MERRY CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas to all.

Even though no longer a practicing Catholic, I always celebrate Christmas. Christmas to me - is all about, and I do really mean ALL about, gift giving and not one other thing. The gift of the use of the manger to Joseph and Mary, God's gift of his own son to mankind, the gift of the shepherds who watched over Jesus, the gift of the guiding star, the gifts of the Magi to the Christ child, the gift of Christian teachings to us all, the gift of Christ's own life to save us, the gift of forgiveness. If only we would truly celebrate gift giving more often the world would be better. It does not have to be commercial gift giving but can and also should be giving of: charity, common courtesy, a smile to a stranger, good manners, respect, kindness, friendliness, forgiveness, assistance to those in need, love and so forth to one another as opposed to greed, hate, racism, politics, one-upmanship, crankiness, war, politicizing everything and so on. Yes, I think Christmas is 100 percent about gift giving and should take place every day of our lives at least to some extent. Then again, we being less than perfect do okay to celebrate it once a year in big style and then at least a little bit during the rest of the year in the little things we do for one another.

Again, Merry Christmas. And, lest I forget, Happy Festivus for the rest of us!

All the best,
Glenn B

At Last, Time To Unwind - All Done Until Next Year - And The Mall Shooting That Wasn't

I am done with all the Christmas rush, trying to figure out what to buy for whom, shopping, trying not to lose my cool with ill mannered aresehats in the crowded shopping centers, done wrapping the presents (thank the Heavens {or Walmart} for wrapping paper with grid lines on the reverse - a pleasure to cut to size) and done hoping that tomorrow will be a nice day. Now that last one may surprise you a bit, I mean who in their right mind that celebrates Christmas would not want it to be a nice day. It's not that I don't care, I just am not worried that it will not be a nice day, I will make it one. The tension is all gone now that the shopping bit is over. Well almost all gone.

As usual, I went out shopping today. In fact, I went for two very different reasons. As usual, I went Christmas shopping, as I always do, on Christmas Eve. Before that though, I drove 25 miles to a florist to order flowers. Sure, I have plenty of florists closer to home but this was to buy flowers for the funeral of my good friend Jerry (we both retired from the same job) who just passed away. He had brain cancer - he went quickly and as far as I am aware without pain. Of course, his family and loved ones are suffering because of his loss especially at this time of year. While a family member asked for donations to a charity in lieu of flowers, I figured that he was well worth both and took up a collection starting last night. So far, the flowers are covered and whatever is left over will be donated either to the family or the charity. Being that I was out until about 0430 last night, enjoying some hard cider and Jameson's Irish Whiskey at my favorite local pub, I only crawled out of the sack at about 1030. I had a lot of emailing back and forth to folks about the flowers and some other funeral arrangements and the next thing I knew it was almost 1 in the afternoon. I skedaddled off to the florist. Spent about 30 minutes there going over the arrangement we wanted we wanted, a patriotic arrangement with red, white and blue flowers looking like Old Glory. Once done there, it was back toward home but first I had to stop at the mall.

I got to the mall shortly after 3 PM, got there in good time from the florist. When I walked inside, I was shocked, it was not a ghost town but surely was the least crowded I have ever seen a mall on Christmas Eve. As I was shopping in one of the department stores, a saleslady walks over to me and another customer next to me and asked if we had heard about the "shooting at the mall today". She went on to explain that the mall had been evacuated because of a reported shooting but that thee really had been no shooting at all. A shoplifter reportedly had resisted apprehension, In Macy's (my son-in-law works there and must have had a headache over this as he is their Operations Director) and in the ensuing scuffle a large display crashed to the floor. It made a loud noise and the sheep of NY thought it was a gunshot and many bolted for the doors.

The police responded and supposedly the mall was evacuated for awhile but I later heard conflicting stories on the radio news, one saying only that shoppers fled the scene another report saying it was evacuated by police. Each report though said that according to some shoppers, they saw others take advantage of the situation by fleeing the mall with unpaid for items in their arms and then make for their cars. Merry Friggin Christmas! An online report in a local news outlet said that the mall had been locked down for about 20 minutes by the Nassau County Police. (If so, I have to applaud them, they did it right. Heck, they have been known to shut down an intersection for over an hour for a fender bender, so a 20 minute lockdown was excellent for a report of a shooting that was found to be without basis.) The report that said the mall was locked down for 20 minutes sounds like the most likely thing to have actually taken place being that I got in to shop there by just after 3 and this happened just after 1 or 1:30. I guess I got lucky and got there after all the commotion. It seems not all that many folks wanted to go back shopping at said mall after the reported shooting.

Finally got home around 5PM, shopping all done. At last, I got to eat breakfast a few minutes later. Had not had a bite all day until then, nor a drop of coffee. Then onto the final stage of the gift wrapping. I was done wrapping most presents yesterday but still had several to do today. That is all over though now it is time to kick back and unwind with a drink or two. My first one for the evening was a hot cocoa. My next one or two will probably contain Vodka and hot cocoa will not be an additional ingredient. While it has not been a very long day, it sure has been a busy one, I can use a small libation and some good cheer.

All the best,
Glenn B

A Legend Has Passed - Mikhail Kalashnikov 1919-2013 - RIP

It may seem strange to wish that the creator of the AK-47, one of the most abundant of all firearms in the world, rest in peace but it is what I wish for him. Yes, he created weapons that probably have killed hundreds of thousands if not millions but all in the name of defending the USSR and her people. After all, as Kalashnikov himself has been quoted, the AK-47 was not an offensive weapon, nor one made for use by criminals, it was a defensive firearm. As quoted by the NY Times:  

"The weapon, he said, was designed to protect his motherland, not to be used by terrorists or thugs.“This is a weapon of defense,” he said. “It is not a weapon for offense.”  (source).

Today's American politicians should take heed of that; and thus my using the NY Slimes Times article as my source. Normally I would not quote the NY Times but it seemed ever so sweet that a liberal rag like it would quote the creator of one of the world's most popular rifles, if not the most popular, when he said that an AK-47 is defensive weapon not an offensive one (thus not an assault weapon).  Yet, jerks with no practical firearms experience classify them as assault weapons. You know whom I mean, anti-gun politicians whom the NY Times almost always supports: President Barack Obama, Senator Harry Reid, Representative Nancy Pelosi, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, and NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. They are all folks who claim the semi-automatic versions of the AK-47 are assault rifles even though the creator of that rifle calls the fully automatic version a defensive weapon.

Well, anyway, back to Kalashnikov. He was an important man in worldwide events, a great inventor and a worthy opponent in the scheme of things. He lived a long and productive life. I wish him an eternity of peace in the knowledge that he gave many of us the ability to afford to be able to effectively defend ourselves from thugs, criminals and tyrants and gave us one heck of an excellent, inexpensive and fun rifle in having done so!

All the best,
Glenn B

Christmas Shopping

Have you finished your Christmas shopping? Not me! There is nothing quite like the thrill of waiting until the last few moments to get your Christmas shopping done. Running and diving for that "exactly right" Christmas gift, that just happens to be the last one on the shelves, is an adventure not to be taken lightly. It requires courage, agility, speed, patience, abilities to procrastinate far beyond those of mere mortal men and true Christmas spirit!

My nerve endings are tingling in anticipation of the madhouses I am going to visit tonight and tomorrow as I do my last minute Christmas shopping. Will I get it all done?  I am certain to do so but assuredly not until closing time at the last store I visit tomorrow and that is likely to be the last store that will be open in my area. The anticipation is killing me (or maybe some other holiday shopper reaching for the same last minute gift, and last available one at that, will do that for me).

You would think that by my age (which remains a secret but it is pretty old) I would have learned to get my Christmas shopping finished by October but then where would be the excitement in that!

All the best,
Glenn B

Oh Baby It's Cold Inside...

...and if that's true, I will love it even more than I do now. Got a free (as in no cost to me) GE refrigerator a couple of hours or so ago - delivered by my brother-in-law (the elder) and the friend who was giving it to me. I just got done cleaning it up and it looks virtually brand new. If it runs as good as it looks, I will be a very happy man indeed and if lasts a couple of years I will be that much happier. I was in the market for a new fridge for the basement, I have had my daughter's mini fridge from her college days down there but it holds very little. So, I had been thinking of getting a 3/4 sized fridge or maybe a smaller full sized one. Figured I would wait until January or February when some of the the bills for Christmas presents were paid off. Then, my brother-in-law (the older) called to say a friend was getting rid of one - no charge!

The new one is pretty big, while I don't know the cubic footage it looks like it would easily hold a few cases of my favorite beverages or the food my wife would rather put into it. I guess we can compromise and I can reserve one shelf for beers and ales. The freezer is a decent size too which means I can have a good stock of ribs and other pork products on hand for future smoking or BBQ'ing and still have room some bacon for the frying pan!

Not being a total Grinch or tightwad, I went out two days ago to do some Christmas shopping and made sure to buy a gift certificate, at Zum Stammtisch, for the friend who was about to give it to me. Should be enough for a meal for him and his wife at what is a great German restaurant. Then again, he could spend it all at the bar too. Either way, he (and maybe his wife) is sure to make a good time of it. Of course, while there buying the gift certificates (I bought some for other folks too), I enjoyed a meal and a few good German Biers. I got to see an old friend who works there and had a very good time. Could not have been better. If you are ever in that neighborhood, I strongly recommend you making a stop there for lunch or dinner.

All the best,
Glenn B

Firepower F-UN

Firepower F-UN, my very own and my first comic firearms related poster. ©

 

Just your run of the mill military-style helmet, painted blue, and then we blew it away or at least blew away big parts of it. No animals, children, responsible adults (or even liberals) were harmed in the creation of that masterpiece (that is in making the helmet look like an exploded blue Swiss cheese, not the poster).

All the best,
Glenn B

The Incandescent Light Bulb Ban

We use CFL bulbs in my house, in almost all of the lighting, not because of government regulation but because we choose to do so. It is the same as us using incandescent bulbs for some lighting applications. As for the CFL bulbs, I have not seen this wonderful reduction in my electric bills that others talk about but I will admit that the reduction in the electric bills, due to lighting changes, may be there but not evident because of other factors that may have increased other usage overall.

I do not like them myself, those CFL bulbs, at least not for most lighting. I prefer incandescent bulbs over florescent, always have done so. My wife buys the CFL bulbs because she likes them and I tolerate them. I have a small store of incandescent bulbs in stock. As opposed to the CFL bulbs, they make a good supplemental heat source, in addition to supplying lighting, for some of the reptiles I keep. They also will not emit any mercury into the tanks should the bulb break or otherwise leak while over the tank but I do take that chance and use CFL with some of my critters for a very limited number of applications (they help some plants grow wonderfully in my gecko tanks). The thing in all of it though is we can choose now which we use – soon the choice will not be ours to make because the government regulates otherwise.

My issue with these bulbs is mostly the federal government demanding that we use them and not use others. It is another instance of the federal government overstepping the bounds of its authority on its way to becoming a totally controlling nanny state (of course state and local governments do likewise with ridiculous regulatory laws). That we have a choice to use the light bulbs we want may seem of little consequence but now the government (covering federal, state and local) also regulates: the toilets we can use, the guns we can shoot, the cribs we can allow our children to sleep in and not all the banned ones were deemed unsafe (see), the amount of soda that can be sold, the use of e-cigarettes (here), the type of ammunition with which we hunt, helmet laws, seatbelt laws, drinking age (from 18 to 21), that we must be subjected to TSA searches (without any probable cause or suspicion) before boarding commercial aircraft, the amount of liquid we can carry on a plane, where people can smoke in public, ammunition sales, where people can smoke in privately owned establishments, where we can and cannot carry a gun, the bathing suit one chooses to wear on a beach, free speech in blogs (link), sales of girl scout cookies (see), vaccinations (link), healthcare and health insurance (link), collection of rain water (crazy but true), gun registration, feeding the homeless (citation), the milk we drink (scary), firearms magazine capacity, alcohol in gasoline, the showerheads we use, the free market, the lunches our children eat at school (source), our privacy (see), what our doctors must report to the government about our personal health, our freedom to hand out free stuff - even water, Internet use (source), the amount of ammunition we can load into magazines (citation), our ability to defend ourselves, and I am pretty sure you can think of other things. The government (used broadly to include federal, state, local) has been and continues to overstep its bounds. It is because people say, oh this regulation is okay and so is that one that the government gets away with things like violating a major Constitutional right like your right to keep and bear arms, your right to freedom of religion, your right to free speech and your right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures. The more such laws are passed, the more folks become used to unneeded government intervention, even illegal government regulation and actions, and they become callous to it. That allows for more and more of it to take place. All the while they are losing more and more of their liberty.

When will it end. I think when most, if not all, of the lawyers and political scientists are voted out of office and practical people, with practical experience in the things government currently regulates, take over in the seats of power. I would vote for Joe The Plumber any day before I would even consider voting for a angry fool like Harry Reid, an arsehat like Nancy Pelosi or an inexperienced boob like Charles Schumer - who while having passed the bar, jumped right over it and went into politics reportedly without ever practicing law (source) and now he writes them (bad ones at that).

All the best,
Glenn B

Men - Is It Cold Enough To Hang Christmas Ornaments?

I, and I think many other men, have often felt less than Christmassy when it has been warmer than normal at this time of year. That kind of unseasonal weather always makes me (and other men) wonder if it is fittingly cold enough to hang ornaments. Nothing to worry about this year because I have proof positive that it is definitely cold enough to hang them this year . See (adult content):

http://s861.photobucket.com/user/gbarthgwt/media/christmastits_zpse55bbe02.jpg.html?sort=3&o=0

A hat tip and my everlasting thanks to R.M. for that one.

All the best,
Glenn B

John Beale - Our Government's Leading Climate Change Expert

I really should say: John Beale WAS our government's leading climate change expert and was one of the EPA's senior policy advisors and certainly lead EPA by the nose. That "he was" is key because now he is going to jail for 32 months. Why? He spread lies about himself being in the CIA, and on missions for the CIA in Pakistan (while actually in cape Cod enjoying himself), apparently all to keep earning his pay but avoid actually working for a living while he was supposed to be carrying out his duties as a top advisor at the EPA. He made up those falsified duties saying he needed to be able to take off from work, one day per week, over 13 years. In 2008, he took off for over 6 months saying he was on a political security detail and charging the government for $57,000 worth of trips to California. He also took an official trip, a flight in first class to Europe that cost $14,000, when coach would have cost only $1,000 and allegedly flew first class other times because of a dubious back injury claim. There were numerous other deceptions. He pulled of scams over a 13 year period that netted him over $1,000,000.00 in government money.

Kudos to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy who smelled a rat relative to this embezzling thief's expenses and to Assistant Inspector General Patrick Sullivan, who spearheaded the internal investigation. Oddly enough, out of 40 employees interviewed, only one reportedly ever suspected Beale's claims, that he was working for the CIA, were bogus. My bet would be that plenty more suspected it but were smart or scared enough not to open their mouths and talk about it out of fear of retribution for never having brought it to light in the past.  

Now remember, they called him the government's leading expert of climate change! Makes me wonder what lies he may have told about that, not only to support all that climate change balderdash, but to fill his pockets with more unearned taxpayer funds.

Sources: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/18/epa-fraudster-sentenced-for-outrageous-cia-scam/?intcmp=latestnews

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/18/epa-fraudster-sentenced-for-outrageous-cia-scam/?intcmp=latestnews 

All the best,
Glenn B

AMC Lowes Movie Theaters- Gun Unfriendly?

I stopped by a local AMC-Lowes movie theater last night. I could not remember the last time I was at one of them, must have bee at least a couple of years ago, I am not a frequent theater goer. I was about to walk inside when I noticed something someone had told me about during a LEOSA seminar I attended last week. That was that AMC theaters do not allow firearms inside or at least have stickers proclaiming such on the bottom corners of their entry doors. Well, there were at least 4 outer entry doors, maybe six, and none had that decal on them. However, out of the same number of inner doors, two of them had a sticker, showing a red circle around a revolver with a slash through it and the words "No Weapons".

I had been about to enter to buy a couple of gift cards for folks on my Christmas list and upon seeing the signs started to walk away disgusted. Then I got the idea to give them a call to see if I could come in to purchase the tickets. I did that and explained to the person who answered that I was outside freezing my butt off, had come there to buy gift cards but was stopped in my tracks when I saw those signs. I also explained that I was a pistol license holder and was carrying. The manager (I am guessing he was a manager) said come on in. I did so and bought the gift cards, then left.

I had debated, for a few moments before going inside, whether to support such a theater then guessed that all the area theaters probably have the same regulation. Maybe I screwed up there but I know someone who wants to see some movies soon so I went in to buy the gift cards.

Maybe I should have stayed bit longer to ask about their no weapons policy to see what it excludes movie goers from carrying in their premises but I did not. Maybe I should have voiced my opinion of places that prohibit carrying of guns and knives and pepper spray but I did not. I am pretty disgusted with myself for not having done so and can assure you I have given myself a proverbial good hard kick in my ass for it. In my defense I was tired, grumpy and fed up with Christmas shopping and the rude arsehats one runs into in the Christmas shopping crowd and just wanted to get it over with that night. Not much of an excuse but it is all I have.

I have since looked up their policy on weapons. The only thing I could find on their website was a PDF file called "CODE OF CONDUCT". In it, there is an opening paragraph that says:

If you were to scroll down a bit in that PDF file, you would see this:

I have written to AMC Theater group about it though to try to at least show my disgust with that policy.

No legal authority is cited; however, I usually conform to the wishes of private property owners about what they allow and do not allow onto their property. What I will not do is accept that policy without trying to change it because in no way shape or form is legally carrying a firearm, as they state it, a dangerous behavior. I also doubt I will be buying any more gift cards from them in the future unless they change the policy.

All the best,
Glenn B

Think Your Christmas Cards Were Expensive?

Maybe you should think again. One of the original Christmas cards, from the set of 1,000 of the very first ones ever, was recently sold at auction for the price of £4,200 British Pounds or just over $6,800 US dollars. (source)


Much as it is now, it seems that even in 1843, a Christmas get together
meant good cheer in more ways than one - a smile on the face, a 
glass in the hand and even a little nip for the young ones.

Wow, what people will pay for one man's trash is absolutely amazing. Then again, the particular card is one of only 14 or 15 known examples of it remaining in existence and thus it had to have also been some folks' treasure ever since it first made its appearance in 1843. There were both color and B&W issues made of those first known Christmas cards. This one was B&W and I shudder to think how much the color version would be worth to someone with lots of money today. I hope that auction price does not give Hallmark any ideas!

All the best,
Glenn B

Squirreling Away Your Survival Assets

You don't have to be some sort of a right or left wing kook to think about caching  away some things to get you through hard times. As they say - don't carry all of your eggs in the same basket, or as is more appropriately said for most of us nowadays, diversify your assets. Diversifying your assets does not only mean to have several different types of financial investments but means having several different places to store them too.

Just like a bushy-tail (gray squirrel) that stores its various assets of acorns, seeds and nuts in several different underground hiding places, so too could you do likewise. Keep money in the bank, in the stock market in different funds, buy some municipal bonds and Treasury bonds, maybe stash some gold and silver in a safe deposit box along with some of those municipal and or Treasury bonds. Keep some bonds at home, maybe even a bit of gold or silver and of course some cash at home too - just not in your mattress.

Bear in mind though that money, in whatever form, is not your only asset. Take the hint from those squirrels, acorns are not all that the little bushy-tail hide for future use. Instead of just money, you may also want to stash away some emergency food supplies. You can store some at home in dry storage in your basement, maybe some in a freezer in your garage, or just in a pantry. Better yet, store some elsewhere too, maybe more in a storage locker or your second home. Store water too. Needed medical supplies, like your prescription medications, are another thing to consider stashing for future use.. You may also want to keep a small supply of other basic survival items in your cache in the event you have to depart your residence during a crisis.

I am not telling you to do any of this in preparation for a fantasy 
zombie apocalypse, or for the end of days, or a civil war, or revolution, or government takeover (although those last three are distinctly possible even if improbable). I am telling you to be ready for things like an economic collapse (a depression), bugging out in the event of local civil unrest (continued days long riots right in your neighborhood), a natural disaster that destroys your home and prevents aid from arriving rapidly (think Hurricane Katrina and Tropical Storm Sandy) causing shortages of food and water, or just something as simple as you losing your source of income even if temporarily. All of them could rapidly deplete your supplies of all the things mentioned above. So, it might not be such a bad or far fetched idea to have some in stock to fall back on.

If you do decide to store your survival assets, think a bit like the squirrel. You don't want to lose it all them in one fell swoop in the event of a flood, fire or theft. I am not telling you to run out, like a squirrel, to bury all of your assets but maybe burying some of them would not be too bad of an idea. What I am suggesting is to secure your survival assets in numerous places to assure a couple to few different things. First is that your items are not easy for others to find and steal or for a disaster to destroy, all at once. Secondly, you may not be able to get to only the one single location in which you stored them all, if you made only one cache. Your access may be blocked by natural obstacles or manmade ones and you may be forced to travel in a different direction.

So where else - besides your home - can you reasonably store some of your survival assets? There are several storage companies such as Public Storage (I used them because I think they are nationwide). They rent storage containers / rooms. You can easily find these types of storage units at offered by many other companies at many different locations. Self-storage locker(s). come in units as small as 5'Lx5'Dx8'H - maybe even smaller and some can be had for as little as about $20 per month plus tax. Others are much larger and could fit the furniture from a large house. You could rent one or more and rent them in different areas. Many self-storage facilities offer 24 hour, 7 day per week access to the renter. Check with the facility management to see what kind of security is furnished at their location.

Then there are banks that offer safe deposit boxes. Banks offer great security although that affects how and when you can access them. You only have access to them during banking hours. In the event of a crisis, the bank may not allow access even during regular banking hours. In addition, safe deposit boxes are all pretty much 
small sized containers. You may want check on the legality of storing certain items in a bank.

Then there are secret underground caches. Yep, you really could squirrel away some of your survival assets. That requires you to find a place where the items are not likely to be discovered or effected by a natural disaster, and it should be a place where you could locate the stash again easily. If you have some acreage, you could bury your things on your own property. Other site choices might be state lands or federal lands out in the boonies. You may or may not also want to consider your own backyard. The locations are up to you but make sure it is legal to bury your items where you do so. You have to consider that this option may be the least secure of all and you need to be able to take the loss should someone else discover your stash.

There are companies out there that offer ready-made burial containers for your valuables. Mono Vaults, manufactured by Store Guns (aka: Poly Farm, LLC of Meridian, Idaho),  are cylindrical containers that are manufactured to be buried and they come in a variety of sizes. While they are specifically designed to accommodate firearms, they certainly will also store a wide variety of other items. MTM Case-Guard also offers a single model of similar storage device, the Survivor Ammo Can. You could also make your own underground storage container from products available at places like Home Depot or Lowes.

I am sure you can think of other storage options. One other thing about rentals or containers you purchase,  no matter which one or more you decide upon, one type can by quite variable in price depending on the sources where you can buy it or rent it. So do some shopping around before making a purchase.

As to what you should be storing, the list is up to you but I recommend at least the following items in any survival storage cache:

At least three days of food, per person in your group, at each location where you have items in storage.

Water and or water purification tablets or a water filtering device.

A small first aid kit.

Prescription medications to last at least a few days to a week.

Necessary, and I do mean truly needed, over the counter medications.

About $50 cash per person in your group. This can be supplemented or added to in the form of a small amount of gold and silver bullion (maybe 1/4 to 1 ounce of gold and 10-20 one ounce silver coins).

A good quality pocket knife.

Small LED flashlight(s) with extra batteries.

Waterproof matches and tinder (small to medium sized household candles are great for this.

A few glo-sticks.

A legally owned pistol and about 50-100 rounds of ammunition for it. Make sure it is legal to store it where you do so.

A space blanket for each person in your party.

A compass and a map with prearranged meet-up locations marked in order of preference as accessible. This way if one family or group member gets to one storage spot, he or she can take the items and head to the preferred rendezvous spot. If the way is blocked to the first preferred location, then go to number 2 instead, or to number 3 if you also cannot get to the second choice. Of course, the storage area itself may serve as the initial meeting place but if you arrive their alone, and have to vacate for safety reason, you would then head to one of the other prearranged meet-up locations going in order of preference.

You can easily come up with others items you would want to have at the ready if you need them. Again, the options as to where and how to store them are up to you, I only made a few suggestions. The amount you store is also up to you as your finances and situation allow.

Even if you decide to only store emergency items within your home, each family member could have a grab an go bag, with the above items in it, at the ready to do just what the name says, grab 
and go. 

All the best,
Glenn  B

I Have Heard It Said: A District Attorney Could Get A Grand Jury...

...to indict a ham sandwich. I think that maybe a DA in New York City has taken it a step further by charging an allegedly mentally disturbed with assault after New York City Police officers shot two bystanders while in an altercation with said man. The DA reportedly charged him with assault on the premise that the man was responsible because if not for his actions, the police would not have drawn their weapons and fired at him, albeit missing and hitting the bystanders.  (Source.)

Note, there was no reported physical contact between him and the officers as they shot - they shot and missed and hit innocent people on a crowded NYC street. I do not see this charge having a chance should the man take it to trial. The person responsible for the shot fired is usually the person who pulled the trigger. There are very few exceptions to that although one could be if a gun were discharged at a bad guy by an officer and the bad guy hit or grabbed the gun, just as it went off, redirecting the shot. In this case though, that apparently did not happen.

Now please note, I am not saying the man was an innocent nor am I faulting the officers. I am saying I think the DA is pushing for a what seems to be a very strange prosecution. Yes, the man was acting like he was emotionally disturbed, was putting his life and possibly those of others at risk. Then he placed his hand into his pocket, evidently like he was about to draw a weapon and the police fired on him but the man did not fire on anyone or grab the officers' guns causing the shots to go astray.

There have been lot of questions as to whether or not the officers should have discharged their weapons with such a large crowd in the area. Sometimes they have to weigh all the potentialities and do whatever they decide in a split second, and physical changes to their senses - such as tunnel vision - come into play during such stressful situations and he was quite possibly all they saw. I will not second guess them - at least I will not without a lot more information indicating that they were wrong.

Regardless of what comes of that, I find it fairly amazing that the man was charged with assault on the reported theory that he was responsible for the shots being fired. I would be even more amazed if the DA actually expects to successfully prosecute that charge at trial. I was always taught that I was responsible for the rounds I fired out of my issued weapons and I taught other shooters likewise. To say that the defendant was responsible for those shots seems to be a stretch, a big one. As I said, a DA could get a Grand Jury to indict a ham sandwich.

All the best,
Glenn B

One of My Favorite Christmas Songs Sung By A Heavenly Voice

All the best,
Glenn B

What Took The Courts 30 Years?

I will never quite understand why it is that Justice is not only blind but also as slow as molasses trying to flow uphill on a bitter cold day in January. It seems there must have been a good amount of evidence, over those years, so that Stanly Wrice - convicted of a 1982 rape and sentenced 30 years ago - should have had his case reexamined by the courts. Wrice alleged that police beat a confession out of him. That may be with or without merit; however, others have been freed who made the same allegations against the same cops who worked under the Lt. John Burge. Now he is free and it will be up to the prosecutor to determine if they will attempt to retry him.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/12/11/after-30-years-man-who-says-chicago-police-tortured-him-into-false-confession/

If Wrice remains free, and is not retried and convicted again, one has to wonder how he will adjust to life on the outside after having missed the developments of the past three decades. A lot has changed sine he went inside. Of course, he could have to face a new trial and could still be convicted all over again if the prosecutor's and police have a lot of physical evidence pointing to him as the rapist but it is difficult for me to fathom why police allegedly would have bothered trying to beat a confession out of him if such had been the case. If he ultimately remains free, let us hope it is because he actually did not do the crime as opposed to because of two police officers beating a confession out of a guilty guy to get him convicted; thus not only leaving Justice blind and slow but with dirty hands as well.

All the best,
Glenn  B

Illegal Immigrant Working As AZ State Police Detective

An illegal alien reportedly managed to get jobs in the federal court system and then later as a state trooper and then detective with the Arizona State Police. See: http://news.msn.com/us/arizona-detective-resigns-over-illegal-immigrant-status.

She supposedly was unaware of the fact that she was here illegally, always having believed what her mother had told her, that she had been born in the USA. That reportedly came unglued during an argument during which her mother told her the truth. The detective has since resigned. I feel bad for her if she truthfully did not know she was an illegal alien but that is as far as I will go with sympathy for her - feeling bad.

While officials are saying this will not have an impact on any cases she worked, I can only think that would be the case if at least one of two things happened. Either she never worked any investigative cases resulting in arrests and convictions or seizures or all of the ones she worked were dismissed with the defendants found not guilty. Otherwise, I would say that any defendants prosecuted as a result of her case work have a darned good chance of having their cases reviewed and possibly dismissed. After all, at least as I see it, she was in no way shape or form legally qualified to enforce the laws of this country or one of its states and every person she ever arrested can make such a case in court. As her being a law enforcement officer was not legal, then it should follow that none of the arrests or seizures she ever made, testimony she ever gave, or anything else she did to enforce the law, has any legal standing.

Only in America folks, only in America! How did the song go:

I like to be in America
Okay by me in America
Everything free in America...

Heavens help us otherwise, the next thing you know, we will vote an illegal immigrant into political office. Hey, wait a minute...

All the best,
Glenn B

Rampaging Reindeer Batman - Christmas Is Only Two Weeks Away

I had best get my butt in gear and so too had you if you, like me, have not gotten even half of your Christmas shopping done yet! I have made only a few forays out into the wilds of my local shopping centers and somehow have managed to avoid the malls - so far. Sadly, one of my shopping adventures has had to include Walmart. Well, I guess saying had to is a bit of overstatement but I did go there to buy a few gifts. The first time, I was looking for some ammo and did not find any but happened to notice some really terrible Duck Dynasty T-shirts for sale - so I got a couple of them. They are for two very special folks who will either love them or hate them (and maybe hate me too). The next time was just yesterday when I picked up a certain model of coffee maker that was less expensive than anywhere else by a good margin. I like a deal as well as the next guy so I ordered one online for store pick-up. That was a mistake, I waited about 30 minutes to get I and they had them on the shelves. I figured I ordered it for store pick-up so I was responsible to wait for it. Next time, I will just go and pluck it off of the shelf. Walmart was interesting, as it usually is when I visit there. There are certainly a bunch of weirdos who both shop and work there. Nothing special this trip, just your run of the mill people of Walmart.

I have also been to the place where I buy some of the best Christmas gifts that I give each year. No, I did not purchase money orders at the bank. I have twice been to local liquor stores to pick up what I am sure will be some of the most appreciated gifts I give this season. I wonder, why is it that way when it comes to booze - LOL.

Anyway, I got enough so far to make several people rather merry. One of the items I picked up was a Crystal Head Vodka set. Not only should it make someone feel seasonally merry but it is a nice curiosity with the crystal skull and two skull shot glasses. I have seen pics of the empty bottles used as oil lamps to candle holders and likewise with the glasses although I would keep them to drink from if they were mine.

Anyway, much more shopping to go and I think tomorrow I may have to hit the malls.

All the best,
Glenn B

Ammo Alert - Federal Classic 12 Gauge Slugs

As I type, Sportsmansguide .com is offering 50 rounds (in 5 round boxes) of Federal Classic, 12 Gauge, 2 3/4", 1 Ounce, Rifled Slugs for $34.99 (non-club member) or $33.24 (club members). The non club member price works out to about $3.50 per 5 round box and the member price to about $3.32 per box. They are also offering FREE shipping if you use code: SH1495 at checkout. Considering the current ammo situation, that is a pretty good deal. Heck, those prices are almost back to the prices of a few years ago. If you need 2 3/4" 12 gauge slugs, I suggest hurrying in making an order as neither that price on the ammo nor the free shipping are likely to last long. See:

http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/cb.aspx?a=1104727

Did I buy any? Does the bear shit in the woods (or the buckwheat), does the sun rise in the east, does a lie fall out of Obama's mouth just about every time he promises us something - sure to all of them and sure I did.

All the best,
Glenn B

5 - 6 Inches of Snow on The Way

It's going to be an unusually early snow fall for the greater NYC area and Long Island tomorrow. Early December is very early for us to get any accumulations but they are calling for 5-6 inches tomorrow. That could mean anywhere from nothing to two feet with how unreliable the weather forecasters can be at times. As for how I feel about it, even though I will have to shovel it, I refer you to the below:



All the best,
Glenn B

Women

A hat tip to Rich M for that one. Not only was he a good firearms range master, he knows lots of important stuff, like the above.

All the best,
Glenn B

Danger Will Robinson - Danger

I just left a comment on a post at another bloggers site and had to enter a CAPTCHA phrase to show I was a human. It showed as: "lawmen search". With all the government spying going on lately, of just about everything, by just about any government agency, I had to wonder if my computer was giving me a hint.



All the best,
Glenn B

Today In History - The Sneak Attack On Pearl Harbor

At 7:48 Hawaiian time,  on Sunday, December 7, 1941, the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor commenced. It was the worst single attack on U.S. soil prior to the attack on 9/11, specifically the attack on the World Trade Center in which 2,606 people perished (not including those on the plane). At Pearl Harbor, there were 2,402 Americans killed and 1,282 wounded, many ships of the Pacific fleet were sunk and otherwise damaged, hundreds of aircraft were destroyed and many ground installations likewise. The attack brought President Franklin D. Roosevelt to call on Congress for a declaration of war on Japan, on December 8, 1941, the very next day.

It was a quick and almost unanimous decision on the part of the president and Congress to declare war. At 12:30 in the afternoon, on December 8, 1941, Roosevelt commenced a brief speech, of  7 minutes, to a joint session of Congress in which he made the eternal statement that December 7, 1941 was a date that would live in infamy.



Immediately after the speech, the issue was brought to a vote, first in the Senate and then in the House. The vote in the Senate was unanimous, 82-0, the vote in the House was 388 to 1 (the first woman elected to Congress, an avowed pacifist, was the sole no vote). The votes were lightning quick and a declaration of war achieved by 1:10 PM. It took only 33 minutes, from the conclusion of Roosevelt addressing Congress, to the completion of the vote and for war to be declared on Japan! The president signed it within three hours. The speech and declaration of war brought applause from our elected representatives. Only Great Britain declared war on Japan faster than did the U.S. after the attacks of December 7th. (British territory in the Pacific has also been attacked simultaneously.) Winston Churchill essentially lived up to his promise to declare war on Japan within an hour of any attack by Japan on the United States.

The attack on Pearl Harbor brought about instant and dramatic change to the spirit of Americans - a nation that had been very politically divided at the time.

"It was a most dramatic spectacle there in the chamber of the House of Representatives. On most of the President's personal appearances before Congress, we found applause coming largely from one side—the Democratic side. But this day was different. The applause, the spirit of cooperation, came equally from both sides. ... The new feeling of unity which suddenly welled up in the chamber on December 8, the common purpose behind the leadership of the President, the joint determination to see things through, were typical of what was taking place throughout the country." (source)

What was taking place throughout the country was national unity! The speech by Roosevelt was broadcast on the radio and was the most listened to radio broadcast in U.S. history. The peace and isolationist movements crumbled. Charles Lindberg (remember him, first to fly non-stop across the Atlantic Ocean from the USA to Europe), a leading anti-war proponent and critic of President
Roosevelt said:

 "Now [war] has come and we must meet it as united Americans regardless of our attitude in the past toward the policy our Government has followed. ... Our country has been attacked by force of arms, and by force of arms we must retaliate. We must now turn every effort to building the greatest and most efficient Army, Navy and Air Force in the world." (source)

Recruitment for the U.S. military was at an all time pace.  Never before, not even after the U.S. got involved in WWI, had it been so high, recruiting stations were kept open round the clock. Civilians agreed to rationing to support the war effort and worked toward that end causing U.S. manufacturing of military ordnance to boom. The national spirit had risen to heights never before seen and never seen since and it lasted until the war's end in 1945. It was a different world, most certainly a different country, populated by a different class of people - United Americans.

All the best,
Glenn B

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infamy_speech

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

Carrying At Home - Are You Wise To Do So Or Crazy Not To

With the amount of crime that takes place inside of homes - such as burglaries, robberies, rapes, kidnappings, home invasions, assaults, killings and more, I think that if you carry at all, you may have to be crazy not to do so at home. I don't always do it myself (I just may be a bit crazy - lol) but I have started to do so much more frequently as of late (I must be getting better). The reason I have been doing so - all the home invasions I keep hearing and reading about and all the violent crimes associated with them. Apparently I am not alone, as I discovered in the forums at NY Firearms tonight. In fact, there was a thread there about just that topic. It contained a link, to a blog-post, in which the author explains why you should consider carrying while home. He makes some very valid points.

Source: http://lakelandgunclass.com/home-safety.html

Who would be safer during a home invasion - the person with his or her guns locked up in a safe, or put in some other out of the way and not readily accessible place, OR the person who has the firearm on his or her person or within arms reach (or at least within the same room) at all times while home? I am fairly certain it would be the latter and that is one of the excellent points made in the Concealed Nation piece.

Source: http://brinkoffreedom.net/tactical-and-firearms/home-invasion-defense-tactics/

 



If you don't think so, then just look at the two photos and tell me, do you think if you had your gun where the first gal has them that you would be safer than the second one pictured. During a home invasion, a gun in the hand is worth a hundred of them locked in your difficult to access secure gun-safe down in the basement (or wherever). I would safely bet that if your front door got knocked in while you were watching television, or up in your bedroom, you would never be able defend yourself, like the gal with the one in her hand, if you had your guns locked in your safe as pictured above.

Of course, there are other considerations, especially I you have young children or anyone with a mental handicap (like someone with dementia or other mental illness) in your home. You certainly do not want to leave guns around in unsecured drawers or on shelves, or on tabletops for them to have ready access to your firearms. Yet, you do want to have ready access to them in the event that thugs break in and try to do harm to you or your loved ones. You can manage that by keeping the gun on you at all times or by keeping your gun within ready reach at all times but secured in a quick open lock-box. There are many types of quick access lock boxes that essentially open at the touch of your fingertips. Some use biometrics and others use fingertip combination locks. Others use keys. Some hold handguns only, others can hold long guns, handguns or both and some only rifles or shotguns.

Source: http://nyagv.org/child-gun-deaths-and-injuries-aap-report/

They can be fairly expensive but if you have little curious minds, attached to wandering hands, you may want to strongly consider getting one to secure your guns while leaving them almost instantly accessible to you to protect your precious loved ones. Models of box type, quick open, gun vaults are numerous and come in many different sizes and of many different security grades (such as steel thickness and locking device). Some have spring, piston or drop open doors, others have doors that require you to manually open them. As for the locking/unlocking mechanisms, some of the types out there are: Biometric Lock, Digital Combination Lock, Push Button Combination Lock, Key-lock. Those just mentioned were for handguns but there are similar box vaults for long arms too. In addition, some manufacturers make what are in essence sleeve like vaults, that fit over the action, for rifles and shotguns.

All of these come in a wide price range from under $75 to well into the mid to high hundreds of dollars. The bottom line is that you want them to secure the gun from unauthorized household access but be easy and fast to open should you need your gun in an emergency. Bear in mind, most of these are not really meant as very serious security to prevent theft of your firearms. They are meant for easy access by you during an emergency while at the same time offering security from unauthorized household members or guests. Albeit, depending on type and model, they also offer various levels of security against theft from almost nil to fairly secure, in my opinion but for security from burglaries or theft, I would prefer a large, heavy, stand-up, fire-safe, type gun vault.

If you don't carry in your home but keep your gun in a lock box at all times, or even just keep it in a lock box some of the time, you may want to consider more than one lock box in the home with a gun in each at all times. If you have only one gun, you may want a lock box that you can move around with you. Or you could keep several lock boxes, one in each room, so you can rotate your sole gun as you move from area to area in your home.

If you are also going to carry while in the home, you will want to make sure you have a very comfortable and secure holster. Making sure you pistol is secure, such as having a holster with multiple retention methods, will also help avoid accidents by way of children (or others) easily getting hold of it. For example, if you should fall asleep watching television or not be paying attention when being playful with your kids and the holster is not secure, it could end up tragically. A secure holster also will help keep your handgun it more secure in the event of an attempted gun takeaway by a criminal and his accomplices (yes they usually are more than one in number).

Carrying in your home, or having a gun at the ready within arms reach (or at least always near you in the same room you are in) will give you an edge. Using a secure holster or quick open secure gun vault, will help keep you and your loved ones safer from accidents but also will help keep you ready to assure you and your loved ones are safer from violent criminals. You will have to make up your own minds: Carrying At Home - Are You Wise To Do So Or Crazy Not To!

All the best,
Glenn B

The Lunacy of Bloomberg And The Destruction of the 2nd Amendment

New York City officials are commencing enforcement of a 2010 law that bars anyone in NYC from possessing a rifle or shotgun that has an ammunition feeding device that can contain more than 5 rounds of ammunition (source). That is not only bizarre, it also is the most extreme anti-gun law on the books as far as I am aware, more restrictive than even NY State's SAFE Act. It is abject lunacy on behalf of a rabidly anti-gun proponent, one of the last official acts of a man about to leave political office.

The city is sending out notices to rifle and shotgun owners telling them that they have few options - they can immediately surrender their rifles and shotguns (that can hold more than 5 rounds) to the city and, and only after surrender, can sell them (apparently to someone outside of NYC) or can permanently move them outside of NYC, OR they can permanently remove such firearms from the city and provide the city with three types of specified documentation as to where the arms will be stored outside of the city limits OR they can call to discuss the matter if the firearms are already in compliance OR they "may request the option" to bring such firearm(s) to a gunsmith for permanent modification and if granted the option of permanent modification then must provide proof to the city that the gun(s) were left with a gunsmith, to that end, in a timely manner (source). I wonder if I will receive one, I have at least one firearm that was registered in NYC when I bought it many years ago - back when they said registration will never lead to confiscation. A law like this current one is every reason to oppose gun registration in your state or locality, as pointed out in the Truth About Guns piece linked above. 

Even the most libtard of libtards must realize that criminals will not surrender, sell or modify their guns. This action is aimed directly at law abiding gun owners and at the destruction of their right to keep and bear arms - what will be next - only single shot rifles and shotguns allowed! My guess would be that many, if not most, gun owning NYC residents will surrender their right to keep and bear arms and modify or get rid of their guns. Some lucky ones will have a place to store them outside of the city (my house would be okay for any of my friends needing such storage if legal). A few others may not abide by this Draconian piece of legislation and will instantly become criminals in the eyes of the lawmakers and enforcers of NYC. I don't think it will trigger a revolution; although, I think one should have been started years ago to have had a chance. We are so far gone in regard to the government emasculating us that I cannot see it happening now; and even if it does, those of us who join in are likely to be defeated almost overnight. Of course, those are not reasons not to start one, the first time around, the conditions were much the same.

All the best,
Glenn B

New NYPD Policy - Stop & Kiss

Source: Bloomberg Defends NYPD’s Controversial Stop And Kiss Program

All the best,
Glenn B

Time For A New Hard Gun Case

I have had a Plano aluminum rifle case since about October 2001. In all that time, it has given me a lot of good service. I have used it to bring rifles and shotguns back and forth to the range probably hundreds of times, have traveled with it on airlines as checked luggage a score or two of times, have taken it on hunting trips, have had it bouncing around in the trunk of my car more times than I care to count and it held up pretty well for a lower end model. It sure took a beating over the years, all of its dings and dents can attest to that. Recently though, one of the hasps broke off so, I figure it is time for a new case. I have almost no clue where to start. Let me clarify that last sentence. I started at Plano, searching for a new aluminum case but all I could find were plastic ones, like this:

http://www.planomolding.com/product.php?BCCID=118&PID=865

I have seen some aluminum cases on other sites but they seem very expensive. Anyone out there know if there is a company that makes moderately priced aluminum rifle cases that hold up well. Thanks for any help you can give.

All the best,
Glenn B

It's Not Like It's Going To Turn Into A Police State...

...but the police in Iceland have created quite the sensation, they have done something they have never done before and that is shoot someone and kill him. It's also not like the guy did not deserve what he got. The deceased, of course while still alive, reportedly started threatening neighbors with a firearm. When the officers arrived, he reportedly started firing out a window at them and they returned fire. They later lobbed a smoke grenade or similar into the apartment and made entry. When they entered his apartment - they exchanged shots with him and he was shot dead. There supposedly has never before been an instance of the police fatally shooting anyone in Iceland.

There were not many more facts in the brief source article. I feel for the officer(s) who fired the shot(s) that killed the guy. It will probably be pretty difficult to psychologically cope not only with killing someone but with being the first police officer throughout the history of an entire nation to have killed one of that country's citizens by gunfire. Add to that, there are no others, with similar experiences, to offer him counseling or other support. My condolences also go out to the family of the deceased.

One has to wonder, why is there so little violent crime in Iceland especially when the ratio of guns to people is 1 gun for every 30 people living there. Iceland ranks 15th out of 178 countries for the ratio of privately owned firearms per 100 of the population (source).

All the best,
Glenn B

Some Slips Of Paper Spur My Forgotten Memories Back To Life

For years now, I have been thinking that my second handgun purchase (my first was an RG pocket pistol in 25 caliber in Las Vegas in about 1977), a purchase made by me while I was in the Border Patrol, was a Beretta 70S in .22LR. I remembered wrong. The first pistol I bought for myself while I was in the Border Patrol, and thus my second [pistol purchase ever, was a Beretta Jetfire, aka: Beretta model 950BS. Buying that pistol led to me purchasing at least another two, although I seem to remember having at least 4 and maybe 5 of them over the years. You might think that repeatedly buying them must have been due to problems with each pistol but I can assure you, while some developed problems they were due to user screw ups, me being the user. Only one had a problem that was caused by the manufacturer and that was the first Jetfire that I bought.

I would not have remembered most of that, in fact did not remember, until I went through a few boxes of documents and other memorabilia; two I brought home from my office when I retired back in 2011 and one that I had put into my garage shortly before 9/11 (what a blessing as it contained virtually all of my award and training certificates up to that date). Another of the boxes contained some more recent memorabilia since 9/11 and some other training and award certificates, the third contained mostly documents like payroll sheets, official travel records (I think listing most of my government travel) a copy of my personnel folder, work memos concerning me, and other things like that. It also contained tax records from the early eighties through the early nineties. I had meant to go through it all soon after retirement but I was ill at the time (cancer) and could not get it done, then I simply forgot all about the three boxes after my son put them up in the loft of our garage. Add to that me being the great procrastinator and it might never have gotten done except that I was reminded of them recently in a roundabout way and decided to go through them and sort out what I would need or want to keep and what I would trash.

The most interesting box for me was the one with mostly documents because it contained several surprise finds of hidden treasure. Oddly enough, those treasured find were old receipts for thing I had purchased back in the 1980's - mostly things I bought while a Border Patrol Agent. Old paper may be mere ephemera to some but to me, what I found,  was more valuable than gold because of the memories that the stirred up from my past. Memories that had been long since forgotten were awakened again and remembering them brought a fair amount of happiness to me.

One of those old pieces of paper was a copy of a letter I had written to Bolsa Gunsmiths about a Beretta (950BS Jetfire that I was sending to them for warranty repair. The trigger pins would work its way loose each time I fired 40-50 rounds through it. I had contacted Beretta and they told me that Bolsa Gunsmiths was their west coast repair facility. Where I had thought that the 70S was the first pistol I had bought once I had commenced my federal career, I was dead wrong. It was that little Beretta that I bought on August 20, 1981. They fixed it and sent it back to me. I recall now that what they did was peened the trigger pin so the problem would not recur. They must have done excellent work over the years since then because it appears they are still in business today, see:

http://www.bolsagunsmithing.com/index.html.

I also found two receipts for Beretta Jetfires but both of those receipts were dated in 1982 and thus were not for that first one. That got me to reminiscing and I remembered that because of the pin having to be peened to remain in place, I had decided to sell that first Jetfire. I don't remember to whom I sold it though.

Right after I sold it, I bought another. That second one was not long to be mine either. I owned for just over a month and sold it. I am not 100% certain but am pretty sure that second one is the one I had in my pocket over the course of a few days, while working in the area of a bunch of Salt Cedars. I was in and out of the brush several times while pretty sweaty, in fact while soaked from perspiration. That was in April and May 1982 - average temperatures for Calexico, CA in those months is in the high 80's to high 90s. I had oiled up the little blaster pretty well and thought nothing of it, was cleaning it once a week or so. After a few days of being in those salt cedars though, the last day being particularly hot and me soaked by sweat, I pulled the Jetfire out of my pocket at the end of the day to find rust frosted on all the exterior steel parts.

It cleaned up fair to middling and it remained serviceable but I wanted none of it so I listed it for sale in a local paper. I bought yet my third Jetfire in May1982 before I had even sold the second one. That second one was sold, the following month, to a gal from Calipatria, CA. Sometime before October 1983, when I left the Border Patrol, I had two police officers visit me to ask me about that sale. If I remember right (and don't quote this as gospel) the gals husband had shot someone with it or she shot him or something along those lines. Legal shooting, as I remember, but rather unsettling to have the police come to my home telling me someone was shot with a gun I had sold and they wanted to interview me about it. They were professionals and nice guys, took a look at my receipt, asked a few questions, and left. Never heard more about it. I have had that sales receipt all these years, not in those three boxes, but among my firearms records. I had figured I should hold onto it, put it in with other firearms papers, and forgot all about it until I saw the letter about the repair of the Jetfire. Went through my firearms folder and there it was!

As for my third Jetfire, it accompanied me back to NY as best I can get out of the muddled, middle aged, little gray cells in my noggin. It went on a temporary work detail with me to Florida and one day I had to trudge through mangrove swamps in brackish water over the course of a couple of hours. Forgot all about that pistol in my pocket until I got back to my motel and was going to do the my laundry the next day. Well, I pulled it out of the still damp pants pocket to see the steel parts covered by rust. It is amazing how fast steel can rust when subjected to salty water, it was much worse than the one I had worn while in the salt cedars in Calexico. I cleaned it up an sold it to a buddy of mine who did not mind the fact it had been rusted and cleaned up since I gave it to him for a good price. I am pretty sure I picked up a fourth after that but not positive. I later bought a Beretta Model 21A in .22LR because the ammo was much less expensive than the .25 caliber ammunition that the Jetfires had used (I could be mistaking the fourth Jetfire for the 21A).

Getting back to the receipts that I found, in those boxes from work, I also came up with several others that really got the little gray cells to start firing off memories. I won't bore you with all the details like I probably just did above but will mention what some of them were for. There were at least 10 receipts from Yellow Mart Stores, I did a lot of business at their store in El Centro. Most of them show another address in a nearby town, cannot remember why that is but remember they were from the El Centro store. They had a darling of a gal working there, Lupe (short for Guadalupe) and she was a sweetheart. Too bad she was engaged at the time. I cannot recall one other person's name except maybe that the guy I dealt with mostly may have been named Bill or George or anything but Sue. There also several other receipts from other gun and sporting goods stores and some receipts for my cross country trip from Calexico to new York when I transferred to Customs in October of 1983.

As for the guns I purchased listed on those receipts, they were:

S&W Model 66, 4" barrel listed on a receipt from January 1982 (apparently the third handgun I ever purchased)

A Gerber Command One boot knife purchased in February 1982

Beretta Model 70S, bought only five days after the Gerber knife

Two Beretta Jetfires, the one bought in April and the other in May of 1982

My first Beretta 92SB, bought in June 1982 and soon sent in for a repair during which Beretta replaced the barrel and slide. Shortly after that, since a problem persisted with the safety, they replaced the entire pistol and I still have that one today in somewhat beat up condition.

Remington 870 Wingmaster, my first shotgun, bought in August 1983 sold it after I got married and have regretted it ever since)

Here are a few pics of those receipts:

There were other receipts for things like Border Patrol uniform shirts from Albert's Uniforms in San Diego (owned by a little old Jewish guy from NYC, imagine an atypical, mean and nasty, Louie Dumbrowski), Break Free and gun patches (I am guessing it was the same kind of Break Free I still use today), a Bianchi Askins Avenger holster for my 92-SB (the holster was lost in the WTC on 9/11 but replaced by my insurance company - exact same model all those years later), a receipt for a Beretta 92-SB magazine, several receipts for ammunition, one for a water jug, one for a Mag-Light, several for my trip back to NY when I changed agencies, one for a Customs badge wallet (my first) and a receipt for a money order for my 1984 NRA dues (yes, I have been an NRA member for a long time). One of the ammo receipts I found was from Albany NY in 1984, reminding me of a temporary assignment up that way to open a new investigations office for Customs. I threw out a lot of other receipts I found, some of them were travel receipts for that same cross country drive when I moved back east, from back when Motel 6 was $15.95 per night. Those receipts reminded me that I spent my first night of that trip, in a rest area, in my new sleeping bag, not far passed Green River, UT on Interstate 70. Despite having a quality sleeping bag rated for the 20s or teens, I froze my behind off. To think, when I left Calexico, on that same early October day, it was at in the 90s maybe even the low 100s. When I got to that rest area the temp was in the 30s and fell much lower than that overnight. It was all motel stays after that. By the way, I still have the sleeping bag.

There also were plane tickets for details to Secret Service assignments and there was a file full of many, many, tickets from when I flew as an Air Marshal after 9/11 (destroyed SS and FAM receipts by shredding them). There were some other receipts but none that stirred any more memories as had the ones already mentioned. It is amazing, at least to me, how those receipts, long forgotten, have turned into a treasure trove of sorts for me. For whatever reason I saved them, tax write-offs, firearms records, or whatever, I am the happier for having done so.

All the best,
Glenn B