Christmas.
Get your shopping done now so I can do mine (*at least some of it) on Christmas Eve.
Yeah, I know, you wonder why an atheist, or an agnostic at best, shops for Christmas presents. I like the spirit of giving at Christmas, and I like the season whether or not I bring God into it. That's it, plain and simple.
So get your butts in gear, get out there and shop till you drop. Also be nice, give to charity too; but get that shopping done and leave something on the shelves for me.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, November 30, 2006
Hecticicity...
Oh you get it - things are extremely hectic lately. What with the Russian Spy being poisoned with Polonium, the Brits going crazy looking for contaminated hot spots, the Ruskies claiming no part, the Brits keeping mum as to who was to blame (even though the poisoned man spoke out while virtually DOA - anyone else remember that movie and the very close similarities to this case). At least he was brave enough to accuse those whom he thought were guilty, after all what did he have to lose. The Brits also have nothing to lose if they speak out, but they have turned into a nation of broken down moaners on a guilt ridden trip and they apparently feel responsible to make up for past evils to the rest of the world, the rest of the world minus their allies of course. Their allies would be us.
British justice, British politics, and British society have become a joke. I don't say this in an accusatory manner. I say it with an awful lot of regret and sadness. Yet, no matter how I say it, it is the truth. They are overrun with Muslims who seek to live their lives their way and not as British subjects, and they refuse to deport them or incarcerate them as they plot and rant about political, social and religious upheaval, of a violent nature mind you. They are over run with hooligans or gang violence from their own British youths, and cannot and apparently will not control them with a good stiff kick in the pants or the teeth as may be needed. Now they are apparently weak in the knees when another country sends hit men to their shores to kill with radioactive materials. Hopefully they will make a liar out of me and do something to really bring justice in this case, but I tend to doubt it.
It seems they would rather lock up their own loyal citizenry for carrying a Swiss Army pocket folding knife, make it nearly impossible for them to hunt, make it nearly impossible for them to own firearms and enjoy shooting sports, all the while making it easier for certain people to blow up trains and buses, or to get terrorists out of jail.
It is a joke and the joke ultimately will be on the Anglo-Saxons of Britain, and the Gaelic of Ireland, and the Welsh and the Scots. Within ten years, maybe 20 at most, I predict, if things keep on the same twisted track as they are now, Great Britain will be a Muslim nation called Britanastan. Rallying cries of 'long live the Queen' will have been replaced with something else, I'll leave that to your imaginations, but it surely will not be 'long live the King'.
I would ask my readers to support, in any legal way, reform of the British government to bring it to a point where Great Britain can assume the greatness spoken of in its own name, and thereby give the British people something to feel British about in a stiff upper lip, and cheerio, way.
I wish them all the luck in the world in order to avoid what I believe is in store for them, and as a matter of conjecture, in store for us to if we do not act soon to nip it before it reaches our shores. I can only hope George W. Bush is right when he says we will not leave Iraq and Afghanistan until we have achieved victory, because that victory will be over terrorism.
Best regards,
Glenn B
British justice, British politics, and British society have become a joke. I don't say this in an accusatory manner. I say it with an awful lot of regret and sadness. Yet, no matter how I say it, it is the truth. They are overrun with Muslims who seek to live their lives their way and not as British subjects, and they refuse to deport them or incarcerate them as they plot and rant about political, social and religious upheaval, of a violent nature mind you. They are over run with hooligans or gang violence from their own British youths, and cannot and apparently will not control them with a good stiff kick in the pants or the teeth as may be needed. Now they are apparently weak in the knees when another country sends hit men to their shores to kill with radioactive materials. Hopefully they will make a liar out of me and do something to really bring justice in this case, but I tend to doubt it.
It seems they would rather lock up their own loyal citizenry for carrying a Swiss Army pocket folding knife, make it nearly impossible for them to hunt, make it nearly impossible for them to own firearms and enjoy shooting sports, all the while making it easier for certain people to blow up trains and buses, or to get terrorists out of jail.
It is a joke and the joke ultimately will be on the Anglo-Saxons of Britain, and the Gaelic of Ireland, and the Welsh and the Scots. Within ten years, maybe 20 at most, I predict, if things keep on the same twisted track as they are now, Great Britain will be a Muslim nation called Britanastan. Rallying cries of 'long live the Queen' will have been replaced with something else, I'll leave that to your imaginations, but it surely will not be 'long live the King'.
I would ask my readers to support, in any legal way, reform of the British government to bring it to a point where Great Britain can assume the greatness spoken of in its own name, and thereby give the British people something to feel British about in a stiff upper lip, and cheerio, way.
I wish them all the luck in the world in order to avoid what I believe is in store for them, and as a matter of conjecture, in store for us to if we do not act soon to nip it before it reaches our shores. I can only hope George W. Bush is right when he says we will not leave Iraq and Afghanistan until we have achieved victory, because that victory will be over terrorism.
Best regards,
Glenn B
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Some Things in Life...
...are often found unexpectedly, and therefore are those that make, or should make, at least some amount of lasting impression upon us. I often used to say that I do not like surprises; though over the last year or so I realized that was not quite right. I don't like disappointing or bad surprises. I do like nice ones; and there are an awful lot of nice ones out there is you just let yourself admit it.
One of those surprises, at least for me, was a coffee shop. Not a dinner, or a cafe where you sit down and drink coffee, but rather a place in the business of selling coffee and tea. I found the coffee shop in Greenwich Village (New York City) quite by accidental chance. I was at a favorite restaurant of mine, a sort of hole in the wall place on MacDougal Street called Yatagan's, that by the way makes a Gyro for which to kill (I will not say to die for because if I died trying to get it I would not enjoy it as much). I went back to my car, on Bleecker Street, and the old fashioned store front of The Porto Rico Importing Company caught my eye. It was somewhat from another time, maybe back in the 60's when storefronts still had a certain warm charm to them instead of the flat fronted stores of today with their stark cold metal window and door frames. This place had a certain charm to it, what with its red awning, wooden framed doors and windows, its set back double door entrance, the small brick step which you had to surmount to reach the doors, the gilded hand painted wording in the front window, the small standing blackboard advertising each week's specials, and the small bench out front. It was not only charming, it was inviting.
Why it had not caught my eye before was a bit of a mystery. Maybe it had caught my eye this time because I had been thinking of my wife, and wanted to do something nice for her, just one of those little things, plain and simple, we sometimes do to let each other know we think of one another often, and that we can enjoy together with one another and our children. Sometimes I buy bread she likes at a Jewish bakery in Williamsburg Brooklyn; or buy tarts at a certain German bakery in Ridgewood , Brooklyn; or I shop for wurst and cold cuts at a certain great German butcher shop in Ridgewood (where they have their own smokehouse). Maybe that day, because I was thinking of my wife, I figured I would try picking out some good coffee for us to enjoy together. Then again, maybe it was just that the warm, inviting look of that old fashioned storefront called out to some part of me from years ago, and I could not resist the nostalgic Siren's song; but whatever its allure, after I had seen that storefront what could I do but go inside.
As I entered the store, the first thing to strike me was the wonderful aroma of coffee. Sure I was taking in a lot of things by way of my other senses, but my sense of smell was sent to a heavenly high as soon as I got my first whiff. Then I glanced around to see, among other things, numerous huge open bags of coffees for sale, each with a small sign sticking out the top displaying the type of coffee, and price, in its respective burlap bag. There must have been at least 30 or 40 such bags of coffee beans, maybe a bit more. There was a quaint old fashioned counter to the right of the entry, the coffee bean bags were also on the right side of the store further back than the counter. To the left were al sorts of coffee makers, tea pots, cups, teas and other things for sale, many set on old fashioned wooden shelves, others on free standing displays, all with a center aisle for the customers.
The place was not jammed packed with customers, but while I was there it had a steady flow of customers coming in and out. Most already seemed to know what they wanted and did not need to look around. As for me, I was looking at the contents of each burlap bag, and leaning over some of them a bit to sniff their contents (no touching the beans allowed). I don't recall exactly which two or three coffees I decided upon that day, but am sure at least one was a French roast, black as midnight, and strong as Heracles. The other was a nice medium looking brown bean that I was sure my wife and daughter would prefer over the French Roast. I was not all that sure about my son, as it turns out, he likes them all.
I think that I got our favorites that very first time, but if not then I found them by my second visit there ultimately deciding that the French Sumatran and the Tanzanian Peaberry were out of this world. Of course, I have purchased quite a few other coffees in the year or so that I have been shopping there. There are coffees from the world over, from places such as Costa Rica, Hawaii, Jamaica, Tanzania, Sumatra, Colombia, Mexico to name a few. Some we have tried included the Hawaiian Kona at about $24.00 per pound it was the most expensive that I have bought. It was, in my opinion good, not worth the high price. They have another very expensive one, Jamaican Blue Mountain or something like that at about $49.00 per pound - it is a bit too expensive for me to even try a pound - though maybe a quarter pound someday. Others I remember as being very good were from Costa Rica, Mexico, and Colombia. I try to get something in both a French roast and a milder regular roast each time I shop there. I have also bought one or two blends such as a shop regular called Auggie's Blend, mmmm good. I have enjoyed almost all of them. There is something wonderful about freshly ground good coffee, and I am not a daily coffee drinker, although I do enjoy it immensely when I have a good cup or two. My wife, daughter and son really like the Tanzanian Peaberry (or Peabody as I mistakenly called it for at least three or four purchases until one of the clerks told me she remembered me because of how I said it). They also liked the Costa Rican regular roast too. Linda also enjoyed the Hawaiian, as did my Celina and Brendan, but Linda also thought it was not worth the higher price. The other regularly priced coffees were either better, or just as good. Tastes differ though, so maybe you would like the Hawaiian more than we did.
As to the prices, well let me just say that I think they are a bargain, at least for New York City anyway. I live on Long Island, about 24 miles or so from this shop, and my local grocery store sells freshly ground coffee, that I have to grind self service, for the same price or higher than most of the regularly priced coffees at The Porto Rico Importing Company! Many of there coffees go for about $6.99 to $7.99 per pound. Each week the shop also has specials such as a house roast, or a Colombian sometimes for as low as $3.99 per pound. There is a different choice or three each week on the for sale coffees. They also sell organically grown coffees at a slightly higher price than those grown by more conventional methods; maybe a dollar per pound higher. In addition they also have a good sized selection of flavored coffees, but I usually avoid them. As for me I am a bit of a purist when it comes to coffee, I like it hot, black and nasty (very strong and tasty); of course my family likes some of the flavored ones, so maybe next time I’ll pick out a hazelnut or Vanilla flavored one for them. In addition they have a good assortment of sweets (most coffee flavored I think) for those of you with a sweet tooth. I was there just yesterday and I picked up our two favorites along with a third one to try. That one is called Guatemalan Margogipe.
The shop has a wonderful staff of store clerks to help out the customer. They will explain the nature of the various coffees, make sure you have it ground to the correct size for your coffee maker and filter type, and just be totally pleasant throughout the whole process.
They have been in business since 1907, and I certainly understand why. So if you are ever by chance in this area, and are a coffee lover, a tea lover, or just like the smell of coffe and the allure of an old fashioned store with very polite clerks, then don’t miss this place!
All the best,
Glenn B
Edited to Add: I just saw that they have their own web site, and at least two other stores. They offer internet oredring and delivery too. Go to http://portorico.com/ if interested.
One of those surprises, at least for me, was a coffee shop. Not a dinner, or a cafe where you sit down and drink coffee, but rather a place in the business of selling coffee and tea. I found the coffee shop in Greenwich Village (New York City) quite by accidental chance. I was at a favorite restaurant of mine, a sort of hole in the wall place on MacDougal Street called Yatagan's, that by the way makes a Gyro for which to kill (I will not say to die for because if I died trying to get it I would not enjoy it as much). I went back to my car, on Bleecker Street, and the old fashioned store front of The Porto Rico Importing Company caught my eye. It was somewhat from another time, maybe back in the 60's when storefronts still had a certain warm charm to them instead of the flat fronted stores of today with their stark cold metal window and door frames. This place had a certain charm to it, what with its red awning, wooden framed doors and windows, its set back double door entrance, the small brick step which you had to surmount to reach the doors, the gilded hand painted wording in the front window, the small standing blackboard advertising each week's specials, and the small bench out front. It was not only charming, it was inviting.
Why it had not caught my eye before was a bit of a mystery. Maybe it had caught my eye this time because I had been thinking of my wife, and wanted to do something nice for her, just one of those little things, plain and simple, we sometimes do to let each other know we think of one another often, and that we can enjoy together with one another and our children. Sometimes I buy bread she likes at a Jewish bakery in Williamsburg Brooklyn; or buy tarts at a certain German bakery in Ridgewood , Brooklyn; or I shop for wurst and cold cuts at a certain great German butcher shop in Ridgewood (where they have their own smokehouse). Maybe that day, because I was thinking of my wife, I figured I would try picking out some good coffee for us to enjoy together. Then again, maybe it was just that the warm, inviting look of that old fashioned storefront called out to some part of me from years ago, and I could not resist the nostalgic Siren's song; but whatever its allure, after I had seen that storefront what could I do but go inside.
As I entered the store, the first thing to strike me was the wonderful aroma of coffee. Sure I was taking in a lot of things by way of my other senses, but my sense of smell was sent to a heavenly high as soon as I got my first whiff. Then I glanced around to see, among other things, numerous huge open bags of coffees for sale, each with a small sign sticking out the top displaying the type of coffee, and price, in its respective burlap bag. There must have been at least 30 or 40 such bags of coffee beans, maybe a bit more. There was a quaint old fashioned counter to the right of the entry, the coffee bean bags were also on the right side of the store further back than the counter. To the left were al sorts of coffee makers, tea pots, cups, teas and other things for sale, many set on old fashioned wooden shelves, others on free standing displays, all with a center aisle for the customers.
The place was not jammed packed with customers, but while I was there it had a steady flow of customers coming in and out. Most already seemed to know what they wanted and did not need to look around. As for me, I was looking at the contents of each burlap bag, and leaning over some of them a bit to sniff their contents (no touching the beans allowed). I don't recall exactly which two or three coffees I decided upon that day, but am sure at least one was a French roast, black as midnight, and strong as Heracles. The other was a nice medium looking brown bean that I was sure my wife and daughter would prefer over the French Roast. I was not all that sure about my son, as it turns out, he likes them all.
I think that I got our favorites that very first time, but if not then I found them by my second visit there ultimately deciding that the French Sumatran and the Tanzanian Peaberry were out of this world. Of course, I have purchased quite a few other coffees in the year or so that I have been shopping there. There are coffees from the world over, from places such as Costa Rica, Hawaii, Jamaica, Tanzania, Sumatra, Colombia, Mexico to name a few. Some we have tried included the Hawaiian Kona at about $24.00 per pound it was the most expensive that I have bought. It was, in my opinion good, not worth the high price. They have another very expensive one, Jamaican Blue Mountain or something like that at about $49.00 per pound - it is a bit too expensive for me to even try a pound - though maybe a quarter pound someday. Others I remember as being very good were from Costa Rica, Mexico, and Colombia. I try to get something in both a French roast and a milder regular roast each time I shop there. I have also bought one or two blends such as a shop regular called Auggie's Blend, mmmm good. I have enjoyed almost all of them. There is something wonderful about freshly ground good coffee, and I am not a daily coffee drinker, although I do enjoy it immensely when I have a good cup or two. My wife, daughter and son really like the Tanzanian Peaberry (or Peabody as I mistakenly called it for at least three or four purchases until one of the clerks told me she remembered me because of how I said it). They also liked the Costa Rican regular roast too. Linda also enjoyed the Hawaiian, as did my Celina and Brendan, but Linda also thought it was not worth the higher price. The other regularly priced coffees were either better, or just as good. Tastes differ though, so maybe you would like the Hawaiian more than we did.
As to the prices, well let me just say that I think they are a bargain, at least for New York City anyway. I live on Long Island, about 24 miles or so from this shop, and my local grocery store sells freshly ground coffee, that I have to grind self service, for the same price or higher than most of the regularly priced coffees at The Porto Rico Importing Company! Many of there coffees go for about $6.99 to $7.99 per pound. Each week the shop also has specials such as a house roast, or a Colombian sometimes for as low as $3.99 per pound. There is a different choice or three each week on the for sale coffees. They also sell organically grown coffees at a slightly higher price than those grown by more conventional methods; maybe a dollar per pound higher. In addition they also have a good sized selection of flavored coffees, but I usually avoid them. As for me I am a bit of a purist when it comes to coffee, I like it hot, black and nasty (very strong and tasty); of course my family likes some of the flavored ones, so maybe next time I’ll pick out a hazelnut or Vanilla flavored one for them. In addition they have a good assortment of sweets (most coffee flavored I think) for those of you with a sweet tooth. I was there just yesterday and I picked up our two favorites along with a third one to try. That one is called Guatemalan Margogipe.
The shop has a wonderful staff of store clerks to help out the customer. They will explain the nature of the various coffees, make sure you have it ground to the correct size for your coffee maker and filter type, and just be totally pleasant throughout the whole process.
They have been in business since 1907, and I certainly understand why. So if you are ever by chance in this area, and are a coffee lover, a tea lover, or just like the smell of coffe and the allure of an old fashioned store with very polite clerks, then don’t miss this place!
All the best,
Glenn B
Edited to Add: I just saw that they have their own web site, and at least two other stores. They offer internet oredring and delivery too. Go to http://portorico.com/ if interested.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Post Thanksgiving Weekend Report
I hope you all had a very excellent Thanksgiving. Mine was very nice indeed. On Thanksgiving morning I got up early for me, and I baked an apple pie. Baking is something I am fairly good at yet which I had not done for years until this past Thursday.
After that I got our hunting gear ready for our anticipated hunting trip set for Friday. Brendan would go along with me this year on his first deer hunt. This took most of the morning and some of the early afternoon.
Then it was off to the mother-in-law's place for dinner. We got there a bit before 3. After the usual amenities, I got to carving the Tur-Duck-En. What a treat for Thanksgiving. A turkey, stuffed with a duck that was stuffed with a chicken; all previously boned. The insides are crammed full of a wonderfully spicy stuffing. My brother-in-law Alex drove down to Texas recently to visit someone, then went to Louisiana to pick up this delight of the American culinary art. It makes my mouth water thinking of it. Absolutely delicious. We also had a nice baked ham, yams, two kinds of German dumplings, some veggies and so on. Dessert consisted of a bunch of things that I skipped. My apple pie, even though it had been meant for our breakfast at home, wound up tagging along with us to Oma's apartment, and it was one heck of a hit.
Once we got home, I put some finishing touches on the hunting gear and hit the hay early. At 0200, I was up and at em. Of course, Brendan would not wake up. I could not blame him after the feast of Thanksgiving, and because of the fact we had made a detour to my brother-in-law Han's house on our way home. We were there well over an hour, and the later than usual dinner, along with this, got us home close to 2100.
It took several tries to get Brendan up and at em, but I finally succeeded. We were off by about 0430, way to late. Oh well. We packed the car, and were off in no time. It was smooth sailing up the Taconic Parkway, although we did hear on a traffic report that the roads to the shopping centers, malls, and outlet stores were jammed already. Black Friday, the worst shopping nightmare I can imagine.
We got to the hunting spot at about 0615. We geared up, and that included brendan putting on his brand new hunting coat in blaze camo. Linda (she who must be obeyed) and I had given it to him as an early birthday present on Thanksgiving. I figured he had better be safe than wait to get his birthday gift on his birthday in December.
We were off to a previously selected spot in the hills in almost no time once we had parked and hopped out of the car. Day one was pretty interesting but no deer. Brendan did learn a lot though about: getting up early enough, deer sign, selection of stand, still hunting, rubs, scrapes, deer trails and choke points, and so on. We saw a few squirrels that all went unmolested. All in all it was a good day. I was very happy indeed that my boy had shown some responsibility at home before we left when he made lunches for both of us. A good sign for future hunts. He made 6 of the best tasting sandwiches I have ever eaten.
That night we headed to a Holiday Inn Express in Poughkeepsie, NY, about 30 miles from out hunting spot. I was not in the mood to camp out overnight, although the weather would have been okay for it, the weather was also great for ticks and the area was loaded with them. As it was I had a free night coming to me at the hotel, so the allure of that could not be beat. We wound up spending a comfortable night in warm beds at a nice motel. The next morning we were up at about 0400, I was anyhow. I woke Brendan up at 0430. We got to the hunting grounds a bit late again, but it was barely getting light, so it was much earlier and better than the day before. Brendan helped me offload our gear, made sure we had the two remaining sandwiches and some other food, and we were off up the hill again.
We went to a spot we had discovered only the day before. It was a choke point where several deer trails met near a saddle between two hills. Yep, the deer crossed through that saddle to get to the other side of the hills from all the evidence I could see. There were also about a dozen rubs all within about 25 yards of one another, and there were two active scrapes. There were either a lot of bucks passing through or one big angry king of em all.
We set up as quietly as possible and waited. We were there almost the whole day, except for a few trips I made to try to spook something up for Brendan. While I would not have minded getting a shot myself, I wanted him to bag his first deer on is first deer hunt if possible. One time, after Brendan complained of being cold, and stiff from sitting, and just standing in one spot, I had him walk to the car to grab the rattling antlers I had forgotten that morning. He came back wearing my insulated overalls that he had declined that morning. It was not cold, just chilly, but he was not used to it, so all the better for him that he used his gray cells and grabbed the warm stuff.
I tried rattling several times to no avail. That was unusual for me. I have often rattled in bucks and does. Many times I have seen them and either not been able to get a shot, or not seen them but heard them around me; other times I have taken my deer because of rattling. Nothing was nothing, and it was disheartening. I tried to spook something up one last time, again with no good effect.
Then I asked Brendan to make a decision. Walk down the hill to look at another spot I had found or stay put. It was about 12:30. He decided to check the other spot. Once there we found it to be promising, a clearing with short sweet looking grass, lots of deer trails, and some good lay down places for them. Yet he wanted to return to the other spot, so I said okay, go ahead. I waited back and told him in one hour I would try to flush something toward him.
After waiting as planned, I started walking back toward Brendan's spot at about 1:15. Almost immediately, near my original hunting spot from opening day of a week before (when I went hunting solo) I spotted 5 deer moving past me at about 20 yards distance in very heavy brush. All I had was a 9mm pistol, s I decided to not even attempt a shot. They had been trotting, not running fast, and I am not sure that I spooked them or that they even realized I was there. I waited about 15 minutes, and I tried to circle around where I thought they had headed in the hope of getting them to go toward Brendan. No luck, and of course when I first saw them, they were going in the exact opposite direction of Brendan's stand. It is possible he spooked them while returning to his stand, or that two other hunters somewhat near him did likewise. I'll never know.
I slowly, but somewhat noisily made my way up to Brendan's spot. I saw nothing, and he saw nothing. Well he saw nothing of deer anyhow. He continued to see squirrels, gray ones, red ones, and black ones, and maybe some Chipmunks too. We had started to see these once it had gotten fairly light out that morning, all around our stand, from about 15 minutes before sunrise. There must have been hundreds of them, mostly Red Squirrels, but a fair number of Gray Squirrels - and their season had opened in September. The woods were loaded with acorns, and they were making the best of it. In addition Brendan also saw a vole or some other small creature right next to him. He got a kick out of watching that little fur ball as it went about its business. He also saw lots of birds like woodpeckers, and a hawk. What he did not see though, as I said, were any deer. Still I knew he was on his stand as he should be, otherwise he would never have seen all those squirrels, the birds, and that little fuzzy vole scampering about the woods al within virtual spitting, or at least rock throwing, distance.
At about 3:00PM, we both head3ed down the hill and set up near the spot I had hunted a week before, and where I had just seen those 5 deer. It was worth the chance to move, but again we struck out. The deer were heavily hunted at this place, being it was a tract of state forest, and with the number of hunters in NYS. Still though Brendan learned a lot about hunting. Its anticipation, its frustration, and the joy of the hunt even if you do not bag your game. As a matter of fact he told me he didn't care if he had gotten a deer or not. I knew he did care, so I asked what he meant. He said he had a great time even though he hadn't gotten a shot or even seen a deer. That made me proud as any dad could be because I knew, at least with regard to the hunt, that he had learned well.
So far his tally on hunts is one black bear on his first big game hunt, and one squirrel on his second small game hunt. We may try deer again next Saturday, but if we do, I am also bringing along my .22 magnum for those little gray ghosts. Whatever we go for, whether we take game or not, I am certain he will enjoy it, and I will most definitely enjoy the company of the best hunting buddy ever.
Oh yeah, we got home on Saturday night, and I immediately did half of our laundry. This keeps the wife rather happy. The remainder I did the next morning. Then I was off to the New York Metro reptile Expo in White Plains, NY where I helped man the Long island herpetological Society's table. We adopted out several turtles, and one snake that people had given over to us for various reasons. We also gave out lots of info to those who needed to know about reptile or amphibian care. By we, I mean me and some other members of the LIHS other than Brendan. He was stuck at work or so I thought (he actually called in sick too tired from his two days of hunting); and I don't blame him somewhat – though I would have much preferred him to have gone to work - but that is another matter. At the show I was lucky enough to pick up a nice California Kingsnake (50/50 Desert Phase, for those in the know). It sort of has a pattern that resembles stacked over stuffed Oreo cookies. I had another great day.
All in all my weekend was a great one. Hope yours was likewise.
All the best,
Glenn B
After that I got our hunting gear ready for our anticipated hunting trip set for Friday. Brendan would go along with me this year on his first deer hunt. This took most of the morning and some of the early afternoon.
Then it was off to the mother-in-law's place for dinner. We got there a bit before 3. After the usual amenities, I got to carving the Tur-Duck-En. What a treat for Thanksgiving. A turkey, stuffed with a duck that was stuffed with a chicken; all previously boned. The insides are crammed full of a wonderfully spicy stuffing. My brother-in-law Alex drove down to Texas recently to visit someone, then went to Louisiana to pick up this delight of the American culinary art. It makes my mouth water thinking of it. Absolutely delicious. We also had a nice baked ham, yams, two kinds of German dumplings, some veggies and so on. Dessert consisted of a bunch of things that I skipped. My apple pie, even though it had been meant for our breakfast at home, wound up tagging along with us to Oma's apartment, and it was one heck of a hit.
Once we got home, I put some finishing touches on the hunting gear and hit the hay early. At 0200, I was up and at em. Of course, Brendan would not wake up. I could not blame him after the feast of Thanksgiving, and because of the fact we had made a detour to my brother-in-law Han's house on our way home. We were there well over an hour, and the later than usual dinner, along with this, got us home close to 2100.
It took several tries to get Brendan up and at em, but I finally succeeded. We were off by about 0430, way to late. Oh well. We packed the car, and were off in no time. It was smooth sailing up the Taconic Parkway, although we did hear on a traffic report that the roads to the shopping centers, malls, and outlet stores were jammed already. Black Friday, the worst shopping nightmare I can imagine.
We got to the hunting spot at about 0615. We geared up, and that included brendan putting on his brand new hunting coat in blaze camo. Linda (she who must be obeyed) and I had given it to him as an early birthday present on Thanksgiving. I figured he had better be safe than wait to get his birthday gift on his birthday in December.
We were off to a previously selected spot in the hills in almost no time once we had parked and hopped out of the car. Day one was pretty interesting but no deer. Brendan did learn a lot though about: getting up early enough, deer sign, selection of stand, still hunting, rubs, scrapes, deer trails and choke points, and so on. We saw a few squirrels that all went unmolested. All in all it was a good day. I was very happy indeed that my boy had shown some responsibility at home before we left when he made lunches for both of us. A good sign for future hunts. He made 6 of the best tasting sandwiches I have ever eaten.
That night we headed to a Holiday Inn Express in Poughkeepsie, NY, about 30 miles from out hunting spot. I was not in the mood to camp out overnight, although the weather would have been okay for it, the weather was also great for ticks and the area was loaded with them. As it was I had a free night coming to me at the hotel, so the allure of that could not be beat. We wound up spending a comfortable night in warm beds at a nice motel. The next morning we were up at about 0400, I was anyhow. I woke Brendan up at 0430. We got to the hunting grounds a bit late again, but it was barely getting light, so it was much earlier and better than the day before. Brendan helped me offload our gear, made sure we had the two remaining sandwiches and some other food, and we were off up the hill again.
We went to a spot we had discovered only the day before. It was a choke point where several deer trails met near a saddle between two hills. Yep, the deer crossed through that saddle to get to the other side of the hills from all the evidence I could see. There were also about a dozen rubs all within about 25 yards of one another, and there were two active scrapes. There were either a lot of bucks passing through or one big angry king of em all.
We set up as quietly as possible and waited. We were there almost the whole day, except for a few trips I made to try to spook something up for Brendan. While I would not have minded getting a shot myself, I wanted him to bag his first deer on is first deer hunt if possible. One time, after Brendan complained of being cold, and stiff from sitting, and just standing in one spot, I had him walk to the car to grab the rattling antlers I had forgotten that morning. He came back wearing my insulated overalls that he had declined that morning. It was not cold, just chilly, but he was not used to it, so all the better for him that he used his gray cells and grabbed the warm stuff.
I tried rattling several times to no avail. That was unusual for me. I have often rattled in bucks and does. Many times I have seen them and either not been able to get a shot, or not seen them but heard them around me; other times I have taken my deer because of rattling. Nothing was nothing, and it was disheartening. I tried to spook something up one last time, again with no good effect.
Then I asked Brendan to make a decision. Walk down the hill to look at another spot I had found or stay put. It was about 12:30. He decided to check the other spot. Once there we found it to be promising, a clearing with short sweet looking grass, lots of deer trails, and some good lay down places for them. Yet he wanted to return to the other spot, so I said okay, go ahead. I waited back and told him in one hour I would try to flush something toward him.
After waiting as planned, I started walking back toward Brendan's spot at about 1:15. Almost immediately, near my original hunting spot from opening day of a week before (when I went hunting solo) I spotted 5 deer moving past me at about 20 yards distance in very heavy brush. All I had was a 9mm pistol, s I decided to not even attempt a shot. They had been trotting, not running fast, and I am not sure that I spooked them or that they even realized I was there. I waited about 15 minutes, and I tried to circle around where I thought they had headed in the hope of getting them to go toward Brendan. No luck, and of course when I first saw them, they were going in the exact opposite direction of Brendan's stand. It is possible he spooked them while returning to his stand, or that two other hunters somewhat near him did likewise. I'll never know.
I slowly, but somewhat noisily made my way up to Brendan's spot. I saw nothing, and he saw nothing. Well he saw nothing of deer anyhow. He continued to see squirrels, gray ones, red ones, and black ones, and maybe some Chipmunks too. We had started to see these once it had gotten fairly light out that morning, all around our stand, from about 15 minutes before sunrise. There must have been hundreds of them, mostly Red Squirrels, but a fair number of Gray Squirrels - and their season had opened in September. The woods were loaded with acorns, and they were making the best of it. In addition Brendan also saw a vole or some other small creature right next to him. He got a kick out of watching that little fur ball as it went about its business. He also saw lots of birds like woodpeckers, and a hawk. What he did not see though, as I said, were any deer. Still I knew he was on his stand as he should be, otherwise he would never have seen all those squirrels, the birds, and that little fuzzy vole scampering about the woods al within virtual spitting, or at least rock throwing, distance.
At about 3:00PM, we both head3ed down the hill and set up near the spot I had hunted a week before, and where I had just seen those 5 deer. It was worth the chance to move, but again we struck out. The deer were heavily hunted at this place, being it was a tract of state forest, and with the number of hunters in NYS. Still though Brendan learned a lot about hunting. Its anticipation, its frustration, and the joy of the hunt even if you do not bag your game. As a matter of fact he told me he didn't care if he had gotten a deer or not. I knew he did care, so I asked what he meant. He said he had a great time even though he hadn't gotten a shot or even seen a deer. That made me proud as any dad could be because I knew, at least with regard to the hunt, that he had learned well.
So far his tally on hunts is one black bear on his first big game hunt, and one squirrel on his second small game hunt. We may try deer again next Saturday, but if we do, I am also bringing along my .22 magnum for those little gray ghosts. Whatever we go for, whether we take game or not, I am certain he will enjoy it, and I will most definitely enjoy the company of the best hunting buddy ever.
Oh yeah, we got home on Saturday night, and I immediately did half of our laundry. This keeps the wife rather happy. The remainder I did the next morning. Then I was off to the New York Metro reptile Expo in White Plains, NY where I helped man the Long island herpetological Society's table. We adopted out several turtles, and one snake that people had given over to us for various reasons. We also gave out lots of info to those who needed to know about reptile or amphibian care. By we, I mean me and some other members of the LIHS other than Brendan. He was stuck at work or so I thought (he actually called in sick too tired from his two days of hunting); and I don't blame him somewhat – though I would have much preferred him to have gone to work - but that is another matter. At the show I was lucky enough to pick up a nice California Kingsnake (50/50 Desert Phase, for those in the know). It sort of has a pattern that resembles stacked over stuffed Oreo cookies. I had another great day.
All in all my weekend was a great one. Hope yours was likewise.
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, November 23, 2006
Bizarro Airlines are seemingly becoming the norm...
...when it comes to such things as how they try to label threats on their aircraft. You might guess that I am talking about the recent removal of a few male Muslims from a flight in the U.S. because they stood up to pray and disrupted the flight. No, that is not to which I refer; and as a matter of fact, that may have been justified no matter what the basis of their standing if their doing so caused a disturbance in the mind of reasonable folks.
What I am writing about here is another thing altogether. It is a right thing being done in the wrong way for the wrong reasons. The right thing is that the airlines are attempting to protect passengers who are children from harm. The wrong way that it is being done is that the airlines are being discriminatory based upon gender. The wrong reasons it is being done, are probably that the airlines have gone Bizarro in their interpretation of what poses a threat to a child.
If you have no clue yet as to exactly what I am writing about, then see this article: Segregating Children From Men at FoxNews.com. It seems some airlines are asking adult male passengers to change their seats when said male passenger is seated next to a child. Why are they asking? Well it is because the airlines believe that the male passengers are a threat to the children, a danger to them. No other reason, other than the adult being male, is needed for some airlines to ask you to change your seat.
Could you imagine the embarrassment you would suffer if you were on an aircraft, flying along, the fasten seat belt sign goes off, and suddenly the stewardess (no I did not say flight attendant because if they are doing this they are in essence being stewards and stewardesses not attendants) comes over to you, in front of anyone else on the aircraft who can see you, and then asks, then asks more forcefully for you to change seats to protect the welfare of the child next to whom you are seated? This would be okay if there was some justified suspicion that you may have attempted to disturb the child, but this is being done simply because it is a male passenger seated next to the child.
Imagine for a moment that a European American (white) was asked to change his seat in order to protect an African American (black)because the airline believed whites posed a threat to blacks. Imagine that one switched around. The black community would be up in arms. Doubt it, then you are not a realist, not at all. I would not blame them either. So why is this not like the praying in the aisles, because the praying is not normal in the confined spaces of an aircraft when it requires one to stand, chant or pray out loud and bow; that could easily be seen as odd behavior. If a Christian did that in Mecca aboard and aircraft, he would no doubt be arrested.
I digress though, the issue is moving passengers away from children because of the passenger's gender. This is ridiculous. As a point of fact, the article points out that at least one passenger was asked to change his seat in order to protect the children next to whom he was seated. That passenger then had to explain to the arse hat steward(ess) that those same children were his own children. Yes the airlines are living in Bizarro world.
I see a simple solution to this. Any male passenger who is asked to change his seat should tell the airline no. If the airline insists, or goes as far as to remove the passenger from the plane, then that person should sue the airlines. I would, and I am not the suing type. As a matter of fact, a class action lawsuit, brought on the behalf of all male passengers on the airlines using this policy would be a big money maker for the attorneys who brought such to court. Come on you lawyers, don't you already smell the blood in the water.
In addition the passenger asked to give up his or her seat should request that the airline inconvenience the child. Furthermore the passenger should insist that the steward(ess) get on the PA system on the aircraft and state this is airline policy and not anything indicative of any wrong doing by the passenger. This would of course only help to fuel the lawsuit, but so to would not making such an announcement and leaving it to the passengers imaginations. The statement about this policy should be made before anyone is actually asked to change seats, hopefully avoiding the embarrassment that will no doubt accompany such an absurd request; but at least it will be stated as policy beforehand.
There is of course, another way to solve this even if the airlines insist on such a ridiculous policy to 'protect' children. The airline should make certain to seat children only with their parents, or next to women. Hmm, I sure would not want my little boy seated next to one of those hot as all heck school marms who molest little boys, no matter what my 16 year old son thought about it. See how ridiculous this gets. Sure women are sexual predators too, probably in greater numbers than we can imagine.
The truth is the inside of a passenger airplane is a densely populated small space. Steward(esse)s walk the aisles routinely. Other passengers peer about. It is not likely a sexual predator would take action on a flight. No I am not saying it is impossible, of course it is possible, but let's be reasonable here, it is unlikely - and it is even more unlikely that your average male passenger would offend in such a manner. So, as I see it, and as I hope you see it, this policy is just plain foolish, ridiculous, and a product of Bizarro world. Let your airlines know what you think about it.
What I am writing about here is another thing altogether. It is a right thing being done in the wrong way for the wrong reasons. The right thing is that the airlines are attempting to protect passengers who are children from harm. The wrong way that it is being done is that the airlines are being discriminatory based upon gender. The wrong reasons it is being done, are probably that the airlines have gone Bizarro in their interpretation of what poses a threat to a child.
If you have no clue yet as to exactly what I am writing about, then see this article: Segregating Children From Men at FoxNews.com. It seems some airlines are asking adult male passengers to change their seats when said male passenger is seated next to a child. Why are they asking? Well it is because the airlines believe that the male passengers are a threat to the children, a danger to them. No other reason, other than the adult being male, is needed for some airlines to ask you to change your seat.
Could you imagine the embarrassment you would suffer if you were on an aircraft, flying along, the fasten seat belt sign goes off, and suddenly the stewardess (no I did not say flight attendant because if they are doing this they are in essence being stewards and stewardesses not attendants) comes over to you, in front of anyone else on the aircraft who can see you, and then asks, then asks more forcefully for you to change seats to protect the welfare of the child next to whom you are seated? This would be okay if there was some justified suspicion that you may have attempted to disturb the child, but this is being done simply because it is a male passenger seated next to the child.
Imagine for a moment that a European American (white) was asked to change his seat in order to protect an African American (black)because the airline believed whites posed a threat to blacks. Imagine that one switched around. The black community would be up in arms. Doubt it, then you are not a realist, not at all. I would not blame them either. So why is this not like the praying in the aisles, because the praying is not normal in the confined spaces of an aircraft when it requires one to stand, chant or pray out loud and bow; that could easily be seen as odd behavior. If a Christian did that in Mecca aboard and aircraft, he would no doubt be arrested.
I digress though, the issue is moving passengers away from children because of the passenger's gender. This is ridiculous. As a point of fact, the article points out that at least one passenger was asked to change his seat in order to protect the children next to whom he was seated. That passenger then had to explain to the arse hat steward(ess) that those same children were his own children. Yes the airlines are living in Bizarro world.
I see a simple solution to this. Any male passenger who is asked to change his seat should tell the airline no. If the airline insists, or goes as far as to remove the passenger from the plane, then that person should sue the airlines. I would, and I am not the suing type. As a matter of fact, a class action lawsuit, brought on the behalf of all male passengers on the airlines using this policy would be a big money maker for the attorneys who brought such to court. Come on you lawyers, don't you already smell the blood in the water.
In addition the passenger asked to give up his or her seat should request that the airline inconvenience the child. Furthermore the passenger should insist that the steward(ess) get on the PA system on the aircraft and state this is airline policy and not anything indicative of any wrong doing by the passenger. This would of course only help to fuel the lawsuit, but so to would not making such an announcement and leaving it to the passengers imaginations. The statement about this policy should be made before anyone is actually asked to change seats, hopefully avoiding the embarrassment that will no doubt accompany such an absurd request; but at least it will be stated as policy beforehand.
There is of course, another way to solve this even if the airlines insist on such a ridiculous policy to 'protect' children. The airline should make certain to seat children only with their parents, or next to women. Hmm, I sure would not want my little boy seated next to one of those hot as all heck school marms who molest little boys, no matter what my 16 year old son thought about it. See how ridiculous this gets. Sure women are sexual predators too, probably in greater numbers than we can imagine.
The truth is the inside of a passenger airplane is a densely populated small space. Steward(esse)s walk the aisles routinely. Other passengers peer about. It is not likely a sexual predator would take action on a flight. No I am not saying it is impossible, of course it is possible, but let's be reasonable here, it is unlikely - and it is even more unlikely that your average male passenger would offend in such a manner. So, as I see it, and as I hope you see it, this policy is just plain foolish, ridiculous, and a product of Bizarro world. Let your airlines know what you think about it.
Happy Thanksgiving...
...and I mean that with all my heart to each and everyone of you other American Citizens and legal American residents - this is afterall a truly American (as in country not as in continent) holiday that can be celebrated by those Americans of every conceivable background..
Special wishes go out to all of those who proudly serve our nation in the U.S. military, they are very special indeed, and they do us a service that requires thanks every day not just today. I wish you all a peaceful day, and if that comes true, what better thing than for which to give thanks.
Best regards,
Glenn B
Special wishes go out to all of those who proudly serve our nation in the U.S. military, they are very special indeed, and they do us a service that requires thanks every day not just today. I wish you all a peaceful day, and if that comes true, what better thing than for which to give thanks.
Best regards,
Glenn B
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
How will you spend your Thanksgiving?
As for me, I am one of the lucky ones who will be with loved ones on Thanksgiving day if all goes as planned. I will not be in Iraq or Afghanistan, nor will I be at work, nor will I be hospitalized, nor will I be in jail, nor will I be anything but alive and well and enjoying the day. Yes that makes me one of the lucky ones, and I will have a lot for which to give thanks. Of course, being agnostic at best, I am not quite sure whom I need to thank, but even an atheist can give thanks on Thanksgiving. Thanks can be given to those who protect us from harm, especially those now in harm's way. Thanks can be given to mother nature for the bounty she bestows upon us even though we treat her pretty roughly at times. Thanks can be given to the farmer and rancher who supply most of the food we eat. Thanks can be given to our moms and dads for having brought us into this world and for having done their best to bring us up. Thanks can be given to our spouse or other loved ones just for loving us, or in my case just for putting up with me. Thanks can be given to our kids, just for growing up as other than psycho killers, and maybe even for still loving us a bit. Thanks can be given to the policemen and firemen, and ambulance drivers who will save lives tomorrow while the rest of us pig out on dinner with friends and family, all the while as they work on Thanksgiving. Thanks can be given to our priests, preachers, pastors, ministers, rabbis, mullahs, imams, social leaders, civic leaders, politicians, lawmakers and so forth for trying to teach us a moral way of life. Thanks can be given to one another for being good United States Citizens and legal resident and non-resident aliens. Thanks can be given to the Native Americans and to the Pilgrims for starting this wonderful tradition called Thanksgiving. Of course, if you believe in God, as it seems do most folks, then thanks can also be given to God for those things for which we are thankful.
Thanks can also be given to the Turkeys, though they may not understand all that well, since we are about to eat them.
No matter who you are, no mater your religious or nonreligious background, no matter your politics, your culture, your ethnicity, your race, your national heritage, your age, your sex, or whatever - you can enjoy Thanksgiving, and you can celebrate it by giving thanks. It is not a Christian holiday, and this is something people tend to forget. It was a coming together of two different cultures (with vastly different religions) to give thanks for nature's bounty, for survival against the odds, for peace, for good things. It has become a celebration for all of us who are living in the USA. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
All the best,
Glenn B
PS: now back to what I was about to say about how I would spend my day. I'll be at home in the Am. maybe I'll bake an apple pie for the wife if I have the get up and go when I get up in the morning. Then I'll clean my hunting gear in anticipation of my hunt this Friday and Saturday with my son Brendan. It will be his first deer hunt. Then I'll drive the family to my mother-in-law's home for Thanksgiving dinner. Then I am hopeful someone else will rive home, hoping that is I was allowed to have a beer or two. Then some more getting ready for the hunting trip and early to bed with a planned 0200 wake up on Friday morning. Sounds like a good day to me if all goes as planned. I hope all goes well for you too.
Thanks can also be given to the Turkeys, though they may not understand all that well, since we are about to eat them.
No matter who you are, no mater your religious or nonreligious background, no matter your politics, your culture, your ethnicity, your race, your national heritage, your age, your sex, or whatever - you can enjoy Thanksgiving, and you can celebrate it by giving thanks. It is not a Christian holiday, and this is something people tend to forget. It was a coming together of two different cultures (with vastly different religions) to give thanks for nature's bounty, for survival against the odds, for peace, for good things. It has become a celebration for all of us who are living in the USA. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you.
All the best,
Glenn B
PS: now back to what I was about to say about how I would spend my day. I'll be at home in the Am. maybe I'll bake an apple pie for the wife if I have the get up and go when I get up in the morning. Then I'll clean my hunting gear in anticipation of my hunt this Friday and Saturday with my son Brendan. It will be his first deer hunt. Then I'll drive the family to my mother-in-law's home for Thanksgiving dinner. Then I am hopeful someone else will rive home, hoping that is I was allowed to have a beer or two. Then some more getting ready for the hunting trip and early to bed with a planned 0200 wake up on Friday morning. Sounds like a good day to me if all goes as planned. I hope all goes well for you too.
It was 43 years ago today...
... that the conspiracy theorists began to play, they have been going in and out of their minds, but I think they just need a kick in their behinds. JFK is dead, it seems apparent, unless there is some super seKrit basement, in which super seKrit documents and evidence are kept, that we will never know with absolute certainty whether or not Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone when he squeezed (note I did not say pulled if only because with shots like that I am sure he squeezed) the trigger and brought John Fitzgerald Kennedy's life to an end.
While I think remembrance of JFK is in order, and it sure seems not much of that is being done by our politicians, news media, or people in general - I also think it is ridiculous to keep going with all the conspiracy and solo shooter theories unless something, some evidence, some hard cold fact, come to light of which we were not previously aware. Until that time folks, give it a break, and remember President Kennedy for whom he was and what he did. As I think of his politics and policies, I will change what I had written here minutes ago (only so as not to have anyone mistakenly think I am being disrespectful), to just say I disagreed with most of them. Regardless of my beliefs about him and his politics, he was our president, he was our commander and chief, he was the leader of our nation during trying times in the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and other things; and he was assassinated while doing his job as our leader. I respect his memory even though I disagreed with much of what he did and stood for; but yes I did respect him and still respect his memory. Remember him with respect whether or not you agreed with his politics, he was our president, and he deserves our respect for that alone.
Best regards,
Glenn B
While I think remembrance of JFK is in order, and it sure seems not much of that is being done by our politicians, news media, or people in general - I also think it is ridiculous to keep going with all the conspiracy and solo shooter theories unless something, some evidence, some hard cold fact, come to light of which we were not previously aware. Until that time folks, give it a break, and remember President Kennedy for whom he was and what he did. As I think of his politics and policies, I will change what I had written here minutes ago (only so as not to have anyone mistakenly think I am being disrespectful), to just say I disagreed with most of them. Regardless of my beliefs about him and his politics, he was our president, he was our commander and chief, he was the leader of our nation during trying times in the Cold War, the Vietnam War, the Civil Rights Movement, and other things; and he was assassinated while doing his job as our leader. I respect his memory even though I disagreed with much of what he did and stood for; but yes I did respect him and still respect his memory. Remember him with respect whether or not you agreed with his politics, he was our president, and he deserves our respect for that alone.
Best regards,
Glenn B
At 92 she either was a terrible criminal or just a woman defending herself...
...when the police, armed with a search warrant and their weapons came into her home in force. This woman grabed a gun and started shooting, or so goes the story Cops Shoot, Kill 92-Year-Old Woman After She Opens Fire on Them at FoxNews.com.
I will not pass judgement on either the police or the woman yet, if only because there is not enough information out there about this.
I do note that according to the police: they had gone to the house and bought illegal narcotics from a male inside said house. They then got the warrant and went in announced, and the woman shot a few of them before they killed her.
Of course there is another side to the story and some relatives, neighbors and friends say this must have been a mistake because there never were drugs in said house.
If the police got the wrong house, then the killing of this woman, and the wounding of the officers, was a terrible mistake and tragedy. If however, the police had the right house, and drugs had been siold out of it, that is another story altogether. Of course it does not mean the 92 year old had knowledge of the drug sales (though it would tend to lean that way), but it tends to exonerate the police officers of any wrong doing. I guess time will tell.
Hopefully, for the cops involved, the police got the right house, they did the entry correctly, this woman was somehow involved in the drug sales, therefore making her a dirtbag, and therefore it is good riddance, and it is also something to help the officers not feel as guilty as they will feel regardless of whether or not they should feel guilty. That guilt is just a normal thing, even when someone with rock solid justification kills someone else. Well it is normal if you have decent morals and a conscience anyhow.
If not, if the police got it wrong by going to the wrong house, or if they later show this woman had no knowledge of the drugs, or that the police did a bad entry, then it is a crying shame, and my heart felt condolences go out to the family of the woman who was shot.
All the best,
Glenn B
I will not pass judgement on either the police or the woman yet, if only because there is not enough information out there about this.
I do note that according to the police: they had gone to the house and bought illegal narcotics from a male inside said house. They then got the warrant and went in announced, and the woman shot a few of them before they killed her.
Of course there is another side to the story and some relatives, neighbors and friends say this must have been a mistake because there never were drugs in said house.
If the police got the wrong house, then the killing of this woman, and the wounding of the officers, was a terrible mistake and tragedy. If however, the police had the right house, and drugs had been siold out of it, that is another story altogether. Of course it does not mean the 92 year old had knowledge of the drug sales (though it would tend to lean that way), but it tends to exonerate the police officers of any wrong doing. I guess time will tell.
Hopefully, for the cops involved, the police got the right house, they did the entry correctly, this woman was somehow involved in the drug sales, therefore making her a dirtbag, and therefore it is good riddance, and it is also something to help the officers not feel as guilty as they will feel regardless of whether or not they should feel guilty. That guilt is just a normal thing, even when someone with rock solid justification kills someone else. Well it is normal if you have decent morals and a conscience anyhow.
If not, if the police got it wrong by going to the wrong house, or if they later show this woman had no knowledge of the drugs, or that the police did a bad entry, then it is a crying shame, and my heart felt condolences go out to the family of the woman who was shot.
All the best,
Glenn B
Kind of a crazy week for me...
...so far; so I can only hope it gets a little better over the next few remaining days. Of course with tomorrow being Thanksgiving, it promises to be much better indeed.
On Monday, I had Verizon in my home from about 1030AM until about 6PM, installing my Verizon FIOS Internet, television service, and phone lines. The installer was very personable, did his work neatly, and kept at it all day without a lunch break. I guess he did a fair to good job except for the fact that the Internet service was not working at all well once he left, and all of a sudden there was a virus on my PC.
That got me pretty po'd, and I was on the phone most of that night - on hold, and the next day - also on hold, with Verizon types to try to get the problem solved, then in anger to have them shut off my service and get my old service back. I got either hung up on or cut off so many times I lost count, and that was when I was not even angry yet, so I was talking nicely to them, at least until yesterday morning.
As it turned out, someone caled me yesterday afternoon and I got back to their tech service folks, and the guy I spoke to actually knew how to solve the problems I was encountering. I can only hope the expeience gets better since I decided to keep them; after all I had already had all my other service providers disconnect their services to me. Time will tell.
All that did not leave me much time to blog, in fact it left none. Oh well, I have some time now so let me get to looking for some good topics to rant on about. See the next blog that I post for more...
All the best,
Glenn B
On Monday, I had Verizon in my home from about 1030AM until about 6PM, installing my Verizon FIOS Internet, television service, and phone lines. The installer was very personable, did his work neatly, and kept at it all day without a lunch break. I guess he did a fair to good job except for the fact that the Internet service was not working at all well once he left, and all of a sudden there was a virus on my PC.
That got me pretty po'd, and I was on the phone most of that night - on hold, and the next day - also on hold, with Verizon types to try to get the problem solved, then in anger to have them shut off my service and get my old service back. I got either hung up on or cut off so many times I lost count, and that was when I was not even angry yet, so I was talking nicely to them, at least until yesterday morning.
As it turned out, someone caled me yesterday afternoon and I got back to their tech service folks, and the guy I spoke to actually knew how to solve the problems I was encountering. I can only hope the expeience gets better since I decided to keep them; after all I had already had all my other service providers disconnect their services to me. Time will tell.
All that did not leave me much time to blog, in fact it left none. Oh well, I have some time now so let me get to looking for some good topics to rant on about. See the next blog that I post for more...
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Openning Day Deer Hunting Report 2006
Usually the ultimate way to tell whether or not a hunting trip was a success is whether or not the hunter(s) bagged their game. For many people getting that critter is the best part of the hunt too, but I have to tell you it’s not how I judge my hunts anymore. Sure I like to go out afield and get what I am after, but lately I have come to realize there are some other things that may be so much more important than bagging a trophy, or dinner, or hopefully both at once. Right off the bat – let me tell you – yes I just went hunting, and no I did not shoot anything. Before some of you start thinking, oh boy here we go with another one of those sad excuses for a hunting story where the hunter is about to make all sorts of excuses as to why he didn’t get anything, well this isn’t going to be that kind of a story. If on the other hand you are thinking, okay then, this will be one of those stories where the hunter tries deflect any look at his hunting prowess, or lack of it, this is not that kind of a story either; you can critisize me all you want - I am not the great white hunter by a longshot.
What this story is though, is one about things on a hunting trip that really can be better than actually bagging the game. You see, eve if I had gotten a deer this opening day, I can assure you there really would have been at least a few things that would have been better than that on this trip, and I am not kidding you either.
This hunting trip started out right. I scouted out a hunting area last year for this year’s trip. Yep, it was just short of a year ago, by about a week, when I found this spot. Lots of deer sign was to be seen. Easy access from the paved roads was available. There were not too many hunters there last year (granted it was at the end of opening day week when I checked it out) There was enough parking. It was far enough from NYC and Albany to promise not to get too congested with hunters, yet it was not to far to drive comfortably from my home on Long Island. No special permits were needed to hunt there, just the regular licenses and such. Since I first went there, I went there again at least a few times to scout deer sign. Last time I was there before this current deer season, I went with my son Brendan. He got to see some scrapes, and rubs, well used deer trails, and other deer sign. He also got to bag his first small game on that trip in the form of a squirrel. He was happy and so was I. He was also ready for his first deer hunt this year and that was good.
I planned out the actual deer trip so that we would leave the day before opening season. I was going to pick Brendan up right after school and head right to the hunting grounds. As it turned out he misunderstood me when I discussed the plans with him. Brendan told me he had thought I did not want to go opening day because this was on state land, and the knucklehead factor is increased drastically on opening day due to all hunters afield. I apparently had not made it clear that I wanted to hunt both opening day with him and the two days after Thanksgiving the next week. My mistake, thinking too much and talking about it too much, so I confused him. One of my problems. Brendan made plans to spend opening day with a fried to celebrate the friend’s birthday. I was pretty down about that, but life goes on, and so did I with my hunting plans.
I planned to go to work that Friday, then drive upstate NY as soon as I left work. I figured I sneak out early for a change, about 2PM. Now some of you know I work for the federal government, and that means your tax dollars pay my salary. I know I am supposed to give a full day’s work for a full day’s pay, and I virtually always do so I figured this once I would do what most of the people in my office do on Fridays – disappear by 2PM. As it turned out I was there till after 5PM working hard. When I left, I was immediately stuck in a traffic jam, and I was getting fired up about that. I have been getting better with my temper though, so as opposed to what I used to do, I decided to stay calm and drove to my favorite pastry shop for a cup of java and a piece of pastry. I drove through the midtown Manhattan traffic up into the 40s when it eased off, and I pretty much sailed to Amsterdam Avenue between 110th and 11th, to the Hungarian pastry shop. This is a sort of Bohemian college hangout. It has had excellent coffee and great baked good each time I have been there. This time was no exception. I had two cups of coffee, refill taste as good as the first (a rare thing) and the refills are free (also rare in some places). The chocolate layer cake I had was scrumptious too. I was living large, and enjoying my self marvelously.
Then it was back into the Ford Taurus, and off to the happy hunting grounds (those in this life). Okay, so my son was not coming along, but at least I had not blown my stack before leaving NYC. There was almost no traffic to speak of on the way upstate. I made good time through the rest of NYC, and through Westchester to the Taconic Parkway. I virtually sailed along once on that road. I got the hunting area, a Multiple Use Area, in the Lafeyetteville State Forest, at about 8:30PM. There was no daylight, as I had originally planned, so no chance of marking my selected spot with orange tape, but I was happy to be there. I was a bit concerned though that there were already three cars parked in two parking areas, each fitting only 3 or 4 cars each. The promise of lots of hunters the opening morning weighed heavily on me, and I almost decided to move to another more isolated area. As it was I drove to the nearest town, Pine Plains, stopped at a tavern, and had a Heineken. I was going to have two or three, then thought, I had better not drive on unfamiliar roads after drinking too many. I stopped at one, figuring one would be enough to help me sleep, and I headed back to the parking area. Yep, you guessed it, I was going to sleep in the Ford. I got there just before 10PM, and I rooted around in my bag getting my gear ready while sitting in the back seat. Hunting clothes I needed got tossed onto the driver’s seat, gear I needed under the back windshield, and stuff I would not need thrown onto the front passenger seat. That done, I got sort of comfortable at about 10PM and hit the hay.
Well hay was not quite the right word for the back seat in a Ford Taurus. I tried to get comfortable, but I guess the combination of being cramped on there, along with two cups of very good but strong coffee just a few hours before meant that one beer I had would not be enough to get rid of the edge. Now don’t get me wrong, I do not usually drink to sleep, I would not think of it except on night like the one in question, especially considering my sleeping arrangements. As it turned out, a six pack would have been in order, too bad I had not thought of buying one and bringing it back to the Ford with me! I most have tossed and turned about a hundred times, and gotten at least a couple of cramps in each leg, before I fell asleep. That had to be at about 1:00. Then at 2:00AM, another vehicle, an SUV, of hunters arrived. These guys kept the car running for over an hour, with the headlights on. After not being able to take much more, I bellowed to shut it down, and was thankful they had heard me through my car’s closed windows; or maybe they just got the idea through divine intervention – whatever, it was back to sleep for me, a fitful sleep of tossing and turning and aching. Ford Taurus back seats were made for a younger crowd than me.
Then I woke up at east two more times to relieve myself. I had forgotten to take my BP med the in the morning, and had taken it just before I tried to fall asleep. It contains a water pill, and it had me going through the night. Oh well, live and learn, but you would have thought that at one plus a half century I would have learned by now. Back to sleep, and the next thing I knew my alarm was going off, it was 0400 (4:00AM), and it was dark and chilly outside the Ford, but not all that much of a chill. I hoped it was cold enough to have the deer up and moving. The thought did occur to me though that there would certainly be enough hunters to move them even if it were none too cold. I was soon ready to go, stripping in my back seat, and putting on my hunting clothing. I was dressed warm enough, but not to heavily to sweat a lot, and I had easily removable layers.
I got out of the car, and saw two other guys already up, these were the ones in this parking spot before I had arrived. The other two guys from the SUV, the ones that got there at 2:00Am, then got up also. We all greeted one another, and everyone was from down in NYC except me from LI. I asked if anyone wanted some fresh bread for breakfast, I had picked up a nice loaf the day before at lunch. Everyone declined, and busied themselves readying for their hunts. After about 15 minutes of chatting one of the guys from the original car offered me some tea. He had a small Sterno stove, and had boiled up a pot of water. He gave me some tea with lemon, sweetened with honey. Now that was one heck of a nice way to start the hunting day. While we drank tea and talked, one of the guys mentioned that since there were so many other hunters around, he was happy it was shotgun only territory. Whoops, I had my Marlin 336 in .35 Remington all ready to hunt. Luckily I also had my Remington 870 as a backup in case something happened to the Marlin. I had hunted just north of here last year, and just north of here is rifle country. I had assumed this was too, shame on me. Lucky for me the other guy had mentioned this, but man would I miss the Marlin with its scope. I am a great shot with the shotgun, but my eyes are not as good as even a couple of years ago, so the scope would have been a plus. Oh well..
Soon we were all off to hunt, everyone heading more or less in the same direction, but I was surprised later on to realize I never saw one of these 4 other hunters all day long. I did see at least another 10 or so hunters, maybe a dozen head off up the hill the same way these guys went. The area was about 720 acres altogether, about half of it on each side of the road where we were parked. My guess was there were also plenty of guys on the other half of it too. I got to my spot, only about 1/6 of a mile, if that much, from the road. I had scouted well. No need to climb a mountain for me. I had a clearing surrounded by medium growth woods with lots of deer trails coming into the clearing. I was ready and any movement by other hunters would likely have deer coming to me. In fact, when still dark, I heard one deer walk by me probably not 25 yards away, it was apparently following a hunter’s steps, probably whatever scent trail he had left. My anticipation of a great hunt was sky high.
I settled into my spot, content despite my horrendous night’s sleep, and despite the fact that Brendan was not beside me. I was wide awake but not from cold, I was ready to hunt. I waited as the hour and a half until legal shooting time (sunrise) was to arrive. More hunters passed me by in the darkness with flashlights. None too close to me, apparently all following a trail to my right, some distance off. Well the sun came up, and I saw nothing but some more hunters. By the time it hit 10Am, I saw about 3 hunters leave the area. A few more had left by 1100AM. None had deer in tow despite many shots I had heard fired since about ten minutes before legal hunting time. Two guys Is aw leaving totally amazed me. One had on all camouflage except for an orange baseball cap. Another had on all camo, absolutely no blaze orange or other bright color, and he carried a brown day pack, deer brown at that. Knucklehead alert indeed. Judging by the shots I had heard, there were other varieties of knuckleheads in the woods too because I had heard as many as nine rapid blasts from apparently the same gun (and legal hunting shotguns can hold only 5 rounds, though I suppose it could have been a semi-auto handgun).
As for me, I was out for the day, no going to my car or to town for lunch, I had all I needed with me; if need be I could live a few days on what I had in my day pack. I heard a couple of deer run through the woods near me, either just before other hunters walked out or right after they walked out, but I was not lucky enough to see the deer to even hope at a shot. Near noon, nature called. I got up and pretty quietly walked to a spot about 300 yards from my stand. I did what I had to do, and as I was headed back to my stand by a slightly different route, I saw an orange jacket spread on the ground. I thought someone must have forgotten it. I walked over to investigate and as I neared I saw a hunter in tree-bark camo sitting against a tree on the opposite side of the tree from my approach. I walked loudly, he did not budge. I coughed loudly, he did not even twitch. I spoke out, “another hunter in the woods” in a booming voice, again nothing. Not until I was next to the tree did he acknowledge me and my approach. We talked a while, and he was pleasant enough. He was hunting with his two sons, and gave me a general idea of where they were; and they were aware of my stand. I left and went back to my stand promising not to shoot anywhere in his direction which was over my right shoulder and up hill about 200 yards from my spot. About 15 minutes later, I thought I heard a deer over my right shoulder. Five minutes more and I heard a loud bang. Not another noise except someone walking in the woods. It was the man to whom I had spoken. Go figure, I do the dirty deed not 40 yards from his stand (for which I apologized to him not realizing he was hidden there in his camo), and he bags a deer. It was a fork horn buck. So much for deer being spooked by human waste odors. Apparently this young buck had been headed right toward my stand. Luckily it did not yet put me in the line of fire when the gentleman took aim and shot. Happily he had used a good deal of sense in picking when to shoot – always a concern on crowded opening day public lands.
I sat at my stand for a coupe hours more, until about 1:30PM. Then I got up, took down my orange marker tape from some trees to use at another spot, and I was about to head off when a fair sized, but small racked, buck went bounding by directly in front of me at a slow trot, through thick undergrowth. I could have shot at it. I do not like running shots, but at about 25 yards, and at its slow trot, I probably could have hit it easily. The thing is the road was not too far behind it, and the parking area was in the same direction that it was moving, not 20 yards to my left. I let it go. All those other hunters who had left the woods were potentially I at that spot. I tried to sit it out and coax it out of the woods with some doe bleats and buck grunts. I heard it in there, it had run only about 15 yards then stopped, but it was still too risky a shot even if I would have gotten a clear view of it. I decided to pass because of the safety issue. At about 2, I headed up the hill to look for another spot. I got to the top, about 900 feet in elevation, and found woods with lots of oaks and lots of acorns on the ground. I found one or two small glades and some deer trails and a couple of rubs; but I saw no deer. I did see a couple of squirrels and a rabbit. I almost stepped on the rabbit. In fact I stopped about three feet short of it, and when I stopped it bolted, until then unseen by me. Sure surprised me, and it was thrill watching it bound off in fear for its life even though I meant it no harm at all, at least not with slugs loaded in my Remington 870 12 gauge. I found a likely looking spot to sit on stand. It was between a couple of rises where the land slopped down from each to my spot, where several deer trails converged. It was sort of a natural funnel that made it easy for the deer to go up or down the hills. There was a small glade at the spot and lots of deer sign like rubs and droppings. I stayed there until ½ hour before legal hunt time ended, then headed to the car with no deer tagged by me. I walked softly as I made my way down just in case I came across any deer. I have still hunted successfully before, for an overweight guy, I can walk through the woods and see a fair share of game, not because I am quiet but because I know how to walk without spooking the animals. It does not always work, but does often enough to allow me to know I can do it. Still I saw nothing but a lot of small birds that flitted all around me, ignoring me as they looked for their next meal. This had gone on all day while I was on my stands, but to be ignored by them as I walked by them, just a few feet away was great, especially since I was wearing a combo blaze orange/camo hunting coat and hat.
I was the first out of the woods back to the parking area of the crew I had met that morning. No other cars were there; though I had seen some from the mountainside earlier when I had seen the buck run by me. I guess those other hunters had left early, maybe with deer like the gentleman I had met in the woods. I wonder if his sons had any luck. In about 15 minutes, the gent who had offered me tea so many hours earlier that morning, and his hunting buddy were back. They had seen two does as they left the woods, that was it. They too had heard the rapid shooting and wondered about who had fired so many times. Our bet was, someone who was a poor shot, as opposed to the guy I heard shoot once and score. The guys from the SUV did not come down, and after a half hour or so of chatting with the other two guys, I decided to leave and head home. I had decided I could not bear another night in the Ford trying to sleep in the back seat. I will admit I had gotten 40 winks on my first stand, but I woke up with a crick in my back and neck. I ached all over from my hike with my pack, not because I could not normally do it, but because I had such a contorted uncomfortable night in the Taurus.
As I drove home I thought of my day. There were a lot of good things that happened this opening day of the deer season, and I had enjoyed an awful lot of them. There were also some things that could have been better, but I would not have missed the day just because I had to go it alone, or because I left late, or because of an uncomfortable night’s sleep, or because it was to warm, or because there were too many hunters around, or because things were just not right to perfection. Sometimes, it is as good as it is going to get and that is just fine even for a complainer like me. Of course, next week will be better, because Brendan will come along. I hope it will be as good as it can get ever, and he and I bag one, but I will gladly settle for his getting one and him skunking me. As a matter of fact, we will have to hunt sort of solo even though we will be together. Remember I had found out this was shotgun only territory; well I have only one shotgun! By the way, it is shotguns only as far as long guns go, handguns are also allowed, but I doubt I’ll hunt deer with one of my 9mm pistols; so while Brendan is hunting with the 870, I will be guiding – nothing more. Still if he bags a deer on his first deer hunt, I will not have needed to put my deer tag on anything to know, that is really as good as it gets. Yes there are a lot of things that can be better than bagging your game; but if I get lucky though, he will get one early, and he will leave his old man some time to hunt too. More on that hunt next week.
All the best,
Glenn B
What this story is though, is one about things on a hunting trip that really can be better than actually bagging the game. You see, eve if I had gotten a deer this opening day, I can assure you there really would have been at least a few things that would have been better than that on this trip, and I am not kidding you either.
This hunting trip started out right. I scouted out a hunting area last year for this year’s trip. Yep, it was just short of a year ago, by about a week, when I found this spot. Lots of deer sign was to be seen. Easy access from the paved roads was available. There were not too many hunters there last year (granted it was at the end of opening day week when I checked it out) There was enough parking. It was far enough from NYC and Albany to promise not to get too congested with hunters, yet it was not to far to drive comfortably from my home on Long Island. No special permits were needed to hunt there, just the regular licenses and such. Since I first went there, I went there again at least a few times to scout deer sign. Last time I was there before this current deer season, I went with my son Brendan. He got to see some scrapes, and rubs, well used deer trails, and other deer sign. He also got to bag his first small game on that trip in the form of a squirrel. He was happy and so was I. He was also ready for his first deer hunt this year and that was good.
I planned out the actual deer trip so that we would leave the day before opening season. I was going to pick Brendan up right after school and head right to the hunting grounds. As it turned out he misunderstood me when I discussed the plans with him. Brendan told me he had thought I did not want to go opening day because this was on state land, and the knucklehead factor is increased drastically on opening day due to all hunters afield. I apparently had not made it clear that I wanted to hunt both opening day with him and the two days after Thanksgiving the next week. My mistake, thinking too much and talking about it too much, so I confused him. One of my problems. Brendan made plans to spend opening day with a fried to celebrate the friend’s birthday. I was pretty down about that, but life goes on, and so did I with my hunting plans.
I planned to go to work that Friday, then drive upstate NY as soon as I left work. I figured I sneak out early for a change, about 2PM. Now some of you know I work for the federal government, and that means your tax dollars pay my salary. I know I am supposed to give a full day’s work for a full day’s pay, and I virtually always do so I figured this once I would do what most of the people in my office do on Fridays – disappear by 2PM. As it turned out I was there till after 5PM working hard. When I left, I was immediately stuck in a traffic jam, and I was getting fired up about that. I have been getting better with my temper though, so as opposed to what I used to do, I decided to stay calm and drove to my favorite pastry shop for a cup of java and a piece of pastry. I drove through the midtown Manhattan traffic up into the 40s when it eased off, and I pretty much sailed to Amsterdam Avenue between 110th and 11th, to the Hungarian pastry shop. This is a sort of Bohemian college hangout. It has had excellent coffee and great baked good each time I have been there. This time was no exception. I had two cups of coffee, refill taste as good as the first (a rare thing) and the refills are free (also rare in some places). The chocolate layer cake I had was scrumptious too. I was living large, and enjoying my self marvelously.
Then it was back into the Ford Taurus, and off to the happy hunting grounds (those in this life). Okay, so my son was not coming along, but at least I had not blown my stack before leaving NYC. There was almost no traffic to speak of on the way upstate. I made good time through the rest of NYC, and through Westchester to the Taconic Parkway. I virtually sailed along once on that road. I got the hunting area, a Multiple Use Area, in the Lafeyetteville State Forest, at about 8:30PM. There was no daylight, as I had originally planned, so no chance of marking my selected spot with orange tape, but I was happy to be there. I was a bit concerned though that there were already three cars parked in two parking areas, each fitting only 3 or 4 cars each. The promise of lots of hunters the opening morning weighed heavily on me, and I almost decided to move to another more isolated area. As it was I drove to the nearest town, Pine Plains, stopped at a tavern, and had a Heineken. I was going to have two or three, then thought, I had better not drive on unfamiliar roads after drinking too many. I stopped at one, figuring one would be enough to help me sleep, and I headed back to the parking area. Yep, you guessed it, I was going to sleep in the Ford. I got there just before 10PM, and I rooted around in my bag getting my gear ready while sitting in the back seat. Hunting clothes I needed got tossed onto the driver’s seat, gear I needed under the back windshield, and stuff I would not need thrown onto the front passenger seat. That done, I got sort of comfortable at about 10PM and hit the hay.
Well hay was not quite the right word for the back seat in a Ford Taurus. I tried to get comfortable, but I guess the combination of being cramped on there, along with two cups of very good but strong coffee just a few hours before meant that one beer I had would not be enough to get rid of the edge. Now don’t get me wrong, I do not usually drink to sleep, I would not think of it except on night like the one in question, especially considering my sleeping arrangements. As it turned out, a six pack would have been in order, too bad I had not thought of buying one and bringing it back to the Ford with me! I most have tossed and turned about a hundred times, and gotten at least a couple of cramps in each leg, before I fell asleep. That had to be at about 1:00. Then at 2:00AM, another vehicle, an SUV, of hunters arrived. These guys kept the car running for over an hour, with the headlights on. After not being able to take much more, I bellowed to shut it down, and was thankful they had heard me through my car’s closed windows; or maybe they just got the idea through divine intervention – whatever, it was back to sleep for me, a fitful sleep of tossing and turning and aching. Ford Taurus back seats were made for a younger crowd than me.
Then I woke up at east two more times to relieve myself. I had forgotten to take my BP med the in the morning, and had taken it just before I tried to fall asleep. It contains a water pill, and it had me going through the night. Oh well, live and learn, but you would have thought that at one plus a half century I would have learned by now. Back to sleep, and the next thing I knew my alarm was going off, it was 0400 (4:00AM), and it was dark and chilly outside the Ford, but not all that much of a chill. I hoped it was cold enough to have the deer up and moving. The thought did occur to me though that there would certainly be enough hunters to move them even if it were none too cold. I was soon ready to go, stripping in my back seat, and putting on my hunting clothing. I was dressed warm enough, but not to heavily to sweat a lot, and I had easily removable layers.
I got out of the car, and saw two other guys already up, these were the ones in this parking spot before I had arrived. The other two guys from the SUV, the ones that got there at 2:00Am, then got up also. We all greeted one another, and everyone was from down in NYC except me from LI. I asked if anyone wanted some fresh bread for breakfast, I had picked up a nice loaf the day before at lunch. Everyone declined, and busied themselves readying for their hunts. After about 15 minutes of chatting one of the guys from the original car offered me some tea. He had a small Sterno stove, and had boiled up a pot of water. He gave me some tea with lemon, sweetened with honey. Now that was one heck of a nice way to start the hunting day. While we drank tea and talked, one of the guys mentioned that since there were so many other hunters around, he was happy it was shotgun only territory. Whoops, I had my Marlin 336 in .35 Remington all ready to hunt. Luckily I also had my Remington 870 as a backup in case something happened to the Marlin. I had hunted just north of here last year, and just north of here is rifle country. I had assumed this was too, shame on me. Lucky for me the other guy had mentioned this, but man would I miss the Marlin with its scope. I am a great shot with the shotgun, but my eyes are not as good as even a couple of years ago, so the scope would have been a plus. Oh well..
Soon we were all off to hunt, everyone heading more or less in the same direction, but I was surprised later on to realize I never saw one of these 4 other hunters all day long. I did see at least another 10 or so hunters, maybe a dozen head off up the hill the same way these guys went. The area was about 720 acres altogether, about half of it on each side of the road where we were parked. My guess was there were also plenty of guys on the other half of it too. I got to my spot, only about 1/6 of a mile, if that much, from the road. I had scouted well. No need to climb a mountain for me. I had a clearing surrounded by medium growth woods with lots of deer trails coming into the clearing. I was ready and any movement by other hunters would likely have deer coming to me. In fact, when still dark, I heard one deer walk by me probably not 25 yards away, it was apparently following a hunter’s steps, probably whatever scent trail he had left. My anticipation of a great hunt was sky high.
I settled into my spot, content despite my horrendous night’s sleep, and despite the fact that Brendan was not beside me. I was wide awake but not from cold, I was ready to hunt. I waited as the hour and a half until legal shooting time (sunrise) was to arrive. More hunters passed me by in the darkness with flashlights. None too close to me, apparently all following a trail to my right, some distance off. Well the sun came up, and I saw nothing but some more hunters. By the time it hit 10Am, I saw about 3 hunters leave the area. A few more had left by 1100AM. None had deer in tow despite many shots I had heard fired since about ten minutes before legal hunting time. Two guys Is aw leaving totally amazed me. One had on all camouflage except for an orange baseball cap. Another had on all camo, absolutely no blaze orange or other bright color, and he carried a brown day pack, deer brown at that. Knucklehead alert indeed. Judging by the shots I had heard, there were other varieties of knuckleheads in the woods too because I had heard as many as nine rapid blasts from apparently the same gun (and legal hunting shotguns can hold only 5 rounds, though I suppose it could have been a semi-auto handgun).
As for me, I was out for the day, no going to my car or to town for lunch, I had all I needed with me; if need be I could live a few days on what I had in my day pack. I heard a couple of deer run through the woods near me, either just before other hunters walked out or right after they walked out, but I was not lucky enough to see the deer to even hope at a shot. Near noon, nature called. I got up and pretty quietly walked to a spot about 300 yards from my stand. I did what I had to do, and as I was headed back to my stand by a slightly different route, I saw an orange jacket spread on the ground. I thought someone must have forgotten it. I walked over to investigate and as I neared I saw a hunter in tree-bark camo sitting against a tree on the opposite side of the tree from my approach. I walked loudly, he did not budge. I coughed loudly, he did not even twitch. I spoke out, “another hunter in the woods” in a booming voice, again nothing. Not until I was next to the tree did he acknowledge me and my approach. We talked a while, and he was pleasant enough. He was hunting with his two sons, and gave me a general idea of where they were; and they were aware of my stand. I left and went back to my stand promising not to shoot anywhere in his direction which was over my right shoulder and up hill about 200 yards from my spot. About 15 minutes later, I thought I heard a deer over my right shoulder. Five minutes more and I heard a loud bang. Not another noise except someone walking in the woods. It was the man to whom I had spoken. Go figure, I do the dirty deed not 40 yards from his stand (for which I apologized to him not realizing he was hidden there in his camo), and he bags a deer. It was a fork horn buck. So much for deer being spooked by human waste odors. Apparently this young buck had been headed right toward my stand. Luckily it did not yet put me in the line of fire when the gentleman took aim and shot. Happily he had used a good deal of sense in picking when to shoot – always a concern on crowded opening day public lands.
I sat at my stand for a coupe hours more, until about 1:30PM. Then I got up, took down my orange marker tape from some trees to use at another spot, and I was about to head off when a fair sized, but small racked, buck went bounding by directly in front of me at a slow trot, through thick undergrowth. I could have shot at it. I do not like running shots, but at about 25 yards, and at its slow trot, I probably could have hit it easily. The thing is the road was not too far behind it, and the parking area was in the same direction that it was moving, not 20 yards to my left. I let it go. All those other hunters who had left the woods were potentially I at that spot. I tried to sit it out and coax it out of the woods with some doe bleats and buck grunts. I heard it in there, it had run only about 15 yards then stopped, but it was still too risky a shot even if I would have gotten a clear view of it. I decided to pass because of the safety issue. At about 2, I headed up the hill to look for another spot. I got to the top, about 900 feet in elevation, and found woods with lots of oaks and lots of acorns on the ground. I found one or two small glades and some deer trails and a couple of rubs; but I saw no deer. I did see a couple of squirrels and a rabbit. I almost stepped on the rabbit. In fact I stopped about three feet short of it, and when I stopped it bolted, until then unseen by me. Sure surprised me, and it was thrill watching it bound off in fear for its life even though I meant it no harm at all, at least not with slugs loaded in my Remington 870 12 gauge. I found a likely looking spot to sit on stand. It was between a couple of rises where the land slopped down from each to my spot, where several deer trails converged. It was sort of a natural funnel that made it easy for the deer to go up or down the hills. There was a small glade at the spot and lots of deer sign like rubs and droppings. I stayed there until ½ hour before legal hunt time ended, then headed to the car with no deer tagged by me. I walked softly as I made my way down just in case I came across any deer. I have still hunted successfully before, for an overweight guy, I can walk through the woods and see a fair share of game, not because I am quiet but because I know how to walk without spooking the animals. It does not always work, but does often enough to allow me to know I can do it. Still I saw nothing but a lot of small birds that flitted all around me, ignoring me as they looked for their next meal. This had gone on all day while I was on my stands, but to be ignored by them as I walked by them, just a few feet away was great, especially since I was wearing a combo blaze orange/camo hunting coat and hat.
I was the first out of the woods back to the parking area of the crew I had met that morning. No other cars were there; though I had seen some from the mountainside earlier when I had seen the buck run by me. I guess those other hunters had left early, maybe with deer like the gentleman I had met in the woods. I wonder if his sons had any luck. In about 15 minutes, the gent who had offered me tea so many hours earlier that morning, and his hunting buddy were back. They had seen two does as they left the woods, that was it. They too had heard the rapid shooting and wondered about who had fired so many times. Our bet was, someone who was a poor shot, as opposed to the guy I heard shoot once and score. The guys from the SUV did not come down, and after a half hour or so of chatting with the other two guys, I decided to leave and head home. I had decided I could not bear another night in the Ford trying to sleep in the back seat. I will admit I had gotten 40 winks on my first stand, but I woke up with a crick in my back and neck. I ached all over from my hike with my pack, not because I could not normally do it, but because I had such a contorted uncomfortable night in the Taurus.
As I drove home I thought of my day. There were a lot of good things that happened this opening day of the deer season, and I had enjoyed an awful lot of them. There were also some things that could have been better, but I would not have missed the day just because I had to go it alone, or because I left late, or because of an uncomfortable night’s sleep, or because it was to warm, or because there were too many hunters around, or because things were just not right to perfection. Sometimes, it is as good as it is going to get and that is just fine even for a complainer like me. Of course, next week will be better, because Brendan will come along. I hope it will be as good as it can get ever, and he and I bag one, but I will gladly settle for his getting one and him skunking me. As a matter of fact, we will have to hunt sort of solo even though we will be together. Remember I had found out this was shotgun only territory; well I have only one shotgun! By the way, it is shotguns only as far as long guns go, handguns are also allowed, but I doubt I’ll hunt deer with one of my 9mm pistols; so while Brendan is hunting with the 870, I will be guiding – nothing more. Still if he bags a deer on his first deer hunt, I will not have needed to put my deer tag on anything to know, that is really as good as it gets. Yes there are a lot of things that can be better than bagging your game; but if I get lucky though, he will get one early, and he will leave his old man some time to hunt too. More on that hunt next week.
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, November 17, 2006
Gone Hunting...
...well not just yet. I actually have to work today, but I am hopeful I can get out of town before it gets too late allowing me to arrive at my hunting grounds before dark. I want to hike up to my spot, spread out my sleeping bag, and wake up with a deer in my sights. 
Who knows, maybe this tactic will work, heavens know that many others have failed me over the years. Yes, I have gotten deer, enough to keep me hopeful that I will score again. No blogging later today, nothing tomorrow, and maybe nothing on Sunday, at least until Sunday night. Sadly my son will not be coming with me for the openning day. He will go next weekend though, and I am hopeful he will score his first deer on his first deer hunt.
All the best,
Glenn B
Who knows, maybe this tactic will work, heavens know that many others have failed me over the years. Yes, I have gotten deer, enough to keep me hopeful that I will score again. No blogging later today, nothing tomorrow, and maybe nothing on Sunday, at least until Sunday night. Sadly my son will not be coming with me for the openning day. He will go next weekend though, and I am hopeful he will score his first deer on his first deer hunt.All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, November 16, 2006
A Looming Political Threat To Our Nation…
…one that is greater than the discombobulated Democrats having won the majority in both houses of Congress will be facing us in less than two years time. In fact the beast that threatens us is already starting to rear its ugly head in the guise of they who would run for the presidency in 2008.
We will need a strong president, and a strong Congress, come the day after the next U.S. major elections. The president we have now is not only a lame duck, he was a poor excuse for a strong leader long before the 2006 elections. Yes he did a lot of good against terrorism, but he did not do enough, he hesitated to commit fully, he was weak with countries like North Korea and Iran, he was weak on Immigration and our nation’s security along its borders, he was a spender beyond compare.
The Congress we have now is whimsical, they cannot even decide on their own leadership in the House, nor can they decide on their own party leadership. This should have all been worked out before the elections, but they were all too busy name calling, and still are for that matter – though now they call other democrats names instead of aiming their barbs at republicans. They need to wake up, and take a strong stance on many of the issues that face them, my guess is they will not do so.
In 2008, terrorism will not have been overcome, banished, or have decided to surrender by November 2008. Nuclear arms proliferation will, by then, have gotten worse. U.S. foreign policy will have fallen, in its influence, by a large degree. If things go the way they have already been going, the U.S. will have very little in the way of a strong domestic policy as well as its weak foreign policy, and this combination of weakness will only bring us down in the face of our enemies making us look as a better target for future attacks.
When it comes to presidential candidates for 2008, the republicans seem to offer the best so far, but none of those who appear as if they will be in the running are what this country needs at the helm.
John McCain is a political rubber band. He gets pulled from the right, so he speaks of issues on the right, he gets pulled from the left so he addresses and agrees with issues on the left. Then suddenly both sides let go and he snaps back to a middle ground wherein both sides hammer away at his political ideals while he tries to walk the tight rope of appeasing everyone. This type of politician as president would seem weak to both our allies and enemies alike.
Of course, John McCain will attempt to make himself look strong to potential American voters before the elections. He will not do this by highlighting his political record as much as he will try to do so by highlighting his military record. If you doubt me, just go to his new website, to this link: About John McCain. He dictates the majority of the narrative to his Vietnam era military service. Military service is noble and good, but folks this was decades ago, and Mr. McCain has proven that his politics are a whirlwind of confusion since then. Just read what he plans to do, in the words of his own website, and ask yourself, if this guy for real! I advise you to do all you can, within reason, to make sure this guy does not win the Republican primary. Write to party leaders and let them know you cannot agree that a politician like McCain would be good for America.
The same should go for Willard Mitt Romney (and no I don’t blame him for not using his own first name). This man got his state, Massachusetts, a universal health care. How did he do this? He did this by having the state pass a law that all people over a certain income bracket have to buy their own health insurance! This is an outrageous example of overzealous government putting itself into people’s personal lives where it should not be. It is, as I see it, a violation of anyone’s rights. Of course, the poor do not have to purchase health care insurance under this plan, they get it for free. In education he arranged for the top 25% of high school students to get free scholarships. Yes a great incentive to get kids to study, but a terrible drain on our tax dollars. This is, in essence, socialized education for ¼ of the population of students. He was also a supporter of the Assault Weapons ban, need I say more.
Keep an eye on these guys. Keep writing letters to the Republican Party. Let them know they need to seek a candidate that will get back to the basics of the Republican Party’s ideals. Look to others to be our next president, and no I do not mean anyone offered by the Democrats. Look to some like Thomas Tancredo. Read up on his political beliefs and ideals. You may be very happily surprised by what you discover. If so, let the Republican Party know about it.
Best regards,
Glenn B
We will need a strong president, and a strong Congress, come the day after the next U.S. major elections. The president we have now is not only a lame duck, he was a poor excuse for a strong leader long before the 2006 elections. Yes he did a lot of good against terrorism, but he did not do enough, he hesitated to commit fully, he was weak with countries like North Korea and Iran, he was weak on Immigration and our nation’s security along its borders, he was a spender beyond compare.
The Congress we have now is whimsical, they cannot even decide on their own leadership in the House, nor can they decide on their own party leadership. This should have all been worked out before the elections, but they were all too busy name calling, and still are for that matter – though now they call other democrats names instead of aiming their barbs at republicans. They need to wake up, and take a strong stance on many of the issues that face them, my guess is they will not do so.
In 2008, terrorism will not have been overcome, banished, or have decided to surrender by November 2008. Nuclear arms proliferation will, by then, have gotten worse. U.S. foreign policy will have fallen, in its influence, by a large degree. If things go the way they have already been going, the U.S. will have very little in the way of a strong domestic policy as well as its weak foreign policy, and this combination of weakness will only bring us down in the face of our enemies making us look as a better target for future attacks.
When it comes to presidential candidates for 2008, the republicans seem to offer the best so far, but none of those who appear as if they will be in the running are what this country needs at the helm.
John McCain is a political rubber band. He gets pulled from the right, so he speaks of issues on the right, he gets pulled from the left so he addresses and agrees with issues on the left. Then suddenly both sides let go and he snaps back to a middle ground wherein both sides hammer away at his political ideals while he tries to walk the tight rope of appeasing everyone. This type of politician as president would seem weak to both our allies and enemies alike.
Of course, John McCain will attempt to make himself look strong to potential American voters before the elections. He will not do this by highlighting his political record as much as he will try to do so by highlighting his military record. If you doubt me, just go to his new website, to this link: About John McCain. He dictates the majority of the narrative to his Vietnam era military service. Military service is noble and good, but folks this was decades ago, and Mr. McCain has proven that his politics are a whirlwind of confusion since then. Just read what he plans to do, in the words of his own website, and ask yourself, if this guy for real! I advise you to do all you can, within reason, to make sure this guy does not win the Republican primary. Write to party leaders and let them know you cannot agree that a politician like McCain would be good for America.
The same should go for Willard Mitt Romney (and no I don’t blame him for not using his own first name). This man got his state, Massachusetts, a universal health care. How did he do this? He did this by having the state pass a law that all people over a certain income bracket have to buy their own health insurance! This is an outrageous example of overzealous government putting itself into people’s personal lives where it should not be. It is, as I see it, a violation of anyone’s rights. Of course, the poor do not have to purchase health care insurance under this plan, they get it for free. In education he arranged for the top 25% of high school students to get free scholarships. Yes a great incentive to get kids to study, but a terrible drain on our tax dollars. This is, in essence, socialized education for ¼ of the population of students. He was also a supporter of the Assault Weapons ban, need I say more.
Keep an eye on these guys. Keep writing letters to the Republican Party. Let them know they need to seek a candidate that will get back to the basics of the Republican Party’s ideals. Look to others to be our next president, and no I do not mean anyone offered by the Democrats. Look to some like Thomas Tancredo. Read up on his political beliefs and ideals. You may be very happily surprised by what you discover. If so, let the Republican Party know about it.
Best regards,
Glenn B
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Election Results - a revelation
The things I receive in emails are often quite funny, sometimes interesting, sometimes revealing/informative, sometimes disturbing, sometimes very appropriately to the point, and at other times just an annoyance, among other things. An email I received today had the first five of the six taits listed above as related to the recent election results.
It was not any written content that fit those traits, but rather a photograph in the email. There was no copyright, and there were no credits, dates, names, web addresses or anything else associated with the picture; so I decided I would use it here. If I find out someone owns the rights to it, I will credit them appropriately or remove it from this site as he or she or they desire. For now though, here it is.
What do you think of it? I'll tell you what I think: It just about says it all as to what we can expect after the recent elections, or after just about any elections we will ever hold in the future.
When it comes right down to all the partisan BS, just try to keep your head above it all.
All the best,
Glenn B
It was not any written content that fit those traits, but rather a photograph in the email. There was no copyright, and there were no credits, dates, names, web addresses or anything else associated with the picture; so I decided I would use it here. If I find out someone owns the rights to it, I will credit them appropriately or remove it from this site as he or she or they desire. For now though, here it is.What do you think of it? I'll tell you what I think: It just about says it all as to what we can expect after the recent elections, or after just about any elections we will ever hold in the future.
When it comes right down to all the partisan BS, just try to keep your head above it all.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, November 13, 2006
There is a reason that I give gifts...
...on Christmas, and yet I am an agnostic. I was brought up Catholic; that meant Catholic grammar school, catholic religious training, catholic summer camp, and even catholic High School. By the time I was in high school, I guess I was pretty doubtful that there was a god as most people think of god(s).
I do not practice any religion now. In fact I shun religion for myself, yet I do not deter others from believing or practicing. I just find it is not for me, and I believe it is probably one of the biggest causes of suffering in the world, both past and present; and religion promises to be one of the biggest causes of suffering in the future. One of the problems with religion has always been its inability to do things within reasonable limits, it is often all or nothing, such is the basis of faith; and such unrestrained hard core beliefs are what cause much of the problems. Yet, I also believe that there is a lot of good that has come from religion. For example some moral standards, the ideals of of charity (to an extent), of morality, of moral responsibility, of forgiveness (to an extent) and so forth.
One of the things I like about my catholic upbringing is the ideal of gift giving at Christmas. It is at this time of year that Christians believe that God gave his most valuable gift to mankind in the form of his own son. A pretty impressive gift. it is also a time when as the story goes, the wise men brought gifts to the newborn Christ child. The lesson I get from all of this is that it is a good gesture to give gifts. I believe that is correct, I believe it is righteous. I believe it is nice, and it sure makes me feel nice when I give gifts to others, as well as when I receive them. It is a tradition that I truly enjoy, and that I believe is a good thing to do, this even though I am not a worshipper.
Of course I do not limit gift giving to the Christmas time of year. I give gifts to my family throughout the year, usually smaller gifts than they receive on birthdays or at Christmas, but I still give them things every now and then - I guess much as we all do with our families at special times and at regular times that we just want them to feel special. I also give gifts to those less fortunate than me. No I am not a big charity kind of guy, but every now and then I give someone less fortunate a small handout. I also give at the office, yes I mean that seriously. I donate to a few charities annually, not so much to feed the poor kind of things, but to causes in which I believe. This year for example to the Wild Turkey Federation, and to Gun Owners Foundation.
Still though, Christmas retains some of its significance for me. I just find it a certain magic to give at Christmas, when others are doing the same even if they do so for reasons other than my own.
With that out of the way, and with all the pre-holiday sales already firing up, it is time to start thinking about which gifts I’ll be giving to whom. It truly is one of the better traditions to come out of a religion, something that can really make you feel you have done some good.
All the best,
Glenn B
I do not practice any religion now. In fact I shun religion for myself, yet I do not deter others from believing or practicing. I just find it is not for me, and I believe it is probably one of the biggest causes of suffering in the world, both past and present; and religion promises to be one of the biggest causes of suffering in the future. One of the problems with religion has always been its inability to do things within reasonable limits, it is often all or nothing, such is the basis of faith; and such unrestrained hard core beliefs are what cause much of the problems. Yet, I also believe that there is a lot of good that has come from religion. For example some moral standards, the ideals of of charity (to an extent), of morality, of moral responsibility, of forgiveness (to an extent) and so forth.
One of the things I like about my catholic upbringing is the ideal of gift giving at Christmas. It is at this time of year that Christians believe that God gave his most valuable gift to mankind in the form of his own son. A pretty impressive gift. it is also a time when as the story goes, the wise men brought gifts to the newborn Christ child. The lesson I get from all of this is that it is a good gesture to give gifts. I believe that is correct, I believe it is righteous. I believe it is nice, and it sure makes me feel nice when I give gifts to others, as well as when I receive them. It is a tradition that I truly enjoy, and that I believe is a good thing to do, this even though I am not a worshipper.
Of course I do not limit gift giving to the Christmas time of year. I give gifts to my family throughout the year, usually smaller gifts than they receive on birthdays or at Christmas, but I still give them things every now and then - I guess much as we all do with our families at special times and at regular times that we just want them to feel special. I also give gifts to those less fortunate than me. No I am not a big charity kind of guy, but every now and then I give someone less fortunate a small handout. I also give at the office, yes I mean that seriously. I donate to a few charities annually, not so much to feed the poor kind of things, but to causes in which I believe. This year for example to the Wild Turkey Federation, and to Gun Owners Foundation.
Still though, Christmas retains some of its significance for me. I just find it a certain magic to give at Christmas, when others are doing the same even if they do so for reasons other than my own.
With that out of the way, and with all the pre-holiday sales already firing up, it is time to start thinking about which gifts I’ll be giving to whom. It truly is one of the better traditions to come out of a religion, something that can really make you feel you have done some good.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Belated Happy Veterans' Day Wishes
Sorry that I did not post a Happy Veterans' day message yesterday, but I did not post at all yesterday despite a post below showing that I did. What happened was I started to write up q blog yesterday, and received a call from my sister that my mom was very ill. So I stopped writing, saved that blog as a draft, and went to visit my mom. When I finished that blog today it posted with yesterday's date making it look as if I had finished it yesterday and posted it then when in fact I only finished it this morning. So I did not have time yesterday to post a Veterans' Day post either.
Let me just say that I am very grateful to our veterans for their service. I was never in the military, the Vietnam War just about over when I became old enough. Had it come to it, I would have enlisted if needed, but it was all but over by the time I hit 18, so I went to college and majored in Police Science. Now I have some regrets never having enlisted, though I do not regret having been in civil service as a federal law enforcement officer/agent for the past 27 years. I served in another way, but certainly not one anywhere as critical as they who serve our nation now in time of war.
You folks who are out there on the front lines, anywhere in harm's way, anywhere in the military for that matter, are truly wonderful Americans - especially in light of the fact that you joined voluntarily. The same goes for all who have served whether in wartime or not, whether you joined or were drafted; if you did your job well, you did America a great service. You are all great Americans. Please do your best to stay safe, come home alive and well, keep the faith, and know that we support you.
All the best,
Glenn B
Let me just say that I am very grateful to our veterans for their service. I was never in the military, the Vietnam War just about over when I became old enough. Had it come to it, I would have enlisted if needed, but it was all but over by the time I hit 18, so I went to college and majored in Police Science. Now I have some regrets never having enlisted, though I do not regret having been in civil service as a federal law enforcement officer/agent for the past 27 years. I served in another way, but certainly not one anywhere as critical as they who serve our nation now in time of war.
You folks who are out there on the front lines, anywhere in harm's way, anywhere in the military for that matter, are truly wonderful Americans - especially in light of the fact that you joined voluntarily. The same goes for all who have served whether in wartime or not, whether you joined or were drafted; if you did your job well, you did America a great service. You are all great Americans. Please do your best to stay safe, come home alive and well, keep the faith, and know that we support you.
All the best,
Glenn B
I would not wish cancer on anyone...
..even though I am not beyond wishing some folks a pretty nasty death. Fidel Castro is one of those onto to whom I have wished death, if not miserable, at least one that came sooner than later. As it turned out, his death is coming much later than many had wished for over the years of his dictatorship in Cuba; but at last it seems his end may at least be on the horizon. According to this article U.S. Officials: Fidel Castro Has Terminal Cancer, at FoxNews.com today, he is on his way out with stomach, pancreatic or colon cancer.
I will admit, I read this with some glee. I have dealt with many Cubans over my many years in federal law enforcement, both those who escaped Cuba in the 50's and 60's, as well as those who got out during the president Jimmy Carter fiasco known as the Marielito boat lift. For the most part, and I mean for the great majority (at least 98%) those folks hated Castro for how he destroyed their lives, their freedoms, and their country. I can only hope, as I am sure do many others, that Castro’s death will come sooner than later still; and that his death will result in some types of reforms being initiated in Cuba soon afterward - major reforms. of course his death will leave his brother in power, or so it seems right now - and his brother is no friend of the Cuban people, but one can hope he will see the light and move Cuba into the 21st century as a free nation. In that light I wish the Cuban people all the luck in the world, and I hope Castro's death still comes sooner than later.
All the best,
Glenn B
I will admit, I read this with some glee. I have dealt with many Cubans over my many years in federal law enforcement, both those who escaped Cuba in the 50's and 60's, as well as those who got out during the president Jimmy Carter fiasco known as the Marielito boat lift. For the most part, and I mean for the great majority (at least 98%) those folks hated Castro for how he destroyed their lives, their freedoms, and their country. I can only hope, as I am sure do many others, that Castro’s death will come sooner than later still; and that his death will result in some types of reforms being initiated in Cuba soon afterward - major reforms. of course his death will leave his brother in power, or so it seems right now - and his brother is no friend of the Cuban people, but one can hope he will see the light and move Cuba into the 21st century as a free nation. In that light I wish the Cuban people all the luck in the world, and I hope Castro's death still comes sooner than later.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, November 11, 2006
A mediocre day hunting...
...really is better than a day doing just about anything else,at least for me; and my son seemes to enjoy it too. My son Brendan, and I, took a drive up the Taconic Parkway this Friday (the observed Veteran's day holiday) to see what we could find in the way of a decent deer hunting spot. Brendan drove all the way up and part way back so it was a better trip than most for me with me not having to drive all that much.
I had already scouted out some areas on the west side of the Hudson River, now it was time to check on the east side. Truth be told, I had a few particular spots in mind, ones I had been to last year; then scouted out a bit earlier this year. As luck would have it though, before we got to the happy hunting grounds we had to make a detour of about 15 miles. Our first stop was a gas station, it took a while to find one. I should have listened to Brendan when he told me we should stop near home to get gas, gut I thought we had enough – a lesson learned especially since he was driving. Next time he thinks he should get gas he will, I had him worried there for a bit that we would run out because I told him 3/8 of a tank would be enough. Now he knows when beginning a trip to top off first. I could not have planned it better, to bad I cannot claim that credit – that is the plan part. Oh well, we gassed up, got some hot food into us and were off again.
We got to the hunting area, The Lafayetteville State Forest MUA (Multiple use Area), and drove to the half of it in which Brendan had a doe permit. We parked the Ford, grabbed our gear, took a compass reading to know which way it would be back to the car in case we got turned around; then we the took a hike, literally. It was a balmy mid November day with temps in the 60s – not the greatest deer hunting weather, but then again, we were not hunting – we were looking for sign. We headed up the hill into the woods, and in almost no time we ran across a deer trail with a nice active scrape on it. I showed Brendan how the buck has scraped away the earth to scent mark, and how bucks prefer to do so under the low hanging branches of a shrub or tree. The branches had been twisted and broken from his antlers thrashing about as he marked his territory. We made sure not to step too close to his scented area, and walked around to look for more sign. Before we left that area though, I heard a deer bleat/grunt. Brendan thought it had been a goose, and for a moment he had me wondering, but I was pretty sure it had been either a deer, or maybe deer hunter with a call since archery season was open.
We moved on, following the deer trail. It ran parallel to the road from which we had just walked, then opened into a meadow. We looked around for more deer sign but did not see any. Instead what we saw, or I should say what Brendan saw was a deer, just before the edge of the woods on the other side of the field, maybe 50 yards off. The deer spooked and took off before I could get a look but I heard it crashing through the undergrowth. He thought it had been a doe. That was a good sign, better than just seeing deer doody, rubs or scrapes. Bucks wind up where the does are during the rut. We were only about 100 yards from the road, and I was not surprised at all. I had told Brendan before we started off: “Don’t be surprised to see deer close to the road”. We then decided to head further up the hill straight away from the road.
I was carrying, my old and trusted friend, a Remington 870 with number 6 shot. Brendan was carrying a very reliable scoped Marlin 25MN in .22WMR; we were hoping to bag some bushytails for dinner, and maybe even a turkey or two with the shotgun. We continued uphill looking for more sign and came across a rub here and there, lots of deer trails, and lots of acorns laden oak trees. That was another good sign. While many acorns had already hit the ground and been devoured by local wildlife, there were still an awful lot of them up in the trees. This is not something I have often seen this late in November, maybe I just never looked up as much, but this time I noticed. Deer, and squirrels, love acorns. Hope was building that this would be a good hunting site. I was lucky to have found it while hunting last year; I was even luckier that Brendan was with me this year. It was just nice to be out in the woods with a good friend, and loved one. It was also nice to know that my 16 year old son still wanted to do things with his old man.
Shortly after we walked into the woods from the fringe, to check on the acorn crop, I heard a rustle that Brendan did not catch, or at least did not distinguish from the rustle of the tree tops in the breeze. Then I scanned the forest floor up ahead from whence came the rustling noise, and I spotted a busytail. I had not even loaded the shotgun. I figured I’d give Brendan all the chances. I told him there was a squirrel up ahead and he should look for it. He saw it pretty quickly and slowly raised the Marlin to shoulder level, but could not get a clear shot as the gray ghost disappeared for a few seconds. I softly told him to get down into a kneeling position and use his knee as a rest. He did just that. After about another 30 to 45 seconds of waiting for a clear shot, he squeezed one off and the little gray ghost skyrocketed into the air doing somersaults. I knew Brendan had hit his mark. We walked over to claim Brendan’s first gray squirrel, and the little booger got up and ran, he was not finished yet. Since we were only a few feet from him, I took the rifle and gave him the coup de gras. I had wanted to be sure to avo8id a ricochet shot. I gutted it, rinsed off my hands, and we had one in the bag.
We continued up the hill, stopping now and then to look and listen, even to smell. We saw a lot of crows flying overhead, and a lot of little chickadees (I think) flying through the trees and undergrowth around head level looking for their own dinner. We also found a couple more rubs and quite a few more deer trials crisscrossing the area. We got almost to the top of the hill, maybe even a mountain by NY state standards, and took a break. Then we circled around and headed down. The slope was pretty steep where we decided to walk down so we unloaded the marlin, and I double checked the Remington to make sure it was likewise. After getting about halfway down, we headed back toward a gentler slope. While I was plodding along, telling Brendan the deer hunting secrets of many generations (not my family but those I had read about in publications like Outdoor Life Magazine) Brendan spotted another busytail. He raised the rifle but again like a ghost clad in gray, the little guy disappeared from his site. This one seemed headed to a tree. We scoured the trees, even with me walking around a few hoping to spook it, but no luck. Yes Brendan had already reloaded once we got back to easier footing so had there been a shot, he would have been ready to make it. Again I noted lots of acorns in the trees in this particular spot. Another good sign.
It was getting on late into the afternoon, and we had wanted to find one other MUA before heading home, so we headed back toward the car. Back near the road, Brendan saw another deer. I just got to see the flash of its white tail flagging a warning to any other deer in the area. Another good sign for sure. We reached the car, then drove to the other location. We did not get out to scout around there, it was getting to late. Anyway. that was going to be a back up location in the event the first place wound up having to many knucklehead hunters on opening day. I thought maybe we could scout it out next weekend, then I remembered, heck next Saturday would be day one of the regular deer season; heck where had the time gone – deer season only a week away.
One the drive home we talked about deer and such things as a dad will talk to his son about and actually have the son answer back. It was a nice drive. Once we were home the hunting clothes went into the washer to be ready for next week. After that I cleaned up the sole squirrel Brendan had bagged then fried in us in some breadcrumbs. I ate some right after cooking it – delicious. Brendan had a piece the next day and ate it cold like cold fried chicken (no it does not taste like chicken, more like rabbit, but not quite). Brendan liked it. That too was a good of more good hunting days to come for father and son.
I am anxiously awaiting next week’s opening day, so too I think is Brendan. As opposed to my usual several days to week long hunt, this one will be a day hunt as Brendan has work the next day. Maybe I’ll get a few more days in before Thanksgiving, and we plan to go Friday and Saturday, as a team, right after Thanksgiving day. It surely would be sweet if he bags a deer in his first deer hunting season. I sure hope so, but even if he doesn’t, he knows the thrill and enjoyment of the hunt is not just in the bagging of the game. We will have a great time hunting together even if we don’t bag a thing.
I had already scouted out some areas on the west side of the Hudson River, now it was time to check on the east side. Truth be told, I had a few particular spots in mind, ones I had been to last year; then scouted out a bit earlier this year. As luck would have it though, before we got to the happy hunting grounds we had to make a detour of about 15 miles. Our first stop was a gas station, it took a while to find one. I should have listened to Brendan when he told me we should stop near home to get gas, gut I thought we had enough – a lesson learned especially since he was driving. Next time he thinks he should get gas he will, I had him worried there for a bit that we would run out because I told him 3/8 of a tank would be enough. Now he knows when beginning a trip to top off first. I could not have planned it better, to bad I cannot claim that credit – that is the plan part. Oh well, we gassed up, got some hot food into us and were off again.
We got to the hunting area, The Lafayetteville State Forest MUA (Multiple use Area), and drove to the half of it in which Brendan had a doe permit. We parked the Ford, grabbed our gear, took a compass reading to know which way it would be back to the car in case we got turned around; then we the took a hike, literally. It was a balmy mid November day with temps in the 60s – not the greatest deer hunting weather, but then again, we were not hunting – we were looking for sign. We headed up the hill into the woods, and in almost no time we ran across a deer trail with a nice active scrape on it. I showed Brendan how the buck has scraped away the earth to scent mark, and how bucks prefer to do so under the low hanging branches of a shrub or tree. The branches had been twisted and broken from his antlers thrashing about as he marked his territory. We made sure not to step too close to his scented area, and walked around to look for more sign. Before we left that area though, I heard a deer bleat/grunt. Brendan thought it had been a goose, and for a moment he had me wondering, but I was pretty sure it had been either a deer, or maybe deer hunter with a call since archery season was open.
We moved on, following the deer trail. It ran parallel to the road from which we had just walked, then opened into a meadow. We looked around for more deer sign but did not see any. Instead what we saw, or I should say what Brendan saw was a deer, just before the edge of the woods on the other side of the field, maybe 50 yards off. The deer spooked and took off before I could get a look but I heard it crashing through the undergrowth. He thought it had been a doe. That was a good sign, better than just seeing deer doody, rubs or scrapes. Bucks wind up where the does are during the rut. We were only about 100 yards from the road, and I was not surprised at all. I had told Brendan before we started off: “Don’t be surprised to see deer close to the road”. We then decided to head further up the hill straight away from the road.
I was carrying, my old and trusted friend, a Remington 870 with number 6 shot. Brendan was carrying a very reliable scoped Marlin 25MN in .22WMR; we were hoping to bag some bushytails for dinner, and maybe even a turkey or two with the shotgun. We continued uphill looking for more sign and came across a rub here and there, lots of deer trails, and lots of acorns laden oak trees. That was another good sign. While many acorns had already hit the ground and been devoured by local wildlife, there were still an awful lot of them up in the trees. This is not something I have often seen this late in November, maybe I just never looked up as much, but this time I noticed. Deer, and squirrels, love acorns. Hope was building that this would be a good hunting site. I was lucky to have found it while hunting last year; I was even luckier that Brendan was with me this year. It was just nice to be out in the woods with a good friend, and loved one. It was also nice to know that my 16 year old son still wanted to do things with his old man.
Shortly after we walked into the woods from the fringe, to check on the acorn crop, I heard a rustle that Brendan did not catch, or at least did not distinguish from the rustle of the tree tops in the breeze. Then I scanned the forest floor up ahead from whence came the rustling noise, and I spotted a busytail. I had not even loaded the shotgun. I figured I’d give Brendan all the chances. I told him there was a squirrel up ahead and he should look for it. He saw it pretty quickly and slowly raised the Marlin to shoulder level, but could not get a clear shot as the gray ghost disappeared for a few seconds. I softly told him to get down into a kneeling position and use his knee as a rest. He did just that. After about another 30 to 45 seconds of waiting for a clear shot, he squeezed one off and the little gray ghost skyrocketed into the air doing somersaults. I knew Brendan had hit his mark. We walked over to claim Brendan’s first gray squirrel, and the little booger got up and ran, he was not finished yet. Since we were only a few feet from him, I took the rifle and gave him the coup de gras. I had wanted to be sure to avo8id a ricochet shot. I gutted it, rinsed off my hands, and we had one in the bag.
We continued up the hill, stopping now and then to look and listen, even to smell. We saw a lot of crows flying overhead, and a lot of little chickadees (I think) flying through the trees and undergrowth around head level looking for their own dinner. We also found a couple more rubs and quite a few more deer trials crisscrossing the area. We got almost to the top of the hill, maybe even a mountain by NY state standards, and took a break. Then we circled around and headed down. The slope was pretty steep where we decided to walk down so we unloaded the marlin, and I double checked the Remington to make sure it was likewise. After getting about halfway down, we headed back toward a gentler slope. While I was plodding along, telling Brendan the deer hunting secrets of many generations (not my family but those I had read about in publications like Outdoor Life Magazine) Brendan spotted another busytail. He raised the rifle but again like a ghost clad in gray, the little guy disappeared from his site. This one seemed headed to a tree. We scoured the trees, even with me walking around a few hoping to spook it, but no luck. Yes Brendan had already reloaded once we got back to easier footing so had there been a shot, he would have been ready to make it. Again I noted lots of acorns in the trees in this particular spot. Another good sign.
It was getting on late into the afternoon, and we had wanted to find one other MUA before heading home, so we headed back toward the car. Back near the road, Brendan saw another deer. I just got to see the flash of its white tail flagging a warning to any other deer in the area. Another good sign for sure. We reached the car, then drove to the other location. We did not get out to scout around there, it was getting to late. Anyway. that was going to be a back up location in the event the first place wound up having to many knucklehead hunters on opening day. I thought maybe we could scout it out next weekend, then I remembered, heck next Saturday would be day one of the regular deer season; heck where had the time gone – deer season only a week away.
One the drive home we talked about deer and such things as a dad will talk to his son about and actually have the son answer back. It was a nice drive. Once we were home the hunting clothes went into the washer to be ready for next week. After that I cleaned up the sole squirrel Brendan had bagged then fried in us in some breadcrumbs. I ate some right after cooking it – delicious. Brendan had a piece the next day and ate it cold like cold fried chicken (no it does not taste like chicken, more like rabbit, but not quite). Brendan liked it. That too was a good of more good hunting days to come for father and son.
I am anxiously awaiting next week’s opening day, so too I think is Brendan. As opposed to my usual several days to week long hunt, this one will be a day hunt as Brendan has work the next day. Maybe I’ll get a few more days in before Thanksgiving, and we plan to go Friday and Saturday, as a team, right after Thanksgiving day. It surely would be sweet if he bags a deer in his first deer hunting season. I sure hope so, but even if he doesn’t, he knows the thrill and enjoyment of the hunt is not just in the bagging of the game. We will have a great time hunting together even if we don’t bag a thing.
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Ballseye's Boomers: Remington 241 Speedmaster
This little rifle may not look like much when you see this picture; but let me tell you it is GREAT. First of all I got it at a song of a price via an auction on GunBroker.com. I may have even given the 'buy it now' price instead of bidding, I cannot recall, but whatever I paid I do remember it was well below book value. Of course, that had me a bit concerned because you often get just for what you paid. In this case though I spent less than I should have for such a fine piece of Remington quality.It is basically a semi-automatic rifle in .22LR caliber. It is fed by a tubular magazine. The magazine tube runs from inside the butt stock forward to wherever. It opens in an indent in the buttstock and the mag spring pulls out for loading. There is a loading port in the right side of the stock. The sights are a v notch rear and fixed post front. The 241 is somewhat unusual
in that if ejects from the bottom of the receiver. The first time I shot it, I had a number of small scratches and burns where shell casings hit my wrist, so I quickly learned how to hold it so that would not happen again. Then again I am forgetful so it happens again now and then. No big deal but it takes some getting used to. The bolt operating handle is also at the bottom of the receiver.The 241 is also a takedown rifle. I have always wanted a takedown rifle, I don't know exactly why, maybe because of something I once saw in some movie about a hired assassin, and I thought it was neat. I can say now, without a doubt, takedown rifles are neat, and I mean that literally. They break down into two pieces and store neatly and easily in smaller than usual gun cases. This makes them very unobtrusive, a nice feature for a rifle.
It is a pretty good plinker, and would probably be good for squirrels or rabbits. I may take it afield this weekend when I go to scout out some deer sign in upstate NY hunting grounds. Who knows, I may get lucky and bag some dinner in the for of a bushytail or three.
All the best,
Glenn B
Things have changed since the elections...
...at least for me.
For quite sometime now, I have been considering a change in my status as a registered Republican. I have voted almost straight Republican since just after my 18th birthday back in 1973. My votes for Republicans have not been so much based upon my belief that the platform upon which the Republican party stands is the best; but rather that there were usually only two viable choices in any major election those being either for a Republican or a Democrat. For the most part, I tend to be more conservative than liberal when it comes to certain issues, although I am somewhat liberal on others. Yet my vote has not been torn between one party or the other. I find the Democrat party’s platform either repugnant in how it attempts to smother individual liberties (while claiming just the opposite, yet wanting ever increasing control over my personal life and my rights), or I find it just outright outlandish when they propose emasculating our country in its national defense, and I find it robbery when they want to raise my taxes and spend my money on those who do not pay taxes.. So I vote Republican, or at least I have usually done so. I voted for Ross Perot when he ran for president; and a couple of years ago I voted for Elliot Spitzer, a democrat in a NYS election. He just ran for governor and won, but I must point out this time I voted against him.
I figured voting for Republicans was always the better of two evils. Of course there are some things I do not like about voting Republican. For instance I am an agnostic at best; I doubt the existence of a great, all knowing, all powerful, being that will somehow magically do good by me if I adore it. Yet I am pretty moralistic. Religion taught us (mankind) morals when we were little more than cavemen; but now that we all are aware of morality there is no need to disguise it as religion and belief in a supernatural being. Of course, that is my opinion. If someone wants to believe, so be it; there should be room for all of us so long as one does not try to destroy the rights of another as do Islamo Fascists, other religious extremists, or atheistic extremists. Republicans usually spout religion, and Christianity at that. There is really no room for such in our political system whether or not the founding fathers were Christians. I would prefer something that was more in the nature of what they proposed in the Bill or Rights, a true freedom of religion to include a freedom not to believe. It is hard to find that in the Republican party, and just about impossible to find it in the Democrat party. The effect is that Democrats stray more from morality if only because they seemingly deem it to be religious, Republicans embrace it because they seemingly deem it religious; and the fact is morality does not have to be religious or anti-religious - it can be neutral just as is supposed to be our form of government.
Others things I disliked about voting republican were that Republicans support big business over other important matters such as the environment. The government is here to protect its citizens, and therefore should to some extent protect the environment - not reward those who destroy it. Now before you think this sounds liberal or like a democrat, let me say I am all for big business, just not the government giving big business breaks in taxes or other subsidies. I believe in competition for all businesses big and small alike. Keep government interference to a minimum. I am also for legalization of certain drugs for adult recreational use. I find prohibition ridiculous and I have spent most of my 27 year career fighting narcotics smuggling. I am a strong advocate of law enforcement, but also a strong advocate of being able to change laws within reason. Prohibition did not work for alcohol and look at the taxes collected on alcoholic beverages now. If the same was done for narcotics we could quite likely do away with the income tax. Of course if we legalize drugs, I would be all for strict enforcement of laws preventing children from getting them. I also somewhat abhor there view of consensual sexuality between adults as not being moralistic since sex is as natural as can be. I am no fan of gay mnarriage though, marriage is a tradition between the sexes and not for same sex couples, though if someone wants to cojoin sexually with a same sex partner in the privacy of a home, why not, so long as they are doing it consensually
I believe in our constitution as it was written , or as it was amended. It is definitely a living document but not as republicans or Democrats would have us believe. It is changeable, but only legally through amendments, and those amendments can be passed only by following strict guidelines set by the founding fathers of our nation. Our courts should never decide if an issue is constitutional or not if it is not addressed by our constitution. If folks want an issue to become a constitutional issue, they should press government officials to amend the Constitution. Both Democrats and republicans get this wrong and misuse the U.S. Court of Appeals and Supreme Court in such maters.
Yet when it all comes down to it I usually have voted Republican because they support things I support such as:
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms (only limited support by Republicans but much better than most Democrats)
National Security and Defense of Our Nation
Legal immigration while opposing illegal immigration
Law Enforcement to protect the people and our nation
A moralistic approach to government and other issues (and the morals are usually within reason though not always)
Less taxation and less government spending
Economic growth
A more polite form of government
A less chaotic and more reasonable form of government than offered by Democrats
And other things.
This is all changing. Today I changed my voter registration. I am no longer a registered republican, or at least will no longer be a Republican once my registration is approved. I have registered to be an independent; no not for the Independence party, but as a voter with no party affiliation. I will look toward voting for candidates in the future who best fit in with my political, ethical, and moral convictions. There will likely still be many Republicans who get my votes, thee will likely be few if any Democrats, but there will also be third party candidates. These will not be wasted votes, as I would not vote for a candidate at all if I disliked both the Republican and Democrat candidates. If I like a third party candidate they will get my vote. Over the years, maybe they will gain momentum and win an election or three on the local level, then later on a state level, then later on a federal level.
I can tell you that some of the third party candidates are just remakes or cover-ups of Republicans or Democrats, but some are true third party choices. Libertarians seem somewhat attractive to me now on some issues but way too flaky on others. I will keep them in mind though as the most viable alternative to the other two rather sickening parties that are the mainstream. I will probably still vote republican a lot, but I will definitely have an eyee toward other choices, other than Democrat or Republican.
I will continue to vote against things like:
Unlimited abortions, even though I favor legal abortions to some extent
Amnesty for illegal aliens
No religion in schools (so long as students can choose)
Gun control laws
Anything that jeopardizes national security
Violations of our constitutional rights as written in the Constitution, or as in the Bill of Rights, or as in English common law prior to those documents
Higher taxation
Welfare programs that do not have a strict workfare intiative to get people to work
Social Security being a federal program and not privatized
Laws that try to restrict consensual sexual conduct between adults (note marriage is not sexual conduct and I strongly oppose same sex marriages)
Laws that restrict religious beliefs, or that restrict atheistic beliefs - there is room for both.
Laws that allow political ideology to be viewed as religion, as in the case of Islamo Fascists.
And so on.
Think of me as you will, but I am sick and tired of the old party line from either side. It is about time we seek some sensible alternatives on many of the issues.
All the best,
Glenn B
For quite sometime now, I have been considering a change in my status as a registered Republican. I have voted almost straight Republican since just after my 18th birthday back in 1973. My votes for Republicans have not been so much based upon my belief that the platform upon which the Republican party stands is the best; but rather that there were usually only two viable choices in any major election those being either for a Republican or a Democrat. For the most part, I tend to be more conservative than liberal when it comes to certain issues, although I am somewhat liberal on others. Yet my vote has not been torn between one party or the other. I find the Democrat party’s platform either repugnant in how it attempts to smother individual liberties (while claiming just the opposite, yet wanting ever increasing control over my personal life and my rights), or I find it just outright outlandish when they propose emasculating our country in its national defense, and I find it robbery when they want to raise my taxes and spend my money on those who do not pay taxes.. So I vote Republican, or at least I have usually done so. I voted for Ross Perot when he ran for president; and a couple of years ago I voted for Elliot Spitzer, a democrat in a NYS election. He just ran for governor and won, but I must point out this time I voted against him.
I figured voting for Republicans was always the better of two evils. Of course there are some things I do not like about voting Republican. For instance I am an agnostic at best; I doubt the existence of a great, all knowing, all powerful, being that will somehow magically do good by me if I adore it. Yet I am pretty moralistic. Religion taught us (mankind) morals when we were little more than cavemen; but now that we all are aware of morality there is no need to disguise it as religion and belief in a supernatural being. Of course, that is my opinion. If someone wants to believe, so be it; there should be room for all of us so long as one does not try to destroy the rights of another as do Islamo Fascists, other religious extremists, or atheistic extremists. Republicans usually spout religion, and Christianity at that. There is really no room for such in our political system whether or not the founding fathers were Christians. I would prefer something that was more in the nature of what they proposed in the Bill or Rights, a true freedom of religion to include a freedom not to believe. It is hard to find that in the Republican party, and just about impossible to find it in the Democrat party. The effect is that Democrats stray more from morality if only because they seemingly deem it to be religious, Republicans embrace it because they seemingly deem it religious; and the fact is morality does not have to be religious or anti-religious - it can be neutral just as is supposed to be our form of government.
Others things I disliked about voting republican were that Republicans support big business over other important matters such as the environment. The government is here to protect its citizens, and therefore should to some extent protect the environment - not reward those who destroy it. Now before you think this sounds liberal or like a democrat, let me say I am all for big business, just not the government giving big business breaks in taxes or other subsidies. I believe in competition for all businesses big and small alike. Keep government interference to a minimum. I am also for legalization of certain drugs for adult recreational use. I find prohibition ridiculous and I have spent most of my 27 year career fighting narcotics smuggling. I am a strong advocate of law enforcement, but also a strong advocate of being able to change laws within reason. Prohibition did not work for alcohol and look at the taxes collected on alcoholic beverages now. If the same was done for narcotics we could quite likely do away with the income tax. Of course if we legalize drugs, I would be all for strict enforcement of laws preventing children from getting them. I also somewhat abhor there view of consensual sexuality between adults as not being moralistic since sex is as natural as can be. I am no fan of gay mnarriage though, marriage is a tradition between the sexes and not for same sex couples, though if someone wants to cojoin sexually with a same sex partner in the privacy of a home, why not, so long as they are doing it consensually
I believe in our constitution as it was written , or as it was amended. It is definitely a living document but not as republicans or Democrats would have us believe. It is changeable, but only legally through amendments, and those amendments can be passed only by following strict guidelines set by the founding fathers of our nation. Our courts should never decide if an issue is constitutional or not if it is not addressed by our constitution. If folks want an issue to become a constitutional issue, they should press government officials to amend the Constitution. Both Democrats and republicans get this wrong and misuse the U.S. Court of Appeals and Supreme Court in such maters.
Yet when it all comes down to it I usually have voted Republican because they support things I support such as:
The Right to Keep and Bear Arms (only limited support by Republicans but much better than most Democrats)
National Security and Defense of Our Nation
Legal immigration while opposing illegal immigration
Law Enforcement to protect the people and our nation
A moralistic approach to government and other issues (and the morals are usually within reason though not always)
Less taxation and less government spending
Economic growth
A more polite form of government
A less chaotic and more reasonable form of government than offered by Democrats
And other things.
This is all changing. Today I changed my voter registration. I am no longer a registered republican, or at least will no longer be a Republican once my registration is approved. I have registered to be an independent; no not for the Independence party, but as a voter with no party affiliation. I will look toward voting for candidates in the future who best fit in with my political, ethical, and moral convictions. There will likely still be many Republicans who get my votes, thee will likely be few if any Democrats, but there will also be third party candidates. These will not be wasted votes, as I would not vote for a candidate at all if I disliked both the Republican and Democrat candidates. If I like a third party candidate they will get my vote. Over the years, maybe they will gain momentum and win an election or three on the local level, then later on a state level, then later on a federal level.
I can tell you that some of the third party candidates are just remakes or cover-ups of Republicans or Democrats, but some are true third party choices. Libertarians seem somewhat attractive to me now on some issues but way too flaky on others. I will keep them in mind though as the most viable alternative to the other two rather sickening parties that are the mainstream. I will probably still vote republican a lot, but I will definitely have an eyee toward other choices, other than Democrat or Republican.
I will continue to vote against things like:
Unlimited abortions, even though I favor legal abortions to some extent
Amnesty for illegal aliens
No religion in schools (so long as students can choose)
Gun control laws
Anything that jeopardizes national security
Violations of our constitutional rights as written in the Constitution, or as in the Bill of Rights, or as in English common law prior to those documents
Higher taxation
Welfare programs that do not have a strict workfare intiative to get people to work
Social Security being a federal program and not privatized
Laws that try to restrict consensual sexual conduct between adults (note marriage is not sexual conduct and I strongly oppose same sex marriages)
Laws that restrict religious beliefs, or that restrict atheistic beliefs - there is room for both.
Laws that allow political ideology to be viewed as religion, as in the case of Islamo Fascists.
And so on.
Think of me as you will, but I am sick and tired of the old party line from either side. It is about time we seek some sensible alternatives on many of the issues.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, November 8, 2006
The Elections are over - will things change?
Well, it looks as if the House of Representatives has gone to the Democrats in a big way. For the first time in over a decade they have control of the House. It appears as if Nancy Pelosi, with her so called 'San Francisco values' will be the speaker of the House.
As for the Senate, it is still too close to call as I write. It may soon also be in control of the Democrats.
If both parts of the Congress go to the Democrats, then president George W. Bush will surely be a lame duck president for the remainder of his tenure; but there may be more serious concerns than just that.
Will the war in Iraq come to a premature end, one without victory against terrorism, state sponsored or otherwise?
Will illegal aliens gain an even stronger foothold in the United States of America, since this is one of the few things about which the Democrats seemingly agree with the president - as in guest worker program?
Will an assault weapons ban be resurrected; and will other restrictive guns laws be placed onto the American people?
Will our nation be so weakened by the above issues as to allow the terrorists, drug cartels and other violent criminals to gain a stronger foothold in America?
Will Gay marriage become the acceptable way of the future on a federal level? Sure some states voted laws to the effect of banning gay marriage, but how will a very liberal Congress effect the issue?
Will stem cell research become acceptable?
Will the minimum wage increase?
Will social services to groups such as junkies, illegal immigrants, those who refuse to work, increase?
Will the price of gasoline rise or fall?
Will taxes rise again?
Will the economy strengthen or weaken?
Will all of this pave the way for a Democrat to become president in 2008; or will it assure that a Republican will become president then?
My guesses on the above issues are just that - guesses; and my guesses are that our nation will suffer overall because of this election. There is one thing though that I will say has a better chance of becoming reality than remaining just a guess, and that is that in 2008 the people of the USA will elect a Republican president. I base this on the track record of the Democrats once they have achieved any type of political power. I doubt they will have changed just because they presented a lot of middle of the road types in this election. Now that they are in power, ultra liberalism will probably ooze out of their pores and into every decision they make while in office. After two years of that, Americans will have likely become sick of it, and will probably elect a conservative president, namely a republican. Time will tell.
I will predict one thing almost with certainty. Now that Democrats have taken control of the House, and if they also take control of the Senate, then firearms sales, and firearms accessory sales, will sky rocket sometime in the not too distant future. Mark my word on it. Call me a fool if I am wrong; but I am willing to bet on this one if total Republican control of the Congress is lost.
I voted, and I voted for those who I thought would best serve; and those for whom I voted lost. I wonder, how is it that most Americans voted otherwise, am I that out of touch on who would be better for America? Again, time will tell.
All the best,
Glenn B
As for the Senate, it is still too close to call as I write. It may soon also be in control of the Democrats.
If both parts of the Congress go to the Democrats, then president George W. Bush will surely be a lame duck president for the remainder of his tenure; but there may be more serious concerns than just that.
Will the war in Iraq come to a premature end, one without victory against terrorism, state sponsored or otherwise?
Will illegal aliens gain an even stronger foothold in the United States of America, since this is one of the few things about which the Democrats seemingly agree with the president - as in guest worker program?
Will an assault weapons ban be resurrected; and will other restrictive guns laws be placed onto the American people?
Will our nation be so weakened by the above issues as to allow the terrorists, drug cartels and other violent criminals to gain a stronger foothold in America?
Will Gay marriage become the acceptable way of the future on a federal level? Sure some states voted laws to the effect of banning gay marriage, but how will a very liberal Congress effect the issue?
Will stem cell research become acceptable?
Will the minimum wage increase?
Will social services to groups such as junkies, illegal immigrants, those who refuse to work, increase?
Will the price of gasoline rise or fall?
Will taxes rise again?
Will the economy strengthen or weaken?
Will all of this pave the way for a Democrat to become president in 2008; or will it assure that a Republican will become president then?
My guesses on the above issues are just that - guesses; and my guesses are that our nation will suffer overall because of this election. There is one thing though that I will say has a better chance of becoming reality than remaining just a guess, and that is that in 2008 the people of the USA will elect a Republican president. I base this on the track record of the Democrats once they have achieved any type of political power. I doubt they will have changed just because they presented a lot of middle of the road types in this election. Now that they are in power, ultra liberalism will probably ooze out of their pores and into every decision they make while in office. After two years of that, Americans will have likely become sick of it, and will probably elect a conservative president, namely a republican. Time will tell.
I will predict one thing almost with certainty. Now that Democrats have taken control of the House, and if they also take control of the Senate, then firearms sales, and firearms accessory sales, will sky rocket sometime in the not too distant future. Mark my word on it. Call me a fool if I am wrong; but I am willing to bet on this one if total Republican control of the Congress is lost.
I voted, and I voted for those who I thought would best serve; and those for whom I voted lost. I wonder, how is it that most Americans voted otherwise, am I that out of touch on who would be better for America? Again, time will tell.
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, November 7, 2006
VOTE TODAY...
...and vote your conscience for a better America; please don't vote just to spite saomeone already in office, or as a trend, or as a party line. Make your vote an intelligent one, make it count toward making America a better and safer place for all of its citizens and legal resident aliens, make it safer from terrorism (think about who really would do the ebst job). Vote for continuation of making our streets safer (again think about who has the better record here), vote sensibly on the issue of the 2nd Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms (have you noticed crime going down as more states allow concealed carry permits, or not), think about voting for a more moral USA (think about who will do better there, and this could be a tough decision), vote for who will keep our economy strong, vote against higher taxes with less representation for the middle class, vote against a welfare state, and so on. Vote for what will make America a better place in which to live.
VOTE TODAY
All the best,
Glenn B
VOTE TODAY
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, November 6, 2006
Vote tomorrow...
...and do not let just any old excuse deter you from doing your civic duty. I know it is supposed to rain in the northeast, but I figure so what. I will still be going to work, so I will leave about 15 minutes early and head to my polling place. I have to get wet anyhow. Rain is one of the poorest excuses I have heard not to vote if only because people will still go to the supermarket, the department store, the pharmacist,, to rent a DVD, to walk the dog, and so forth.
Of course there are many other excuses, some good some terrible. For example if you are literally snowed in, well I guess that would be a good one, unless of course you have a dog team and sled or a snowmobile. If it snows a few inches, give me a break - get out and vote. Then you could get stuck at home because you are sick, as in you have the flu with a high fever; stay home please. On the other hand if you have a cold, get thee to thy polling place, just wash your hands really well before voting. Some will say they could not vote because they had other things to do, just look at the list in paragraph number 1. My bet is those same people will spend half the day in their homes or offices doing nothing. Voting is an obligation of the good citizen. If you don't vote you are not being a responsible or good citizen - period! Remember you can vote for whom you please on the ballot or off of it (by write in vote), so please don't try to say your candidate was not in the run.
I for one am sick of all the lame excuses that people use not to vote, when they go out and do other much less important things on election day. As the citizens of a democratic republic, we should all be voting if at all possible. Our futures, and the futures of our nation depend upon it.
All the best,
Glenn B
Of course there are many other excuses, some good some terrible. For example if you are literally snowed in, well I guess that would be a good one, unless of course you have a dog team and sled or a snowmobile. If it snows a few inches, give me a break - get out and vote. Then you could get stuck at home because you are sick, as in you have the flu with a high fever; stay home please. On the other hand if you have a cold, get thee to thy polling place, just wash your hands really well before voting. Some will say they could not vote because they had other things to do, just look at the list in paragraph number 1. My bet is those same people will spend half the day in their homes or offices doing nothing. Voting is an obligation of the good citizen. If you don't vote you are not being a responsible or good citizen - period! Remember you can vote for whom you please on the ballot or off of it (by write in vote), so please don't try to say your candidate was not in the run.
I for one am sick of all the lame excuses that people use not to vote, when they go out and do other much less important things on election day. As the citizens of a democratic republic, we should all be voting if at all possible. Our futures, and the futures of our nation depend upon it.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, November 5, 2006
Islamo Facists really are trying to conquer the world...
...as is evidenced by a regular deluge of attacks committed by them against anyone who belongs to another religion, or who disagrees with the tenet Islam should control everything. See this article: Thailand 'rebels' attack schools at the BBC.com. Attacks like those descibed in the article occur on a weekly basis in other parts of the world thereby, if the suspicion is correct that these were Muslims who did this, giving evidence that it is not just the west, the USA or Israel against which the wrath of this facism masquerading as a religion is targetted. There have been enough other attacks, already proven to have been carried by by Islamists, to prove they are set on conquering those of all other faiths, and even atheists, this one is just the latest one reported upon. Why the US media does not hgighlight these attacks is not beyond me, it fits right in with their usual plans to make conservatives look bad no matter what the cost; this time the cost being that half of America believe if we just leave them along they will love us peacefully. We need to wake up America, wake up and terminate the threat.
Guys like this are teaching our kids...
...and it concerns me not because he is doing research on a controversial subject, but because he believes in a mythical beast. I wonder what other apparently inane beliefs he may hold, and therefore teach to our sons and daughters! Bigfoot research makes professor a campus outcast Maybe he also believes in the Loch Ness Monster too, or the Abominable Snowman, or that dinosaurs currently live in the Congo, or that little grey men with big eyes have abducted him, or other seemingly harmless absurdities. I believe some of these are possible, though I do not believe any are probable. According to the article this guy "firmly" believes in the existence of Bigfoot! Get that, he is firm in his conviction that it exists even in the face of an awful lot of evidence that sightings have been a lot of bunk. That is scary if only because he may be twisting other things around into preposterous twisted anti-facts and teaching that to our children. They may believe him.
Sure it may seem harmless in the case of Bigfoot, but what about the case of saying that communism is better than democracy, or that terrorists are victims who justly seek to kill us, or that morality is not good, and so forth. I guess that is how the school system in this country screws with the minds of our kids so badly, and therefore screws up our country so badly. Guys like this need to be administratively admonished and maybe even punished if they teach crap like this to our children. If he stops fine, if he teaches that maybe it is so - fine, but to say that proven bunk is actual fact is ridiculous and should be dealt with quickly and sternly.
Sure it may seem harmless in the case of Bigfoot, but what about the case of saying that communism is better than democracy, or that terrorists are victims who justly seek to kill us, or that morality is not good, and so forth. I guess that is how the school system in this country screws with the minds of our kids so badly, and therefore screws up our country so badly. Guys like this need to be administratively admonished and maybe even punished if they teach crap like this to our children. If he stops fine, if he teaches that maybe it is so - fine, but to say that proven bunk is actual fact is ridiculous and should be dealt with quickly and sternly.
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