So far this past fall, and this winter, we have had several snowfalls here and in the nearby New York metro area. It is pretty unusual to have so many snowfalls as we did before January, and the number of snowfalls seems not to be falling off. This weekend we had two. Of course we only got about a total of 3 or 3.5 inches. Now, the amount of snow is not the issue. Rather, I am just surprised, what with Global Warming and all, that we are having so many snowfalls and that the temperatures here in the New York area have been so cold. I imagine that once President Elect Obama is sworn in as president tomorrow he immediately will have his Global Warming Czar manufacture, in a green way, some ludicrous reason as to why the whole country is experiencing one of the coldest winters in memory. Of course, I figure that reason will blame it on the melting ice caps as caused by Global Warming or something like that. You can bet they will not say that the Global Warming theory is wrong, they have too much invested in pushing the theory and they stand to gain ever so much from propagating it further.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, January 19, 2009
Yugo SKS From SAMCO - Update
Well, if you have read along, you know I bought a NEW SKS from SAMCO awhile back. When I received it I immediately noticed repair to damage on the stock and some minor cosmetic damage to the metal parts, and one small but bent metal part. I contacted SAMCO and after quite the wait, and many phone calls, I received a return label. A supervisor at SAMCO, who was very nice and seemed right on top of the issue, told me I would get an exchange, and that was fine with me. Since it was taking so long to get that label I called American Express a couple of times and had the charge put on hold. I specifically told the folks at AMEX to take no other action than placing a hold on that charge until they heard from me but they did not follow my instructions. The rifle was delivered back to SAMCO on January 5, I ordered it on or about November 11th. An annoying amount of time for a turn around. Somewhere in there I also received a letter from AMEX saying they had convinced the seller to give me a refund. I wrote SAMCO an email saying I still wanted a NEW SKS if they could sell me one at the original price I had paid. Then, last week, I guess maybe on Thursday or so, I received a call from SAMCO saying they would indeed send me a new one, at the price I paid.
Since then AMEX has screwed up my credit card account by apparently giving me credit twice for the SKS. I have tried to take care of that to no avail, but will cal them again today. First guy I spoke to told me if they reversed the credit they would also add on another $XXX charge instead of just reversing the credit. After I hung up with him, I called back AMEX and the next person to whom I spoke said that would I would not be charged an additional $XXX if the credit was reversed, but they still have not reversed the extra credit. I know I will never wind up with a double credit in my pocket, and it would be wrong to expect such, so I have to give them yet another call and try to straighten this out before it messes up my accounting of my credit card bill.
As for a new replacement SKS, well someone is supposed to call me this week from SAMCO and tell me when it will be sent out. I was assured this one would be in 'new' condition; and I imagine they will make their best effort to assure such is the case. Time will tell, and if and when I receive an exchange I'll let you know how it turns out.
All the best,
Glenn B
Since then AMEX has screwed up my credit card account by apparently giving me credit twice for the SKS. I have tried to take care of that to no avail, but will cal them again today. First guy I spoke to told me if they reversed the credit they would also add on another $XXX charge instead of just reversing the credit. After I hung up with him, I called back AMEX and the next person to whom I spoke said that would I would not be charged an additional $XXX if the credit was reversed, but they still have not reversed the extra credit. I know I will never wind up with a double credit in my pocket, and it would be wrong to expect such, so I have to give them yet another call and try to straighten this out before it messes up my accounting of my credit card bill.
As for a new replacement SKS, well someone is supposed to call me this week from SAMCO and tell me when it will be sent out. I was assured this one would be in 'new' condition; and I imagine they will make their best effort to assure such is the case. Time will tell, and if and when I receive an exchange I'll let you know how it turns out.
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, January 16, 2009
Battlestar Galactica - The Final 10 Episodes Begin...
... and let me tell you they were long overdue. I for one would have been in serious withdrawal had they delayed the premiere of the final 10 episodes any longer, and it would have been even worse if I missed the first of them tonight. I am intrigued by what they found on what they think was Earth - yeah I guess you can figure from my having said that that I am pretty sure they did not really find Earth - not yet anyhow. What I am truly disappointed about was that one of my favorite characters, and one of the prettiest ones in the series, was killed off tonight - then again maybe two of the hot babes on the show were killed off - watch it and decide for yourself. That one who definitely was killed off was a shame, I figured her for a lot more in the story. Without saying more to ruin it for those of you who wanted to see it but missed it, I can only say, make sure to watch it when it is on again. This is the most awesome science fiction show since Farscape - and a bit better at that. I am anxiously awaiting next week's episode.
All the best,
Glenn B
All the best,
Glenn B
Thursday, January 15, 2009
On Its Wings, The Water and a Prayer (or a lot of em)
Now that was excitement enough to last a long time, and all I did was watch as events unfolded. I am referring to the U.S. Airways Airbus 320 that landed on the Hudson River just blocks from my office, and then floated past my office as rescuers aboard a fleet of mismatched And unlikely rescue ships and boats circled the aircraft saving the survivors. I am happy to have heard early reports that all have survived this potentially deadly ordeal.
Apparently the plane took off from LaGuardia Airport in Queens, NY and shortly thereafter, or maybe even during takeoff, a bird or birds were sucked into the engines. As I have heard it the pilot had a choice, try to turn around and head back to the airport or put it down in the river. It seems he chose the river. Based upon what others heard on radio reports, and from what I read on online news reports – witnesses say it looked like a perfect landing except for the fact it was in the middle of the Hudson River. As the first new reports were coming over the radio, I headed to the windows on the north side of my office and could see some of the rescue boats around the aircraft. I then headed to the west side of my office that directly overlooks the Hudson, and those of us watching saw one heck of a rescue operation staged by what appeared to be the: NYPD Harbor Patrol, Circle Line Cruise boats, Water Taxi boats, a possible NYFD boat (could have been something else, but this one had a line from it to the plane), and other small boats.
It was a tense 15 or 20 minutes, maybe even a half hour , just for us to watched the plane, still afloat, as it drifted from a point near mid river and straight out from about W. 34th Street, then continue south past our building between 27 and 26th Streets (we take up the entire block) down toward Chelsea Piers in the mid to low 20s. Imagine how those on the plane must have felt! As we watched we noted what appeared to be several orange life jackets, or maybe buoys drift ahead of the Airbus along with what appeared to be debris, luggage and the escape ramps that double as life rafts from the aircraft (those are our guesses as to what these items were). We also saw what appeared to be people on the aircraft, probably rescuers and not passengers as none had on the yellow life preservers they have on planes. Several small watercraft were circling the area possibly looking for anyone in the water. Helicopters circled overhead doing likewise, and some most likely filming for the new. We saw tens and tens of emergency vehicles heading south on West Street almost directly below us, some stopping at the piers cross from our building. One small boat came in with about 6 to 8 people aboard wearing yellow life vests, all apparently passengers from the plane. Only one was put onto a stretcher to be taken to a Hetzalah Volunteer ambulance. The other apparently well enough to walk under their own power and not needing blankets. Then again maybe no blankets were to be had in the mayhem; and I am guessing so because at least 3 of the passengers were in shirts or blouses with no jackets, sweaters or coats. Even if they had not gotten wet, which they may not have gotten, they should have been given some sort of protection from the bitter cold temps. Right now it is reported to be 19 degrees and feels like 14 degrees out there, pretty cold when you are in shock after a plane crash. Well not a crash really but a landing on a its wings, the water and a prayer.
It is a pretty helpless feeling to be so close and know there is nothing effective you can do to help, and just stand by watching it all unfold. Of course I can only imagine the feelings of those who had been on that polane when they realized they landed on the river. It was a great relief to hear all were saved, again I only imagine the relief they felt. The emergency responders were there quickly. I almost get the feeling they may have been headed there before the plane even hit the water; I mean they were there that fast to have saved all on board they must have gotten some notice from the air traffic controllers. My hat goes off to all of them be they well trained rescue teams from the NYPD, the NYFD, The Coast Guard (they seemed to be the last to show up – not a surprise considering how much they have been cut back and hopw far they probably had to go to get there) police, fire fighters, rescue teams, the crews of the Circle Line and the Water taxis, or just plain old Johns and Joans who were passengers aboard the Circle Line and Water Taxis. They sure are some folks’ heroes today. Then again, let’s not forget the men or women who piloted the plane, the rest of the crew who evacuated the plane, and those in the air traffic control tower who called for help. Someone listened, someone up high you can bet on that because as I said, the plane basically landed on its wings, the water and a prayer - then to top it all off it walked on water until everyone was saved. Just absolutely amazing.
All the best,
Glenn B
Apparently the plane took off from LaGuardia Airport in Queens, NY and shortly thereafter, or maybe even during takeoff, a bird or birds were sucked into the engines. As I have heard it the pilot had a choice, try to turn around and head back to the airport or put it down in the river. It seems he chose the river. Based upon what others heard on radio reports, and from what I read on online news reports – witnesses say it looked like a perfect landing except for the fact it was in the middle of the Hudson River. As the first new reports were coming over the radio, I headed to the windows on the north side of my office and could see some of the rescue boats around the aircraft. I then headed to the west side of my office that directly overlooks the Hudson, and those of us watching saw one heck of a rescue operation staged by what appeared to be the: NYPD Harbor Patrol, Circle Line Cruise boats, Water Taxi boats, a possible NYFD boat (could have been something else, but this one had a line from it to the plane), and other small boats.
It was a tense 15 or 20 minutes, maybe even a half hour , just for us to watched the plane, still afloat, as it drifted from a point near mid river and straight out from about W. 34th Street, then continue south past our building between 27 and 26th Streets (we take up the entire block) down toward Chelsea Piers in the mid to low 20s. Imagine how those on the plane must have felt! As we watched we noted what appeared to be several orange life jackets, or maybe buoys drift ahead of the Airbus along with what appeared to be debris, luggage and the escape ramps that double as life rafts from the aircraft (those are our guesses as to what these items were). We also saw what appeared to be people on the aircraft, probably rescuers and not passengers as none had on the yellow life preservers they have on planes. Several small watercraft were circling the area possibly looking for anyone in the water. Helicopters circled overhead doing likewise, and some most likely filming for the new. We saw tens and tens of emergency vehicles heading south on West Street almost directly below us, some stopping at the piers cross from our building. One small boat came in with about 6 to 8 people aboard wearing yellow life vests, all apparently passengers from the plane. Only one was put onto a stretcher to be taken to a Hetzalah Volunteer ambulance. The other apparently well enough to walk under their own power and not needing blankets. Then again maybe no blankets were to be had in the mayhem; and I am guessing so because at least 3 of the passengers were in shirts or blouses with no jackets, sweaters or coats. Even if they had not gotten wet, which they may not have gotten, they should have been given some sort of protection from the bitter cold temps. Right now it is reported to be 19 degrees and feels like 14 degrees out there, pretty cold when you are in shock after a plane crash. Well not a crash really but a landing on a its wings, the water and a prayer.
It is a pretty helpless feeling to be so close and know there is nothing effective you can do to help, and just stand by watching it all unfold. Of course I can only imagine the feelings of those who had been on that polane when they realized they landed on the river. It was a great relief to hear all were saved, again I only imagine the relief they felt. The emergency responders were there quickly. I almost get the feeling they may have been headed there before the plane even hit the water; I mean they were there that fast to have saved all on board they must have gotten some notice from the air traffic controllers. My hat goes off to all of them be they well trained rescue teams from the NYPD, the NYFD, The Coast Guard (they seemed to be the last to show up – not a surprise considering how much they have been cut back and hopw far they probably had to go to get there) police, fire fighters, rescue teams, the crews of the Circle Line and the Water taxis, or just plain old Johns and Joans who were passengers aboard the Circle Line and Water Taxis. They sure are some folks’ heroes today. Then again, let’s not forget the men or women who piloted the plane, the rest of the crew who evacuated the plane, and those in the air traffic control tower who called for help. Someone listened, someone up high you can bet on that because as I said, the plane basically landed on its wings, the water and a prayer - then to top it all off it walked on water until everyone was saved. Just absolutely amazing.
All the best,
Glenn B
Ballseye's Firearms Accessories Tournament 3
I went to the range yesterday to get in some practice with the Glock 19. It may have been the last time I do so, since at my next range qualification I'll be turning it in and I will be issued a new Sig to replace it. Then again, maybe I'll shoot it a few more times for old time's sake - I have a month or so before I qualify. I did okay shooting it, but not as good as I can do - I seemed off a bit for some reason. The target pictured had a good number of shots fired at it from 7 yards slow fire and I would like to have seen a tighter group. Oh well, with the Sig it may never be this good. As I understand it the double action only trigger of the Sig leaves something to be desired and that something amounts to a lot to be desired. From what I have heard I would never buy one for myself, but I'll shoot it first before I make up my mind for certain.
As for the contest: Guess how many shots I fired at this target (yes all of the shots hit the target in the area shown) and the person who comes closest to the correct number will win the prize pictured below. The rules are fairly simple: look at the pic of the target in this post, guess how many shots I fired at it (all shots either hit the target or went through the holes in it), then send me an email with your guess. A link to my email address can be found by clicking on my profile link to the right side of the blog. Please limit yourself to one guess and entry per person. In case of ties I will pick winner from among tied entrants by random drawing. You must be 18 years old or older to participate in this, and will be required to prove to my satisfaction that you are 18 years old or older. I can only offer the prize to people living within the lower 48 states of the United States of America ; and I only knowingly allow U.S. citizens or U.S. legal resident aliens to participate. By entering the tournament you are agreeing that you will abide by all of the rules including the general contest/tournament rules found in the link on the right side of my blog page. Note this contest begins today, January 11, 2009 and will end on January 30, 2009 at 11:59 PM. I should announce the winner on January 31st or shortly thereafter.
Here is the prize you might win: The holster is an Uncle Mike's black nylon holster in as new condition. It has never been used, and has been hanging in my basement in its package for several years now. The box is pretty scuffed up but the holster itself is in excellent condition as can be seen in the pics. It is good for a nice sized double action revolver with 5 to 6 1/2" barrels, so if you win this and don't have that type of a revolver you just may need to buy one. At least you will have some justification for your significant other when you spend the money on a new revolver. As for me, I have a revolver to fit this holster, have no money to buy another right now, and I also have another holster exactly like it. So I have no need for this one; and I am not a holster hoarder! The prize comes with free shipping too, and note I can only ship to a winner within the lower 48 or the USA. I don't know how long I can keep up the free shipping thing, but this time around shipping is still just that for the winner - free. All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, January 12, 2009
The American Form of Government
The following video has been making the rounds on other blogs I read. I tip my hat to Chris at the Anarchangel and to Kevin at The Smallest Minority. I figure it is worth embedding here too so that the few of you who visit my blog and not the others will get a chance to see it too. Maybe you will show it to your children - I sure plan to have mine watch it. It amazed me, when I thought of it, how often I have referred to our government as a Democracy when indeed as I have known since I was a child, our government was meant to be, and should remain, a Republic. I have not referred to our government as a Democracy because I did not understand the difference, but rather because of continued bad influences over me by the media, the left, television, movies, books and by educators who just never seem to get it right for the most part. I just became desensitized to the difference, but the truth remains the difference is great even though democracy plays a role in our Republic such as when we vote. Yet without the law, fair and just law at that, we would wind up no better off than having mob rule and tyranny. Therefore we who live in a Republic should be aware of the difference between it and a Democracy. With that knowledge we will be able to conserve our form of government, and our rights and freedoms along with it.
One side note, about vocabulary. I am an old timer now. I am familiar with a word used in the video that I guess would not be all that familiar to younger folks. I wonder, if you ask your children to give you the definition of the phrase "on the dole" how many of them would understand it? It is one of the biggest problems of our time, having too many on the dole, and we need to address it and get those who refuse to work to work hard to support themselves instead of sucking the rest of us dry. Having everyone on the dole is the ultimate goal of socialism, and assures that We, the People, will always be under the thumb of the government as opposed to ruling over it by way of law.
All the best,
Glenn B
One side note, about vocabulary. I am an old timer now. I am familiar with a word used in the video that I guess would not be all that familiar to younger folks. I wonder, if you ask your children to give you the definition of the phrase "on the dole" how many of them would understand it? It is one of the biggest problems of our time, having too many on the dole, and we need to address it and get those who refuse to work to work hard to support themselves instead of sucking the rest of us dry. Having everyone on the dole is the ultimate goal of socialism, and assures that We, the People, will always be under the thumb of the government as opposed to ruling over it by way of law.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Holster Hoarders...
...what is it about them that causes them to buy many more holsters (or other accessories like gun belts, handcuff cases, magazine pouches) than he or she will ever need? I suppose I just don't get it when it comes to holster hoarders, I mean me, I buy one for a gun and use it. If it turns out to be a piece of junk, well I usually get rid of it. I don't put it away in the closet like placing it into a shrine where it will remain forever entombed to be eternally adored by me, then by another, and another and yet another for the same gun as if they can be had at 75% off Christmas Eve accessory sales at Macys' Department Stores. Nor do I put them into a box or on a rack just waiting to see if I can someday become known as the Imelda Marcos of the gun leather world! Just like I don't need more than a few pairs of shoes, I don't need more than a few holsters. Well maybe I need more than a few holsters, but that is only because I own more than a few handguns. I don't even own a holster for some of my pistols, or some of them share a holster with another similar pistol I own. Then again, for one or two of them, I may actually have 2 holsters each but I am nowhere near the extreme that some others go to when it comes to holsters and as I said, I just don't get it.
I mean why would anyone keep an old worn out holster that they used and maybe even abused for years. Take for example a friend of mine way back when I was in the Border Patrol, he was an Accessorizer Holster Hoarder. He had a fine collection of handguns, probably 15 or more. He also had holsters for each of them. No not a holster for each pistol, but multiple holsters for each. Why - who knows. I do know though that when he would carry something like his S&W model 66 he would wear it in a strong side high rise hip holster when wearing a jacket, but then would wear it in an old west style quick drawer holster rig if going out on a picnics or something like that, and if he carried it to a poker game you could almost bet it would be in a shoulder rig of some sort. He was that way with all his handguns. Now that I think of it he was sort of like a woman with her handbags. He had more than one holster for every gun and more than one for every occasion, just like having a purse for each occasion, and of course he had a source of income other than just that of his job as a Border Patrol Agent to afford them. If I remember rightly mommy and daddy were rich. He fits right in with the next type of holster hoarder.
Besides the holster for every occasion type, we also have the 'gotta have the latest and newest type' hoarder, also known as the 'Rodeo Drive Holster Hoarder' (if you do not understand the reference to Rodeo Drive - well Google it or check Wikipedia). You know that kind of person, the kind with money to burn, and I mean that literally, and who just has to have it when she sees something new. It's not so much a fashion statement, like it was with the gun owners described above, but is more of a 'I am better than you' kind of a thing. Yep these are the type of persons who have to flaunt their wealth at every opportunity. If a rhinestone studded cross drawer shoulder holster rig comes out for her Colt Anaconda, you can bet she will own one before they hit the stores.
Then we have yet another type of holster hoarder - theTactical Tacticool Guru. Don't confuse this type with the Mall Ninja (yet to be discussed). The Tactical Guru is the type of gal or guy who just has to have the most tactically and technologically advanced holster system that is out there - no matter what. it does not matter if they can afford it or not, they are going to get the most advanced tacticool rig they can wear so that they can show it off at the range. Why? Well because it will just go to show others how tactically aware they must be. After all how would it look if they preached tactics day in and day out to the rest of us while wearing last year's tactical rig? I mean to whom are you more likely to listen:
A guy with classroom, range and practical experience who knows what he is talking about, but who wears a tee shirt and jeans along with a sturdy well made holster that he has owned for years
or
A guy dressed in military fatigues wearing a tacticool nylon holster rig with holster strapped to his thigh and secured by Velcro - and who has about 8 or 9 different accessories attached to his gun belt.
I mean isn't it really the smarter guy who keeps buying all that new gear as soon as it comes out? Smarter because he takes advantage of everynew fangled piece of junk tacticool piece of equipment out there. I mean he has all that neat gear - and since he has it all - he must know how to use it right? Well that is the way the Tacticool Guru thinks anyhow. Ever wonder what happened to all that other gear he used to wear, the stuff he had before he bought his latest holster? It winds up in his closet because no one else will buy it, and because he is so knowledgeable as to know that it never hurts to have extras even if it was made in a basement do it yourself shop in China. Yep some guys dress like that and also know their business too, although most are not more than one step removed from our next variety of holster hoarder.
Nest up is the Mall Ninja. Do you know the type? These are the wearers of the square badge, and often of the smoky hat. They patrol your local malls, and while in most places they are unarmed, in some they do carry handguns. This type of guy starts buying holsters long before he even owns a gun. As a kid, when playing cops and robbers, or cowboys and Indians, this was the kid who always dressed the part and that included a holster - and yes the holster he owned back then were real. When this kid was a little older he learned the art of spit shining and also learned about patent leather. He then went out and bought holster in both for the guns he someday hoped he would own. He keeps all of this gear in meticulous condition hoping and praying that maybe someday, just maybe, he will wear a uniform and carry a gun. Then either when a senior in high school, or more likely when trying to work his way through a criminal justice degree at college, he gets a job as an armed security guard. The first day he shows up to work he brings along 5 of his holsters all with a high gloss finish either spit shined to perfection or patent leather, and he is shocked to learn that yes he will carry but in a nylon rig! Of course this does not deter him and he runs out and buys everything they have on the shelves at his local gun store to go with that rig such as: the holster and belt, an ammo or magazine pouch, a mace/pepper spray holder (whether or not he will be authorized to carry pepper spray or mace), a handcuff case, a baton holder (whether or not he will be authorized to carry a baton), a radio holster, belt keepers, a key ring holder, a key ring, and a few extras of each so as to always be neat and presentable. Of course in his excitement he probably buys a lot of the wrong things and has to go back and buy more. Does he turn in the stuff he bought already as an exchange - heck no because he knows what he bought is better than what work wants him to buy or what they issue. As time goes by he will try to sneak a piece, one at a time, onto his rig until slowly but surely he will be using the stuff of his choice at work. Being that his job security is tenuous at best, especially with his being such a kook, he winds up at job after job and continually adds to his collection of Mall Ninja accessories - and that of course includes holsters. He is very much like the Tactical Guru, and if he actually visits the range now and then he can usually morph from Mall Ninja to Tactical Guru at ease. As a matter of fact mall Ninjas often grow up to become Tactical Gurus to one extent or another.
Next in line we have the LEO as in Law Enforcement Officer. Yes they too have many among their ranks who are holster hoarders par excellence. Some LEOs who are holster hoarders started off as Mall Ninjas and many will become Tacticool Gurus too it is just natural progression though it does not happen to everyone. (Even I worked in department store, hospital and hotel security while in college, although I never quite made it to becoming a mall Ninja or Tacticool Guru.) The thing about LEOs though is this, they have reached the point of having a career. Unlike most Mall Ninjas, most LEOs a bit more mature (heck the male LEOs can for the most part grow facial hair and actually need to shave whereas most Mall Ninjas still have pimply secretions instead of whiskers). Those who have jobs as police officers, sheriffs, corrections officers, game wardens, federal agents and so on have found themselves in a career. Most have completed college (at least a 2 year degree nowadays), and many already are married with families. They own a car, maybe 2, have health plans, pay rent (no longer living with mom and dad like most Mall Ninjas and some Tacticool Gurus) or pay mortgages, have car payments, auto insurance payments, food bills, utility bills and so on. Do you see where this is going as far as holster hoarding is concerned. LEOs, for the great majority, own every holster they ever paid for or that was issued to them by their agency or department. Why? Because holsters, good one anyway, are expensive. It wind up that most of them, with all their other bills, cannot afford new ones as can the Mall Ninja or the Tacticool Guru or the Rodeo Drive Hoarders. So every time a cop buys a new holster, the old one goes into a draw, a closet on a shelf or into a box in the basement. (After a few years the guy with his holster in the box in the basement usually learns to move them, or at least newer ones, into a closet upstairs thanks to mold and mildew.)
Even the department issued holsters get the same treatment since most departments don't ask for old holsters back. Yep that means that even bureaucrats who run those departments realize that old holsters are just so much worthless junk. of course the cop who is working out on the street, and who may have his holster literally ripped off of him in a fight for his life, is fairly wise to keep an older one in reserve until he can replace the lost one with a brand new one - and that costs money and money takes time to save when you have all those bills a family man or woman has. How often does it happen that holsters are replaced by a department or agency? Well let's see, in my thirty year career I have probably been issued at least 15 holsters by my agencies, and I probably have bought at least several holsters to replace some that I was issued when I thought I could do better than what I was issued by the gooberment. My agencies issued holsters for each weapon they issued, and sometimes replaced holsters with better and safer designs, or simply because a holster was worn out. I also have received at least one or three holsters as gifts for my issued guns. If I kept em all, I'd have quite a few, but that would not be all the holsters I would have, not even for just my issued guns. You see the regular LEO who carries while off duty often goes out and buys an off duty holster - something in which he can carry concealed. If it is a good one - great it can last for years. If she made a bad choice the officer probably will head out and buy a better one sooner or later as she can afford it. The thing is that officers, with all those bills that Rodeo Drive types never worry about, have to feed their families and often wind up buying less than the best, or even less than good quality holsters when they need one. Even when they realize they were a bad choice they go into the drawer for later use if ever, it is all part of a back-up ideal by which officers protect themselves and one another. They are taught to have a back-up handgun, back-up ammunition, back-up handcuffs, a partner for back-up, to call for back up before going in, and a back-up provide for the family life insurance plan in case they ever are taken down - so why not a back up holster. In addition many LEOs keep their first holster, or their lucky holster, or their best ever holster, or the one in which they carried a gun with which they shot a bad guy saving another life, and they keep em for whatever superstitious reason you can think of. Then one day, maybe just before retirement, the officer gets nostalgic and look in the holster drawer and is shocked to find out just how many holsters he had stashed away. All those holsters, just like dust bunnies under a bed, seem to multiply all on their own unless you clean em out now and again. If only he had sold em all, maybe he could have afforded one that would have lasted 10 or 15 years without needing replacement, or maybe he could have afforded to have taken that fishing trip he had wanted to with his son when his son first learned about how expensive things are.
The truth be told, there is yet another type of holster hoarder, and this type is the Eternal Optimist Holster Hoarder. This is the type of person who incessantly plays the stock market and loses money instead of taking a more secure route to seeing his finances grow - no matter how bad the market. This is the holster hoarder who despite seeing the value of his holster decrease as they get older, hold onto them in the hopes of someday getting back most if not all of the money he paid for each of them, and maybe a little profit too. So those holsters, needless to say, just keep piling up somewhere in the house. The fact is I have never seen a used holster sell for more than it did when originally bought in a store; as a matter of fact I have never seen one sell for anywhere close to the initial retail price. Holsters, once bought, whether used or left in the package, seem to depreciate in value as fast as rail road bonds, or as fast as ponzi schemes once discovered to be frauds. Of course the Eternal Optimist does not want to believe that his hand tooled kangaroo leather holster, lined with silicone impregnated buffalo suede, and custom fitted for a high gloss Browning High Power will never sell for more than a mere fraction of the original selling price, so he keeps it stashed away waiting for the day he can sell it on an online auction for 5 times its original value. Thing is that day isn't coming in this lifetime!
Now that brings us to a practical reason as to why holsters build up in that drawer or on that closet shelf. They are worth more than that for which they will sell. Well at least to they who own them. Well truth be told, not to all of us who own holsters. Recently I threw out a few holsters. I also sold a few. The ones I threw out were the ones I could not sell, trade or give away. Heck I almost decided to give away the holsters I sold because they went for so little, but then again I figured why be a knucklehead - getting something for them was better than getting nothing. As for giving away the others, well I actually had to throw some of em out to make room for other things for which I simply needed the space. Yes folks, even when trying to give away used holsters it is not easy so I threw some away. You see, either the person you are trying to give it to already has one or more holsters for they type of gun it fits, or just sold that gun and no longer needs a holster for it, or the person figures why take your junk (the last reason being the one as to why used holsters are rarely if ever bought by Rodeo Drive, Mall Ninja and Tacticool Guru types of hoarders). Yep they look a gift horse in the mouth so to speak and are suspicious of you for trying to give it to them and figure why would you give away something if it was not junk. Now after all, are they wrong in being suspicious, I mean in today's who among us in his right mind would give away, as in free, a holster that may have cost $50, $100, maybe even as much as a few hundred dollars just because he was having a hard time selling it for $5.00, and he figured a friend was more deserving! I would that's who, and I wound up throwing out a few holsters just because of that type of thinking after I offered them to friends because I could not sell em first.
No, I am not a holster hoarder, though I do have a few stashed away here and there. Maybe that makes me weird, my getting rid of them for chicken feed or less, but I need more room for ammo than I do for holsters. Right now my ammo cache is just about bursting out of the containers in which I have it stashed away and space is at a premium so out with the holsters and in with the ammo it was. I wonder, does that make me an ammo hoarder? Nah - couldn't be. Anyway, ammo hoarders are a whole nuther sought of people - aren't they? More on them later, enough said on that subject for now, nod - nod - wink - wink - know what I mean.
All the best,
Glenn B
I mean why would anyone keep an old worn out holster that they used and maybe even abused for years. Take for example a friend of mine way back when I was in the Border Patrol, he was an Accessorizer Holster Hoarder. He had a fine collection of handguns, probably 15 or more. He also had holsters for each of them. No not a holster for each pistol, but multiple holsters for each. Why - who knows. I do know though that when he would carry something like his S&W model 66 he would wear it in a strong side high rise hip holster when wearing a jacket, but then would wear it in an old west style quick drawer holster rig if going out on a picnics or something like that, and if he carried it to a poker game you could almost bet it would be in a shoulder rig of some sort. He was that way with all his handguns. Now that I think of it he was sort of like a woman with her handbags. He had more than one holster for every gun and more than one for every occasion, just like having a purse for each occasion, and of course he had a source of income other than just that of his job as a Border Patrol Agent to afford them. If I remember rightly mommy and daddy were rich. He fits right in with the next type of holster hoarder.
Besides the holster for every occasion type, we also have the 'gotta have the latest and newest type' hoarder, also known as the 'Rodeo Drive Holster Hoarder' (if you do not understand the reference to Rodeo Drive - well Google it or check Wikipedia). You know that kind of person, the kind with money to burn, and I mean that literally, and who just has to have it when she sees something new. It's not so much a fashion statement, like it was with the gun owners described above, but is more of a 'I am better than you' kind of a thing. Yep these are the type of persons who have to flaunt their wealth at every opportunity. If a rhinestone studded cross drawer shoulder holster rig comes out for her Colt Anaconda, you can bet she will own one before they hit the stores.
Then we have yet another type of holster hoarder - the
A guy with classroom, range and practical experience who knows what he is talking about, but who wears a tee shirt and jeans along with a sturdy well made holster that he has owned for years
or
A guy dressed in military fatigues wearing a tacticool nylon holster rig with holster strapped to his thigh and secured by Velcro - and who has about 8 or 9 different accessories attached to his gun belt.
I mean isn't it really the smarter guy who keeps buying all that new gear as soon as it comes out? Smarter because he takes advantage of every
Nest up is the Mall Ninja. Do you know the type? These are the wearers of the square badge, and often of the smoky hat. They patrol your local malls, and while in most places they are unarmed, in some they do carry handguns. This type of guy starts buying holsters long before he even owns a gun. As a kid, when playing cops and robbers, or cowboys and Indians, this was the kid who always dressed the part and that included a holster - and yes the holster he owned back then were real. When this kid was a little older he learned the art of spit shining and also learned about patent leather. He then went out and bought holster in both for the guns he someday hoped he would own. He keeps all of this gear in meticulous condition hoping and praying that maybe someday, just maybe, he will wear a uniform and carry a gun. Then either when a senior in high school, or more likely when trying to work his way through a criminal justice degree at college, he gets a job as an armed security guard. The first day he shows up to work he brings along 5 of his holsters all with a high gloss finish either spit shined to perfection or patent leather, and he is shocked to learn that yes he will carry but in a nylon rig! Of course this does not deter him and he runs out and buys everything they have on the shelves at his local gun store to go with that rig such as: the holster and belt, an ammo or magazine pouch, a mace/pepper spray holder (whether or not he will be authorized to carry pepper spray or mace), a handcuff case, a baton holder (whether or not he will be authorized to carry a baton), a radio holster, belt keepers, a key ring holder, a key ring, and a few extras of each so as to always be neat and presentable. Of course in his excitement he probably buys a lot of the wrong things and has to go back and buy more. Does he turn in the stuff he bought already as an exchange - heck no because he knows what he bought is better than what work wants him to buy or what they issue. As time goes by he will try to sneak a piece, one at a time, onto his rig until slowly but surely he will be using the stuff of his choice at work. Being that his job security is tenuous at best, especially with his being such a kook, he winds up at job after job and continually adds to his collection of Mall Ninja accessories - and that of course includes holsters. He is very much like the Tactical Guru, and if he actually visits the range now and then he can usually morph from Mall Ninja to Tactical Guru at ease. As a matter of fact mall Ninjas often grow up to become Tactical Gurus to one extent or another.
Next in line we have the LEO as in Law Enforcement Officer. Yes they too have many among their ranks who are holster hoarders par excellence. Some LEOs who are holster hoarders started off as Mall Ninjas and many will become Tacticool Gurus too it is just natural progression though it does not happen to everyone. (Even I worked in department store, hospital and hotel security while in college, although I never quite made it to becoming a mall Ninja or Tacticool Guru.) The thing about LEOs though is this, they have reached the point of having a career. Unlike most Mall Ninjas, most LEOs a bit more mature (heck the male LEOs can for the most part grow facial hair and actually need to shave whereas most Mall Ninjas still have pimply secretions instead of whiskers). Those who have jobs as police officers, sheriffs, corrections officers, game wardens, federal agents and so on have found themselves in a career. Most have completed college (at least a 2 year degree nowadays), and many already are married with families. They own a car, maybe 2, have health plans, pay rent (no longer living with mom and dad like most Mall Ninjas and some Tacticool Gurus) or pay mortgages, have car payments, auto insurance payments, food bills, utility bills and so on. Do you see where this is going as far as holster hoarding is concerned. LEOs, for the great majority, own every holster they ever paid for or that was issued to them by their agency or department. Why? Because holsters, good one anyway, are expensive. It wind up that most of them, with all their other bills, cannot afford new ones as can the Mall Ninja or the Tacticool Guru or the Rodeo Drive Hoarders. So every time a cop buys a new holster, the old one goes into a draw, a closet on a shelf or into a box in the basement. (After a few years the guy with his holster in the box in the basement usually learns to move them, or at least newer ones, into a closet upstairs thanks to mold and mildew.)
Even the department issued holsters get the same treatment since most departments don't ask for old holsters back. Yep that means that even bureaucrats who run those departments realize that old holsters are just so much worthless junk. of course the cop who is working out on the street, and who may have his holster literally ripped off of him in a fight for his life, is fairly wise to keep an older one in reserve until he can replace the lost one with a brand new one - and that costs money and money takes time to save when you have all those bills a family man or woman has. How often does it happen that holsters are replaced by a department or agency? Well let's see, in my thirty year career I have probably been issued at least 15 holsters by my agencies, and I probably have bought at least several holsters to replace some that I was issued when I thought I could do better than what I was issued by the gooberment. My agencies issued holsters for each weapon they issued, and sometimes replaced holsters with better and safer designs, or simply because a holster was worn out. I also have received at least one or three holsters as gifts for my issued guns. If I kept em all, I'd have quite a few, but that would not be all the holsters I would have, not even for just my issued guns. You see the regular LEO who carries while off duty often goes out and buys an off duty holster - something in which he can carry concealed. If it is a good one - great it can last for years. If she made a bad choice the officer probably will head out and buy a better one sooner or later as she can afford it. The thing is that officers, with all those bills that Rodeo Drive types never worry about, have to feed their families and often wind up buying less than the best, or even less than good quality holsters when they need one. Even when they realize they were a bad choice they go into the drawer for later use if ever, it is all part of a back-up ideal by which officers protect themselves and one another. They are taught to have a back-up handgun, back-up ammunition, back-up handcuffs, a partner for back-up, to call for back up before going in, and a back-up provide for the family life insurance plan in case they ever are taken down - so why not a back up holster. In addition many LEOs keep their first holster, or their lucky holster, or their best ever holster, or the one in which they carried a gun with which they shot a bad guy saving another life, and they keep em for whatever superstitious reason you can think of. Then one day, maybe just before retirement, the officer gets nostalgic and look in the holster drawer and is shocked to find out just how many holsters he had stashed away. All those holsters, just like dust bunnies under a bed, seem to multiply all on their own unless you clean em out now and again. If only he had sold em all, maybe he could have afforded one that would have lasted 10 or 15 years without needing replacement, or maybe he could have afforded to have taken that fishing trip he had wanted to with his son when his son first learned about how expensive things are.
The truth be told, there is yet another type of holster hoarder, and this type is the Eternal Optimist Holster Hoarder. This is the type of person who incessantly plays the stock market and loses money instead of taking a more secure route to seeing his finances grow - no matter how bad the market. This is the holster hoarder who despite seeing the value of his holster decrease as they get older, hold onto them in the hopes of someday getting back most if not all of the money he paid for each of them, and maybe a little profit too. So those holsters, needless to say, just keep piling up somewhere in the house. The fact is I have never seen a used holster sell for more than it did when originally bought in a store; as a matter of fact I have never seen one sell for anywhere close to the initial retail price. Holsters, once bought, whether used or left in the package, seem to depreciate in value as fast as rail road bonds, or as fast as ponzi schemes once discovered to be frauds. Of course the Eternal Optimist does not want to believe that his hand tooled kangaroo leather holster, lined with silicone impregnated buffalo suede, and custom fitted for a high gloss Browning High Power will never sell for more than a mere fraction of the original selling price, so he keeps it stashed away waiting for the day he can sell it on an online auction for 5 times its original value. Thing is that day isn't coming in this lifetime!
Now that brings us to a practical reason as to why holsters build up in that drawer or on that closet shelf. They are worth more than that for which they will sell. Well at least to they who own them. Well truth be told, not to all of us who own holsters. Recently I threw out a few holsters. I also sold a few. The ones I threw out were the ones I could not sell, trade or give away. Heck I almost decided to give away the holsters I sold because they went for so little, but then again I figured why be a knucklehead - getting something for them was better than getting nothing. As for giving away the others, well I actually had to throw some of em out to make room for other things for which I simply needed the space. Yes folks, even when trying to give away used holsters it is not easy so I threw some away. You see, either the person you are trying to give it to already has one or more holsters for they type of gun it fits, or just sold that gun and no longer needs a holster for it, or the person figures why take your junk (the last reason being the one as to why used holsters are rarely if ever bought by Rodeo Drive, Mall Ninja and Tacticool Guru types of hoarders). Yep they look a gift horse in the mouth so to speak and are suspicious of you for trying to give it to them and figure why would you give away something if it was not junk. Now after all, are they wrong in being suspicious, I mean in today's who among us in his right mind would give away, as in free, a holster that may have cost $50, $100, maybe even as much as a few hundred dollars just because he was having a hard time selling it for $5.00, and he figured a friend was more deserving! I would that's who, and I wound up throwing out a few holsters just because of that type of thinking after I offered them to friends because I could not sell em first.
No, I am not a holster hoarder, though I do have a few stashed away here and there. Maybe that makes me weird, my getting rid of them for chicken feed or less, but I need more room for ammo than I do for holsters. Right now my ammo cache is just about bursting out of the containers in which I have it stashed away and space is at a premium so out with the holsters and in with the ammo it was. I wonder, does that make me an ammo hoarder? Nah - couldn't be. Anyway, ammo hoarders are a whole nuther sought of people - aren't they? More on them later, enough said on that subject for now, nod - nod - wink - wink - know what I mean.
All the best,
Glenn B
They Promised The Worst Snow Storm of the Season...
...but all we got was about 1/4 inch of snow and frozen rain as far as accumulations went. I suppose that is a good thing too, especially since I have to drive into work today. Of course, plenty of you got hit by much worse in the storm of yesterday and the day before. Chicago and Cleavland and surround areas seem to have been whacked badly as it seems so too was northern PA. With more snow promised for some places tomorrow and Tuesday, it sounds like getting to work then will not be a joy. For me today, it should be pretty easy on the highways. The local streets will be another story as they are pretty icy - yes even a 1/4 inch of ice can make it tough to drive. I always get a kick out of the nuts in their SUVs. They think they can drive faster because they have 4 wheel drive. As my brother pointed out years ago, these folks in SUVs seem to forget that they may have to stop on dusty, wet, snowy or icy conditions and it just will be harder, much harder, to do so because they were driving too fast. So if you ever wondered why you hear about so many accidents involving SUVs, well it's probably not the fault of the vehicle.
Me I plan to be careful driving today. Stay safe.
All the best,
Glenn B
Me I plan to be careful driving today. Stay safe.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Smuggling It's More Than A Job...
...It's An Adventure. Well at least anti-smuggling was for me. This is a pic of me way back when in my early years with the U.S. Customs Service. I stationed in New York City at JFK Airport, but this is a shot of me while on temporary assignment to Key Largo, FL. The weather was not too hot, it was the off season, but the smuggling was hot enough to keep us busy. Me and my buddy Lou B were there with others from NYC for 2 weeks and Lou and I spent out time out on a go fast boat with a Florida Marine Patrol Officer. When we extended to a third week, the boss told us to go out and find drugs since we would not be going out on the boat again. He only added that wherever we go we stay away from Dynamite Docks. I was driving - where do you think I went, disregarding the bosses obvious BS and over Lou's objections!
Over several hours that night we listened to a boat come into shore and go back out to sea several times. We could not see it even though the Atlantic Ocean was virtually feet in front of us - it was dark - pitch black at that. A good night to smuggle I suppose; but not with two Customs Patrol Officers like us on the scene. We called in the activity and the search began just before sunup. The guys from the local office found a nice speed boat with tens of pounds of marijuana strewn about its deck. We figured we were in for a promotion after this seizure, but the station boss said he gave the boat to the sheriff's office. Go figure, we did not even get to do the paperwork!
A short while later, another local Customs guy saw three Cubans walking out of a Mangrove Swamp toward the main road. He stopped and questioned them, they were all wet and so was their story. He soon found many bales of marijuana in the swamp from whence they had come. Seems they got their truck stuck in the mud trying to get in there to pick it up. They were arrested, and the grass was seized, but not without some ball busting work. We had to walk into the swamp, and carry each bale not to a waiting truck, but out into the water, over a reef, and load it onto a Custom's boat. Then we had to off load it later at a pier where it could be picked up by tuck. The second shot shows me and Lou after a hard night's (and morning's) work. Way on the right side of the pic, the guy walking to your right as you look at it was Charlie (can't recall his last name). He was the Customs Patrol chief who told us not to go to Dynamite Docks. A couple or few years later, Charlie was on America's Most Wanted. No not as a fed telling about a case, he was the target of a manhunt. Seems he had been telling smugglers when and where to drop off their loads on Key largo, and he was also telling his men to patrol in other places when those loads came in. Yep, just like he had told me and Lou that under no circumstances were we to go to Dynamite Docks that night because we would be killed, raped or otherwise molested by crazy people who hung out there. I knew on that night that all of it was BS, I just never imagined even for a moment that it may have been him attempting to keep us away from a load that he may have arranged to have been dropped of there. Of course that is the way I figure it now.
As for me and Lou - we never got one iota of recognition for that seizure. If I remember right it was 119 bales of marijuana at about 50 or 60 pounds each. I would have appreciated at least an atta boy in the form of a letter of commendation, but we got squat. Of course there were some perks to these temporary details. We got away from NY to have an adventure, we stayed at a nice hotel, we ate well, we drank even better, and well then there were the other perks - the local gals. This fine young lady was Deena Demero (if spelling and memory serve me right). She was the barmaid at the Tiki Bar at our hotel. It was the best bar on the island, and she was the best barmaid down that way for sure. You should see the shot of us in chains! Of course, that was all before I got married.Yep - Smuggling, It's More Than A Job, It's An Adventure - well at least my job has been one!
All the best,
Glenn B
Maybe I Have A Twisted Sense of Humor...
...but this is funny, very funny, in a macabre but completely right and just sort of way:
It appears that after receiving 3 million dollars ransom for a Saudi Arabian oil tanker the pirates made a hasty retreat from said ship with their booty. The thing is they were so hasty as not to have checked weather reports and they ran into a storm and their boat was capsized. 5 drown like rats, 3 made it to shore, and the share of the ransom of all 8 was lost at sea - or so say the extremely reliable and honest source who gave up the info for this story - the other pirates with whom they took the ship.
It appears that after receiving 3 million dollars ransom for a Saudi Arabian oil tanker the pirates made a hasty retreat from said ship with their booty. The thing is they were so hasty as not to have checked weather reports and they ran into a storm and their boat was capsized. 5 drown like rats, 3 made it to shore, and the share of the ransom of all 8 was lost at sea - or so say the extremely reliable and honest source who gave up the info for this story - the other pirates with whom they took the ship.
Now either they are looking for a way to take the heat off of 5 of the pirates and their loot by pretending they are dead and the money lost at sea, or they really drowned and the money was really lost, or they were murdered by their thieving brethren for their share of the treasure and those other pirates are now all that much the richer! Who knows, who cares so long as it is not the first one. If they are dead - good for the rest of us.
Ha, ha, ha, ha, hardy, ha - HA!
All the best,
Glenn B
Friday, January 9, 2009
eBay & Ressling Books Paying To Help Defray College Costs
eBay has always been a way to sell something for professional dealers making a living, to folks hoping to sell off some unwanted items cluttering up their garages, to guys like me hoping to be able to recoup a little cash spent on college books to defray the cost of more college books needing to be bought. Well after what I found out this morning, I can say that without a doubt in my mind, eBay is screwed up big time and not the seller/buyer friendly place it once had been.
I spent about 15 to 20 minutes putting a book up for sale. That included scanning the front cover for a pic to be included in an eBay listing, then signing onto eBay and listing the book. Well - I almost listed. I got all the way through to the last step or so and found that ow eBay requires you to put in an amount for postage. Mind you this needs to go into a separate little postage fees box and not just be placed in the item description as you once could have done. So I put in the amount for Priority Mail Flat Rate Shipping as per the exact U.S. Postal Service rate of $12.95. This for a college textbook weighing about 7 pounds. eBay rejected that amount and told me I could not put an amount of more than $4.00 into that box because that is what others have charged for similar items. Whom are they trying to kid? The USPS charges a flat rate of $12.95 for a certain type of priority mail and this is the box I checked off - flat rate priority mail! Yet, eBay only allows a seller to charge $4.00 for that shipping! Amazing.
I spent about 15 to 20 minutes putting a book up for sale. That included scanning the front cover for a pic to be included in an eBay listing, then signing onto eBay and listing the book. Well - I almost listed. I got all the way through to the last step or so and found that ow eBay requires you to put in an amount for postage. Mind you this needs to go into a separate little postage fees box and not just be placed in the item description as you once could have done. So I put in the amount for Priority Mail Flat Rate Shipping as per the exact U.S. Postal Service rate of $12.95. This for a college textbook weighing about 7 pounds. eBay rejected that amount and told me I could not put an amount of more than $4.00 into that box because that is what others have charged for similar items. Whom are they trying to kid? The USPS charges a flat rate of $12.95 for a certain type of priority mail and this is the box I checked off - flat rate priority mail! Yet, eBay only allows a seller to charge $4.00 for that shipping! Amazing.I then went to eBay and searched for similar items. As I did the realization dawned on me that almost every seller was offering FREE shipping. It only took me a moment to realize why. They had all added the shipping costs to their lowest acceptable bid price. After all, you would have to be an idiot to sell and item to someone for a going price of, let's say, $50.00, then ship it for $4.00 when the actual shipping costs you $12.95. So what to do - well you offer it at a starting bid price of $63.00 with free shipping. I will do just that, and the item will sell though I think I will get less for it than I had wanted. When FAIR shipping prices were listed separately from the acceptable low bid price, people would look at the bid price and say, that is a good -price for the book. They expected shipping to be added on. Now even though I will offer free shipping, they will see my book offered at a higher price, not want to bid much higher, thereby leaving me to have to take the shipping from what I make on the selling price of the book instead of a separate fee. That is how people think from what I can see from online deals I have done before, and that sucks, and eBay sucks for having pulled this boner. Then again eBay does not care about the buyers or sellers, all eBay seems to care about is eBay from what I can tell.
Oh well, if anyone wants/needs a copy of Precalculus, 8th edition, by Sullivan, I will have it up for sale on eBay starting at $65 with free shipping including mandatory insurance and delivery notification.
All the best,
Glenn B
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Today In History - 1st Mass In The New World
January 6, 1494 - The first Mass in the New World is celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola. Now if that is not interesting enough on its own, then go here:
http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php
Once there ypou can see another 158 events that took place on january 6th throughout history. January 6th seems to be a pretty eventful day, here is a tasteof some of those other events:
1497 - Jews expelled from Graz (Syria)
1535 - Lima Peru founded
1681 - First recorded boxing match
1759 - George Washington married Martha Dandridge
1838 - Samuel Morse publically deomnstrates telegraph for first time
1912 - New Mexico becomes 47th state
1931 - Thomas Edison submits his last patent application
1942 - Pan Am (Pan American Airlines) was the firsrt airline to schedule round the world flight (I heard today on the radio that today marked the actual completion of said flight)
1945 - George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Pierce married
1958 - Gibson patents flying V guitar
1963 - Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kindgdom premieres with Marlin Perkins
1967 - Uncle Miltie calls it quits (Milton Berle shows airs for last time)
1979 - The Village People's Y.M.C.A becomes their only UK No.1 single. At it's peak it sold over 150,000 copies a day (one can only hope this horrendous song and group helped put an end to disco)
1995 - A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack
2005 - Mississippi Civil Rights Workers Murders: Edgar Ray Killen is arrested as a suspect for the 1964 murders of three Civil Rights workers.
Lots of other interesting things took place today, and they are listed on said web page.
If you are a bit more interested in the first mass that took place in the New World, go to the below website and page down a bit for a brief summary about it:
http://www.dominicanaonline.org/Portal/english/cpo_conquista.asp
Enjoy.
All the best,
Glenn B
http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php
Once there ypou can see another 158 events that took place on january 6th throughout history. January 6th seems to be a pretty eventful day, here is a tasteof some of those other events:
1497 - Jews expelled from Graz (Syria)
1535 - Lima Peru founded
1681 - First recorded boxing match
1759 - George Washington married Martha Dandridge
1838 - Samuel Morse publically deomnstrates telegraph for first time
1912 - New Mexico becomes 47th state
1931 - Thomas Edison submits his last patent application
1942 - Pan Am (Pan American Airlines) was the firsrt airline to schedule round the world flight (I heard today on the radio that today marked the actual completion of said flight)
1945 - George Herbert Walker Bush and Barbara Pierce married
1958 - Gibson patents flying V guitar
1963 - Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kindgdom premieres with Marlin Perkins
1967 - Uncle Miltie calls it quits (Milton Berle shows airs for last time)
1979 - The Village People's Y.M.C.A becomes their only UK No.1 single. At it's peak it sold over 150,000 copies a day (one can only hope this horrendous song and group helped put an end to disco)
1995 - A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, leads to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack
2005 - Mississippi Civil Rights Workers Murders: Edgar Ray Killen is arrested as a suspect for the 1964 murders of three Civil Rights workers.
Lots of other interesting things took place today, and they are listed on said web page.
If you are a bit more interested in the first mass that took place in the New World, go to the below website and page down a bit for a brief summary about it:
http://www.dominicanaonline.org/Portal/english/cpo_conquista.asp
Enjoy.
All the best,
Glenn B
Brendan and his AK
Ah yes, the son having some fun with his Bulgarian AK-47 (that he bought) and with some Wolf HP ammo (that he also bought). This is the first rifle that he actually ever purchased - he did it all on his own. I think he paid a bit much, but he sure has fun with it and is getting his money's worth so far.
As you can hear from his statement, it is obvious he learned somnething at school - he can count the rounds and knows when the thing is empty. Not a bad thing to know if ever in a SHTF situation. Ah the benefits of a public education - LOL.
Anyone out there know of how to adjust the front sight for windage? We were told by the seller to drift it using a brass punch but it would not budge and it is in dire need of adjustment as it shoots about 4" to the right at 15 yards, and about 6" off at 25 yards.
All the best,
Glenn B
Monday, January 5, 2009
The Day The Earth Stood Still...
I went to the movies on this past Saturday night. Saw a movie I have been eager to see, so eager that this is the first time I have seen a movie in a theater in years, I mean that quite literally. The last movie cost me about $7.00, this one cost me $10.25; maybe you can deduct from that about when I went last. (I did go to see one with my daughter last year but it was sold out and we left without seeing anything.)
Several months ago, I started to see billboard ads for this movie. Something about 'they are here, we are gone' and in the fine print the words: The Day The Earth Stood Still. I was thrilled. The original movie from the 50s was part of my childhood in the reruns of the 60s. It was, and remains, one of the all time classic sci-fi movies. I was hoping that the remake would be right up there with it even though I had it on fairly good authority that the new one might stick closer to the book that inspired both in that the alien might not be so beneficent to us.
Here is my review: I was terribly disappointed. Don't waste your hard earned money, wait until it is out on DVD and rent it cheaper, or better yet wait until it comes around on cable for free (or at least as being already included in your cable subscription such as in on demand movies from a subscribed to service).
Keanu Reeves was horrible in my opinion. I mean that, and I like his acting in other movies. There was just something really missing from this one. Even with the plot changes, which I will not divulge just in case you still 'have to' see it, it could have been, but was not, an excellent movie. At best I would classify it as mediocre. At a few points I was wishing I had brought along my watch so I could see how much time was remaining before it ended because I was wishing for it to end quickly. My advice - skip it until out on TV.
I did get to see a trailer for a new Star Trek movie. At first I thought it must be a comedy with a young acne scarred faced James T. Kirk and a young Spock with a huge proboscis, but alas as the trailer unfolded it looks to be a sci-fi adventure film. My guess is that it will be worse, much worse, than The Day The Earth Stood Still.
Outside of the theater there was a poster for a new Terminator movie. That one might be interesting; and it may draw me back inside a theater when it comes out. I may also go back to the theater to see one other movie that looks, on the face of commercials I have seen for it, to be interesting. That would be: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The story line for this one seems vaguely familiar and I'll have to try to see if I can recall reading the book.
All the best,
Glenn B
Several months ago, I started to see billboard ads for this movie. Something about 'they are here, we are gone' and in the fine print the words: The Day The Earth Stood Still. I was thrilled. The original movie from the 50s was part of my childhood in the reruns of the 60s. It was, and remains, one of the all time classic sci-fi movies. I was hoping that the remake would be right up there with it even though I had it on fairly good authority that the new one might stick closer to the book that inspired both in that the alien might not be so beneficent to us.
Here is my review: I was terribly disappointed. Don't waste your hard earned money, wait until it is out on DVD and rent it cheaper, or better yet wait until it comes around on cable for free (or at least as being already included in your cable subscription such as in on demand movies from a subscribed to service).
Keanu Reeves was horrible in my opinion. I mean that, and I like his acting in other movies. There was just something really missing from this one. Even with the plot changes, which I will not divulge just in case you still 'have to' see it, it could have been, but was not, an excellent movie. At best I would classify it as mediocre. At a few points I was wishing I had brought along my watch so I could see how much time was remaining before it ended because I was wishing for it to end quickly. My advice - skip it until out on TV.
I did get to see a trailer for a new Star Trek movie. At first I thought it must be a comedy with a young acne scarred faced James T. Kirk and a young Spock with a huge proboscis, but alas as the trailer unfolded it looks to be a sci-fi adventure film. My guess is that it will be worse, much worse, than The Day The Earth Stood Still.
Outside of the theater there was a poster for a new Terminator movie. That one might be interesting; and it may draw me back inside a theater when it comes out. I may also go back to the theater to see one other movie that looks, on the face of commercials I have seen for it, to be interesting. That would be: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. The story line for this one seems vaguely familiar and I'll have to try to see if I can recall reading the book.
All the best,
Glenn B
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Winchester Model 100 and an Interesting Firearms' Site
I ran across this site: Guns And Shooting Online tonight while looking up info on the Winchester Model 100. I was looking up info on this particular rifle because I know of one that is available in my neck of the woods. I called up the person who has it for sale and asked when I could see it, and was told I could go to the Nassau County Rifle range to meet her or her son there, and look at it in the trunk of her car by flashlight. I would prefer to be inside the range in a well lighted area, and besides I think it may be illegal to buy/sell guns out of your trunk in a parking lot. So, I suggested a viewing inside. She said okay, but is probably not available until this coming weekend - as in next Saturday. Hopefully she will not sell it before then.
The Winchester 100 is a semi-automatic rifle (also a carbine model) produced in throughout most of the 1960's and the early 70's. I have seen pictures and I must admit I like the looks of it. The one pic I could find on the net was found at:
http://www.redstradingpost.com/auction_images/Auction_Arms/?dir=.%2FWinchester_100_Rifle_308_win_64360%2F. (another interesting site with lots more pics of this rifle there)
This rifle is fairly Spartan, but that is okay by me. The rifle comes with a 22" barrel in blued steel. It has a hooded front sight, fold up/down rear sight, a 4 round removable box magazine, a one piece wood stock, a metal butt plate and sling swivels. There is a push button safety located at the front of the trigger guard. It came in 3 calibers: .308, 243 and .284. The one available near me is in .308 which was, according to this write-up at Guns And Shooting Online, the most popular caliber for this rifle.
I have been wanting something in .308 for a long time. I am none too sure that this will be the rifle for me, but if offered at a good price and in fine or better condition I will scoop it up if available when I have time to take a look at it. Then again she also has several other things in which I might be interested like a couple of Marlin 336s, one in .35 Remington caliber and one in .30-.30 caliber. That is, I would of course be interested if I get to see them inside a well lit location like the range, or under other legitimate circumstances, other than by flashlight in the trunk of a car in a parking lot. Just something about those types of sales, even if actually legal for firearms, that gives me second thoughts about participating in such. Could you just imagine pulling one of those rifles out of the trunk, in a dimly lit parking lot, to do a function check? No neither could I imagine that; but I could imagine the cops jumping out of the bushes and arresting me when I tried to finish the deal. Oh well, I hope the range will allow us to bring them inside for a good look at them otherwise, as much as I am interested, I will not be interested.
All the best,
Glenn B
The Winchester 100 is a semi-automatic rifle (also a carbine model) produced in throughout most of the 1960's and the early 70's. I have seen pictures and I must admit I like the looks of it. The one pic I could find on the net was found at: http://www.redstradingpost.com/auction_images/Auction_Arms/?dir=.%2FWinchester_100_Rifle_308_win_64360%2F. (another interesting site with lots more pics of this rifle there)
This rifle is fairly Spartan, but that is okay by me. The rifle comes with a 22" barrel in blued steel. It has a hooded front sight, fold up/down rear sight, a 4 round removable box magazine, a one piece wood stock, a metal butt plate and sling swivels. There is a push button safety located at the front of the trigger guard. It came in 3 calibers: .308, 243 and .284. The one available near me is in .308 which was, according to this write-up at Guns And Shooting Online, the most popular caliber for this rifle.
I have been wanting something in .308 for a long time. I am none too sure that this will be the rifle for me, but if offered at a good price and in fine or better condition I will scoop it up if available when I have time to take a look at it. Then again she also has several other things in which I might be interested like a couple of Marlin 336s, one in .35 Remington caliber and one in .30-.30 caliber. That is, I would of course be interested if I get to see them inside a well lit location like the range, or under other legitimate circumstances, other than by flashlight in the trunk of a car in a parking lot. Just something about those types of sales, even if actually legal for firearms, that gives me second thoughts about participating in such. Could you just imagine pulling one of those rifles out of the trunk, in a dimly lit parking lot, to do a function check? No neither could I imagine that; but I could imagine the cops jumping out of the bushes and arresting me when I tried to finish the deal. Oh well, I hope the range will allow us to bring them inside for a good look at them otherwise, as much as I am interested, I will not be interested.
All the best,
Glenn B
Range Trip
It's always nice to go to the range for some shooting fun and is especially nicer when Brendan comes along. Today I enjoyed one of those especially nicer trips to the range. We went to the Nassau County indoor range in Uniondale right near the Nassau Coliseum. As per new policy we had to show our Leisure passes. Used to be all you had to do was show proof of residence but some arse hat bureaucrat figured out that the county could make some shekels off of we who use any county park facilities and voila the Leisure Pass. After showing the pass we payed $7.00 a head to shoot, and $2.00 for 12 small targets.
As we were well into shooting, there was a high pitched repeated tone over the PA system. The range office was making an announcement that the guys on two other points had only 5 minutes left of their allotted time and had to leave! That was foul indeed. I have never heard anything like this before at this range. While they charge residents $7.00 per hour, you always could shoot for much longer than an hour without anyone telling you your time was up. The dems are in power in Nassau County and things have changed, and ares till changing for the worse at this range. Just like with the Leisure Pass, they are trying to suck more money out of folks. Even if they insist on being hard asses about your time on the range, they do not need to embarrass or bother anyone by making such an announcement. All they need do is tell the guy as he leaves that he owes them for another hour.
I did most of my firing inside 7 yards but also a some further out. I am not the greatest shot out there by a long shot, that is for sure. Yet, I can hold my own and usually do pretty good. For instance the one target tat accompanies this blog was shot slow fire at 7 yards. I will not say how many rounds I fired at it, that will be part of my monthly contest to be posted later this week. The other pic is of a target at which I fired my last 38 rounds. I shot then rapid fire, just about as fast as I could pull the trigger once I got ther gun back on target after recoil. As you can see, there is a big difference between the slow fire and the rapid fire targets. When I can get both of them close to the same as the slow fire target, then I'll be a really good shot. As for now though, I would get the job done in a self defense situation even though the spread was considerable on the rapid fire target. Then again, if you consider chest cavity size, it is not all that spread out.
Once on the range Brendan started to shoot his Bulgarian AK and I my government issued Glock 19. I tried to adjust the font sight on Brendan's rifle for windage with hammer and punch but it did not work like the gun store cljerk who sold it to Brendan claimed it would work. I suppose we need some sort of adjustment tool. I told him to shoot using Kentucky windage and he asked "what's that". Once I explained it to him he was shooting center of target in no time. Nothing to brag about, but he was having fun and doing pretty well even if only at 15 and 25 yards (small range).
As we were well into shooting, there was a high pitched repeated tone over the PA system. The range office was making an announcement that the guys on two other points had only 5 minutes left of their allotted time and had to leave! That was foul indeed. I have never heard anything like this before at this range. While they charge residents $7.00 per hour, you always could shoot for much longer than an hour without anyone telling you your time was up. The dems are in power in Nassau County and things have changed, and ares till changing for the worse at this range. Just like with the Leisure Pass, they are trying to suck more money out of folks. Even if they insist on being hard asses about your time on the range, they do not need to embarrass or bother anyone by making such an announcement. All they need do is tell the guy as he leaves that he owes them for another hour.I had 250 rounds of 9mm for myself to play with and shot it all up within less than an hour. Now I did not hurry up because of the above announcement. Had they made that announcement to me I would have given them a piece of my mind and thrown my next $7 at them for another hour if need be. I just shot up what I had because I had other things to do, and Brendan and I had planned for only an hour at the range.
I did most of my firing inside 7 yards but also a some further out. I am not the greatest shot out there by a long shot, that is for sure. Yet, I can hold my own and usually do pretty good. For instance the one target tat accompanies this blog was shot slow fire at 7 yards. I will not say how many rounds I fired at it, that will be part of my monthly contest to be posted later this week. The other pic is of a target at which I fired my last 38 rounds. I shot then rapid fire, just about as fast as I could pull the trigger once I got ther gun back on target after recoil. As you can see, there is a big difference between the slow fire and the rapid fire targets. When I can get both of them close to the same as the slow fire target, then I'll be a really good shot. As for now though, I would get the job done in a self defense situation even though the spread was considerable on the rapid fire target. Then again, if you consider chest cavity size, it is not all that spread out. Once we were done shooting, we washed up, and grabbed a soda each and then made a stop by the bulletin board. There folks can list guns they have for sale. One lady had up a posting about a good number of rifles she is selling that her deceased husband had owned. While money is tight because times are hard I'll have to call her to see what she is asking on some of them. Good investments for the future. I took the list down and asked the range officer to make me a copy which he was happy to do for me. As I was waiting for the copies, a young gal and guy with whom I assume to be their dad came in to shoot. When asked what they were shooting they said .223. The range guy then asked what kind of 223 since they do not allow FMJ ammo at this range (although HP is okay). The dad then pulled out the ammo to show to the range guy. The range guy told him he could not shoot it, and that he had to hand over the ammo to the range guy who would keep it until they left! The range Nanny State at its best is all I can say. There is no way I would hand over any ammo to a range officer. Instead I would politely tell him it is my ammo and either I will keep it in my range bag or put it into my car, but he would not be holding it for me. In case I would forget it, I don't need to be dependent upon a range officer's realizing that I am leaving, then actually remembering that he has my ammo that he needs to return to me. Besides that, the policy sucks because it only goes to show that the government (and yes these are government employees working at a county government range) is telling us it does not respect us enough to trust us to follow the range regulations. That is despicable behavior on the part of the range personnel as far as I am concerned because it shows great disrespect to the shooters. That policy should be changed. As it was though, the shooter in question just handed it over like a sheep. Oh well - his ammo - his call.
All in all we had a very enjoyable day, and an eye opening one far as as enforcement of range policies goes.
All the best,
Glenn B
Saturday, January 3, 2009
C&R Firearms Availability Blues
It certainly sucks to see how the available stock of C&R guns is declining and not being replaced with other types of C&R guns. Several months to maybe even a year ago I recall having read something at one of the C&R dealer's sites about how the Bush Administration had made deals with foreign governments not to offer up surplus arms in exchange for favorable status as to joining NATO. It was hard to swallow then because I still held out hope that Bush was truly a Republican; however now that he has pulled all of the other socialist crap he has rained down on us, I can look back with hindsight and see it fit his agenda well.
As for the C&R guns, it is virtually to find new conditions SKS rifles, Mosin Nagants are becoming quite scarce, with M-44s virtually gone from dealer's shelves and only other and usually less desirable models are left over, and they are not in that great a condition. Many of the Mausers still are available, but also seem to be in shorter supply. Same thing with most of the C&R surplus pistols. As far as prices go, well the inability for dealers to replenish stock, already had prices going up. Then to add insult to injury prices skyrocketed after election of George W. Bush's socialist first cousin Barack H. Obama. This also badly effected C&R firearms availability.
What really sucked for me is that I ordered a new Yugo SKS from SAMCO and they sent me some piece of junk gun with stock repairs and gouges and dings, scratches on the metal and at least one bent part. I sent it back for an exchange, but only after waiting well over a month for them to send me a return mailing label. I finally got it sent in at the end of last week, and was expecting an exchange from them - but then came the bomb. I had contacted American Express about the charge asking a hold to be place don it until they made the exchange since it was taking so long to get any reply out of SAMCO in the beginning. They said okay. After a month they called me to ask what was up, or I called them, and I told them SAMCO said they would do the exchange so please don't take any further action unless they heard more from me. So what does American Express do - they get me a refund from SAMCO - the ineptness in that riles me badly. Since I ordered mine on the night of election day, the price has gone up substantially, and I suppose if SAMCO even offers and exchange now they will want to charge more for it because AMEX got me a refund. Maybe it was just not in the cards for me to have another one, but it would have been nice to have father and son Yugos.
Of course, I may get very lucky and SAMCO may still send an exchange that is in as advertised condition - which was NEW, and they will charge the same price. Time will tell. If they do not offer an exchange at the same price I can assure you I am done dealing with SAMCO. Their customer service was terrible until I spoke to a supervisor and even then it was not great. Over a month to get a return label is pretty poor service at that. In addition I ordered a Spanish Mauser from them about 6 months ago. I still have not seen that one. Oh well, there are always other C&R dealers, I can only hope there will be a continuing supply of C&R firearms available to us.
All the best,
Glenn B
As for the C&R guns, it is virtually to find new conditions SKS rifles, Mosin Nagants are becoming quite scarce, with M-44s virtually gone from dealer's shelves and only other and usually less desirable models are left over, and they are not in that great a condition. Many of the Mausers still are available, but also seem to be in shorter supply. Same thing with most of the C&R surplus pistols. As far as prices go, well the inability for dealers to replenish stock, already had prices going up. Then to add insult to injury prices skyrocketed after election of George W. Bush's socialist first cousin Barack H. Obama. This also badly effected C&R firearms availability.
What really sucked for me is that I ordered a new Yugo SKS from SAMCO and they sent me some piece of junk gun with stock repairs and gouges and dings, scratches on the metal and at least one bent part. I sent it back for an exchange, but only after waiting well over a month for them to send me a return mailing label. I finally got it sent in at the end of last week, and was expecting an exchange from them - but then came the bomb. I had contacted American Express about the charge asking a hold to be place don it until they made the exchange since it was taking so long to get any reply out of SAMCO in the beginning. They said okay. After a month they called me to ask what was up, or I called them, and I told them SAMCO said they would do the exchange so please don't take any further action unless they heard more from me. So what does American Express do - they get me a refund from SAMCO - the ineptness in that riles me badly. Since I ordered mine on the night of election day, the price has gone up substantially, and I suppose if SAMCO even offers and exchange now they will want to charge more for it because AMEX got me a refund. Maybe it was just not in the cards for me to have another one, but it would have been nice to have father and son Yugos.
Of course, I may get very lucky and SAMCO may still send an exchange that is in as advertised condition - which was NEW, and they will charge the same price. Time will tell. If they do not offer an exchange at the same price I can assure you I am done dealing with SAMCO. Their customer service was terrible until I spoke to a supervisor and even then it was not great. Over a month to get a return label is pretty poor service at that. In addition I ordered a Spanish Mauser from them about 6 months ago. I still have not seen that one. Oh well, there are always other C&R dealers, I can only hope there will be a continuing supply of C&R firearms available to us.
All the best,
Glenn B
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
I Was Sitting Here...
...putting some added touches onto my previous piece about The Lone Ranger like adding a few videos to it, and I heard some fireworks about 10-15 minutes ago. I thought it was silly for folks to be celebrating the coming of the new year an hour or so early, then I looked at the clock. Shame on me for thinking them silly, since it was me who was off on my timing:
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO US ALL
All the best,
Glenn B
The Lone Ranger - A Remberance - 3 Days Late
On December 28, 1999 one of my childhood heroes rode off into the sunset for the last time with a mighty Hi-yo Silver, away! That was the day that Jack Carlton Moore rode to his final sunset. You may know him as Clayton Moore, or even better as The Lone Ranger. For those of you who don't remember him, he was The Lone Ranger of the 1950's television series by the same name (well for all but one season when he was replaced by John Hart, but then came back to the role the next year).The Lone Ranger, was the sole survivor of an ambush on a group of 6 Texas Rangers. He vowed to bring justice to those who had killed his older brother and the other 4 rangers killed in the ambush (no not at all like the Lone Ranger of the movie circa the early 1980's who was more of an inept metrosexual girlie man than he was anything close to resembling a Texas Ranger). The Lone Ranger, masked and accompanied by his faithful friend Tonto as they rode across the west were role models for American children at a time when role models were meant to instill good qualities within us. Through their on screen heroics they taught us about such things as honesty, loyalty, friendship, patriotism, civic pride, democracy, responsibility for our actions, a good work ethic, equality of all men, self sacrifice, and so on. Try to find those same values being taught on television shows today, or even in schools, not that easy is it! Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels (the actor who portrayed Tonto) both had a firm belief in all of the values I just mentioned and they both believed it was important for them to be good role models for American children. Once he was cast in that role, Clayton Moore's life would change forever - he would actually become The Lone Ranger.
Long after his final film appearance as the Lone Ranger in 1958, Moore would continue to make public appearances as the Lone Ranger. Thus he remained a role model for children not only in the U.S.A. but around the world many years after his acting career had ended. The truth be told he essentially gave up that career to continue to make appearances as the mysterious masked man in order to spread good as a positive role model for children. Then in 1979 an unimaginable thing happened. Moore was stripped of the right to refer to himself as The Lone Ranger and to wear the mask that had become his trademark garb. The reason was simple - I believe it to have been greed an nothing else. You see, the rights to the Lone Ranger name and story had been sold and a new movie was being produced. Justice though, a kind not served by court order, soon would be served as it always had been in the hundreds of episodes of the Lone Ranger television series. The 1981 movie, The Legend of the Lone Ranger bombed in theaters. The fact that Moore had lost the right to portray himself as The Lone Ranger is believed to have played a pivotal role in keeping movie goers away from theaters that showed this movie. Of course, the character of the Lone Ranger in the 1981 bomb was portrayed very differently than it had been the original radio and television versions. That in combination with Moore having been stripped of his mask had fans incensed. In 1985, Moore was again allowed to resume using the name of The Lone Ranger and was again allowed to don the mask and outfit for public appearances.
The time period in which Moore lost his right to wear the mask and portray himself as the Lone Ranger up through the year after he won that right back was a tough one for him. Not only was the legal battle stressful, but the following year, 1980, Jay Silverheels passed away. Moore had had a close relationship with him and his words about him were quite telling: “I could only hope that Jay, wherever he was, knew how much I loved him and respected him and how much of an impact he had on my life and so many other lives...”. Then, in 1986, year after he won the rights back, his wife of many years (since his army days in WWII) passed away. Despite the pain, none of this deterred Moore from being The Lone Ranger.
The character was so ingrained into Moore's life that he essentially gave up his career in acting to continue to be The Lone Ranger. For decades after the series and last movie (with him as the Lone Ranger) were filmed, he made public appearances as The Lone Ranger. (I saw him once, at such an appearance. I cannot recall where or when but I can recall the thrill I felt, and I was no kid anymore at that time. Heck I also remember my most prized possession as a kid - silver bullets - sure they were plastic but they were real silver to me.) Giving up acting probably was no easy thing for Moore.
Long after his final film appearance as the Lone Ranger in 1958, Moore would continue to make public appearances as the Lone Ranger. Thus he remained a role model for children not only in the U.S.A. but around the world many years after his acting career had ended. The truth be told he essentially gave up that career to continue to make appearances as the mysterious masked man in order to spread good as a positive role model for children. Then in 1979 an unimaginable thing happened. Moore was stripped of the right to refer to himself as The Lone Ranger and to wear the mask that had become his trademark garb. The reason was simple - I believe it to have been greed an nothing else. You see, the rights to the Lone Ranger name and story had been sold and a new movie was being produced. Justice though, a kind not served by court order, soon would be served as it always had been in the hundreds of episodes of the Lone Ranger television series. The 1981 movie, The Legend of the Lone Ranger bombed in theaters. The fact that Moore had lost the right to portray himself as The Lone Ranger is believed to have played a pivotal role in keeping movie goers away from theaters that showed this movie. Of course, the character of the Lone Ranger in the 1981 bomb was portrayed very differently than it had been the original radio and television versions. That in combination with Moore having been stripped of his mask had fans incensed. In 1985, Moore was again allowed to resume using the name of The Lone Ranger and was again allowed to don the mask and outfit for public appearances.
The time period in which Moore lost his right to wear the mask and portray himself as the Lone Ranger up through the year after he won that right back was a tough one for him. Not only was the legal battle stressful, but the following year, 1980, Jay Silverheels passed away. Moore had had a close relationship with him and his words about him were quite telling: “I could only hope that Jay, wherever he was, knew how much I loved him and respected him and how much of an impact he had on my life and so many other lives...”. Then, in 1986, year after he won the rights back, his wife of many years (since his army days in WWII) passed away. Despite the pain, none of this deterred Moore from being The Lone Ranger.
The character was so ingrained into Moore's life that he essentially gave up his career in acting to continue to be The Lone Ranger. For decades after the series and last movie (with him as the Lone Ranger) were filmed, he made public appearances as The Lone Ranger. (I saw him once, at such an appearance. I cannot recall where or when but I can recall the thrill I felt, and I was no kid anymore at that time. Heck I also remember my most prized possession as a kid - silver bullets - sure they were plastic but they were real silver to me.) Giving up acting probably was no easy thing for Moore.
As for his acting career, he was referred to as the King of the B's for his roles in many serials of his days at Republic Pictures. He was a well respected actor and on his way up and his role as the masked man skyrocketed him to fame. Coincidentally enough, his last film before he took up the role of The Lone Ranger was that of another masked hero in: The Ghost of Zoro. Sortly after he completed that film he was approached by Lone Ranger creator George Trendle, in 1949, and asked if he wanted the part of the Lone Ranger. Moore's answer was almost prophetic when he said: "Mr. Trendle, I am The Lone Ranger".
Over the many years since he first donned the mask, the six shooters that shot silver bullets, saved the innocent with his faithful friend Tonto, and cried "Hi-yo Silver, away" while riding his horse Silver off into the sunset - he lived up to the character of the Lone Ranger so much so that his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is reportedly the only one not only to show the actor's name, but also the name of his character - 'The Lone Ranger'. In the television series, as The Lone Ranger rode off into the sunset, the show often ended with someone whom he had saved asking: "Who was that masked man"? While his identity never was divulged to the other characters in the series, at least not to the bad guys or to those whom he would invariably rescue from the bad guys, that secret was one of the hallmarks of the show. Today though we know the answer to the question. I suppose it was Moore who said it best himself. He said it first to Mr. Trendle when asked if he wanted the part, with his prophetic answer as seen above. Then years later in his autobiography, he said it this way:
"It doesn't matter that I am Clayton Moore, an actor, and that the Lone Ranger is a legendary figure of folklore. In more ways than I can count, we have become one and the same. I have absorbed parts of him, and he has taken on the best elements of my personality. Until the day I am taken to that big ranch in the sky, I will continue to wear the mask proudly and to do my best to live up to the standards of honor, decency, respect, and patriotism that have defined the Lone Ranger since 1933."
Over the many years since he first donned the mask, the six shooters that shot silver bullets, saved the innocent with his faithful friend Tonto, and cried "Hi-yo Silver, away" while riding his horse Silver off into the sunset - he lived up to the character of the Lone Ranger so much so that his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame is reportedly the only one not only to show the actor's name, but also the name of his character - 'The Lone Ranger'. In the television series, as The Lone Ranger rode off into the sunset, the show often ended with someone whom he had saved asking: "Who was that masked man"? While his identity never was divulged to the other characters in the series, at least not to the bad guys or to those whom he would invariably rescue from the bad guys, that secret was one of the hallmarks of the show. Today though we know the answer to the question. I suppose it was Moore who said it best himself. He said it first to Mr. Trendle when asked if he wanted the part, with his prophetic answer as seen above. Then years later in his autobiography, he said it this way:
"It doesn't matter that I am Clayton Moore, an actor, and that the Lone Ranger is a legendary figure of folklore. In more ways than I can count, we have become one and the same. I have absorbed parts of him, and he has taken on the best elements of my personality. Until the day I am taken to that big ranch in the sky, I will continue to wear the mask proudly and to do my best to live up to the standards of honor, decency, respect, and patriotism that have defined the Lone Ranger since 1933."
By the way, the name of his book was: I Was That Masked Man!
Of course there was a lot more to Moore's life than being The Lone Ranger. He was married four times, he had several other acting roles, he had been a trapeze artist and appeared as such at the 1934 World's Fair, he had been a model, he was in the U.S. Army during WWII, and he was a true patriot. The thing is though, Moore had always had a dream of becoming a cowboy actor! Little did he probably ever suspect that not only would he act out his dream, but he would become The Lone Ranger a character in existence since 1933! No other radio, television or film actor is more associated with The Lone Ranger than was Clayton Moore.
In closing my tribute to Clayton Moore - The Lone Ranger - let me share with you his creed, the Code of The Lone Ranger, one that he lived by not only on the silver screen but apparently also lived by in real life:
The Lone Ranger's Creed:
"I believe:
That to have a friend, a man must be one.
That all men are created equal and that everyone has within himself the power to make this a better world.
That God put the firewood there but that every man must gather and light it himself.
In being prepared physically, mentally, and morally to fight when necessary for that which is right.
That a man should make the most of what equipment he has.
That 'This government, of the people, by the people and for the people' shall live always.
That men should live by the rule of what is best for the greatest number.
That sooner or later ... somewhere ... somehow ... we must settle with the world and make payment for what we have taken.
That all things change but truth, and that truth alone, lives on forever.
In my Creator, my country, my fellow man."
Heck if he had been around to run for president, I would have voted for him!
All the best,
Glenn B
PS: A new Lone Ranger movie reportedly is in the making. Let's hope it is true to the original theme; and let's hope they do not choose a loser like George Clooney to play the part as I have heard it hinted. I figure a more manly guy like Tom Seleck, or Mel Gibson would be a better choice, or even Bruce Willis - but not someone who is in my opinion an arse wipe pussified loser like George Clooney. Don't the movie makers get it - Clayton Moore was not only type cast as the Lone Ranger, the character of the Lone Ranger was type cast as Clayton Moore. So as a result, the actor who plays the Lone Ranger and the character of the Lone Ranger need to have the same principles as in the creed above - otherwise it just isn't The LONE RANGER!
As for Johnny Depp playing Tonto - as I heard is a definite - at least he is supposedly part American Indian. Yet, I would think Hollywood could come up with a better choice. Oh well, that's the Hollywood of today and not the 1950s. Seleck and Depp, you know maybe it could work...even though Depp could never fill Jay Silverheels' moccasins because Tonto also lived by those principles.
References:
http://www.lonerangerfanclub.com/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Ranger
http://youtube.com/
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