source of laughter for us. here.

The night he died was like any other with him dividing his time between sitting next to me and laying his head on my knee, visiting everyone in the room hoping for a pat on the head, belly rub or a treat to eat. He was fine.

I went to bed and he followed me a laid down on the floor next to my side of the bed, just like he has for 11 years. Sometime during the night, he got up, went upstairs and laid down under my desk. That's where I found him the next morning; just laying there like he was asleep. He must have died around 3:00 am.

I buried him on the hill beside the house, near where he would lay in the afternoons watching the house. I wish I had the words to say what that little guy meant to me and my family. All I can do is thank the Lord for blessing us with such a good friend and companion. He will forever be in my heart as my little Reno-bambino.

Good-bye little buddy, I love you.

Why I'll Never Forget

2010-09-11T12:46:00.003-06:00

Nine years, yet it still feels like it was just a few months ago. Vivid images and when I stop and think about it, I still feel the raw pain and emotion. I don't think I'll ever get over it. Acctually I hope I never do.

It started out as just another normal day; the weather was nice, not perfect, but not bad. The sky was blue with only a few high altitude clouds. It would be a full day of flying for our squadron of F-16s. Again, nothing really out of the ordinary; we had a full schedule planned and my job as the Lead Production Superintendent or Pro Super, was to ensure we had all the jets covered with appropriate mechanics. Their job was to either support the active flying or fix those that had mechanical problems. Just another day…

I spent the early morning like all others; in a meeting going over the condition and plan for each of our 27 assigned jets. Little did I or any of us know how the world was changing while we discussed aircraft status. After the meeting, I went out to my truck to get the daily work started. I was coordinating with the mechanics the who, what and where we would do that day when we had an odd radio call. “Attention all radios this net, this is the MOC (Maintenance Operations Center) with an announcement. All local flying has been cancelled; please respond with your call sign.” “Rude 1 copies” I replied but didn’t really think much about it. Cancelling flying is rare, but not uncommon in the military, but usually I have an idea of why; bad weather, an accident or something like that. This day however, I was just thankful we didn’t have to worry about flying our schedule, but could instead; focus our efforts on the several jets that needed maintenance. Boy was I in for a shock.

I still didn’t have any idea what was going on since I didn’t have the radio on. In my truck, I had to listen to two tactical radios and use my cell phone, so I didn’t play the radio. I was briefing my supervisors about the change in the schedule when another odd radio call interrupted me…”Attention all radios this net, this is the MOC with an announcement. Implement THREATCON BRAVO. I repeat implement THREATCON BRAVO. Please respond with your call sign, MOC out.” “Rude 1” I said then wondered aloud if there was an exercise I wasn’t aware of. I told my supervisors to get moving with BRAVO procedures, and then went over to a Security Policeman driving around the flightline. I asked him if he knew what was going on, but he was as clueless as I was. I couldn’t really call the MOC to ask, since they were probably eye-ball deep in what ever was happening, besides, I knew I would be briefed soon enough. Right now, we just needed to follow orders and get things done.

About ten minutes later, the Chief of Maintenance came out to my truck and started talking about smoke boiling out of the Pentagon. I thought he was talking metaphorically, you know, I pictured all the Generals with smoke coming out of their ears as they worked some issue. I still didn’t know. Then he talked about the crash into the WTC. “What the hell are you talking about?” I asked. “You haven’t heard? Where have you been?” he asked. Out here doing my job, now what the hell is going on?” He told me we were under attack. I couldn’t comprehend what he was telling me, so I went into our ready room and saw the images of the second plane flying into the south tower. I was stunned for about 20 seconds, then knew we needed to get focused and be ready for whatever tasking we would receive.

I immediately called my supervisors together and had them round everyone up and form them up in the hangar. I needed to talk to them. I don’t really remember what I said, but it was along the lines of “Our country is under attack. We need to put our personal thoughts and feelings aside and focus on what we’re trained to do.” “Anyone with family in NYC or Washington, get with your supervisors after the brief.” “I know you’re worried about them, but I’m sure you won’t be able to get through to them for a day or two, so try to contact them, but don’t focus on it.” I told them to focus on what we needed to do to get our jets combat ready. We’re trained and ready, let’s show them so when the commanders start looking for jets; we’re right at the top, ready to roll.

I told the supervisors to keep an extra eye on anyone with family in the area, not to let happening. I told them to let everyone take breaks when they needed to get updated on what was happening, but to make sure they didn’t forsake their jobs. I didn’t need to worry since our biggest problem was getting folks to take breaks; no one wanted to stop working. Those men and women, some no more than pimple faced kids, had to be ordered to eat or rest. These people were (ARE) DEDICATED. I was so proud of each and every one of them, and humbled to have been leading them.

We got our jets ready and were standing at the ready, wondering what our tasking would be. Since I was the Lead Pro Super, I had to attend the pilots briefing to let them know what the status of our fleet was. As I sat there, listening to the latest intel I couldn’t help but feel for the first time in my life, that I was glad I wasn’t a fighter pilot. I looked at their faces as they were briefed on the possibility and rules of engagement of engaging and firing on an unarmed airliner. I couldn’t read their expressions, but know they had to be conflicted inside. I know they would have performed their duty had they been tasked, but was praying they wouldn’t have to. Thank God they didn’t.

The rest of the day was a mixture of meetings, giving and taking orders, and praying. Praying for the victims, praying for our leaders, praying for those who would be asked to go into harms way. Yes, it was only a few hours since the towers fell, but I know we would be sending folks into harms way.

Later that night, after working a 17 hour day, I was able to call my wife. She was on her Air National Guard weekend and 500 miles from home. She told me they had been on a C-130 getting ready to fly a training mission, when they suddenly shut down the engines and told to get off the plane and return to their squadron. After they were briefed, they went into action putting together emergency response kits (her unit is and Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron) and verifying everyone’s qualifications in case they were called to help. She too had a very long day and told me the folks in her squadron were just as dedicated and focused as mine were. I had no doubt about that; the people who serve, whether active duty or Guard or Reserve, are a patriotic, dedicated, honorable population. I’m humbled to be in their company.

While talking with my wife that night, we finally allowed ourselves to grieve. We cried on each others shoulder, even though it was over a phone line. We prayed together. We cried together. We comforted each other.

Since that day, we keep the victims, their families, and those in harms way in our daily prayers. We refuse to forget; please don’t forget either.

Crappy Update...

2010-07-11T13:37:00.002-06:00

Just a quick crappy little update to let all four of my readers that I'm still alive.

A few fun tidbits...
1) Had a black eye for a while after a wrestling match inside the horse trailer with one of my horses... Some horses can really be a big pain in the ... wait for it...

eye.

2) Had another bear sighting the other day, actually the day I got my black eye (thanks again Gibbs). After I went up to the house to wash the blood off from our little trailer dance, I looked out at the pasture and all three horses were staring at the driveway where it crosses the creek, with their ears pricked up. I thought it was probably a coyote or something, but then a black bear came running down the drive, across the creek, and off into the thicket. Pretty cool living here!

Then, a couple of days after the bear sighting, there was a bear paw print in the dust on the back window of the Jeep. I hope he doesn't come back and scratch it; how do you explain to the insurance company that a bear scratched up your jeep, and now you need a new paintjob?

Things that make you go hmmmmmm.

Later taters!

Still Around

2010-04-20T21:28:00.002-06:00

Just a quick note for the couple of folks who stop in now and then... I'm still here! I started a new job and this time of year is CRAZY busy. A poor excuse, but the only one I have!

Keep checking in, I'll post stuff as soon as I have a chance!

Inigo!

2010-03-30T13:50:00.003-06:00

I'm so getting one of THESE T-shirts. It says it all on so many levels.

Aviation Pr0n v2.0 :)

2010-03-26T15:51:00.004-06:00

Aviation Pr0n at it's lowest form.

Just for you Buck, I know you'll love it!

I'm not smart enough to get the whole thing to show up, so here is the link.

Top 10 Lowest Flybys

General Ron Fogelman; Real Leadership

2010-03-25T11:51:00.009-06:00

Recently, I've been thinking about leadership. Actually, I think about it all the time, a result of nearly a quarter century of military service. Over my life, I have been blessed to observe real leadership in many forms. From my Grandpa who never learned to read very well, or to write little more than his name, but taught his sons, daughters and grandchildren the value of hard work, honesty and integrity. He did this quietly through his own example. From countless junior and senior NCOs throughout the years. I remember their names and lessons, both good and bad vividly. They taught me the value and art of leadership either directly or merely through their actions. And from many junior and senior officers too numerous to mention.

However, there have always been a few standouts; those that clearly had a significant impact on my leadership style that I can pinpoint. One in particular was General Ron Fogelman, a former AF Chief of Staff. I first met then Lt Gen Fogelman in Korea. He was the 7th AF Commander, and I was an E5 Staff Sergeant working on the F-16. As the 7th CC, he didn't get to fly as much as he wanted I'm sure, but whenever he did, I was always impressed as to his approachability, willingness to find out how things were going "out on the flightline" direct from those of us who were in the middle of it, and lack of pretentiousness. He wanted the unvarnished truth of how things were going. Sure, he got briefings all the time, but usually from folks 3 or more times removed from the action, and who usually sugar-coated the info. He endured the usual pomp and circumstance that always accompanies VIPs, but he never seemed very comfortable with it. He was a tough commander but he was fair and made decisions based on what was right, not what was popular or politically correct. He took the heat for his decisions and didn't pass the buck. I even had the pleasure of meeting his wife, known as Miss Jane, during a photo op for their Christmas card. She too made an impression on me that day. She was polite and pleasant to even those of us who were mere grease monkeys. Classy is how I would describe her.

Years later, he was appointed as the AF Chief of Staff amid a bit of grumbling and controversy due to his being a rather junior General. He continued his steadfast leadership style of doing what was right and taking full responsibility for his actions. Integrity and Honor were not buzz words to General Fogelman, they were defining, unwavering commitments to him. He faced some very sensitive issues during his watch, and finally resigned a year early in what I feel is one of the most courageous acts of leadership. He faced the problems with integrating women into the cockpit of offensive aircraft, to the aftermath of the Khobar Tower bombings with distinction. From his success in the Kelly Flinn case to his resignation over the politically motivated scape-goating of Brig. Gen. Terry Schwalier for the Khobar Towers attack, General Fogelman showed what real leadership is.

I'm proud to have served with so many fine, dedicated, real leaders, and sadly watch as they seem to becoming a dying breed. I read once that the Navy used to be made up of wooden ships and iron men, but now consisted of iron ships and wooden men. I know that is not entirely true; that in today's military there are still plenty of iron men and women. However, the civilian side of the leadership equation is sadly lacking in that department. I only hope and pray that the iron men and women survive, and go on to change the paradigm of civilian leadership.

I found this article from several months ago that describes General Fogelman's resignation and compares his leadership to what happened recently with Obama's criminal (in my opinion) delay in getting needed troops to Afghanistan. Pay particular attention to General Fogelman's statement:

“As chief of staff of the United States Air Force, charged with providing military advice to the civilian leadership that the civilian leadership did not value for whatever reason, I had become ineffective as a spokesman. This was a crowd that took any kind of military advice that ran counter to administration policy or desires as a sign of disloyalty on the part of the person providing the advice. That was one element; the other was based on what I had seen and the way the Khobar Towers tragedy had been handled. I simply lost respect and confidence in the leadership that I was supposed to be following.”

Iron man.

Call to Arms

2010-03-22T14:18:00.006-06:00

I'm stumped. And I'm scared. The country I love and willing to die for is being fundamentally changed into something I don't recognize; where personal achievement and success is punished by the government. Where the very foundations of this nation are being destroyed by those who are sworn to protect her. Each and every member of Congress took an oath very similar to the one I took over and over during my military service; ...to SUPPORT and DEFEND the CONSTITUTION of the United States against ALL ENEMIES, foreign and DOMESTIC... The apathy of the American people is appalling. To let our elected officials get away with destroying the fabric of the greatest nation in the history of man, is sickening. The greed of the non-contributing citizen coupled with the guilt of many for achieving success while others fail, added to the power-drunk politicians equals an environment that could very well be the downfall of America as we know it.

Healthcare is the first step and if we don't get off our backsides and stop them right now, in their tracks, America will no longer be the "Shinning city on the hill" the world looks to in times of trouble. She will no longer be a beacon of truth and light to the down-trodden masses. Instead, she will become a used up whore.

It's time to stand up or stand aside. Pray endlessly for our country. Attend functions, campaign for worthy candidates and without fail, write, call and visit your representatives that voted or otherwise supported this disastrous legislation and let them know you will do everything in your power to see them run out of town on a rail.

God save us from our "representatives".

UPDATE

Bob Lonsberry has a great piece over at his site.

2010-03-09T14:11:00.003-07:00

As usual, my friend Cara has a terrific analysis of this illuminating poll.

Go over and give it a read; you won't be disappointed.

Save the SEALs

2010-03-05T14:19:00.002-07:00

The Washington Times nails the issue of the three Navy SEALs being Court -Martialed for allegedly punching that dirt bag terrorist Ahmed Hashim Abed (you know the one, the slime bag who murdered, mutilated, burned and hung the American contractors) in the gut.

These warriors need to be commended, not only for capturing the slug, but for exercising restraint in not kicking the living shit out of the asshole.

The last paragraph sums up the situation cleanly;

"This argument (letting the CM go forward to prove their innocence and clear their names) would carry more weight if the SEALs could get a fair trial. But in the current politicized atmosphere and with an administration that goes out of its way to placate Muslim sentiment, it's not a sure thing that the accused would be vindicated. Having the charges dropped is preferable to seeing these young men railroaded to serve the political designs of the White House. That would be a fiasco indeed".

I Don't Know Which One To Buy

2010-03-02T11:39:00.005-07:00

I've always wanted a nice lever action rifle in either .44 or .45 long colt caliber. I think I'll get one this summer, but I'm not sure which one to buy.

There is the Uberti 1860 Henry,

The Henry Big Boy,

or the Uberti 1866 Yellowboy.

Decisions decisions...

Scary Shit

2010-03-02T08:37:00.002-07:00

This is scary. The economy is in a death spiral and unless it is stopped, and stopped ASAP, we're going down.

Petulant Jackass

2010-02-25T12:43:00.003-07:00

What a spoiled little jackass we have running the country. Instead of arguing his point, he tries to bully his position. "The election is over..." in other words, shut up. We're playing in my yard so I make the rules.

As the 2 or three people who read this blog know, I'm vehemently opposed to this so called health care reform. I'm sick of the semantics and creative financing touted as being a good thing. For example, the latest cry from the left is that the insurance companies want to raise their rates in spite of the fact that they made billions in profits. Well, let's take a look at that. First of all, not all health insurance companies made such large profits, Here is the latest info I could find. Secondly, the amount of profit doesn't mean anything. It's the profit MARGIN that tells whether or not a company is gouging the customer. Anyone who has run a business knows that anything under a 7% profit margin is near impossible to stay in business. So what is the health care insurance average profit margin? 3.4%. The reason for the large profits is the VOLUME of sales, not the gouging of customers. The only way you can sustain a business on 3.4% profit is by large volumes. Adult beverages averaged over 25% profit. Where's the out cry there?

I have a vested interest in health care reform; my lovely wife is a health care provider. Right now, her clinic is losing money, mainly for two reasons. First, Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements are so low that they are having to refuse new patients with these programs. Second, the other insurance companies are running scared (my opinion) and are not reimbursing in a timely manner.

Another popular line out there now is the promise "...not to add one dime to our deficit." or "The plan will be deficit neutral." Sounds good right? Um, not so much cause you see the 1 plus TRILLION dollars has to come from somewhere, and the ONLY place the US government gets money to spend is from TAXES. Nothing is free. They try and spin it so it sounds free, but the only way it can happen is to raise taxes or cut spending somewhere. Yeah right, cut over a trillion dollars somewhere else in the budget? Ain't happening.

I'm not the smartest guy in the room although I do have an IQ higher than Joe Biden; but the fact is simple, basic economics proves that this approach to health care reform is the wrong way. Besides, if it was so f'ing good, why is congress exempting themselves from it?

Whew, my blood pressure is going up, and the way things are going, I won't be able to get health care, so I'd better shut up now.

Telling It Like It Is

2010-02-16T14:30:00.003-07:00

This guy is giving me hope for our government.

It's about damn time that the clowns in office figure out that business as usual ain't gonna cut it anymore.

The Price of Freedom

2010-02-16T09:51:00.003-07:00

Go here. Once again, Bob Lonsberry gets it right. Everyone should read his column.

God Bless USMC Lance Corporal Lance Smith and his family.

The Freedom to Breath

2010-02-15T12:56:00.003-07:00

There is a bill on the table in Arizona that needs to be passed. Colorado needs to copy this bill and pass it ASAP.

God save the 10th amendment!

Aviation Pr0n :)

2010-02-11T09:37:00.004-07:00

Military aviation was my profession for most of my life, and now falls into my fetish category. This video shows the simply amazing maneuverability of the Raptor (F22).

Boy, I can see why congress decided to stop production on it. I mean c'mon, who needs Air Superiority anyway? We'll just step up production of this little wonder instead.

Thanks to Laura for the video link.

Horses

2010-02-10T08:38:00.003-07:00

Horses are many things; companions, money pits, dangerous, gentle, healers, playful, hard workers; the list goes on and on. I've been blessed with good horses for the most part. Part of this I think is having a good eye and sound judgement when it comes to buying them. With one exception. :)

I've learned to listen to the old saying "never buy a pretty horse". Obviously, I don't take this literally, and neither do any serious horsemen (horsepeople?). I mean, a pretty horse has good conformation, which we all look for. What it means is not to make a purchase solely on the horses appearance. So, let me tell you about my pretty horse.

When we had to put down JT, we needed to replace him. A friend of ours said he had a couple he needed to get rid of, so off we went to have a look. When we got to the corral, there they were, two geldings. One was a big dapple grey and the other an average looking sorrel. The grey was one of the nicest looking horses I've ever seen, and I immediately wanted him. (never buy a pretty horse) He was difficult to get near, he was very nervous and skittish. (never buy a pretty horse) Finally, after about an hour of trying to get near him, he finally allowed me to touch him, although he was still very nervous. He was good with me handling his feet, and putting a halter on him, but he never really seemed to relax. The sorrel on the other hand, was really peaceful.

We talked to the guy who had started the grey as a two year old, and he had great things to say about him. Said he was a good horse from what he remembered. When we told him that the horse had been turned out to the pasture and not ridden from the day he came home from the trainer, he suggested we take him back to the trainer he had worked for when he started that horse.

Well, we knew the trainer as well so we asked him about the grey. He said he was a good horse, but only had 90 days on him and was still pretty green when he went back to the owner. He agreed to take him back for another 30 days and work with him. By this time, we (I) had decided that we needed to have this horse (never buy a pretty horse!), so we picked him and the sorrel up (the sorrel was basically thrown into the deal for free) and took them to the vet for a vet check, teeth float and jock cleaning. Both were pronounced sound and healthy by the vet. We called our friend and said that since they were fit, we'd take them.

The grey's registered name was Costa Lotta Chex. Little did we know how apt his name was...

While at the vets, Chex was given Rompun to relax him for the floating and jock cleaning. Here's where it starts to get exciting! I'm holding his halter, talking to him and rubbing his neck while the Vet is floating his teeth. All of the sudden, Chex goes down, knocking the Vet over and (luckily) through the door to the storage room. We later figured out that he fainted! He wasn't knocked out by the rompun but rather just passed out! I went down with him and as soon as he hit the floor, he came to and started thrashing trying to stand back up. If you've ever seen a horse trying to stand while agitated, on a concrete floor, you know it's not a gentle thing. I'm holding his halter, trying to stay clear while talking to him, trying to calm him down. Luckily, he recovered quickly and stood there nervously wondering what the hell just happened, just as I was! Thankfully, no one was hurt, including Chex. All that happened to him was a slight abrasion on his right front knee.

We loaded Chex and Jethro back in the trail and drove over to the trainers and dropped Chex off for his 30 day refresher course. Or so we thought. After 30 days, the trainer didn't think he was ready. I trust this guy completely. He has been training, working and showing for all of his life, plus he and his family are good friends with us. He was concerned that since my wife was an inexperienced rider, and Chex was still pretty green, he didn't want her to get hurt. So we left him there for another 30 days.

During the next 30 days, he brought my wife out and would let her ride Chex while he kept an eye on things. Chex was really good with her on him, but still never really relaxed. He was being worked 6 out of 7 days a week. Everything from ground work, round pen and arena work, to working cows on the ranch. He would do really good for a week or two, then out of the blue he would blow up. Strangely, he would only blow up with very experienced riders, never with my wife. This led to yet another 30 days at the trainers.

After the 90 days of consistent quality training, we decided to loan Chex out to anouther local rancher for the summer, to use up at his cow camp. Again, Chex did really good for about three weeks, then one morning...

C had been riding Chex everyday working cows for three weeks. This day, he saddled him up, stepped up into the saddle and as soon as his right foot was in the stirrup, Chex EXPLODED. Now C rode saddle broncs for nearly 20 years, and it takes quite a lot of horse to throw him. C told me later he couldn't remember ever riding a horse that bucked so hard. C stayed on him for quite some time, losing his hat, glasses, cell phone and finally a stirrup. At that point he decided to get off before he got really hurt. After he got back up, collected all his gear, and climbed back up on Chex, everything was fine.

We finally decided that Chex just wouldn't be a good fit with us and decided to sell him. Unfortunately, the horse market was in the crapper and we wanted to make sure who ever bought him knew exactly what they were getting. I tried to convince my wife to let me take him over to rodeo outfit I knew, but she didn't want that. Too bad, I thought it would be cool to hear the announer call out "...riding Costa Lotta Chex...". Oh well.

As luck would have it, a patient of my wifes was an old cowboy who had heard about Chex and wanted to see him. So we showed him, told him everything we could about him, and he offered us a deal we wound up taking. D is a big man. I mean a BIG man! What he proposed to us was a trade; his 15yr old appendix he used in the mountains for Chex. A big, stout, smart trail horse that would be safe for my wife. She rode him a few times, and finally decided to do the trade, with the stipulation that if either party was not satisfied, we would trade back with no hard feelings.

Well, we got to keep Jethro, who is a good horse, but getting on in years, and Taco, the wonder horse. Neither are what you'd call a pretty horse, but both are rock solid. D got a strong, athletic 9yr old that could in his words, "Carry my fat ass up and down the mountains all day long."

I'm still partial to dapple greys, and will own another someday. But I'll make damn sure I don't buy a pretty one, but rather a pretty damn good one.

Conservatism

2010-02-10T08:29:00.003-07:00

My friend Cara has a great post about Conservatism. Once again she writes what I want to say.

2010-02-02T15:23:00.002-07:00

He is at it again. All I can say is FUBO. Why is bipartisanship always defined as Republicans abdicating to Democrats? He is so full of shit it makes my head hurt. I listened to him today squawking about how the Repulicans need to stop obstructing and bring some ideas to the table. Again, let me say this. Better yet, in the one's own language... "Let me be perfectly clear," ttthe Repulicans have been bringing ideas, good ideas, to the table and the DEMONcrats are the ones dismissing them out of hand. Again, FUBO.

I never in my life thought I'd utter these words, but it might just be time for a revolution. Mr Obama can revolve his ass on the foot America needs to plant there.

FUBO; figure it out.

Un-frickin-believable: U.S. Military Serving as Chauffeurs, Babysitters for the Pelosi Kids: Receipts That Will Blow Your Mind

2010-02-01T11:00:00.002-07:00

Un-frickin-believable: U.S. Military Serving as Chauffeurs, Babysitters for the Pelosi Kids: Receipts That Will Blow Your Mind

Visit the site, see the evidence and get pissed.

speaker Pelosi needs to be brought up on charges ASAP.

2010-01-29T14:00:00.003-07:00

The president (yeah, not capitalized) never ceases to amaze me. He goes in front of the Republicans during their retreat and blames them for "obstructing" progress.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the democrats, his party, had a filibuster proof majority for a year, and failed to accomplish anything (thank God!). So how did the republicans obstruct progress?

The president is giving them credit for a lot more power than they actually held. How about this Mr. O; the American people put the (deserved) fear of God into your party (and hopefully into the rhinos) and prevented your socialistic agenda.

I just wonder what color the sky is in his little fantasy world. Gotta hand it to him, he has some set of huevos.

Country vs CIty

2010-01-14T17:31:00.003-07:00

I was cruising around the blogs today and found this one and it reminded me of a post I wrote back in 2006. I thought I'd re-post it for any who care. So...

One of the coolest things I’ve read in a long time was Sheila’s account of her experience traveling through Colorado many years ago. Recently, my wife and I were driving through Colorado and Utah and I kept thinking what it would be like for someone who spent their life in places like New York City, Chicago, LA, or even Atlanta, to see the West for the first time. How they would react if they were suddenly exposed to not only the wonder and majesty of the wide-open spaces and towering peaks, but to the lifestyle of those that live out here. Not those that live in Denver or Salt Lake City, but those that live in the many small high mountain towns; I mean really live there. Not the big city folks who spend a few weeks or months in their high country “cabins”; but the folks that make their living here. Those that work in the agriculture industry, or the family owned local restaurants.

I imagine it would be as foreign to them as my first big city experience was to me. I grew up in a town of 1500 people, and my high school class had 52 students before the dropouts and flunkies. This school had students from two different towns, and about a 20-mile radius of all the farms and ranches. The first time I was in a real metropolis scared the crap out of me. I was (still am to a degree) claustrophobic from the crowds of people, and not being able to see the horizon; sometimes for days! I imagine someone from the big city would have similar feelings of anxiety. Looking out across the horizon for 50 – 60 miles with no sign of civilization would be frightening as well as inspiring. I chuckle at the thought of having someone from NYC come visit us at the house we’re building back in my small hometown.

First, they would have to fly into Denver, and then be driven for 5 – 6 hours along two-lane state highways to a town with one traffic light. Finally, finish the trip out on eight miles of dirt road to a solar powered home with the nearest neighbor barely visible down the canyon. During the night, coyotes howling along the dark ridges would serenade them and if they get up early enough, they would see wild deer standing outside their window.

Mountain living is definitely laid back. I remember several years ago, my in-laws were visiting us in Colorado. My wife and I were camping on our property (where we’re now building our house) for two weeks in a tent, while the family stayed in town at an RV park. We were making dinner at the RV park, and realized we didn’t have any baked beans, and since it was a Sunday afternoon, the market was closed. (no such thing as a 24 hour market here!) I said I would run up to the camp and grab a can or two, which Grandma thought was ridiculous since it was close to 20 miles round trip. To us, it’s just part of life. You have to plan ahead and be willing to be flexible when needed. You want to see a movie? Fine, the nearest theater is at least 16 miles in the next town, and they have one screen!

Driving back through Utah that week, we were between Monticello and Moab as the sun was setting. The vermilion landscape was bathed in a blazing sunset of yellows, oranges, red, and purples; I wish I had the skill to describe the over-whelming BEAUTY of that vision. Its times like those that I’m reminded how lucky I am to live where I do. I like the big city, but Love my mountains. My Mom told me something a long time ago as I was leaving to join the Air Force; “The Mountains will always be here, and you will come back someday cause they get in you blood and will always draw you back.” In other words, I guess you can take the boy out of the mountains, but you can’t take the mountains out of the boy. Corny I know, but oh so true. I just wish everyone had the chance to REALLY see and experience them.

Am I The Only One Tired Of It All?

2010-01-06T13:15:00.003-07:00

Several things have been rambling around inside my noggin lately, but I just don't seem to have the energy to put it all down on paper.

Chris Dodd; I think his decision to not seek reelection is simply this: By not running, he is free to shove healthcare reform, cap and trade and any other legislation not wanted by the majority of Americans down our throat with out repercussion. Discuss.

Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab: He is NOT a SUSPECTED terrorist, nor did he ALLEGEDLY try and blow up flight 253. He IS a terrorist and he DID try and blow up flight 253. He set his fucking balls on fire trying to do it; that is conclusive to anyone I know.
Feel free to talk amongst yourselves.

Janet Napolitano: Can anyone be a more embarrassing head of an organization? Wait, oh yeah... Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid... Never mind.

TSA Agents: Good on them for identifying and detaining the guy in Bakersfield, but then being overcome by honey fumes? What a bunch of clowns.

Media and the Left: When will the statute of limitations run out on blaming GWB for everything? Your thoughts?

Sorry for the lack of deep thinking over here, I just ain't into it right now.

Attention all Horse Owners/Future Owners

2010-01-06T13:10:00.002-07:00

BR over at Buckskins Rule wrote a wonderful piece about the dedication and education required to be a good horse owner. I couldn't say it better, so go on over and read his thoughts.

Go on.

A Senatorial Non-response

2009-12-18T12:19:00.008-07:00

At least Senator Bennet responded to my letter. Senator Udall has a bad habit of turning off his phones and ignoring critical emails.

This is what Sen. Bennet wrote me, and my responses I'll be sending back to him.

Dear Rude1:   

Thank you for contacting me regarding comprehensive health care reform. I appreciate hearing from you.   

On Saturday, November 21st, the Senate voted to begin debate on The Patient Protection and Affordability Act. I also voted to start debate on this bill. We're going to go through weeks of debate and amendments to improve the bill.

Please explain to me Senator, why you and your colleagues insist on improving this bill, instead of starting at the beginning by identifying the problem (supposedly sky-rocketing insurance costs), narrowing the problem down to root causes, and writing a bill that will fix THAT problem instead of turning the world’s best healthcare system into a bureaucratic nightmare?

That is the right process to go through. If we stick with it and we do the hard work that people in Colorado and across the country need us to do, we will have made a meaningful difference.

Define meaningful difference please sir. Wouldn’t a better plan of action focus on making meaningful, quantifiable improvements?   

If we are going to solve the fiscal problems that threaten our economy and our kids’ future, we need to pass effective reform that will rein in skyrocketing health care costs.

Again, have you and the brilliant minds in Washington identified the root causes of these rising costs? If so, then why aren’t the lawyers who instigate frivolous malpractice suits for astronomical settlements being vilified instead of the insurance companies? You know, the companies who have to PAY the astronomical settlements, with money from their fees. Why is there such a vicious opposition to tort reform?

This bill will significantly reduce the deficit, bring down costs and provide affordable health insurance to all Americans.

How exactly, and what do you mean by significantly? Currently our annual deficit is close to 1.5 TRILLION dollars; that to me sir is significant. How can yet another government program reduce that when said program will cost over a trillion dollars itself? Stop telling me how great this is and start showing me the numbers. I’m sorry Senator, but your word on this is not good enough. I’m still confused as to how increased government programs can result in decreased deficit? Simple economics deems this impossible. Where will the money come from? How will the cost of health insurance go down? Will the decreased cost offset the increased taxes? Please don’t tell me that only the “rich” will be taxes to pay for this. We both know that is not true. Don’t tell me you are going to make existing programs more efficient to cover these costs. Instead sir, why don’t you make them more efficient NOW? Prove to me that you can and will fix the broken existing systems before you ask me to fund another sinking ship.

Now is the time to put politics and special interests aside and enact meaningful, fiscally-responsible health care reform that will put our families, our small businesses and our country on a sounder footing for generations to come.

Okay, I agree that we need to put aside politics and special interests. Now I expect YOU to adhere to your own words. From what I see out of Washington, your definition of putting politics and special interest aside means that anyone opposed to this farce of legislation needs to abandon their beliefs and embrace yours. Stop with the worthless rhetoric and put some action behind your own words; put your money where your mouth is.

Coloradans, like all Americans, want a health care system that affords real choice – so you can keep your doctor – and you can select the health coverage that best suits your needs and those of your family. Reform must also end annual double-digit increases to health care costs, and promote better access to affordable quality care for more families. Coloradans want these changes accomplished in a fiscally responsible way. We should be open to any and all options that will help achieve these goals.

Yes you should be Senator, but you are not. If you were, TORT reform would be at the forefront of this legislation, abortion provisions would be strictly forbidden, tax breaks for personal insurance would be key, and portable insurance, not allowance of pre-existing conditions, would be critical facets of the bill.   

Coloradans are frustrated because they are seeing double digit increases in their premiums, do not have adequate access to doctors and nurses and, in many cases, are being completely shut out of the system.

No sir, we are frustrated that YOU and your colleagues refuse to listen to what we’re saying. NO ONE is refused treatment in this country. I’d like for you to provide concrete, verifiable examples of these claims of people being “shut out of the system” or denied adequate access to healthcare.  We’re frustrated that our government continues to spend money like an out of control spoiled socialite with no sense of responsibility.  

Small businesses are under enormous pressure to stay competitive in this economy. As health care becomes more costly, small and even large businesses are dropping employer-based coverage, leaving individuals at-risk of unaffordable coverage, or denials due to pre-existing conditions.

Okay, let’s talk pre-existing conditions. Why can’t I buy auto insurance that will fix my previously wrecked car? Because it is fiscally irresponsible! You cannot expect anyone to pay a few hundred dollars in start up premiums and immediately put in a claim for tens of thousands and expect it to be paid! This argument for pre-existing conditions is ludicrous. No company can sustain itself (make a profit) by doing business this way. Health insurance is no different. A better option here Senator is to open interstate commerce for health insurance, thus making it portable and open to competition (which would not only reduce the pre-existing condition argument, but would in fact lower coverage costs; again, simple economics).

Colorado leads the nation in entrepreneurship and innovation and we cannot allow health care costs to continue to be such a burden to our businesses.   

We must also invest in cutting-edge medical research to save lives and bring competitive biotechnology jobs to Colorado. We must be committed to establishing a fair Medicare and Medicaid payment system that does not hurt providers and does not put beneficiaries at risk of losing coverage.

You are already too late on this one sir; reimbursement to providers is already so low that healthcare providers are forsaking new Medicare and Medicaid patients in droves. If you cannot provide just compensation to providers now, how do you propose to do so with even more people covered?

I will continue to support legislation to modernize our health care system by encouraging hospitals, nursing facilities, health centers, and physicians to keep investing in information technology, saving both lives and dollars.

Nice words Senator, but how do you expect them to pay for these investments? It seems to me that the money has to come from somewhere, and that somewhere will be increased costs to the patient for services, or through government assistance. Government assistance would mean higher taxes wouldn’t it sir? So how does this help lower costs again?   

I hear countless stories from Coloradans across our state about how year after year they have paid for private insurance only to discover that when they needed coverage the most, it wasn’t there.

Really Senator, countless stories just from within Colorado? I find that EXTREMELY hard to believe. In a state this size, I would figure there is probably less than 50 examples of this, and that is being generous. By the way Senator, did you happen to get any details of these examples? What were the circumstances behind your so-called countless examples? Were they legal citizens, did they pursue all available avenues to help themselves or did they simply throw up their hands and cry “Government save me!”?

The public option is a common-sense approach that would inject competition into the marketplace, drive down costs, and provide affordable health insurance for Coloradans.

Based on what, the example of Canada or Great Britain’s exemplary systems? Or maybe based on some computer model where only select data is input to guarantee the results you want?

If we are going to require people to have insurance, we need to make sure they have a choice.

Explain to me again WHY you feel the need to REQUIRE people to have insurance? Oh that’s right, you have never explained this yet…

A public option should be just that, an option, one of a number of choices – public, private, and non-profit – that families and small businesses can choose from. The public option should also be affordable, self-sustaining, and shouldn’t pay at Medicare reimbursement rates.

And why shouldn’t it pay at Medicare reimbursement rates? Is it because Medicare is a broken system, a sinking ship? Or are you proposing that this wonderful new option would pay at an even LESS rate than Medicare pays?   

As the Senate continues its work to address this crisis, I will keep your thoughts in mind. I value the input of fellow Coloradans in considering the wide variety of important issues and legislative initiatives that come before the Senate. I hope you will continue to inform me of your thoughts and concerns.

Crisis sir? What crisis? According to poll after poll after poll; the majority of Americans are happy with their healthcare. This “crisis” is a manufactured scenario that Washington has created to pander to non-contributing individuals and the guilt complex of the rest. Don’t worry Senator, I certainly will continue to keep you informed, but I’m not sure why since you have failed to address even one of my concerns. Instead you send me a letter that by all accounts reads like a talking point paper, yet fails to address or even mention a single point I raised. I say again, LISTEN to us and stop the lies!   

For more information about my priorities as a U.S. Senator, I invite you to visit my website at http://bennet.senate.gov/. Again, thank you for contacting me.     

Sincerely,   
Michael Bennet 
United States Senator  

Please do not respond to this email. To send another message please visit my website at http://bennet.senate.gov and fill out the webform for a prompt response. Thank you.

Amazing Model Builder

2009-12-18T11:45:00.006-07:00

Buck posted a video yesterday about an RC modeler in Germany who has the most amazing RC plane I've ever seen. I'm a sucker for just about anything dealing with aviation, so when I got an email this morning about this model builder, I had to post it.

Go check out the pictures of his models, they are amazing! The detail in second to none. I'm speechless, I really am.

Open Letter to Senators Michael Bennet and Mark Udall

2009-12-15T15:07:00.004-07:00

Senators Bennet and Udall,
It is my duty as a registered and active voter to inform you of my dismay and dissatisfaction at the direction you and your colleagues are heading with the so-called “Health Care Reform.” You Sir are preying on the fears of the uninformed and are ignoring the wants and wishes of the majority of citizens of Colorado and these United States. You Sir were sent to Washington to represent the interests of the people of the State of Colorado; not to get caught up in the frenzy of passing feel good legislation that has little or no value added benefit.

This proposed legislation is constantly being described as historic, revolutionary, urgent, or many other worthless platitudes that never actually say anything. We’re constantly being told that the “status quo” is no longer an option. Let me tell you something Senator; the “status quo” is a better option than what is currently being proposed. The “status quo” is still the best health care system in the world, where no one is left untreated, despite what the spin doctors say. Yes it has faults, yes there should be changes and improvements; but heed the age-old cliché: “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater!”

This legislation is being written behind closed doors, and we the people are being purposely misled as to its contents. The costs involved can and will have catastrophic consequences to our economy. Those of you in Washington can spin the numbers with your creative accounting, but at the end of the day, this sort of reckless spending and sleight of hand financing will have dire results. The back alley shenanigans and down right lies need to stop now! If you are so supportive of this bill, then put it out there where we can read it, analyze it, and come to our own conclusions. It’s time that you and yours quit underestimating the intelligence of the American people.

It’s amazing to me that out of all the highly educated people on Capitol Hill, not one seems to have applied even the most basic of problem solving skills to identify the root cause(s) of the increasing health care costs. If they had, the legislation being proposed would be drastically and significantly different than what you are all fighting for, and it would probably have the support of the majority of the people. The US government spent a lot of time and money teaching me how to identify root causes and implement effective changes. I offer those services to you should you really want to fix the problem.

I urge you Senator to do what is right for the people of Colorado, to listen to the majority of your constituents. You asked for this job. The primary action required on your part to keep this job, is to do what your constituents want you to do, NOT to do what YOU want to do.

The people of Colorado (and the rest of the country) are fed up with the elitist attitude prevalent in Washington. We are angry that those of you we sent to Washington are not listening to us. We don’t want half-baked legislation rushed through without careful and due consideration. We don’t want anything forced upon us, especially if you yourselves are not forced to live with the same legislation. Quit playing cute semantic games. If you support the legislation, then take out the loopholes that exempt you from your own legislation.

Get out and talk to the people Senator, and LISTEN to them. You may not agree with their views, but not only is it your job, but also your DUTY to support the majority. If you are not willing to do that, then you might as well start packing and say goodbye to the luxurious Washington lifestyle.

I’m urging you not to support this worthless legislation Senator. Stand up and be strong, do the right thing. You would do well to apply this philosophy to all legislation, not just this issue.

Respectfully,

Rude1

Respect? I Think Not

2009-11-23T14:57:00.010-07:00

It's hard for me to respect someone who shows so little respect for all that I hold dear. I spent the majority of my life serving this great nation and I get a little riled up when anyone, especially anyone in power, disrespects this country or by extension, any of the symbols of it. Be it the National Anthem, the Flag, or the uniform of those who protect her, do NOT disrespect this country that better men and women than me have given so much for.

As a leader, I know the importance of image. You must portray an air of confidence, strength and ability. You do NOT show weakness or servitude to your peers. Doing so undermines your ability to lead; you become a joke, a puppet. Your subordinates, peers and superiors lose confidence in you.

I will always respect the office of the President; but I can NEVER respect the man currently holding it. His staff, or anyone else can spin his actions any way they want. Bottom line is he is in way over his head and is not only disrespecting this great nation, but is driving her right into the fires of hell.

The President of the United States bows to no one.

SLAM!

2009-11-21T08:53:00.003-07:00

BR posted this video of the attorney general (not capitalized on purpose) getting rightfully slammed by Sen. Graham about his decision to try KSM and others in federal court. I listened to parts of the hearing the other day and couldn't get over the ineptitude of the AG. He kept trying to justify his decision by saying that 5 others were being tried by the military. It seems fishy to me that there is exactly the same number being tried by military as there are being tried in civilian court. Using his own argument, at least two of the five being tried in military court should have been tried in federal court.

IMHO, this is just another case of political showmanship by this administration. The only possible reason for this theater is to put the Bush administration and their policies on trial; not to seek justice.

I'm not the smartest guy in the room, but I do know that the majority of the condemning evidence will not be allowed in a civilian court. Also, there is already grounds for an appeal based on presumption of guilt statements made by not only the AG, but by the president himself (no cap on purpose). Both have all but stated that KSM will be found guilty and sentenced to death.

Sorry Mr. ag and Mr. president, but the pair of you have screwed the pooch on this one. Hard to believe that two so highly educated men, and lawyers to boot, could make such a basic mistake. But then, it isn't a mistake is it?

How cool would it have been to see Sen Graham stand up and tell Holder just after the video ends "Kapow, take that Slappy!"

Our Duty to Remember

2009-11-12T10:53:00.000-07:00

I wrote this a couple of years ago and thought it might be a good post for (the day after) Veterans Day. Shayna no longer posts, so the link is dead. Oh well!

BR over at A Tale of Two Buckskins wrote how it was a privilege to serve his country. I couldn't agree more. It was indeed an honor and a privilege to serve. Thank you all who have, are and will serve our great nation.

Shayna recently wrote about Eugene and it got her thinking about how sad it is that we, as a nation, tend to forget or overlook those who gave so much. She wished that they would talk more about their experiences in the hopes that the rest of society would be reminded of what they went through and not to forget them.

I wanted to try in some weak attempt, to explain why that probably won’t ever happen. I agree with her; we should be reminded not to forget those who sacrificed so much and gained so little, but the sad fact is that the majority of combat vets won’t talk about it. At least not to just anyone. They’ll talk at length with other combat vets, or tell some of the funny stories to their families; but most won’t open up about the serious times.

My theory about why is rather simple, yet strangely complicated. I know that most vets are very proud of what they did, of their contribution to history, of being part of something important, something historical. But the difficulty lies in that to be proud of that, in some way the vet must be proud of killing; an act that is taught to us from the earliest stages of our life, to be the ultimate sin. Killing another human being is one of the most reprehensible thing anyone can do. Yet the bottom-line job of the military member is to kill.

We desensitize ourselves by making light of it, or even advertising it. “Our job is to kill people and break things.” “Kill ‘em all and let God sort ‘em out.” “Killing is our business, and business is good.” None of us really feel that way, but we try and convince ourselves that it’s okay. The training and preparation kicks in during battle and instinct and training take over. There is no time to reflect, but deep down, late at night, especially after the battle, and the fog of war starts to dissipate, we look at ourselves in horror. We don’t want anyone to know the horrible sin we’ve committed; the taking of another human life. Forever silencing the voice of someone’s father/brother/son/mother/sister/daughter/friend. You can’t take that back. But it’s what we do. We have to, or else evil will prevail.

So the combat vet stays mute about it except to another combat vet. Someone who’s been there too; someone who understands. No matter how hard you try, no matter how much you want to understand, to sympathize, to help; you can’t. You cannot fathom the guilt/pride conflict raging within. The combat vet doesn’t want to remember the killing, but it is something that can’t ever be forgotten. Even those “lucky” enough to have never actually killed; the sights, sounds, smells, and touch of combat casualties is every bit as traumatic. As a military member, your job is to inflict pain amongst the enemy, but as you see the aftermath, you question how can civilized, sane people do such things to one another. So you shut it down, you don’t talk about it, you hide it away because if you don’t, you run the risk of seeing the looks of revulsion from those you love. You so desperately want to forget, but you can’t.

There are countless stories out there of combat heroes, whose families have no idea of their bravery. Navy and Air Force Cross recipients, Silver Star recipients who put their medals in a dusty box in some basement or attic. People who did extraordinary things while under fire, but hide them away like forgotten trinkets. I remember reading how John Levitow’s wife, also an Air Force member, didn’t know he had been awarded the Medal of Honor until she studied it during a required Air Force history class. She knew he had served in Viet Nam before they met, but had no idea he was the lowest ranking AF member to be awarded the Nation’s highest military honor. Or of Susan Rescorla finding her husband Rick’s military medals only to have him refuse to let her display them. Rick Rescorla not only was a hero of the Ia Drang Valley in Viet Nam, but he was chief of security for Morgan Stanley and lost his life in the WTC on 9/11, but not before ensuring over 3000 of his charges were evacuated safely.

This is the reason why military members are the last people who want to go to war. We make the sacrifices. We run the risk of being killed or wounded. We run the risk of losing our closest friends. We run the risk of having to kill or maim another human. But we do it when needed. Some may think we rush into wars, but believe me, the vast overall majority of military leaders will only advise military action if all other avenues have failed.

It is not the job f the combat vet to remind society of what they did, it is the responsibility of society to remember the sacrifices of the combat vets and to honor them. The combat vet doesn’t want sympathy. All he wants is acceptance and possibly a thank you. It’s societies job to HONOR them, and to never forget. Don’t pity these heroes, for most of them would do it again even knowing the consequences. Don’t pry or try and understand their silence, respect it. Don’t patronize them, but be their friend. Most of all, don’t forget them; they did what they did for you.

What is Racism?

2009-11-03T09:15:00.003-07:00

I'm curious. Can caucasian people be discriminated against in America?

I just came from court where I was fined $200 plus court costs for a grand total of $459.50. The interesting thing to me is that while I was sitting in court, waiting for my name to be called, I watched three other people go before the Judge on the exact same charge that I was facing. All three of these people had Latino surnames. All three of these people pleaded the same as I would be pleading. All three of these people had the charges dismissed. The only other caucasian person to go in front of the judge before me was fined $200 plus court costs. Now to be fair, she was facing a different charge than I was. However, when I was called, I assumed my charge would also be dismissed since the three prior to me had been. Sadly, I forgot that the Judge too had a Latino surname. BAM $200 plus court costs. Pay the clerk.

So I'm curious, is this racism, or should I be glad to pay my fine, knowing I'm merely making amends for all the wrongs us whites have bestowed upon the poor abused Latinos?

Odd Things I Think of...

2009-10-26T16:24:00.002-06:00

I've often said that my mind is a scary place. Strange thoughts seem to pop in and they seem so obvious that I don't know why I don't hear them anywhere else. I had one this morning while in the shower...

Why is it that the Enron execs have been vilified and prosecuted on false charges, had their lives ruined by untruths and false evidence, yet Al Gore is awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for his false analysis of Global Warming? Better yet, why was Bernie Madoff imprisoned (rightly so) for conning millions of dollars from people, yet Al Gore is still walking around a free man while STILL conning millions of dollars from people.

In the old days, that snake oil salesman would have been tarred, feathered and run out of town on a rail.

WHat do you think?

USAF's Latest Multi-role Strike Aircraft

2009-10-22T14:32:00.005-06:00

As some of you know, Congress recently voted to cut funding for the F-22 Raptor. Now the Raptor became operational right as I was retiring from the AF, so I never had any first hand experience with this jet. However, my Squid-in-law is stationed at Norfolk which is just down the road from Langley AFB where the Raptor nests. I've been out there a few times and all the folks I've talked to seem very impressed with the Raptor; both maintainers and pilots.

Be that as it may, the funding is cut. Done. Finito. So what are we supposed to do for air superiority now?

I've been able to smuggle out a photo of the Top Secret aircraft the Obama administration is pinning it's air superiority hopes on. It's a modified version of the aging, but still formidable F-15 Eagle. The newest version of the Eagle, called the Eaglet, is much smaller than it's mother, with a smaller payload. However, due to the size and construction materials, it is by far the stealthiest aircraft ever made. Virtually invisible to all radar and has no heat signature.

It does have a very limited range, both in weaponry and airborne endurance. However, the cost is a minuscule.

According to an anonymous administration official "...we can equip hundreds of squadrons with the Eaglet for less than a single F-22." "This aircraft fulfils the Commander and Chiefs wishes for an inexpensive and ineffective replacement for the horrific killing machines we've used to force our will around the globe." he said.

Be Afraid; Be Very Afraid...

2009-10-13T08:14:00.004-06:00

I found this link over on ALa's site.

Talk about a scary doll. Wait, I guess it's an Action Figure, but someone needs to tell the manufacturers that it would be more appropriately called an INACTION figure. Although I find it funny that for someone who has shown little or no stomach for action against our enemies, he sure is portrayed as Billy-bad-ass. Should that be Barry-bad-ass? Just wonderin...

Sheesh!

Give Me a F'ing Break

2009-10-09T07:39:00.006-06:00

Just when I think the people of the world can't get any dumber, something like this happens.

In light of the Norwegian Nobel Committee's most recent decision to give president (lowercase p used on purpose) O the Nobel Peace Prize; I honestly believe it will now be changing the name to the Nobel Piece-O-shite Prize.

Awww, and they didn't want to wake his highness up. How thoughtful.

What a fucking joke the NPP has become.

Update

The lovely Cara has a terrific post on this. She puts it in a way I wanted to, but that's the difference between a writer (Cara) and a reader (Moi).

UPDATE 2.0

I've heard this at several places, but had to repeat it...

Obama awarded the Heisman Trophy for watching a college football game.

Stay tuned for coverage of his upcoming awards; his Tony, his Grammy, his Sainthood, his Emmy, his Clio, his Super Bowl Ring...

Flying

2009-09-12T20:59:00.004-06:00

Southbound into Ogden a few years ago. I really need to get back in the air!

Elk

2009-09-12T20:50:00.002-06:00

Elk on the hill behind our house.

Why I'll Never Forget

2009-09-11T21:43:00.002-06:00

I posted this on 9/11/06 originally. Someday I'll go back and dress it up some, but for now, I'll leave it as is. I drove down to the VA hospital in Albuquerque very early this morning, and on the radio I listened to the remembrance programming and it brought back so many painful memories. During each moment of silence, I pulled off onto the shoulder, took off my hat and quietly prayed. I was struck how not one other vehicle did so. Have we forgotten? Have we grown callous or just too caught up in our own existance? I was almost late for my appointment after a four hour drive, but to me it was more important to remember and show my respect in some small way. I'm sure the VA would have understood. Anyway, here is what I remember...

It started out as just another normal day; the weather was nice, not perfect, but not bad. The sky was blue with only a few high altitude clouds. It would be a full day of flying for our squadron of F-16s. Again, nothing really out of the ordinary; we had a full schedule planned and my job as the Lead Production Superintendent or Pro Super, was to ensure we had all the jets covered with appropriate mechanics. Their job was to either support the active flying or fix those that had mechanical problems. Just another day…

I spent the early morning like all others; in a meeting going over the condition and plan for each of our 27 assigned jets. Little did I or any of us know how the world was changing while we discussed aircraft status. After the meeting, I went out to my truck to get the daily work started. I was coordinating with the mechanics the who, what and where we would do that day when we had an odd radio call. “Attention all radios this net, this is the MOC (Maintenance Operations Center) with an announcement. All local flying has been cancelled; please respond with your call sign.” “Rude 1 copies” I replied but didn’t really think much about it. Cancelling flying is rare, but not uncommon in the military, but usually I have an idea of why; bad weather, an accident or something like that. This day however, I was just thankful we didn’t have to worry about flying our schedule, but could instead; focus our efforts on the several jets that needed maintenance. Boy was I in for a shock.

I still didn’t have any idea what was going on since I didn’t have the radio on. In my truck, I had to listen to two tactical radios and use my cell phone, so I didn’t play the radio. I was briefing my supervisors about the change in the schedule when another odd radio call interrupted me…”Attention all radios this net, this is the MOC with an announcement. Implement THREATCON BRAVO. I repeat implement THREATCON BRAVO. Please respond with your call sign, MOC out.” “Rude 1” I said then wondered aloud if there was an exercise I wasn’t aware of. I told my supervisors to get moving with BRAVO procedures, and then went over to a Security Policeman driving around the flightline. I asked him if he knew what was going on, but he was as clueless as I was. I couldn’t really call the MOC to ask, since they were probably eye-ball deep in what ever was happening, besides, I knew I would be briefed soon enough. Right now, we just needed to follow orders and get things done.

About ten minutes later, the Chief of Maintenance came out to my truck and started talking about smoke boiling out of the Pentagon. I thought he was talking metaphorically, you know, I pictured all the Generals with smoke coming out of their ears as they worked some issue. I still didn’t know. Then he talked about the crash into the WTC. “What the hell are you talking about?” I asked. “You haven’t heard? Where have you been?” he asked. Out here doing my job, now what the hell is going on?” He told me we were under attack. I couldn’t comprehend what he was telling me, so I went into our ready room and saw the images of the second plane flying into the south tower. I was stunned for about 20 seconds, then knew we needed to get focused and be ready for whatever tasking we would receive.

I immediately called my supervisors together and had them round everyone up and form them up in the hangar. I needed to talk to them. I don’t really remember what I said, but it was along the lines of “Our country is under attack. We need to put our personal thoughts and feelings aside and focus on what we’re trained to do.” “Anyone with family in NYC or Washington, get with your supervisors after the brief.” “I know you’re worried about them, but I’m sure you won’t be able to get through to them for a day or two, so try to contact them, but don’t focus on it.” I told them to focus on what we needed to do to get our jets combat ready. We’re trained and ready, let’s show them so when the commanders start looking for jets; we’re right at the top, ready to roll.

I told the supervisors to keep an extra eye on anyone with family in the area, not to let happening. I told them to let everyone take breaks when they needed to get updated on what was happening, but to make sure they didn’t forsake their jobs. I didn’t need to worry since our biggest problem was getting folks to take breaks; no one wanted to stop working. Those men and women, some no more than pimple faced kids, had to be ordered to eat or rest. These people were (ARE) DEDICATED. I was so proud of each and every one of them, and humbled to have been leading them.

We got our jets ready and were standing at the ready, wondering what our tasking would be. Since I was the Lead Pro Super, I had to attend the pilots briefing to let them know what the status of our fleet was. As I sat there, listening to the latest intel I couldn’t help but feel for the first time in my life, that I was glad I wasn’t a fighter pilot. I looked at their faces as they were briefed on the possibility and rules of engagement of engaging and firing on an unarmed airliner. I couldn’t read their expressions, but know they had to be conflicted inside. I know they would have performed their duty had they been tasked, but was praying they wouldn’t have to. Thank God they didn’t.

The rest of the day was a mixture of meetings, giving and taking orders, and praying. Praying for the victims, praying for our leaders, praying for those who would be asked to go into harms way. Yes, it was only a few hours since the towers fell, but I know we would be sending folks into harms way.

Later that night, after working a 17 hour day, I was able to call my wife. She was on her Air National Guard weekend and 500 miles from home. She told me they had been on a C-130 getting ready to fly a training mission, when they suddenly shut down the engines and told to get off the plane and return to their squadron. After they were briefed, they went into action putting together emergency response kits (her unit is and Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron) and verifying everyone’s qualifications in case they were called to help. She too had a very long day and told me the folks in her squadron were just as dedicated and focused as mine were. I had no doubt about that; the people who serve, whether active duty or Guard or Reserve, are a patriotic, dedicated, honorable population. I’m humbled to be in their company.

While talking with my wife that night, we finally allowed ourselves to grieve. We cried on each others shoulder, even though it was over a phone line. We prayed together. We cried together. We comforted each other.

Since that day, we keep the victims, their families, and those in harms way in our daily prayers. We refuse to forget; please don’t forget either.

BullShite

2009-09-10T10:23:00.004-06:00

I'm so sick and tired of the double standards and pussyfooting that goes on in Congress. The latest bit of crap to set me off happened when Dick (head) Durbin said this: "The person who said it will pay a price,” Durbin said. “I think the average American thinks that the president and the office deserve respect, and that was a disrespectful comment. They'll pay a price in the court of public opinion." in reference to Rep. Joe Wilson's outburst during the president's (again, no capital P on purpose) address last night.

I'm still angry with the way things were handled when the same Dick (head) Durbin compared the U.S. military to Pol Pot, Nazis and Russian gulags back in 2005. I wrote my senators back then and received a canned response from Orrin Hatch telling me how he agreed with me BUT, Dick (head) had apologized and therefore forgiven. BULLSHITE! I wrote Mr. Hatch back and told him that I had learned when I was seven years old that saying you're sorry when you knowingly said or did something wrong, didn't cut it! You need to be accountable for your actions, not act like a spoiled kid.

I wonder if Dick (head) thinks the members of our military deserve some respect, or the common folks of America for that matter.

It's time we have more members willing to stand up and call these people out. Forget this "distinguished gentleman" or "the honorable" so and so. Quit acting like a bunch of pompous pussies and show some back bone. Stop trying to out-nice the next guy. I for one want to hear some honest dialog.

Glibbs

2009-09-04T18:56:00.002-06:00

Is it just me, or is Robert Gibbs an utter and total failure as the mouth of the One? I've yet to hear him answer a legitimate tough question. He isn't even a master at avoiding tough questions; all he does is stammer and ramble in several directions until he's forgotten what the question was. Either that or he becomes the most glibb, sacrastic and patronizing SOB I've ever witnessed!

On top of all that, he will flat out LIE to reporters (and therefore us). I'm sorry, but he is the mouthpiece for the president of the United States (again, no capital letter on purpose) and therefore should NEVER be glibb or sarcastic. It's yet another example of the elitism and inflated sense of themselves. They feel they are so f'ing superior to the masses that it makes me furious! Mainly because I'm sure that I, along with a VAST number of citizens are smarter than they are! I have an above average IQ and sure get pissed off when empty heads talk down to me.

I have to laugh these days at the utter absurdity of this administration. If I don't, I'll go nuts. We the citizenry have been so lazy and uninvolved for so long that this satire of an administration has been allowed to exist. The good news is that America is waking up. She is tired of the arrogance of her elected officials. I for one am going to enjoy seeing the results of the next few elections. Members of the House of Representatives and even the White House are about to learn you cannot ignore the people who them there, nor can they continue to LIE, CHEAT, STEAL and treat their constituants like mental handicaps.

Concert Observations

2009-08-21T23:12:00.002-06:00

Last night, we drove down to Albuquerque NM to see Trace Adkins and Toby Keith in concert. Yeah, it's what you do when you live out in the middle of nowhere; drive four hours, catch a concert, and drive back for work the next day. YIKES

Anyway, the concert was worth it. I like Toby Keith and Trace Adkins both, so to see two for one, hell, you gotta. We had great seats and loved every minute of it. The music was good, people well behaved, and nice weather. Good time. Heck, there was even a suprise visit on stage of Eddy Raven and David Allen Coe!

I like watching people at places like this. There are some very interesting folks out there! I saw several women around my age (forties) that looked like nice respectable ladies from the neck up. LOL, they had nice hair, makeup etc, but from the neck down it was slutville! I was cracking up! Skimpy tank tops with no bra, shorts so short Daisy Duke would have blushed, and mile-high heels. One lady dressed like this was with a guy with a huge beer gut and dressed in business casual. Very odd couple! Another lady had on a bright yellow mini dress with bright yellow cowboy boots. And I couldn't count the number of brand new cowboy boots worn last night... Hell, we still had horse crap on ours! I seriously LOL'd several times.

Okay, enough poking fun at the posers and groupies... One thing happened that rubbed me the wrong way. First off, no one supports the troops more than I do. No one has more respect for them than I do. Hell, I spent most of my adult life serving my country and know the sacrifices made to wear the uniform. Both Toby Keith and Trace Adkins are HUGE supporters of our Military and have traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan to visit the troops. They both are Patriots. Now, what got in my craw last night was two soldiers in the crowd, wearing their utility uniforms. During the encore, they made their way to the front and got invited up on stage, then went back stage with Toby and Trace after the final number. Oh yeah, they waved their girlfriends/wives up on stage too. Okay, fine. Good for them. I'm sure they had a very special experience. So what's my grief?

Maybe I'm a cynic, but I think it's a disgrace to all the men and women who serve to use your countries uniform to meet a celebrity. Albuquerque is an Air Force town. A major USAF base is right there. I'm sure there were thousands of military people and vets in the audience, and these two Army clowns dressed in their utilities so they would stand out and get invited up on stage. New Mexico has three USAF bases and only 1 Army base (which BTW is a long way from ALB.) The New Mexico Army National Guard is in Sante Fe, 60 Miles North of Alb. So, either these two Army soldiers had to drive down from Sante Fe or over from White Sands. Either way, there was NO reason for them to be wearing the uniform except to exploit it.

Okay, so why does this piss me off? First off, it is against military regulations to wear the utility uniform off-base EXCEPT for short convenience stops. Short convenience stops are generally described as less than 30 minutes. The concert started and 7:30 and went till 11:00. Secondly, like I said earlier, Toby and Trace have done ALOT for our troops, and these two decided to take advantage of their patriotism for their own personal wishes. To me, they showed a lack of HONOR, not only for themselves, but dishonored their brothers and sisters in uniform.

I'm sure most civilians are probably thinking that I'm just jealous and full of sour grapes. Fine, think what you want. The Vets and the majority of those serving know what I mean, and that's what matters.

So, to the Army clowns at the concert last night, I hope it was worth it. I hope that if your Senior NCOs find out what happened, they take appropriate disciplinary measures. To all those who serve and have served with honor, Thanks for doing our uniform proud. And to Toby and Trace, keep it up, you guys ROCK!

Strange

2009-08-21T22:56:00.003-06:00

I know it's hard to see, but when I was moving the horses the other morning, this doe came around and kept getting closer and closer. She would walk around the meadow nonchalantly, occasionally looking at us. She would occasionaly leap into the air, kicking to the side and throwing her head around. I was trying not to laugh at her antics, hoping not to scare her away. Eventually she slowly walked up to me and sniffed my hand. I guess she thought I was okay, 'cause then she let me rub the top of her head. She'd jump away a few feet, then come back and let me rub her head again. Pretty bizzare!

Eventually, I found out she had been released from the wildlife rehab center several years ago, and hangs out in our canyon. She enjoys hanging out with horses and is comfortable around some people. I guess I'm one of them now! All in all, it was a rather strange morning!

Great Way to Start a Day

2009-08-14T10:28:00.003-06:00

I woke up this morning after listening to it rain all night long, knowing it would be a wet, muddy day today. I looked out the window and noticed that the pasture was empty; no horses. I looked and looked again, but still no horses. Shite, they got out sometime between 10pm when I checked on them, and 6am. I looked across the hills, behind the house, down the canyon and nothing, no sign of them.

So I get dressed and slog my way down to the pasture through knee deep grass and see the broken wire from the electric fence. I see that they've headed up the canyon, which is nice since it's a shorter search. We get in the truck and drive up the canyon about a mile and I see them grazing on the side of the mountain. Off I go, up the hill through the rain and wet grass. My mare sees me and ambles over, not a care in the world. At least she's easy to catch, and the other two will follow her. I halter her up and start down the slick hill to the muddy road. My wife drives the truck back to the house and I get the pleasure of walking three horses down a mile of slick, muddy slime back to the house. In the rain. Nice.

Sometimes animals can be such a pain in the butt! At least none of them were injured. Then, to top it all off, my wife's jeep had another flat tire; that's four in the last six weeks! I really wish the county would do something about our excuse for a road! Grrrrr!

It Has to be a Bad Dream

2009-07-30T09:14:00.002-06:00

This has to be a really bad dream. What the hell is happening to our country? Actually I guess I should ask what is happening to our government? Everyday I listen to the radio or watch some TV and am stupefied by the blatant abuse of power, disregard for the Constitution and lack of concern/action of the American people.

Lately, the whole healthcare change debacle is making me want to stab myself in the eye with a pencil. I don't get why there is such an urgency to dismantle the best healthcare system in the world (yes it has problems, but there is No. Better. System. Anywhere) and replace it with a system that has been proven time and time again not to work! Also, why are we doing this when the vast majority (85%) of our citizens HAVE healthcare coverage and those without coverage still have ACCESS to quality care?? I mentioned that 85% of our citizens have coverage. It's probably closer to 96%; it all depends on what number of uninsured you use. 47 Million seems to be the big number Herr Obama is throwing around, but if you take out the illegals and those who are temporarily uninsured, the number is closer to 15 million. Compare those numbers to 306 million citizens and you can do the math yourselves.

Back to my point. WHY are we so willing to sacrifice the wishes and penalize the 259 - 291 million covered Americans for the 15 - 47 million uninsured when they DO have healthcare available? And WHY does it seem that not one of the clowns in government, or their high paid aides have any basic problem solving skills?? Instead of shooting from the hip and trying to reinvent the healthcare wheel, why don’t they look at the problem, break it down to the causes and finally to the root cause, and FIX THAT PROBLEM?

This isn’t f’ing “Rocket Surgery” people! Medicaid and Medicare are failures. The brain trusts up on Capitol Hill should be fixing THOSE nightmares while providing incentives for businesses and individuals to get their own private coverage, and fixing the problem of malpractice coverage for medical providers. Or how about this; provide a cost-share program to all American citizens up to a certain amount; sort of like a 401k. You pick the coverage and carrier you want, the government price matches up to a certain level. Anything above that level the individual is responsible for.

I don’t have all the answers, but I do know that the way this is being handled right now is against everything this great country stands for. Right now the government is putting the needs, scratch that, the wants of a small minority over the wishes of the vast majority. While it’s true we are not a Democracy in the USA, we’re a Constitutional Republic. There is a difference, a big difference. What this means to all of us is that it is our DUTY, every one of us, to contact our representatives and let them know that we the people, we the MAJORITY, will not tolerate the systematic dismantling of our nation. They need to be reminded over and over again that it is OUR wishes, not theirs, that matter. We the people have the power, authority and RESPONSIBILITY to make sure that our representatives do what WE want them to do; NOT the other way around. This is not the time for quiescency; this is a time for action.

It’s easy, just call (202) 224-3121 to reach the Capitol Switchboard and ask for your representative, or speaker Pelosi (yeah, I know I didn’t capitalize speaker) or any member you wish to speak to. Let them know; call them, email them or better yet, write them a letter and MAIL it, the old fashioned way. Heck, do it all and then do it again and again. Find out where they’re speaking and go there, confront them (peacefully of course) and let them know where you stand.

Charge Your Government Rep with BRIBERY

2009-07-23T07:08:00.003-06:00

I'm fed up. Our government representatives have perverted our system of government into an unethical, probably illegal system of bribery and graft.

Strong words. Maybe I'm being over-simplistic, but when Queen Pelosi, Herr Obama, Prince Hairy Reid and every other politician (Republican and Democrat) twist each others arms to get votes they want, it stinks of bribery to me. Just one example; when Pelosi, Obama and Reid are going to Congressmen asking "what do you need to vote yes on the healthcare (or cap and trade, or any legislation)?" "Do you need my support for one of your bills, or extra money for your district?" "You'll get it if you vote yes on this." That to me, is bribery.

I don't buy the bullshit that "that's how things get done in Washington". These people are OUR representatives, and when they get together and make their shady backroom deals for the advancement of THEIR carreers or THEIR causes against the will of their constituants, THEY. ARE. WRONG. They need to be held accountable and either brought under investigation, the whole damn lot of them, or voted the hell out.

Obama et al are LIARS and IDIOTS

2009-07-16T07:48:00.003-06:00

I'm listening to Herr Obama and others trying to tell us how we need universal healthcare, how private insurance is sooooo expensive that millions can't afford it, blah blah blah. SO the answer is of course, force a program that is unsustainable and doomed to fail while killing thousands due to the timeline it wil take to receive certain treatments (look at Canada, Great Britain etc).

Now I don't know how the folks in our "gubmint" got where they are without some basic problem solving skills (except Herr Obama, cause face it, he never had a job so he didn't need to learn these skills; it's just so easy to blame someone else right?). The way I see it, and I do have some knowledge here as my wife is a professional healthcare provider, the reason most folks dont have healthcare is the cost. Okay, I can see that to. a. degree. Let's forget the folks who drive Escalades and other high dollar vehicles while living on food stamps (a big portion of the population where I live) cause no matter how cheap healthcare insurance is, these folks are not going to pay for it. So, lets look at responsible folks who live within their means, and can't afford insurance.

Let me back up a sec. The problem isn't that these folks don't have insurance, the problem is that it is too expensive, right? So, NOT having insurance is a SYMPTOM of the problem, expense. Now, anyone with BASIC problem solving skills should see this as a glaring example. Anyone with BASIC problem solving skills knows that you don't treat symptoms, your look at causes, and narrow it down to the ROOT CAUSE and treat THAT!

So, back to our responsible folks who can't afford insurance. How do we help them afford it? I know of a few ways, and by no means claim that I have the final answers, but here goes.
First, get the lawyers out of healthcare. Get the ambulance chasers out of the mix. Insurance costs are directly related to the malpractice insurance that medical providers MUST carry to protect themselves. The vast majority of healthcare providers are good, honest, caring people who are in the field because they want to help people. Unfortunately, our society has made it very easy to target them for astronominal settlements when things go wrong.

Don't misunderstand and think I'm against fair compensation for mistakes, but we need to stop awarding millions of dollars for a bothched boob job. Healthcare providers should be held accountable for any costs incurred for treatment or correction of their mistakes, a reasonable amount of lost wages incurred (NOT millions for "potential earnings lost"). We need to stop the get rich schemes at the expense of our health care professionals.

Herr Obama and his army of idiots on the hill need to stop, analyze the problem, get to the root cause and fix that; not shooting from the hip and treating symptoms.

How Much is a Trillion Really?

2009-07-13T17:24:00.003-06:00

Just a bit of perspective. Does anyone really understand just how much a Trillion dollars really is? According to my calculations, based on the latest info, there are 306 million people in the good ole US of A. That is every man, woman and child. For simplicity, I'll use 1.04 Trillion; close enough. So, here I go.

First off, a Trillion is one million million. Okay. So, if there are 306 Million people, and each of them (not families, but every single one) gave $3,333.00 to the "gubmint", we would come up with $1.04 TRILLION. Simple right? Okay, how about this demo.
306000000
x 3333
938000000
938000000
938000000
938000000
1042118000000

So, what I see is that for every TRILLION dollars of "gubmint" debt or spending, it costs my family (just me and the wife) $6,666. Not a huge amount, but about 4.5% of our income. But what about larger families with lower incomes? Let's take two hypothetical families and compare.

Family A: Four people with a gross income of $250,000.
Family B: Four people with a gross income of $60,000.

Family A's cost is $13,334 and approx 5.6% of their income.
Family B's cost is also $13,334 but approx 23% of their income.

Now, let's not even get into the families without income, or those below the poverty line, cause we all know who is going to incur those costs.

I'm by no means a financial genius, but I have an above average IQ (yes, I qualify for MENSA) and know that this current financial fiasco our current administration is trying to force on us is One Big Ass Mistake Assholes.

So I have to say to our "gubmint"... Do the fucking math assholes, it ain't that hard. Stop spending what we don't have, and have no hope of getting! Remember, this is just for ONE trillion! What happens to us when they're talking about a trillion for bailouts, a trillion for healthcare, and how many trillions we're already in debt for? How the hell do they think this can pass any sanity test?

I'm going to go stab my eyes with a pencil.

Okay, the math portion didn't format the way it should, but I don't have the time or energy to try and fix it. No one reads this anyway, so it's no biggie!

Is It Spring Yet?

2009-03-08T16:19:00.001-06:00

Spring must be finally here... This heard of Elk was down from the high country last night and hanging out on the hill behind our house. I love living out in the country!

Goodbye My Friend

2009-01-09T21:06:00.004-07:00

For the past few weeks, our injured horse has been getting worse and worse. Today, we made the difficult decision to put him out of his misery. I know it was the humane thing to do, but it doesn't make it any easier. I feel like I let him down. We tried about everything we could within reason. We could have continued to try, using more and more sophisticated and expensive treatments, but the bottom line would have been the same; a lame horse in constant pain.

We agonized over this decision. Although we had only owned this horse for less than a year, he had proven himself as an exceptional horse. Anyone could ride him and he could handle anything we ever asked of him. Everyone loved him, and most wished he belonged to them. Even the Vet had a hard time putting him down. In the end, we all agreed that it was what was best for him.

I knew it was the right thing as I lead him out of the vet's stall to the area out back. He limped painfully along, even though he was doped up on the maximum amount of pain killers. He followed me faithfully. I think he knew where he was going, and was glad to see and end to the pain; at least I hope so. We arrived at the spot where he would be put down and he turned around stood there waiting. The vet, his assistant, a close friend of mine and myself stood there for a few minutes in the softly falling snow. His warm breath billowed out of nose in quiet clouds. He looked at me with soft eyes as I rubbed between his ears and along his face. I quietly thanked him for being such a good horse and gave him a few of his favorite horse treats. I rubbed his warm and powerful neck as I appologized for what we were about to do. I tried to tell him that we tried everything to get him better, but we just couldn't find a solution to his pain. I knew he wouldn't want to live his life in pain and restricted to a small pasture, unable to run.

He just looked at me as the vet administered the fatal dose. I'll spare everyone the details of putting down a horse, but it isn't a pretty thing. Thankfully, the vet told me that the brain shuts down almost immediately, so there is little chance he felt anything. God I hope so.

After the vet checked and told me there was no pulse, I knelt in the snow and rubbed his still warm cheek and neck for several minutes. Gently talking to him, and asking God to take care of him. I'm sure there are horses in Heaven. The snow continued to gently fall. I noticed a few flakes landing on his eye and knew he was really gone and free of the pain. I still held onto my composure.

As I got up and turned to thank the vet for doing all he had, his assistant handed me the halter. My throat suddenly became tight and my eyes started to fill. I had a difficult time forming the words to thank the vet, but I did. I shook his hand and the hand of my friend, thanking them both. We said our goodbyes they left quietly, leaving me alone with my friend.

After a few minutes and another prayer, I turned away and walked through the quietly falling snow, the only sounds were my boots crunching and my sniffing. I got into my truck and called my wife to let her know it was over. Afterwards, I sat in the darkend truck and cried quietly by myself.

Goodbye my friend, may you find endless green pastures.

Bettie Page; My First Crush

2008-12-12T23:57:00.004-07:00

Bettie Page. To many, the name brings to mind images of bygone eroticism. The name is arguably the epitome of the golden age of erotic art. She died a couple of days ago after a tumultuous life plagued by mental illness and notoriety. She was an enigma; the quintessential pin up queen who later shunned public life and dedicated her life to Christianity. To me, she will always hold a special place.

She is (was) the only person I can think of that is as popular, or possibly more popular, than she was during the height of her career, which ended nearly a half century ago. She is a true legend. I’m sure she was solely responsible for the sexual awakening of millions of young men; I know she was for me.

I can’t ever remember a time when I wasn’t aware of Bettie Page. I’m certain that I knew nothing about her before I reached puberty, but for the life of me, I can’t remember a time I didn’t know who she was, and what she did to my hormones! She still does in fact. There is just something about her that touches some inner part of me. I’m trying to say what she meant to me without sounding like a pervert or something. Her attraction for me is more than the erotic poses. She seemed to portray a zest for life. I can see it in her eyes and her smile. I don’t know how to explain it. All I know is that I have never lost the urge to gaze upon her pictures when ever I happen to see one. I’ll always feel like teenager when I see her.

Many have written about the Bettie Page phenomenon and I think they all touch on a part of her attraction, but I think her real quality and attraction to so many is that she touched something different and unique in all who admired her.

I know that I’ve always had an attraction to brunettes with bangs, who aren’t stick thin models. I like a curvy woman and love a woman in stockings and heels. Put them all together and you have none other than Bettie Page. Who cares that she was in her late 50’s when I went through puberty; she was, is and always will be in her 30’s and perfect. Just the way she wanted to be remembered; she refused to be photographed in her later years saying in a 1998 interview "I don't want to be photographed in my old age, I feel the same way with old movie stars. ... It makes me sad. We want to remember them when they were young."

Her web page has a great memorial to her. If you don’t know who she was (where have you been, Mars?) go check it out.

God Bless you Bettie Page, may you rest in peace and find a place in heaven.

I Suck as a Blogger, But My Horse is Okay :)

2008-12-08T23:10:00.002-07:00

As anyone who happens to stumble in here knows, I suck as a blogger. I have a multitude of things I want to write about, all these things running around inside my head, but never able to actually get anything down on paper (or web page as it were). Things like the economy, celebrity idiocy, government, my house, my horses, our adoption, the holidays, cancer, erectile dysfunction, the weather, and any other bullshit that's constantly banging around in my noggin.

Sadly, as I've said many times; I'm a reader, not a writer. I read so many great blogs that once I start writing, I read what I've written and think it's just crap. There are so many talented writers out there that usually one of them happens to articulate what I'm trying to say. Then I just delete what I wrote, happy in the fact that someone, somewhere, has gotten my point across.

Once in a while, (okay, once in a GREAT while, just look at how often I update! :)) I actually sit down and write something that will (gasp) actually be posted. Like tonight... TA DA!!

Last Wednesday, I was driving to a job I've been trying to finish before the weather turned to complete crap, when my phone rang. It was the lady who boards our horses. It seems her hired man was checking the herd when he noticed my wife's horse standing stock still, at the opposite end of the pasture from all the others. He found the poor guy had a really bad wire cut on his right front leg. He called her, she called me...

The vet said he could see him as an emergency, so I scrapped my plans for the day and went to get the trailer. When I saw how badly he was injured, my stomache did a flip. This horse is such a gem; he's practically bomb-proof. He's a great mountain horse, but he's also just about a perfect kids horse. Hell, anyone can ride him, he's that good. Anyway, The entire back of his leg, just above the hoof, was peeled back. I don't know how he was standing there (I guess three other legs helped). Now the trick would be to get him in the trailer so I could get him to the vet.

Usually he gets right in the trailer, but being injured, he was very hesitant. I finally got his head in, but couldn't get him to step up inside. I tried everything; food, pulling, pushing, nothing worked. Then I did the dumbest thing possible; I tied his lead to the inside of the trailer and was going to get behind him and push. Just then, the wind blew the damn door closed and it swung into his side. This of course startled the hell out of him and he tried to back away, but the lead held him. He started thrashing and kicking trying to get loose. The rope pulled so tight I couldn't pull it free. Of all the days not to have my knife with me.

Luckily, he is such a good horse that as soon as he realized he was trapped, he quit thrashing. I talked to him and got him calmed down, and finally got the lead loose. I looked at his leg and almost cried. He had opened it up again and now it was bleeding terribly. I told him he had to get in this time, or he might not make it. The wound was actually spraying blood. Arterial. Bad news. He looked at me and walked right in, leaving a trail of blood.

I drove as fast as I dared the 25 miles to the vet, praying all the way. Luckily, the senior vet was there (it was his day off) and he took over his care. He shaved the leg and cleaned it up, then spent a few minutes poking and prodding till he was satisfied there was no nerve, tendon, or bone damage. The wound was so large and deep that he was able to put two fingers completely inside. Luckily, like I said, there was only tissue damage. Severe tissue damage, but tissue has the best chance of healing.

The Doc put about 20 stiches in and when he was done, you could hardly see the injury. He then put a cast on him to keep him from flexing the joint and pulling the stiches out. The bleeding slowed to an ooze and I asked about the arterial damage. Luckily, it wasn't an artery, just that his blood pressure was elevated, and that caused the spraying. Thank you God!

Anyway, The Doc figured he'd be in pretty severe pain in a day or two, and would probably keep his weight off that leg. It's been five days and he only limped a little the first two days. since then, he's had full weight on it, and eating like a pig. In fact, he's starting to look like a submarine!

On Saturday, I went and searched the pasture and found the wire he got caught in. I wanted to make sure that none of the other horses could get injured. It looks like he got a piece of barbed wire (the only section of fence that HAS bw) tangled around his leg. I fixed the fence and thanked the Lord for keeping the other horses safe, and for keeping the damage to a minimum. It could have been a lot worse. Doc says he should make a full recovery. Whew.

I hope we don't have any more days like that, but I'm sure we will. Horses always seem to get into something...

WARNING - Rough Language Ahead - WARNING

2008-11-10T12:09:00.004-07:00

Okay, it has been a very very long time since Rude1 had a real Rampage, but that is all about to change.

I kept my cool all through the election season, even though there was a plethora of subjects I could have had a Rampage on, but my friends, I'm about to go bat-shit crazy over the fucking auto industry.

Fuck GM, Fuck Ford, Fuck Detroit. They're all a bunch of fucking whiny-assed unionized fuck-wads wanting a bail out. Fuck-em, let 'em file bankruptcy and be forced to re-organize and get rid of the bullshit management that has run these companies into the ground. FIRE their worthess asses. Get rid of the fucking unions that are driving costs through the damn roof. Why is a union janitor making $30 an hour as skilled fucking labor? That shit needs to stop. How in the FUCK can anyone keep their job when their company is consistently posting BILLIONS in quarterly losses? And WHY. THE. FUCK. should we even be considering a bail out for these fucking losers?

The auto industry is actually doing quite well even in these hard times, except for in Michigan (oh yeah, aint that the place with all the government corruption?). Pelosi and her fuck-faced liberal counterparts are trying to pull this off! These mother-fuckers need to shut. the. fuck. up! How about some damn personal responsibility here? I didn't see these shit-balls trying to help out Enron (who did nothing illegal, look up the facts). Oh no, they falsly accused/tried/convicted the executives over there.

I tell you what; these socialistic programs are gonna fuck the good ole US of A right in the ass and it will be too fucking late fix it. BTW, why don't I get a fucking bail-out? My business is doing poorly and showing a loss due to the local economy. Where's my help? Maybe if my company was losing money becouse of MY OWN FUCKING INCOMPETENCE I could get some of that pie. Maybe I'll call my representatives and find out if I can get a hand out. Hell, we just voted in libtards across the board here.

One other thing that has the vein in my forhead ready to burst is Obama's staff. What happened to all that centrist crap he was running on? Where is the bi-partisan staff he was talking about. This article made my eyes bleed. Especially the shit from Hairy oops Harry Reid... "Podesta also said Obama is working to build a diverse Cabinet. That includes reaching out to Republicans and independents — part of the broad coalition that supported Obama during the race against Republican John McCain. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been mentioned as a possible holdover.

"He's not even a Republican," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said. "Why wouldn't we want to keep him? He's never been a registered Republican."

WHAT.THE.FUCK? That my friends PROVES that to Reid and his ilk that it doesn't matter one tiny fucking bit if a person is qualified for a position, rather it is the political party or liberal view point that matters. What a fucking piece of shit that guy is. One of the reasons I moved out of Nevada. Fucking moron.

Okay, I need to stop now or my brain will explode. I need to wait until I get that free health care to let that happen.

FUCK

Ask What Your Country can do for You, Not What You can do for Your Country

2008-11-05T14:33:00.003-07:00

Congratulations to Obama, he pulled it off. I still don't understand the appeal and the unquestionable quest for "hope" and "Change". We all have hope, but everyone's hopes are different. I'm all for change, but only if the change is specific. Change for change's sake is seldom a good idea. I guess if you spout undefined hope and change, enough people will believe the hope and change they have in mind is what you're talking about. I just hope that when the masses are disappointed and are paying higher interest rates and taxes, that they remember how it came to be.

We are indeed entering into a new era of American leadership. One that champions the Government as the solution to all your problems. How far we have come since the days of JFK, who truly believed in the American citizen. Now we must believe in the American statesman. Sad in my opinion.

I, as most conservatives, refuse to squall like spoiled 2 year old (or defeated liberal) about the election results. One of the major differences between conservatives and liberals is how we handle victory and defeat. Seldom, if ever have I seen in your face victory dances by anyone on the right, yet that is what I'm seeing now and saw in 92 and 96. We will quietly accept the election and pray that we were wrong and that the USA will not be led into ruin. I hope Mr. Obama strengthens our economy and keeps us safe.

I also find it interesting that whenever a conservative is elected, he (or she) is expected to reach across the isle to the left; but when a liberal is elected, conservatives are expected to unite behind them. I'm not the smartest guy around, so this confounds me to no end.

As for electing the first black president, for that I'm thankful. If only to put to rest the antiquated and inaccurate stance that America is racist. I have know for longer than I can remember, that the color of the skin makes ablolutely no difference to the vast majority of Americans; so now can we finally quit beating that poor dead horse?

I'm not very optomistic about the next four years, but I am willing to see how it plays out. I will gladly say I was wrong if he is able to do all that he wants to do with out endangering the American way of life.

Time will tell.

Cowboy Up

2008-10-18T20:21:00.001-06:00

Just another nice fall day spent with my newest gal...

Riding Amy

2008-10-04T23:41:00.003-06:00

It's been a pretty busy time for me lately since it's the end of the season and everyone is trying to get ready for winter. The good news is that means more dinero in my pocket, but one of bad things is that I haen't gotten to ride in almost three weeks! So, I decided to fix that and go for a ride yesterday afternoon.

I got to the paddock and she decided to let me know she was a wee bit pissed that I hadn't been to see her in so long (I have to keep her at a friends until I get our paddock and barn built). Normally, when I come to catch her, she comes right over and lets me put her harness on with no trouble at all. Well, yesterday she would wait until I was just about to her, then trot off to the other side of the paddock. She would try and put another horse between us, so I couldn't catch her. Well, once she finally decided it was time to let me off the hook, she stood perfectly still as I walked up and put her harness on. I was hoping that would be the end of her "mood" but found out differently when I started to brush her out.

When I was first thinking about buying Amy, her owners warned me that she could be tempermental and that I really needed to watch her when getting ready for a ride. They said she had never really bonded well with anyone in the past, and she could get a bit stubborn; in fact, the first day I rode her, she bit me when I was tying her to the hitching post. Not a full on bite, but a nip on my forearm just to see how I would react. After that first ride, she wouldn't let me out of her sight. Since then, we've been really good together; until yesterday.

While I was brushing her out, she kept giving me the stink eye and pinning her ears back. Not full-on pinned back, but she was letting me know she wasn't real happy with me. After I put the blanket on and went to get my saddle, she pulled the blanket off when my back was turned. We had a little chat and then I saddled her up with no real problems (other than the 100lbs she has put on for winter; I had to adjust both the cinch and the flank strap to fit). She did give me dirty looks when I cinched her, but then she always does that. The good news was she let me put the bit in her mouth with no argument, something she usually makes me work at.

Since she was being a bit moody, I took her first to the round pen for some ground work. She really decided to test me in the round pen. She refused to move her feet and I had to really get after her to get her to lunge. First, she just would not move at all, then, all she would do was walk. Finally, I got her to trot and lope in both diredtions, and got her to follow MOST of my commands.

Finally, I felt it was time to ride a bit before we ran out of light, so off we went. The first part of the ride was good; she gave me no attitude at all. I worked her a bit from the saddle, then just let her follow the trail. Just as we were coming into a little grove of trees, something spooked her and she jumped to the left and tried to bolt. I was just a bit behind her and didn't stop the lunge, but quickly got her stopped before she could bolt. I don't know what it was, but evidently, it wasn't anything too bad cause she recovered and we went on about our way out of the trees and up the hill.

We rode for almost two hours, just walking through the hills and looking at the fall colors. This time of year the colors are just beginning to fade, but the aspen are still bright gold. The reds, oranges, greens and golds are especially vibrant in the golden glow of the late afternoon sun. I'm just mad I didn't bring my camera.

All in all it was a good afternoon; Amy did a great job after she let me know she was feeling a bit rejected. I guess I won't make that mistake again! I don't know if the ride did her or me more good, but I know I really needed it. After so many years without a horse, I'm finding that I missed it more than I ever imagined. Horse people will understand, but it's hard to describe the feeling a horse brings out. It's so much more than just going for a ride. The bonding and trust between horse and rider, the tranquility of riding out in the quiet, the peacefullness that just surrounds you when you're with your horse. All I know is that I really feel at peace when I'm with our horses, and with Amy in particular.

I sure hope I can get our facilities up soon, I could sure a little horse therapy more often than I'm getting now.

The Other Woman

2008-07-31T01:49:00.002-06:00

I never saw it comming, nor was I looking for it, but it happened. I fell in love with another woman. She is amazing. Her eyes are limpid pools that I can see all the way into her soul. She expects and gives total respect with no questions asked. She loves me as I am, with all my faults and problems. We are one.

Her hair is like spun copper glinting in the sunlight and dancing on the breeze. Her legs... Oh her legs are strong and beautiful, even with the few scars, they give her character. Her body ripples and is warm and wonderful to the touch. We don't have to speak, we communicate almost telepathically; she knows what I want by the way I look at her, or touch her.

She is playful yet strong, fiesty yet submissive, stubborn yet forgiving. When she walks she looks like she's dancing. Her breath is warm and sweet on my skin. She is regal. Her name is Amy and she is all I ever hoped she would be. She is beautiful, and she is mine forever.

And my wife loves her too!

Laugh Out Loud Funny

2008-04-07T11:32:00.003-06:00

I've not had a chance to visit some of my favorite sites for a while, but today I caught up on Bob Lonsberry's columns and found this gem...

I haven't laughed so hard in quite a while.

Back From the Grave

2008-04-02T18:04:00.003-06:00

It's hard for me to believe it's been over a year since I sat down to write a post, but then again, with everything that has gone on with building this house, it's no wonder. In a nutshell, the small house we wanted to build for my mom wound up taking 21 months to build and nearly double the cost. Granted, it should have only taken 6-8 months, but hey, why do things the easy way right? If I were a writer, I'd write a book about how NOT to build a house. So now that house is done, and we're living in it but have to put OUR house on hold for a few years till we pay this one off. Sorry mom, but you'll just have to stay where you are for a couple more years... :) Ah well, a story for another time.

There have been so many things I want to write about but never could find (or make) the time to do it. I'll prolly do so anyway cause it's my blog and who reads this crap anyway. Some will be past their prime, but others will be current I promise.

With that said, I'm just glad we made it though this ordeal and managed to (mostly) keep our sanity and most importantly, stayed married. It was touch and go at times, but we now know that we can weather any storm.

So now it's time to close one book and open another. Who knows, this one might just be a comedy.

Angels

2007-03-12T17:12:00.000-06:00

One of the greatest gifts of the blog-o-sphere is the opportunity to get to “know” people you normally wouldn’t have the chance to. We’re no longer separated geographically, or socially, or economically. With the click of a mouse, we are invited into other people’s lives. Sometimes we’re welcomed as friends, sometimes we’re shunned, but more often than not, if we’re polite and respectful, we’ll be embraced.

I’m still amazed after all this time, just how wonderful the blogging community is. I literally stumbled into the blog-o-sphere several years ago. I had no idea what it was, or how truly amazing it really is. Since that time, I’m still in awe of how many gifted writers are out there, usually it obscurity. In college, I was taught to write about what you know, write about what you love. Perhaps that is the key; bloggers write about their lives, their loves, and their pain. The writing encompasses the full range, from eloquent prose to raw-unedited passion. By exploring blog rolls of favorite bloggers, untold treasures are uncovered, and new favorite writers are found. I never get tired of these cyber-explorations and unearthing the literary treasures that are waiting out there, trapped in the silky threads of the web.

I started this post simply to pay homage to lady who I love to read, and pay my respects for the loss of her friend. Eugene introduced me to Shayna almost a year ago. Her compassion and true heart led her to befriend the man everyone knew, but few got to know. She helped make his last few months memorable and worth living. From what I can see through her words, Eugene probably enjoyed his last few months on earth more than the past several decades. Shayna says that there is one more angel who just earned his wings; I say, Shayna herself is an angel. She, with the help of her son, brought joy and purpose back into his life. She showed him that his life did have meaning, and that his time here on earth would not be soon forgotten. Sounds like an angel to me. I know I'll miss Eugene, but the void left in Shayna's and Little Willie's life will be hard to fill.

Shayna, I know I haven’t been around as much these days, but please know you and your family are in my prayers. Thank you for sharing your stories of Eugene with us, and thanks for letting me in and getting to know you. I’ll check in from time to time to see how things are going. God Bless you Shayna, may he welcome Eugene into the Kingdom.

I Just Can't Believe This

2007-03-02T13:51:00.000-07:00

Matt over at Blackfive posted this link to the story of Maj Bruce Crandall's Medal of Honor. You know the Hollywood version of Maj Crandall's action from the movie "We Were Soldiers" starring Mel Gibson. Maj Crandall was the heroic Huey pilot played by Greg Kinnear. I for one am thankful the good Maj is finally getting the medal. Without his leadership and commitment, Hal Moore's valiant troopers most likely would have been completely overrun.

I can't believe the media covered this story with less attention than the local supermarket sale items. They should all be ashamed. This man deserves better. God Bless You Maj and all those you saved that day.

Sadness and Prayers

2007-02-05T16:54:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone,
Sorry it's been so long since I posted, but with the house and record breaking cold and snow, I just haven't had the time or energy.

That said, please give a prayer for my friend and general contractor's family. He was killed yesterday in an avalanche. He was one really sweet guy and his family is going through hell right now. He was a fine craftsman and did great work, even if it took a little extra time. He was a good dad and husband.

For those who enjoy winter sports, remember to always tell someone where you will be and when you should be back. Know the dangers and use a personal locator beacon. Be careful. People left behind will suffer greatly.

Walt, thanks for all the work you've done on my house. I wish you were gonna be here to see the finished project. My prayers are with your family; their grief and pain is fresh and immeasurable. We all will miss you.

Grab a Tissue Box...

2007-01-03T12:09:00.000-07:00

Go read this article but make sure you have plenty of tissues handy. Hat tip to Matt over at Blackfive.

My heart swells with pride and crumbles into a thousand pieces at the same time when reading about guys and gals like Anderson and Edwards. God Bless them all.

New Year's Resolution

2007-01-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

My New Year's Resolution this year is to NOT kill anyone working on my new house.

Let's review...
Original estimate:
3-4 months and $250K

So far:
7 months and counting and nearly double the cost...

This isn't a big or fancy house but there is only one decent sized lumber yard within 120 miles so you kinda pay what they want for materials. Well, it just so happens that my job requires me to travel and make feed deliveries so my trailer is usually empty on the return trip. Not any more! I have since saved over $10K in materials by loading up at Lowes or Home Depot on these trips. Oh yeah, and the folks at the local lumber yard thinks everyone is an idiot when it comes to building supplies. They don't think that anyone other than a contractor knows anything about loads, stresses etc. They tried to tell me that my deck HAD to be framed with 2x12 lumber because of the spans involved. Well Hell's Bells; the longest span is 8 feet and a 2x6 i capable of carrying that load and more. All you have to do is look at the code books and they have all the engineering tables right there! Geez!

Okay, sorry for the negative spin there; back to our regularly schedule program...

The snow is about 3 feet deep at the house right now which is beautiful! If you've watched the news the last couple of weeks, you know Colorado had been getting some pretty good blizzards. We went snow shoeing this past weekend and it was so cool! We went with some friends who live up the road from our house (the one we're building, not the one we're currently in). We saw lots of deer but only signs of elk and cats. Dumb me forgot the camera, and missed a shot of a four point buck, with only one antler. Strange sight, since they shouldn't lose their horns for a while yet.

That's about it kiddos; I'll try and get some new pics up soon.

Just Another Short Update of Sorts

2006-11-27T14:46:00.000-07:00

Well everyone, I thought I'd post a quick update about the house situation. We spent most of two days digging the holes for the deck support columns. Now, the reason it took most of two days to dig ten holes is because the ground is frozen. Well, any smart person would have done this before it got so cold you would think and in fact that was our plan. But if you remember the problems we had with the concrete guy, you would know that this was supposed to be done about two months ago. Before it got so damn cold. Yeah yeah, I know, I should let go of the resentment for the concrete guy, but if it weren't for the fact that there was no good reason for his delays (other than he over extended himself and kept putting us off to do bigger, more lucrative jobs) I would let it go. But now it's costing me even more money cause the increased labor (things just take longer when it's cold out) involved. --sigh--

BTW, it took over six hours to dig two holes 1 foot wide and 32 inches deep. Yeah, that was WITH a power auger...

On the plus side, while we were digging, a HUGE buck was walking around the hill and across the driveway. I'll post some pics of him in a day or two. If I were still a hunter, I would have been in heaven. I seem to have lost the urge to kill these wonderful creatures. I'm not anti-hunting, I just would rather hunt them with a camera these days. I do still enjoy venison when folks offer me some!

One of my neighbors parked his horse trailer on our place for a few days while he packed up into his hunting camp. He told me that early one morning he saw a bear sitting in our driveway next to his truck/trailer rig. I'm gonna be so happy when we finally get to move in! Spending hours just looking out over the meadow and creek watching the wildlife...

I don't get much better my friends, it just don't :).

Stop by if you're in the neighborhood! Cheers

Rude1

Wlcome Home, and Welcome Back

2006-11-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

There are few writers that can bare their souls so completely and honestly that you KNOW and FEEL what they're going through. Red 2 Alpha has that gift. I am a reader, I'm not a writer. He is, and he is back.

I have no idea how hard it is to open up the way he does, but I'm glad he does. No one gives a better insight into the humanity of the combat soldier/vet. I mentioned him previously here and now he is back to writing here. Stop by and read his work, you Will. Be. Moved.

Oh yeah, I can't keep forgetting to remind you to donate to Soldiers Angels "Project Valour IT"; there has never been a more worhty cause. Ever. I don't give a rats a$$ what your political affiliation is, or what your view of the war is; the bottom line is this: we owe our vets, especially those who are wounded, all the support we can give. Put your money where your mouth is and SUPPORT our troops. If we would all give a little money, or time, as opposed to lip service, we can support each and every one of them. Its the least we can do.

Has It Really Been Two Months??

2006-11-03T18:15:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go? Well, for me it seems to be a blur of dealing with contrators, a new job, new community (even though I grew up here) and tons of other trivial matters that seem to swallow up my days.

As you may remember, we'er building a new house that apparently is made of platinum or gold. The problem with living here in the sticks is that materials cost about 3 times what I'm used to. Had I known, I would have rented an 18 wheeler and driven to Durango to pick up my ow materials. Oh well! And remember how um, "upset" I was that the concrete took so long? Well, I still am, cause now the builders are dealing with snow and cold weather which means slower work. Also, we had to rent a house since the fuel cost to heat our RV over the winter would be more than the rent. On the plus side, the rental is a little old farm house with lots of deer hanging out in the fields every morning and night, so to quote Bill Murray, "I have that going for me; which is nice."

I promised Barn Goddess some pics, so here you are. I hope you like them!

Nice huh?

Taken today...

From the rental a few weeks ago

In honor of the Goddess; these guys belong to one of my customers. I tried to catch the one on the right as he was bucking across the field, but as soon as I stopped my truck, he came over to check if I had any treats for him LOL!

I would like to say I'll do better at posting, but I don't know if I will or not. I want too, but life sometimes gets in the way. Check back in, you never know when I'll show up! Till then friends, be good!!

I Remember, I Can't Forget

2006-09-11T18:56:00.000-06:00

It started out as just another normal day; the weather was nice, not perfect, but not bad. The sky was blue with only a few high altitude clouds. It would be a full day of flying for our squadron of F-16s. Again, nothing really out of the ordinary; we had a full schedule planned and my job as the Lead Production Superintendent or Pro Super, was to ensure we had all the jets covered with appropriate mechanics. Their job was to either support the active flying or fix those that had mechanical problems. Just another day…

I spent the early morning like all others; in a meeting going over the condition and plan for each of our 27 assigned jets. Little did I or any of us know how the world was changing while we discussed aircraft status. After the meeting, I went out to my truck to get the daily work started. I was coordinating with the mechanics the who, what and where we would do that day when we had an odd radio call. “Attention all radios this net, this is the MOC (Maintenance Operations Center) with an announcement. All local flying has been cancelled; please respond with your call sign.” “Rude 1 copies” I replied but didn’t really think much about it. Cancelling flying is rare, but not uncommon in the military, but usually I have an idea of why; bad weather, an accident or something like that. This day however, I was just thankful we didn’t have to worry about flying our schedule, but could instead; focus our efforts on the several jets that needed maintenance. Boy was I in for a shock.

I still didn’t have any idea what was going on since I didn’t have the radio on. In my truck, I had to listen to two tactical radios and use my cell phone, so I didn’t play the radio. I was briefing my supervisors about the change in the schedule when another odd radio call interrupted me…”Attention all radios this net, this is the MOC with an announcement. Implement THREATCON BRAVO. I repeat implement THREATCON BRAVO. Please respond with your call sign, MOC out.” “Rude 1” I said then wondered aloud if there was an exercise I wasn’t aware of. I told my supervisors to get moving with BRAVO procedures, and then went over to a Security Policeman driving around the flightline. I asked him if he knew what was going on, but he was as clueless as I was. I couldn’t really call the MOC to ask, since they were probably eye-ball deep in what ever was happening, besides, I knew I would be briefed soon enough. Right now, we just needed to follow orders and get things done.

About ten minutes later, the Chief of Maintenance came out to my truck and started talking about smoke boiling out of the Pentagon. I thought he was talking metaphorically, you know, I pictured all the Generals with smoke coming out of their ears as they worked some issue. I still didn’t know. Then he talked about the crash into the WTC. “What the hell are you talking about?” I asked. “You haven’t heard? Where have you been?” he asked. Out here doing my job, now what the hell is going on?” He told me we were under attack. I couldn’t comprehend what he was telling me, so I went into our ready room and saw the images of the second plane flying into the south tower. I was stunned for about 20 seconds, then knew we needed to get focused and be ready for whatever tasking we would receive.

I immediately called my supervisors together and had them round everyone up and form them up in the hangar. I needed to talk to them. I don’t really remember what I said, but it was along the lines of “Our country is under attack. We need to put our personal thoughts and feelings aside and focus on what we’re trained to do.” “Anyone with family in NYC or Washington, get with your supervisors after the brief.” “I know you’re worried about them, but I’m sure you won’t be able to get through to them for a day or two, so try to contact them, but don’t focus on it.” I told them to focus on what we needed to do to get our jets combat ready. We’re trained and ready, let’s show them so when the commanders start looking for jets; we’re right at the top, ready to roll.

I told the supervisors to keep an extra eye on anyone with family in the area, not to let happening. I told them to let everyone take breaks when they needed to get updated on what was happening, but to make sure they didn’t forsake their jobs. I didn’t need to worry since our biggest problem was getting folks to take breaks; no one wanted to stop working. Those men and women, some no more than pimple faced kids, had to be ordered to eat or rest. These people were (ARE) DEDICATED. I was so proud of each and every one of them, and humbled to have been leading them.

We got our jets ready and were standing at the ready, wondering what our tasking would be. Since I was the Lead Pro Super, I had to attend the pilots briefing to let them know what the status of our fleet was. As I sat there, listening to the latest intel I couldn’t help but feel for the first time in my life, that I was glad I wasn’t a fighter pilot. I looked at their faces as they were briefed on the possibility and rules of engagement of engaging and firing on an unarmed airliner. I couldn’t read their expressions, but know they had to be conflicted inside. I know they would have performed their duty had they been tasked, but was praying they wouldn’t have to. Thank God they didn’t.

The rest of the day was a mixture of meetings, giving and taking orders, and praying. Praying for the victims, praying for our leaders, praying for those who would be asked to go into harms way. Yes, it was only a few hours since the towers fell, but I know we would be sending folks into harms way.

Later that night, after working a 17 hour day, I was able to call my wife. She was on her Air National Guard weekend and 500 miles from home. She told me they had been on a C-130 getting ready to fly a training mission, when they suddenly shut down the engines and told to get off the plane and return to their squadron. After they were briefed, they went into action putting together emergency response kits (her unit is and Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron) and verifying everyone’s qualifications in case they were called to help. She too had a very long day and told me the folks in her squadron were just as dedicated and focused as mine were. I had no doubt about that; the people who serve, whether active duty or Guard or Reserve, are a patriotic, dedicated, honorable population. I’m humbled to be in their company.

While talking with my wife that night, we finally allowed ourselves to grieve. We cried on each others shoulder, even though it was over a phone line. We prayed together. We cried together. We comforted each other.

Since that day, we keep the victims, their families, and those in harms way in our daily prayers. We refuse to forget; please don’t forget either.

Rememberance

2006-09-11T13:20:00.000-06:00

Hey all,
I know I don't have to remind any of you to stop at some point today and remember/reflect on this day only five short years ago. We can't allow ourselves to forget those who were taken so violently that day.

I'm looking for a piece I wrote about my experience that horrible day, but haven't found it yet. It's probably on the computer that's still in storage. Anyway, please leave your thoughts/recollections from that day, and I'll post mine as soon as I find it.

Be good everyone

Progress and Illness

2006-09-01T12:38:00.000-06:00

This picture was inspired by the one and only Barngoddess. I drive past these two almost everyday and just love how they stay together and look so much alike. I hope to have my own soon... :)

Hey everyone, just a quick note about the trials and tribulations here in the land O Rude.

We are making progress on the house, the garage walls are formed and concrete (the first layer) is going in today, but still not very happy with this clown.

I've spent the last three days (nights actually)taking care of a sick dog... Poor guy has been having "accidents" on the floor cause he just cant hold it. I hope this isnt too graphic, but "explosive" is the only way to describe it. The vet thinks its a change in diet, but I dont think so. Wish me luck with the poor guy.

Here's a couple of fawns running down the fairway at the local golf course.

Why I love It Here

2006-08-26T18:32:00.000-06:00

These folks were heading to the local laundromat believe it or not...

This guy ran across the road in front of me the other night while I was driving up to our building site. This is why I carry a camera with me all the time now!

This place really makes me happy! Ya'll come visit sometime!!

I aint daid yet!

2006-08-24T15:32:00.001-06:00

Hello all!
I am not speaking from beyond the grave, although sometimes it seems that way. Things have been a nightmare lately and I have ignored one of the few things I really didnt want too; my blog. So, here is my attempt to fix that little oversight!

First, I have to thank the lovely Barngoddess for stopping in and reminding me to write; her comment on my last post made me open my eyes and remember the really neat friends I've made here on the web. I still don't know why anyone would read my drivel, but Im glad some do. I really miss interacting with you all and will REALLY try and do better.

Okay, so here's a bit of the hell I call life right now. Remember the new house we're building? The one we wanted to start in May so we could move in before winter? The one that we have been planning and trying to cover all the hidden pitfalls over the last YEAR? The one that is supposed to fit inside the hole in the picture from two posts ago? Remember that house? youdo? Good. Here's an update... We just got the concrete footers in YESTERDAY. We have been waiting for the concrete for SEVEN F'ING WEEKS! Sure, we've had some rain, but not enough to delay more than 3-4 days TOPS. No, what we have is a concrete guy who keeps putting our work off cause he has bigger, more lucrative jobs keep popping up. I told my wife day before yesterday that if he wasnt there yesterday, I was going to have him come pull his forms out and bring in someone else. He must be telepathic, cause there he was, pouring the beginning of our concrete. Now, he has to pour the walls yet, which I told him better bee done by mid week next week, or I was getting someone else to finish it.

Here's the funny part (to me anyway); see, this is a small house. We're going to live in it for 2-3 years and then build our final home. It is going to be VERY BIG! about 3 times the concrete work as this one. Now, this small one has almost $30,000 just in concrete, not a bad chunk of change for the concrete guy. The bigger house will have about 90frickinthousanddamndollars in concrete work. Okay, here's the funny part I was telling you about. Guess who doesn't have a chance in HELL of getting that job? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Take that you sorry SOB. Oh yeah, I think I might just wait about 7 weeks to write acheck for this one! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Im sorry, I hope my language and evil laughter doesn't offend anyone...wait, actually, if it does, well, tough! LOL

Anyway, so here we are, living in a 30' RV (two adults and two big dogs) and I have to say, it's getting on our nerves. Not to mention the fact that we wanted to start this house in May so we wouldn't have to live in the RV in the winter... Now, we're 2-3 weeks away from first frost and all we have done is the damn garage floor. Somehow, I think we'll be in the RV when snow comes... ((SIGH))

So, if anyone needs any concrete work done in the San Luis Valley in Southern Colorado, talk to me first and I'll tell you who NOT to hire.

I feel much better now, so Im gonna go drive up to the property and sit in the middle of my new concrete floor. Till next time kiddos!

Is Ethanol the Answer?

2006-07-08T22:45:00.000-06:00

My brain sometimes drives me nuts; I have thoughts that bounce around just about every subject. Things like ethanol fuel; I was just watching TV and saw an ad for Ford (yuck) and they were bragging about building 250,000 vehicles that run on ethanol fuel that's "...grown in the heartland." They show a farmer loading bushels of corn into his truck and everyone thinks "wow, that's so great; ethanol is the answer to our oil woes." Everyone except me I guess.

You see, I have a knack for seeing things from different angles; I don't do it consciously, I'm just able to see things differently than most. This served me very well in the later years of my military career. In the early years it tended to get me in trouble with my superiors since it seemed I was "questioning" them. Anyway, eventually I learned how to tactfully bring my thoughts to the table and they started listening to me. Anyway, I digress, so back to the "ethanol as the answer" dilemma.

Yes, ethanol is an alternative fuel that can help EASE our oil burden, but it cannot replace oil without a huge negative impact on the global food chain. Follow me here; the amount of corn needed to produce enough ethanol to supply even a fraction of the population, would tie up most of our crop-land. I did some digging and found out that it would take 11 acres of crop-land to fuel one car for one year. That same 11 acres can produce enough food for seven people for one year. Another interesting tidbit is production costs; it currently costs approximately $1.75 to produce one gallon of ethanol compared to $.95 per gallon of gasoline. Oh, and it takes 70% more energy to produce a gallon of ethanol than that same gallon holds (131,000 BTUs to produce one gallon that will put out 77,000 BTUs). Pretty staggering huh?

There’s another problem; land is a finite commodity, and agricultural land is even harder to come by. The available land for agricultural use is getting smaller every day; farms and ranches are being sold to real estate developers at an alarming rate. Let’s face it, the planet is getting smaller, and if we use it to produce a product that we don’t need to survive, to me is a bad idea. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for reducing our dependence on foreign oil and alternative fuel research, but I don’t think taking food off the table to put gas in the tank is a smart move. This is especially true when we have vast un-tapped oil fields available.

I can hear some of the arguments already; how big oil is gouging since it only costs $.95 a gallon to make, and we can’t drill for new oil because it will ruin the environment. Keep in mind that the $.95 is only the production (refinement) cost per gallon of gas and doesn’t include costs like overhead, research, taxes, profit, etc. Yes I said profit, but keep in mind, the oil companies only operate with a 7 – 9% profit margin, which is actually pretty low. As for drilling issues, the U.S. does more than any other nation to ensure the environmental impacts are kept to a minimum. Think about this; the U.S. is not allowed to drill new oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico because of our environmental laws, yet now Cuba is going to be drilling within 20 miles of our shores. Don’t you think the U.S., with our technology and the EPA, would be more apt (and capable) to protect the environment while drilling than some third world country?

Well, I’ve gotten off on a tangent again, so I’ll quit my rant. The bottom line is that ethanol is not the answer. It’s a start, but we need to take a hard look at the ramifications before jumping on the band wagon. Just something to think about.

The Hole...

2006-07-07T22:26:00.000-06:00

Well, our hole has gotten bigger, but due to the rain we desperately need, the concrete has been delayed. At least it's getting closer, but I sure hope we're able to move in before winter... --sigh--

Anyway, here's a picture of our hole (the dog is NOT taking a dump; he was afraid to come down the slope!) taken a week or so ago.

The other pic is the view we will have from the house. You can see the creek and the nice green spot is a natural spring where deer, elk, and antelope like to hang out at night. Not to bad huh? :)

Okay, more to come; stay tuned kiddies!

I'm so ashamed... :)

2006-06-28T10:57:00.000-06:00

I haven't posted in so long and I feel terrible about it. So, I'll try and put down a few of the more important things bouncing around in my cranium...

First, let me tell you I'm totally impressed with the Dodge warranty service. When the Rude Ram went down a couple weeks ago, she was towed to the dealership, repaired and returned in less than 48 hours. Out here in the sticks, that's pretty good! And it only cost me the $100 deductible. Needless to say, I was very happy.

I have some pics I need to post; the other day I was up at the building sight and the neighbor from down the road was moving his cattle up to pasture. I sat there and watched as the cowboys and girls drove the heard right up the road and past our place. I thought how cool it was to sit and watch the poetry as these wranglers moved a herd in the same way it's been done for centuries. I love being back here!

We have a HOLE! LOL, the excavation has begun on the new house and we should be having the concrete poured very soon. It's hard to believe that our house is actually being built! Well, almost, but we have a well, a road, a hole, and next week we'll have a septic system! Yee-haw! Now as long as we can be done and moved in by winter I will be One. Happy. SOB!

In other news, my new business is starting to take off. We've had a lot of winter-kill out here with both the alfalfa crops and the turf grasses. Hopefully, we can get them re-established and have some happy customers.

I also wanted to do a mini-blogrole post to throw some kudos out to my peeps LOL. So, remember, this is just the first of many of these to get out my impressions of my favorite bloggers. Those on my side bar will eventually all be named, but this is just a starter...

Desult is responsible for me blogging at all. We started a friendship over email and she encouraged me to post some of my writing. I still don't know what she was thinging! LOL. Anyway, I admire the hell out of her for many reasons, one of which was her willing to change her lifestyle by joining the military. She is a driven and accomplished young lady who will go very very far. She just needs to trust in herself a bit more. Oh, and she's frickin HOT too :)

Speaking of Hotties, Cowgirl is smokin! LOL, for a couple of reasons; obviously she is a beautiful woman, but just read her posts and you know how beautiful her heart is. Her ability to express her love and connection with her horses, and her honest open personal insight make her such a joy to read. She has the ability to draw others to her and isn't afraid of judgement. I'm proud she's a friend and everytime I hear the song "that girl is a cowboy" I think of her. Oh, and if you ever have the pleasure of hearing her sing, you'll be AMAZED!

Shayna is another with an amazing voice. Her stories of Eugene got me hooked; she has such a big, sweet and loving heart that shows through in her writing. She's funny and fearless; one you always want on your side.

Militarygrrl's writings about her military experience are a must read for anyone on either side of the debate about women in the military. The things she went through, and the way she handled them are proof positive that women can not only do the job, but often out perform the "guys". I'd serve with her anyday.

Barngoddess; what can I say about her? Just read her stuff; she blows me away. Everytime I stop by her place it reminds me how much I miss having horses around. Even though it's been over 20 years since I had one. Thanks to her and Cowgirl, that will change soon after the house is built!

I just noticed something; almost all of my blog buddies are beautiful women... Go figure!

That's all I have time for right now, I'll get to more of them soon. I promise! Till then, thanks for being there for me to read, I miss stopping by like I used to. Have a great day all! Cheers

The New Place

2006-06-14T23:24:00.000-06:00

This is a pic of our place taken last year. It's much "greener" right now! The house will be down by where the trailer is, the corral will be just past it, up and to the right a wee bit. I hope you like!!