Memorial Grove

Eldest Son and I went to the home improvement store today and got 24 more bags of rock for the memorial grove.

The area of the grove calls for 80 bags if spread 2" deep, but with the twelve bags from yesterday I think this is going to do the job.

At any rate, it was hot work and I'm glad it's done.

Wheeeee!

Sister In Law and I rounded up two of her grandkids and Youngest Son, and off to the skating rink we went.

It's been 25 years or better since I wore wheels on my feet, and Youngest Son was all excited about seeing the old man hit the boards. Literally hitting the boards, I mean. He assured me that he would show me everything about skating I needed to know, and it would be OK if I fell down.

I'm happy to say that his fondest dreams were dashed. My posterior never touched wood (although it was certainly a close thing several times). I am certain that my lower back and leg muscles will be having rude things to say to me tomorrow though.

Before we went skating Youngest Son and I went to the home improvement store and got nine castle-wall blocks and twelve bags of pea gravel. The blocks went the rest of the way around Memorial Grove and the gravel got spread out around the hibiscus all the way up to the bench. It will probably take another 40 bags or so before the area is all covered, and maybe more still to cover to a depth that will keep the red dirt from peeking out. Pics later when I have time.

41 hours remaining on the pony car countdown. Not, of course, that I am counting or anything.

Middle Daughter is all excited about that. Monday night I'm going to pick the pony up on the way to work and leave the Banana Boat at the dealer for the night. Tuesday morning she and I will go get it. Since she can't drive a stick, she will get to drive the pony back. With the top down and the radio blasting, I'm sure.

I have a dry-erase board on the fridge where we both write down our work schedules. For Tuesday the only thing she has scheduled, all day, is "Driving the Mustang!!!!"

I hope she realizes that this will not be an all-day affair.

Scoobytrucks

Since I got the Subaru I have been casting about for information on them, specifically online forums where I could get all the inside scoop on common problems and the like. The Subaru Brat and Baja each have their own online forums at scoobytruck.com where all of this information can be found.

Of course the obvious question (besides who cares) is why the heck are they called "Scoobytrucks" anyway?

Apparently all Subarus (Subarii?) are commonly referred to as "Scooby" this or that; it's a play on words. Subaru sounds like Scooby-doo, Subaru is commonly shortened to Subi, Subi sounds like Scooby, so there you go. Since the Baja and Brat were the only two Subaru (Subi) trucks, they are Scoobytrucks.

This concludes your trivia lesson for the day.

Anticipation

The pony is in Butler, New Jersey.

I will have it Monday.

OK a few more details. This morning I went first to the Subaru dealer where I completely forgot about ordering the fuel door cover but did order the jack that is missing from the car and a trailer hitch. On the way back I stopped by the Ford dealer.

I was planning on ordering the car and not seeing it for a couple of months, but the sales rep said "Not so fast, let's do some checking around. The new shipment of cars went out this week."

First they found a maroon one like the one I have pics of, it has all the options I wanted plus one that I didn't (remote start). I could have lived with the different color and the extra option, but it had been damaged as it was being taken off the transporter. Grrr!

Next they found a race red one, it has all the options that I wanted and none that I didn't. It is exactly the car that I would have ordered if I was going to order the car I wanted, and it was available to be shipped to the local dealer.

The only problem is that it's 400 miles away in New Jersey, so it won't be here until Monday. They are sending a rollback after it (they usually just have someone drive it, but for that distance they will transport it). I told the sales rep that I wasn't planning on having the car for 4-8 weeks, so a couple of days is nothing.

It's going to be a long weekend...

CENTCOM

A Marine 4 star General has been named to replace Gen David Petraeus as Commander, US Central Command.

GEN James Mattis will take command effective immediately.

GEN Mattis is probably best known for his statements regarding the enthusiasm that he approached shooting bad guys with. I think my favorite came in the spring of 2003, during the first of his meetings with recently defeated Iraqi military leaders, when he famously said: "I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you f*ck with me, I'll kill you all."

OOHRAH GEN Mattis, good luck with your new command.

Photo by Charlie Neuman/San Diego Union-Tribune/ZUMA Press/Newscom

HT: Ace of Spades HQ

The Baja Has Landed

Today I caught a ride to the dealer and purchased the Baja. (This guy would probably have something rude to say. Actually, he's already pretty much said it.)

It has been christened Banana Boat by Youngest Son due to it's yellow color.

Tomorrow I will arrange for TDP to get towed back to the house. I will also get plugs, wires, oil, and a full round of filters for the Baja and re-base it's maintenance cycle. The engine is incredibly clean and the car runs well, but there is a bit of a sputter in the lower RPM ranges. No telling how long the plugs and wires have been on it.

UPDATE: It cost me a C note to get TDP back to the house, this was after the tow insurance paid off what they cover.

I also need to find a dentist tomorrow because I broke a corner of a molar off today.

So, busy day today and a busy day tomorrow. Friday I go order the Mustang.

And Now, Something Different

I have been reading the "Dies the Fire" trilogy by S. M. Stirling, and one of the main characters is a Finn. In the first book he was singing a little ditty about fighting with knives, so when I saw this cartoon I had to laugh.

The artist has a spot on deviantART.

The accompanying post was very informative. The Finns seem to be the most sensible Europeans left.

I think I love those guys. In a very manly way, of course.

Give Up What!?!?

Yep, I did.

I smoked my last cigarette this morning on the way home from work. I'm not a heavy smoker as it is (a pack will last me 2 or 3 days) and we had extinguished the smoking lamp in the house when the wife brought oxygen tanks home. We had noticed how much better the house smells now, so we had decided to continue the practice.

I intend to do the same for the new cars - the Mustang goes without saying, I don't know if it's even equipped with an ashtray, but I didn't look for one when I test drove the Subaru either. So, since I can't smoke in the house or in the cars I figured I might as well just lay the habit down.

I'm sure my doctor will be pleased.

Men Plan

And God laughs.

Tonight as I was wheeling into the parking space at work TDP died on me. It looks like the timing chain has skipped a tooth.

I was going to get the Subaru on Thursday, but it looks like I will be getting it tomorrow instead. This should be a surprise to the dealer as I have already called and confirmed that I was picking it up Thursday, but I'm sure they will take my money a day earlier.

Fortunately I have friends who have time and equipment, so tomorrow I will catch a ride to the dealer with a friend, and at some later point the same friend will show up with his truck and trailer to tow TDP home to be fixed.

The funny thing is that as I was pulling into the parking space I was thinking to myself "This will be the very last time I drive TDP to work." Mere milliseconds later it proved me right.

Looks like I picked a bad day to give up smoking.

Happy Fourth of July

My older sister came down from Roanoake VA, we had burgers on the grille and some "safe and sane" fireworks (which is all North Carolina will allow).

As an added bonus, the check cleared. I paid off a loan and a couple of credit card bills and am now ready to get my new wheels at the end of the week.

I hope everyone had a great holiday.

Wheelies

Today (Thursday) I went to the bank and dropped the insurance settlement check in. Two business days and I'll be able to draw on it, unfortunately with the long weekend that means Wednesday morning.

At any rate, as I was pulling back on the highway I had to make a hard left turn. When I did so the transmission on That Damn Pontiac (henceforth and forever to be known as TDP) slipped. I had to pull over and add another quart to the transmission, so there is definitely a leak there that was being masked by the power steering leak that we fixed earlier in the week (that popped up as soon as we fixed the massive engine oil leak, that happened as soon as we got the head gasket fixed (and put a new timing chain set on to replace the one that started rattling after we replaced the head last year - more on this later), that happened right after we fixed the first power steering leak, that happened as soon as we put struts on the damn thing a couple of months ago, which is where this round of car fixing started).

I tried driving the Mighty Rampage to work last week and the carburetor shelled on me again. The carb has been a constant problem for almost two years now. It also needs a driver's side CV axle and a clutch, and the transmission slips out of second if the revs aren't right when you let the clutch out.

TDP has a familiar rattle in the timing cover again as well. The last time we replaced the head, a little over a year ago, the timing chain started rattling soon afterward. We let it go for a while because we didn't drive the car that much, but when Laura started going to Rocky Mount we decided to fix it. Of course the head gasket blowing on the car hastened its fixing. We put a whole timing chain set on it, but when we opened the cover we found that the tensioner bolts had loosened, and the rattling was the chain slapping against the case.

It sounds like the tensioner bolts have worked their way loose once more. This means we have to pull the timing cover off again and this time we will apply a ton of Locktite on the bolts. TDP has not run trouble-free for a couple of months now, every time we get one thing fixed something else has popped up right away to take it's place.

While reflecting on all of this, I came to a decision. I'm tired of fixing cars. So, while I was in the neighborhood of the bank I dropped by a used car dealer and did a test drive. When I got home I called one of Eldest Son's friends and told him to come get the Rampage. I'll fix the Pontiac and Middle Daughter can have it as a backup (her Mercury isn't in very good shape either).

Next Thursday I go pick up the car in the picture, and a week from Friday I order the Mustang.

Heroes

Word on the street is that there will be a Medal of Honor recipient from the Global War on Terror that will be given in person, and not posthumously.

The CMOHS website has nothing on it yet.

I'll keep you posted.

Just A Thought

About the Gulf oil well gusher disaster in the making:

We sure dodged a bullet with that Alaskan snowbilly hick, didn't we?

Making Friends

As if we needed any more proof that Congressional and Senatorial term limits is an idea who's time has come, Pete Stark (D-CA, of course) proves himself to be a condescending arrogant cod who needs to be reminded that he serves at the pleasure of the plebes called "the constituency."

If he had asked me "Who are you going to kill today?" I probably would have provided scads of news fodder by saying "Maybe you, you arrogant *@&#$." It seems that this Minuteman conducted himself with a bit more decorum than I might have been able to do.

Kudos to the unidentified Minuteman. Heaps of scorn upon the head of Pete Stark, Democrat congresscritter from the wasteland that was once the Golden State.

HT: Big Dick from comments at The Rott. Be warned, Big Dick is not for the faint of heart.

Drawing Nigh

I have been contacted by a Ford representative concerning the Mustang.

I filled out the information on the Ford website and built the car that I want, and now it's up to them to either find it or have it built.

The basics: 2011 Mustang GT Premium convertible, automatic transmission, 5.0 liter TiVCT V-8 with the California Special trim package 402A.

Must haves: Color, one of three options; race red, red candy metallic, or Kona blue metallic (not available with the CS package). Must have the pedestal spoiler (standard with the CS package), must have the GT deck lid trim panel. Must NOT have HID headlights.

Like to have: Comfort package, which consists of heated front seats and a power adjustable seat for the passenger.

Hopefully the car, or the basic package, is already out there somewhere and won't have to be built (with the 5-6 week lead time). We will see how it goes.

Playing the Ponies

My Mustang showed up in the mail today.

Not the car itself, of course, but the insurance check I was waiting on, or rather the notification that a certified letter was waiting at the post office for my signature.

So Monday I will go get it and on my first day off (Thursday) I will hand carry it to the bank. I will then find out how long the hold is going to be on it, and when the funds are available for my use I will go get the Mustang.

I don't know if I'm going to get the one in the picture that is even now sitting in the dealer's lot or if I will order one. I guess I'll wait and find out when the day comes.

UPDATE: I'm ordering one. It will be a lot like the one in the picture except that it will be bright red (like the rental was) and it won't have the HID(eous) headlights. It will be a California Special trimmed GT like the one pictured, though, with the 412HP 5.0 liter V-8. I just couldn't help myself.

UPDATE II: The order goes in on Monday, July 5th or Tuesday, July 6th depending on if the bank counts Friday the 2nd as a business day or not.

UPDATE III: The funds won't be available until Wednesday morning. I see the Ford dealer on Friday, July 9th.

A Bit of Good News

Eldest daughter, who has a medical condition she needs some pretty expensive meds for, recently was told that the program she is on to help pay for those meds is going away at the end of the month.

She called around to the evil pharmaceutical companies and they were able to put her into a program that pays all but a pittance for the same meds. There's a filing fee that has to be paid, and of course Dad is picking that bill up, but Dad is happy to do it.

She was extremely proud of herself that she did all the necessary legwork to make this happen. I told her that sitting around waiting for someone else to make things happen for you is a long wait for a train that never comes.

I'm extremely proud of her as well, but I always have been.

And Yet Another Link!

They're coming along fast and furious now.

This one comes by way of The Other McCain.

Tea Party News. Cause playing nice has worked so well so far...

Another Link

This link brought to you courtesy of cmblake6:

The BruHa.

Enjoy!

Once More

This essay was not written by any guy named Caudill, retired Marine or not. In fact, I doubt that this fraud even exists as I have never seen anything else written by him.

This essay was written by Marko Kloos, who blogs at the Munchkin Wrangler.

It is an excellent essay, and the author does not mind if it gets hoisted up the flagpole a time or two. He only wants it to be properly accredited.

Should you see the essay "Why the Gun Is Civilization" in your wanderings round about the Web, please make sure the accreditation is correct.

Marko Kloos. Remember that name.

And while you're at it, drop by the Munchkin Wrangler blog, which has now finally been linked on the sidebar to the right. You won't be disappointed.

Happy Father's Day

As I write this Father's Day is officially over, and has been for two and a half hours.

I called my Dad at 9 PM and talked to him for a half an hour. If you didn't call your Dad yesterday, call him today and tell him you are sorry for being late.

If you went to see him instead of calling, that's even better than a call.

And if you are a Dad, I hope you had a great day yesterday.

OK

I'm better now. Back to your normally scheduled (sporadic) blogging.

The big thing about this story that I find hysterical is that they are so surprised.

One of the census workers said "I was stunned, I really was, that America is so mad at the government." Apparently no one has been listening as Americans have said "Enough already."

Maybe they will start listening soon.

(And maybe winged primates will emerge from my nether regions, too, but I won't hold my breath.)

HT: Monty, from AoSHQ

Working Blues

I'm back to work after a two week absence. There was a lot of emails to wade through and a lot of things to catch up on.

My co-workers are all stopping me to offer their condolences. I thank them and then we part, quickly, before the silence gets too embarrassing.

She used to call or text me in the early morning hours around 3 or 4 if she was awake and couldn't sleep. We would talk or text for a few minutes, and then she would be OK to go back to sleep.

She won't call tonight. She won't text tonight.

She won't call or text ever again.

I'm really missing her tonight.

A Final Resting Place

I got the notification in yesterday's mail. Laura did indeed get the spot right next to Mom.

I would like to thank the staff at Florida National Cemetery in general, and retired Senior Chief Aldridge in particular, for service above and beyond the call of duty.

A formal letter has been sent to their director saying the same.

My parents and sibs, before they left, gifted me with a memorial bench and a hibiscus plant in Laura's memory. Today I found a place for both by clearing a small grove of overhanging branches and leaves.

She has been gone for two weeks.

How About That?

I have followers. Four of them.

(UPDATE: Correction, five of them. Welcome aboard Cary!)

I'm honored.

I'll try to make it worth your while folks, but no promises.

A Few Simple Repairs

It's car fixing day at the Refuge.

TDP has had a persistent oil leak that we are striving diligently to repair, and the mighty Rampage has a drive axle on the left side that needs to be replaced. Middle Daughter's Topaz got a new brake pressure equalizer yesterday to fix a massive brake fluid leak, so it's good now.

All of this repair work is being done because the Mustang has to go back to the rental place tomorrow. I'm really going to miss that car, but I will own one very soon.

I go back to work Friday. I probably won't know what to do with myself, having been awake days and asleep nights for a couple of weeks now. Anyway, starting tomorrow after the red rocket-ship goes back I will begin to re-adjust my habits to a more nocturnal schedule.

Until then I think I'll drive around with the top down for a while.

Oh, Yeah!

This is what I've been driving for the past week.

Laura and I had talked about getting one, but when she got too sick to drive we stopped talking about it. We didn't decide not to get one, we just stopped talking about it.

As I mentioned, I rented this one to take Laura to Florida and also to see if I really wanted one.

I will own one by the end of the year.

Oh yes. I will own one.

Elections

Renee Ellmers is running for Congress for NC2, my district. After the jackassery that current Congress critter Bob Etheridge recently displayed, I'm all too happy to support Mrs. Ellmers.

Plus she seems to like the Fair Tax, so that's good as well.

Thanks to Ace for puttin' me some knowledge.

The Aftermath

I've been dealing with a fair bit of guilt for the past week.

There is a thing called "survivor's guilt" where the one that is left feels guilty for not feeling worse about their loved one being gone. There are various shades of it, but you get the general idea. It is usually more pronounced when the loved one dies of a long and drawn out illness and the survivor has been the primary caretaker. The guilt comes about partly because of the relief that the survivor feels now that the long care-taking ordeal is over.

In my case I was able to deal with the pain of losing her in a fairly short amount of time, that being a couple of days. Not to say I don't get a bit melancholy or misty-eyed now and again, but the real pain wore off after a few days. There wasn't a long care-taking ordeal because she didn't get so bad off that she couldn't move around, even at the end, so that wasn't a part of it. I just felt guilty that I didn't feel worse about losing her.

One thing about driving several hundred miles with a box strapped into the side-seat is that you get a lot of time to think about things. What I finally came to realize is that the shock of losing her wasn't that great at all because we both knew that it was going to happen. The real shock came in the timing. No matter how much you prepare, you just aren't ready for such a thing to happen. In her case, she was fine just 24 hours prior to her sudden death, so there wasn't any warning at all.

Note that I'm referring to her moment of death as being that point beside the car where she collapsed, and I lowered her to the ground. One look at her eyes, open wide, rolled back and unfocused, told me that she was gone. I didn't want to believe it then, but the fact remained regardless of my inability or unwillingness to believe in it. The only thing that died Thursday in that hospital bed was the human suit that she wore for almost 46 years. My Laura died in my arms on Wednesday, June 2nd, just before 6 PM.

She never did get that gaunt drawn-down look to her, even at the very end while she was laying in that hospital bed she didn't look sick. She looked as if she would, at any moment, open her eyes and demand to know why everyone was making such a fuss over her. She hated that, she would make a big deal over anyone else's event and plan rings around it, but she didn't want anyone to do that to her. She would be happier over cards and flowers than she would have been over big elaborate parties. That was my Laura.

That's why when she collapsed and never regained consciousness it was such a shock to me. I was simply not prepared to acknowledge that this was the end, not when she looked so otherwise healthy. But the monster inside her had taken it's toll in other ways, and that great heart that cared so much about others and not as much for herself just failed in the end under the strain.

The fact is that we had said our goodbyes in hundreds of little ways ever since her diagnosis. One of the things that this taught us to do is treat each moment, each precious jewel in time, as the unique event that it is; never take it for granted, and before it is over make sure the person you are with knows, if you never see them again, the depth of your feelings for them.

She knew that she was going to die soon. I did not. But when she went, the last thing she heard was my voice in her ear, and the last thing she felt was my arms around her. She went knowing how I felt about her, and I know how she felt about me.

I will miss her terribly, but I no longer feel guilty about not mourning longer.

Phase Three: Return

Home again, home again.

We stopped off by a friend's house on the way to drop off some things that had gotten left at our house during the memorial. It added a couple of hours and miles, but it was well worth the visit. We passed by another friend's house but it was getting late by then and everyone was anxious to get home.

It has been a busy few days, and it's good to be home. The house seems empty without her, but I know she's in a better place.

Tomorrow starts the process of putting things back together. Thanks for the continuing prayers and support, it has been noted and appreciated.

Phase Two: The Mission

We took Laura to Florida National Cemetery today.

When we got there we went over the paperwork and I asked if my special requests to place her as close to her mother as possible got included in the request. It had not. I had thought of doing the request myself but had let the funeral parlor handle it, and this did not get put in.

Luckily the man that we were talking to was able to put the request in and have it approved by the director as we were standing there.

I then asked where Mom was so that I could go pay my respects. The kind gent offered to take us there and while we were there he would look around and see where Laura could possibly be placed.

When we got to the site there was an empty spot right next to Mom. He cautioned us not to get our hopes up, but he said he would check to see if that spot was going to be open. If there was someone scheduled to go in there today it wouldn't be possible, but if not it might be.

We went back to the admin building so that I could retrieve the notebook that I had left there and when I got back out to the car he came out and called to me. The spot was not going to be filled that day, so the possibility that Laura can go there is very good. He once again cautioned me not to get my hopes up, but he was going to see if it could be done.

Laura will be placed tomorrow or Monday. My fingers are crossed and prayers have been said, hopefully she can go right next to her mother.

As we were leaving it occurred to me that Laura had often said as much as she loved her parents she wouldn't want to live next door to them. I don't think she will mind so much now.

Of course, that means I might get to spend all of eternity next door to my in-laws.

Say prayers for Pop, he's trying mightily to hold up but this has been tough on him.

She has been gone for one week.

Phase One: Departure

The day started overcast, and we left home a little before ten AM. Late, as usual, which would have driven Laura absolutely bonkers, but typical for us so we (the kids and I) would have just laughed at her and told her to relax.

Chris and the grandson rode with me, Laura strapped into the front seat and them in the back. First they were cold, but that soon passed.

The overcast had gone away by the time we reached the NC/SC border. We stopped for gas and lunch at Santee, South Carolina. When we got back into the car the boys were clamoring for me to leave the top up because it was too hot (I didn't think it was). What good is a convertible if you are going to leave the top up?

Leaving the top up, we left Santee and arrived in Florida as afternoon turned into early evening. I whipped into the first rest area and put the top down. "Sorry boys," I told them "We're in Florida now, so the top has to come down. That's the law, if it's not raining and you are in Florida and in a convertible, the top has to be down."

Chris proclaimed that he had never heard of such a thing in all of his eleven years and wanted to know if it was a State law or something. I told him it was a Dad law.

Everyone got a bathroom break and we proceeded to Eldest Daughter's house for the night. Middle daughter wanted Krystals for supper, something that Eldest Son adores and we don't have in our neck of the woods, so she and Eldest Daughter headed out that way and brought some back.

Eldest Daughter took a picture of Middle Daughter and myself with some Krystal burgers and sent it to Eldest Son (who stayed behind to watch the house and dog) just to torture him. He wasn't happy, which of course was the whole point. My children are so kind and gracious to each other.

Tomorrow we will proceed to Bushnell and the Florida National Cemetery. We are going to stop in to see Pop on the way back. I wish I could do something for Pop, he is heartbroken. The best thing we can do for him is to show him that he is not alone I guess.

Last Ride

While walking the dog this morning I talked to the youngest son, his mother's darling baby. He's trying to convince himself that Mom is still hanging around the house in a ghostly form. I told him I knew for a fact that Mom was in Heaven with Grandma because of the weather. He gave me a quizzical look, so I explained.

Saturday and Sunday were brutally hot, so hot in fact that Eldest Son and I had decided against fixing her car that weekend, which since the whole head gasket fiasco has leaked oil from the timing chain case. Because of that, when the funeral home called me and said she would be ready to go on Tuesday the car was not fit to drive to Florida, which is one of the reasons that sparked me to rent a car for the trip.

The choice of car, of course, was entirely co-incidental.

(The color was completely co-incidental and you can believe that as a fact. The one that they were holding for me was silver, and it left the lot as I was standing there in line. The only one left was bright fire-engine red. Flashy and red(headed), that's my Laura.)

At any rate, on Monday when I went to pick it up the day dawned bright and clear...and cool. For the past two days the weather has been sunny, but not so brutally hot. For today's travel - and indeed for the entire 3 day trip - the weather is expected to be sunny and warmer, with temps in the high 80's to low 90's. Folks, for summertime in the South (and make no mistake, summer around here starts about mid May regardless of what the calender says) that's downright balmy. About the time we get back we are expecting some thunderboomers to roll in, but the trip is over for all intents and purposes by then.

God, I told him, controls the weather, but Mom is very used to getting her own way. It looks like she wanted to cruise down to Florida with the top pulled back the whole way. And she couldn't have convinced Him from here.

(Actually she probably could have - she can be very persuasive - but that doesn't fit the story as well.)

Blogging light, blah blah blah. I'll post an after-action report upon my return.

Preparing To Launch

She's home.

I picked her up a little after ten and we came home in the convertible. I took the long way home and talked to her the whole way until a thought occurred to me.

When her mother got home her dad put her on the dresser and talked to her for six weeks. Laura was worried about her dad. "He's talking to a box!" she would say. So there I was, talking to a box.

We will go down tomorrow, continue to Bushnell on Thursday, and come back up on Friday. Both middle daughter and youngest son are coming along. We will stop and say hello to Pop on the way, but he hasn't decided if he wants to come along to Bushnell or not.

It's been tough on Pop, he's lost his wife and daughter both just in the past 13 months. He's having heart trouble again and I'm more than just a little worried that he won't last very much longer. Eldest daughter lives an hour away from him, so she will keep a close eye on him.

So there are the plans. Men make plans and the gods laugh.

Special Moron(ette)s

Thanks roonz and roonettez. I'm gobsmacked.

923 hits in the two hours (10PM to midnight EST) that Sitemeter counts for last night. I guess that qualifies as an ONT-alanche.

See you all back on the ONT real soon.

The Waiting Game

This morning I got an email from the funeral home with the obit for proofreading before it was submitted.

Oh. My. Lord.

After I had straightened them out as to her parents name and the fact her dad was still very much alive, thank you, I talked to Pop about the "condominium" that Mom is in (that's Uncle's name for the columbarium inurnment at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell). He gave me the numbers and I called them up.

They gave me the info to contact the National Cemetery Schedules Office and I set an appointment with the funeral parlor to bring in my DD-214 and make things happen. I've decided against a burial at sea now, since the wife will be in the "condo" I'll just join her there rather than burden the kids with disinterment requests and all that.

They also let me know that she will be ready to go tomorrow, so I went to the airport and rented a bright red Mustang convertible for the trip. We had talked about getting a car like this so I thought she might like the ride, with the ulterior motive of deciding if I really wanted one of these or not.

I want one of these very badly, as it turns out.

So tomorrow I will get everything set with the Florida National Cemetery and pick Laura up for our last outing. After that the parents and sibs want to go to Norfolk/Virginia Beach to see the sights there.

For some reason my nutty younger brother wants to ride out and back on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Seventeen and a half miles of bridge and tunnel from Norfolk to the Delmarva peninsula only to turn around and come back. Tourists, what do you do with them.

Wednesday we break up into our respective groups, my parents and sibs will head west back to Iowa and Eldest Daughter and family will head south to Jacksonville FL. Middle daughter and I will follow them down and then we will continue to Bushnell to put Mom as close to Grandma as we can.

Pop says we can take our time bringing Laura down, but she was never one to wait. It used to make her very upset whenever someone kept her from her self-appointed schedule, and since that someone was usually me, I learned not to keep her waiting.

I'll take the weekend off, the Mustang goes back a week from Wednesday, and then the weekend after everything goes back to as close to normal as we can make it without her.

It has been good to have everyone together, even if the reason wasn't good.

Memorial

We had Laura's memorial today (well, technically yesterday since it's almost 2AM). I think it was just like she would have wanted it.

She touched a lot of people, and it was good to see. It was most gratifying to see my old Navy buddy and Brother-From-Another-Mother Will and his wife there. This is a testament to the way she affected people, he dropped everything he was doing and they made the trip literally at the last moment just to be there.

I miss her desperately, but I was glad to share her with all of them.

Will, you and Jackie have some beautiful kids. Thanks for bringing them by.

The Next Day

My parents came today all the way from Iowa, and they brought my younger brother and sister with them. I haven't seen my brother in 12 years, so it was great to have him here. I just wish it could have been for a happier occasion.

Laura always teased me that she was going to trade me in for the newer model, but I don't know if they would have been able to live together.

We have planned a private ceremony for Sunday afternoon so that everyone could be here. Laura touched many lives at my son's school where she worked briefly before she got too sick to do so. Everyone wants to come and say goodbye.

Among the everyone is the teacher of the school who adopted Laura as a younger sister. I don't know what I would have done without her, she has been a rock that I have been able to lean on for the past two days.

I have had a lot of practice in the past couple of days of losing it and having to get a grip on myself. This morning I woke up and the first thing I noticed was the oxygen generator was off. The next thing I noticed is that she wasn't there.

My oldest son poked his head in a couple hours later as I sat there on the bed in tears. It was his custom to check on Mom first thing in the morning. When she wasn't there, he got a little practice at losing it as well. We hugged for a while and I told him that we would get enough together for one of us at least. It will be a long hard haul, but eventually we will be OK.

I found out today that she knew how bad off she was. She knew that she didn't have very long, but she didn't tell me. She didn't want anything to change between us, she wanted me to have a good life.

And I have.

Suddenly

I'm not half the man I used to be,
There's a shadow hanging over me,
oh yesterday came suddenly...

Tuesday she had her chemo, and yesterday afternoon she wasn't feeling right but couldn't exactly explain what was wrong other than she couldn't catch her breath and the oxygen didn't seem to help.

She wanted to go to the ER, so I started heading her that way. When she got to the car she collapsed. I gently lowered her to the ground and called 9-1-1. She lay there unmoving, her eyes open and unfocused, gasping for breath. I put the oxygen in her nose and held her hand until the ambulance got there.

She coded once on the way to the hospital and once more while she was there. The longest time of code was 15 minutes. The local ER stabilized her and sent her to Wake Med's cardiac care unit. She remained unresponsive to all external stimuli and had to be put on a vent to breathe.

Her children gathered around and we decided to pull the vent. It came off at 2:15 this afternoon, and at 2:42PM EST, surrounded by family, she slipped the surly bonds of earth, and reaching out, touched the face of God.

Laura Jean Primavere Card
July 20, 1964 - June 3, 2010
Mother, wife, lover and friend
No more fear, no more pain.
I love you Boo. Goodbye babe.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the American Cancer Society.

A Belated Holiday

I had to work all four days of the past weekend, so today I'm making up for lost time. Ribs and steaks are on the grille.

Thank you Lord for all of our heroes.

Stop This Ride

I want off.

There have been four Democrat presidents in my lifetime. Each of them have been more classless and clueless than the last.

Medical Report

She started her chemo again today. Two different drugs every three weeks, and a third to be administered every week. The third will have to be given at the hospital in Rocky Mount the first time since there is a chance of reaction, so the doc wants to be there. After that everything gets done at the clinic, a ten mile drive instead of fifty.

She's been having problems breathing for the past week or so, not surprising since the bottom half of the right lung is for all intents and purposes a solid mass now. As of today we have an oxygen generator humming quietly in the corner and a bottle setup for moving around (or in the case of power outages).

She's on the patch for pain now instead of pills. It seems to be working better, and as a side benefit it seems to help with the nausea. The nausea is still present from time to time, but at least it doesn't keep her from getting her pain meds.

I got her one of those e-cigs from blu to replace the real ones. She says it usually satisfies the craving, but once in a while she needs the real thing. I'm hoping that she can go over completely to the e-cig and away from the real ones. At a minimum I'm hoping it will help with the cough, which usually triggers the nausea.

That's the new normal.

The Awesome Continues

"He smiled, and in the dark I wasn’t sure if the government man or Susan had been more intimidating, but for totally different reasons. One because it represented a soulless entity with the power to suck the very blood from the innocent, and the other because it was a vampire."

Monster Hunter: Vendetta is available as an e-ARC at Baen's website.

Now for the dilemma...do I wait for the paper copy to be delivered in October, or do I get the e-ARC and read it now?

Memorial Day

Remember them.

LT John Finn, USN (Ret)

"For extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kaneohe Bay, on 7 December 1941, Lt. Finn promptly secured and manned a .50-caliber machinegun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machinegun strafing fire.

Although painfully wounded many times, he continued to man this gun and to return the enemy's fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own personal safety. It was only by specific orders that he was persuaded to leave his post to seek medical attention.

Following first aid treatment, although obviously suffering much pain and moving with great difficulty, he returned to the squadron area and actively supervised the rearming of returning planes. His extraordinary heroism and conduct in this action were in keeping with the highest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service."

July 23, 1909 - May 27, 2010

Exactly

From commenter David Gillies at AoSHQ:

"What most people don't realize is the chasm over which most of the world's economies are poised. You can mug the productive cohort of your society for 30%, 40% tops to pay for your elderly and your indolent and your sick but as soon as you get beyond that they go on strike, and since welfare states are Ponzi schemes, the train hits the buffers a lot sooner than pseudo-intellectuals like Paul Krugman are willing to admit. If no one paid tax on Friday, social security would be bust on Monday. There is no lock-box. It's not social insurance: it's holding up Peter at knife-point in an alley to get a fix from Paul. And the cops are on the take."

But politicians like to call it a "pay as you go" system so they don't have to utter the dreaded (and completely correct) phrase "Ponzi scheme." Of course, they still insist that paying income tax is voluntary as well.

Democrat Dictionary

Disgraced former Congressman Eric Massa seems to have some problems with words he is using. I do not think they mean what he thinks they mean.

Said Massa: "General David Petraeus, a commander with soldiers deployed in two theaters of war, has had multiple meetings with Dick Cheney, the former vice-president of the United States, to discuss Petraeus's candidacy for the Republican nomination for the presidency. And in fact, that's more than a constitutional crisis. That's treason."

I don't know what's worse, that this jackass doesn't know the definition of treason, that he doesn't know what constitutes a constitutional crisis, or that he was ever allowed to be a Congresscritter.

I'm no lawyer, but it doesn't look like anything even illegal was taking place here. Maybe I'm using the wrong dictionary.

HT: Ace

Little Damn Replica

Coming soon to a lucky blogger near you!

Get yours here, from these guys.

Shiny!

(Of course, if you have the coin, you could get one of these instead.)

Support Network

I've gotten some calls in the last week or so from folks that I haven't heard from in a while. Nothing serious, you understand, just life getting in the way. Among the callers were my two sisters who are both RNs.

The callers wanted to offer well wishes and support for the wife. I don't know if they all read my scratchings here (I know at least one checks in from time to time), but I can't help but wonder if a recent posting prompted some of the calls.

At any rate, I do what I have to do. Thanks for the encouraging words, it means more than you know.

ER Blues

Tuesday the wife had another biopsy, the results of this one will be used to more closely tailor a treatment routine. It's finally happening, it just needs to happen quicker. She hasn't had a treatment in over 2 months.

(To start the day off right, I pulled the latch to check the oil in the car and the cable broke. One more thing to fix on TDP (That Damn Pontiac).)

Wednesday we went to the ER, same issues with the nausea and vomiting. The day shift staff there was not much help, the doctor locked on like a laser beam to the fact that she was short of breath (pain will do that to you) and decided he needed to determine that the biopsy had caused blood clots in the lungs which was causing the shortness of breath.

I tried to tell him that the problem was nausea, meaning she couldn't keep her pain meds down, which means she was in pain and couldn't catch her breath. Obviously since he was so much smarter than me he ignored everything I said. We left against medical advice, not that it was doing any good anyway.

(Note to people holding PhD's in medicine: you might be the greatest physician since Hippocrates, but if you have no bedside manner you aren't a doctor. God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason. Also, people not in pain are much more reasonable than people in pain.)

Tonight she's back in the ER, but the night shift understands what the basic problem is (having seen her several times for the same thing). She's resting comfortably now with an IV to replace fluids and meds for the nausea and pain. Next week we go back to Rocky Mount, and hopefully a plan of treatment.

I just wish they could do something for the frequent bouts of nausea.

Hail To The Chief

This is why you should regularly check out Monster Hunter Nation on the sidebar.

Nero Fiddles

Today I asked my co-workers, "Did anyone know that Nashville is flooded?"

They didn't.

FEMA slow to respond, Bush blamed...

Temporary Bouts of Sanity

This morning I was discussing the work schedule with one of my co-workers and I mentioned that I won't be at work Monday night because Tuesday we have to go to Rocky Mount to have the mass removed from her chest wall.

He asked me how it was that I wasn't insane. I replied, "How do you know that I am?"

I wasn't joking. It's like a nightmare I can't wake up from.

1	The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2	He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3	He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4	Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5	Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
6	Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Celebutards

Someone please tell Tonya Harding that no, a train cannot stop for a truck on the railroad crossing. It can't even slow down so that you would notice. It's called physics, and it's the reason there are laws against vehicles stopping across the railroad tracks, and none saying the train has to yield the right-of-way.

In fact, that path that the rails follow? Yeah, it's called a right-of-way, and it always belongs to a train. Funny thing about it is, the right-of-way doesn't move. That means you always know where it is, so you can always stay out of it.

I know, it's just a dumb-ass show, but part of the humor is with these celebutards showing just how moronic the people in the videos are. It's not as funny when the celebutards are just as stupid as the subjects. It just somehow detracts from the whole experience.

Karma

Last year Eldest Daughter got put through the legal wringer when a drop she made after hours at the bank came up missing.

After the dust had cleared, so was she. The investigation was bungled from the start, the authorities were not called in until three weeks after the event at which time the bank's tapes had been recorded over and the "investigators" were more interested in wrangling a confession from her than they were in finding out what had happened.

My thoughts are that there was some sort of clerical error (the money got credited to the wrong account, for instance) but later I found out that one of the bank managers had disappeared under mysterious circumstances (no foul play, but one day they were just gone). This was not the first time the company had had problems with this bank, either, but for some reason they stay there.

At the insistence of one of the managers her employment was terminated, so she took that time to go back to school. Like so many in this economy she hasn't been able to find another job, and had to put out money to the courts to get her good name cleared.

Last week that manager was taken into Federal custody for embezzlement and faces state charges for larceny for stealing lottery tickets and cash from her employer. The same employer, by the way. Her actions were all captured on hidden cameras, so there is no doubt.

Mama tried to raise me right and told me not take pleasure at the misfortunes of others, but I can't help but find a great deal of humor in this particular ironic case.

The Hits Keep Rolling

I'm over 10,000 hits now, and they are coming from such interesting places as the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Bureau of Land Management in Utah.

I'm not quite sure what to think about that. It's not just one hit from either, and going by the Sitemeter stats it wasn't some sort of web search that lead either of them here.

I have quite a few that seemingly check in on their own and a lot of hits from various web searches with the term "last refuge of a scoundrel" in them. Occasionally someone will even leave a comment. (Feel free to do so, but keep in mind the comments are moderated. Spam and jackassery will not be approved.)

Anyway, welcome to my little corner of the net to all who enter here, take a look around and come back if you like what you see.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to Moms everywhere.

With Bells On

I have been riding (legally) since I was fourteen and have owned the Harley for over twenty years now, but I had never heard this story.

One of my co-workers bought himself a V-Rod as a divorce present (incidentally, that's how I got my FXRS-Sp) and one of his friends bought him a bell to go on it.

The legend of the bell has it that evil road spirits (we in the aviation world call them "gremlins") cannot abide the sound of bells, get caught in the hallow (the bell-shaped part) where the constant ringing drives them crazy, fall out and cause potholes.

To maximize the effect, the bell must be given to you. If you buy your own, the magic is much diminished and may not work at all.

Here's a link to Crazy Eddie's where you can find the entire story.

And Then There Were Three

The third SEAL has now been found not guilty.

Humble Pie

On one of the email lists that I am on we have a guy that will get his head wrapped around a single issue, or sometimes a detail about a single issue, and worry it to death.

I got rather short with one of my replies to him and then found out that he suffers from Autistic Spectrum Disorder which is why he focuses on single things like he does.

Of course this made me feel like a heel and prompted an apology, which he seemed to take without any problems. Sometimes a recalibration to the patience setting is needed, and I guess that was a pretty effective way of letting me know it was due.

It doesn't let anyone off the hook that suffers from simple stupidity, however, and the world is full of them.

Chain Mail

Perhaps you have seen this email, or one like it:

"Courage.
You're a 19 year old kid.
You're critically wounded and dying in the jungle somewhere in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam.
It's November 11, 1967.
LZ (landing zone) X-ray.
Your unit is outnumbered 8-1 and the enemy fire is so intense, from 100 yards away, that your CO (commanding officer) has ordered the MedEvac helicopters to stop coming in.
You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns and you know you're not getting out.
Your family is half way around the world, 12,000 miles away, and you'll never see them again.
As the world starts to fade in and out, you know this is the day.
Then - over the machine gun noise - you faintly hear that sound of a helicopter.
You look up to see a Huey coming in. But ... It doesn't seem real because no MedEvac markings are on it.
Captain Ed Freeman is coming in for you.
He's not MedEvac so it's not his job, but he heard the radio call and decided he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire anyway.
Even after the MedEvacs were ordered not to come. He's coming anyway.
And he drops it in and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 3 of you at a time on board.
Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire to the doctors and nurses and safety.
And, he kept coming back!! 13 more times!!
Until all the wounded were out. No one knew until the mission was over that the Captain had been hit 4 times in the legs and left arm.
He took 29 of you and your buddies out that day. Some would not have made it without the Captain and his Huey.
Medal of Honor Recipient, Captain Ed Freeman, United States Air Force,
died last Wednesday at the age of 70, in Boise, Idaho ..
May God Bless and Rest His Soul.
I bet you didn't hear about this
hero's passing, but we've sure seen a whole bunch about Michael
Jackson and Tiger Woods.
Medal of Honor Winner Captain Ed Freeman
Shame on the American media !!!
Now ... YOU pass this along to YOUR
mailing list. Honor this real American.
Please."

The problem with this is that MAJOR Ed Freeman, US Army (not Air Force, the USAF disdains helicopters) died in August 2008, long before Jocko Jackson died or Tiger Woods crashed his car.

Major Bruce Crandall and his wingman Captain Ed Freeman flew into that man-made hellhole not 13 times, but at least 21. They brought in ammunition and supplies, and not 29 but more than 70 wounded flew out on Captain Freeman's bird, many who may not have survived otherwise.

Fourteen of those missions, and 30 of those wounded, were flown after MedEvac helos refused to fly. (This is the source of the numbers in the email meme.) He was awarded the Medal of Honor by President George W. Bush in July 2001 for his heroic actions. The post office in his hometown of McLain, MS is named in his honor.

His story was told in the book "We Were Soldiers Once...and Young" by Joe Galloway and LtGen Harold Moore, and captured on film in the movie "We Were Soldiers" starring Mel Gibson as Harold Moore and Greg Kinnear as Major Bruce Crandall.

This email meme serves to downgrade the Major's accomplishments and at the same time uses his death in a manner that does not honor his memory. This one dies with me, it will not be forwarded (not that I forward many of them anyway).

If you see it, let it die with you as well.

Is It Is, Or Is It Ain't?

Last Saturday, May the first, someone built a device into a Pathfinder and parked it next to the Viacom building in New York, right off of Times Square.

Beltway Bob says it's an act of terror, but AG Holder refuses to call it terrorism.

Home Again, Home Again

Back just in time to go back to work.

The Mighty Rampage did well on it's outing, the intake vacuum problem seems to finally be fixed since the carburetor is no longer dripping at idle. It still needs to be adjusted, I haven't had the time to do that, so I still get a bit of bucking just before the transition (between single barrel and double barrel operation).

300+ dollars in parts ordered for the Pontiac. Eldest Son will be tearing it down and putting it back together over the weekend, hopefully it will be ready to go next Wednesday. It will be getting the head gasket, timing chain, and a lift motor in the passenger window replaced. That should take care of all of it's quirks (until the next one shows up). The quarterly bonus got paid out this payday, so it's going towards car repairs (the Rampage needs back tires as well).

The PET scan is complete and we met with the surgeon who is supposed to be taking care of the liver. He said something that interested me, he seems to be of the mind that if he is going in he might as well get everything, liver and lungs. I didn't know that was possible.

We are waiting for him to give us a call after he studies the PET scan results, and he was indicating that next week he will be ready to perform the procedure. He wants time to meet with the oncologist as well so they can get a plan worked up.

All in all it looks like this trip was fruitful and something will finally get moving with her treatments.

Dammit

Tomorrow the wife and I have to go to Rocky Mount so that she can get a test done, then Wednesday we meet with the doc. I've been working on her car all weekend to get it ready for the trip; new struts to fix the bounce, new tires, and a new hose on the power steering.

The plan was that I would work half a night tonight, come home and get some Z's, and then we would head out bright and early in the morning. Alas, plans never survive first contact.

First contact came in the guise of a puff of smoke out of the tailpipe when I was about halfway to work. By the time I was three quarters of the way, the puff had turned into a vapor cloud and the temp gauge was climbing.

Third blown head gasket on this car since I have owned it. I hate this car. The only good thing I can say about it at this point is at least it didn't blow the head gasket halfway to Rocky Mount. I would like to treat it to a suitable application of high explosives, but the wife likes her little Pontiac so I will fix it. Again.

Anyway, work is canceled and I spent the night working on the faithful mighty Rampage instead. It needed an EGR valve, and I had bought some gauges that I wanted to put in it. It also needs some minor adjustments to the door latches on the drivers door and various other little projects. What can I say, it's my little beater car and it's been a good one.

I put the EGR valve in and the rest of the little projects (including the gauges) will have to wait. We will take the Rampage to Rocky Mount instead, it doesn't have AC but I guess we will have to suffer through it. Thankfully it's not horribly hot yet, and we will be traveling in the morning, so the lack of AC shouldn't be a big issue.

So the new plan is Wednesday when I get home I get to tear the engine apart on the Pontiac. I'll order the parts Wednesday and hopefully they will be in by Friday so I can put the motor back together before I have to go to work Saturday night.

Between the Pontiac, doctor's visits and work I haven't had much time lately.

UPDATE: The PET scan machine was broken so that didn't get done. It will be fixed Friday, so she will get that done and then another appointment with another doctor. I don't know if Fate is trying to keep me from getting the Pontiac fixed or just trying to give me a day of rest cooling my heels in the motel room. Either way, that's my life.

Huh

I don't usually remember dreams, but this one I did.

In the dream I was attending some sort of class (I can't recall what) and there was going to be an early morning session at which some sort of breakfast would be served.

I showed up early at the same time as one other classmate (I can't even remember his face), but we weren't the first ones there. We greeted each other at the door and walked in. There were perhaps a dozen tables of various types, decorated in various ways from elaborate to simple to not at all. Each table had an index card on it with a price, the lowest I saw on a plain undecorated table was $25.

The four or five people that had arrived before us were all sitting around a table that had an elaborate floral arrangement in the middle of it. As we approached they snubbed me, but not my companion. He sat at a plain table next to theirs, I picked a desk that was decorated with a green blotter and various writing and reference materials. It looked to me like the sort of desk you would find in a private study. The index card on the desk said $40.

There was a comfortable looking desk chair behind it, so I sat down there. There were roughly a half dozen other chairs of various types around the perimeter of the desk, some of them were bar stools and some of them were wooden kitchen chairs, some of them were the upholstered types that you might find at a dining room table.

The first chair wasn't as comfortable as it looked so I moved one seat counter-clockwise to a captain's chair type of bar stool that put my knees just below the level of the desktop. It was taller than I would have liked, but more comfortable. Others joined me until all the chairs were taken. Each table got a carafe of coffee, ours was a plastic container with a Styrofoam wrap. It reminded me of the sort of pitcher you get for water at a hospital.

Various people walked up to the desk (none of them in our little group) and helped themselves to our coffee until I finally got the pitcher and started to pour myself a cup. A couple showed up, plainly expecting me to pour them some coffee. I told them there was only one cup left as I poured it into my own Styrofoam cup. The woman wandered off, but the man became slightly combative. I told him there was nothing he had that I wanted more than that coffee, he called me selfish and I replied "I am John Galt." He walked off in a snit (I don't know how he fit into it).

My cup turned out to have a slow leak pinhole in the side near the bottom, and as I drank my coffee I found another bigger hole next to it. I ended up having to hold my fingers over the holes to keep it from draining out.

In the manner of dreams I remember my desk-mates and I laughed and made small talk. The mood was jovial, but I don't remember any faces or any of the subjects we talked about. About that time I noticed that there were pastries at some of the other tables, but none at ours.

I really wish I could tell you what happened next, but about that time I woke up.

I'm sure some brain analyst could tell me what it all means, but I just found it interesting because I remembered it at all.

Apropos of nothing, I suppose, I always dream in color and surround sound. I am also always aware that it is a dream, and I am able to rewind it and change something if I don't like the way it is going. Other people tell me that is weird, but I've always been able to do it.

Link

The Draking Point.

Enjoy!

Acquittal

The second of three Navy SEALs has been cleared of charges that he abused, or allowed to be abused, an Iraqi prisoner suspected of killing four American contractors. The first of the three was cleared earlier in the month.

I fully expect the third to be cleared when he goes to trial next month.

Apropos of nothing, I suppose, I notice that it has been a while since we last captured any terrorists, but we sure have killed a few.

Papers Please

In "Hunt for Red October" the captain has a conversation with his XO about how America will be. Specifically they discuss the right to travel from place to place:

Capt. Vasili Borodin: I will live in Montana. And I will marry a round American woman and raise rabbits, and she will cook them for me. And I will have a pickup truck... maybe even a "recreational vehicle." And drive from state to state. Do they let you do that?
Captain Ramius: I suppose.
Capt. Vasili Borodin: No papers?
Captain Ramius: No papers, state to state.
Capt. Vasili Borodin: Well then, in winter I will live in... Arizona. Actually, I think I will need two wives.
Captain Ramius: Oh, at least."

In Arizona they have just passed a law that will make it illegal for a citizen to be in public without his papers, even if he is doing nothing that would otherwise be illegal. Opponents of the bill argue that this restricts the rights of the people to travel, while supporters trot out the tired old canard "if you aren't doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about."

If you can't guess, I am in opposition to this bill because I am in the camp that says that it will end up restricting the rights of a free people to come and go unhindered. This is actually kind of funny, because I had a similar conversation with a co-worker on this very subject not long ago, and if that conversation had not taken place I might not be thinking about the subject in this way.

The co-worker in question was born and raised in Maryland. He served honorably for 20+ years in the US Marine Corps and retired as a Gunnery Sergeant. He is of Hispanic descent, has an Hispanic surname and has the slight olive skin tone to match that surname. He is an American, from the top of his head to the soles of his feet.

In Arizona he had better not walk the streets without his wallet. The simple act of being in public without ID has now become a crime.

In all honesty I had not given it a second thought before then, because I had never had to deal with the possibility that I would be mistaken for any other nationality than American. We're talking PASTY white boy here. Does my USMC friend have any less right to walk down the streets as I? In Arizona it appears as if he does, and that's simply not right. He is as much an American as I am, with all the rights an American has as his birthright.

Yes, there is a real problem with illegal immigration here. Is the answer to seal the borders up tight? A difficult proposition at best, and one that history shows is prone to fail.

The real problem seems to be that people who are here illegally are a drain on public resources without paying taxes. The answer I have is to deny them public assistance beyond basic services (emergency rooms, etc) unless citizenship can be proven. So far as I know, this is one of the major sticking points - that the children of illegals that were born here are "anchor babies" and qualify for public assistance. Key the nationality of the child to the mother and that problem goes away.

(Note that I am sidestepping the question of our very own home-grown worthless that likewise clog the welfare roles. I'm not denying their existence, but they are not the subject here.)

I am not in opposition to a safety net, I am in opposition to a hammock. You should have to establish citizenship in order to qualify for the public dole, that assistance should be for a set amount of time, and there should be a work or school qualifier. If no jobs are to be had in the private sector, surely there is trash alongside the road that needs to be picked up. Take Caesar's coin, pay Caesar's price.

Simple supply and demand, if you supply need you will have no shortage of needy. Would this work, or at least be a part of the solution? I don't know. "Workfare" that was passed by the Republican Revolution Congress and signed by President Clinton seemed to work pretty well, so that could be a good guide.

This goes rather far afield, I did not intend to discuss welfare. There are other problems with illegals, but they all seem to revolve around public assistance of one sort or another. I don't have all the answers, and I suspect any answers would have to be field evaluated for effectiveness. What I do know is that any power will eventually be abused. This is why the powers of Government are supposed to be enumerated and limited.

"Papers please" is not a good way to go.

Thanks for opening my eyes, Mike.

(Yes, I realize that this puts me on the same side of the issue as most Democrats. They can't be wrong all the time, even if it is for the wrong reasons.)

UPDATE: Another idea. All business with government agencies will be conducted in English. We still haven't gotten around to that one.

In The News?

So there was this TEA party in Raleigh last Thursday.

I don't blame you if you missed it. It certainly didn't show up on any of the news channels that I saw.

That doesn't mean that certain people can afford to pretend it didn't happen.

Photo from American Elephant

Coming Attractions

My new favorite author has posted seven chapters of a non-MHI book he is working on, called The Grimnoir Chronicles.

Monster Hunter Vendetta is due to be released this fall, and I already have it pre-ordered.

Monster Hunter Alpha is in the works.

A work that he is co-writing, Dead Six, should be nearing completion soon as well.

Several other book ideas are in the hopper for him as well.

Life is good.

UPDATE: And this is just too cool! Baen, his publisher, donates books to the US Navy.

Since 1773

If ya got a pitcher, ya gotta have a catcher...just sayin'...

Brandon Darby, American Hero

Here is a story about a raving lefty who decided to do the right thing in post-Katrina New Orleans and came to the realization that everything he knew was wrong.

Because of his realization he worked with the FBI to disrupt a plot to attack the 2008 Republican National Convention that might have left people dead or injured. He is now vilified on the left because of it.

It's a good read. Go take a look.

HT: Mr Yon, commenter at AoSHQ.

Home Again

She's back home and everyone is glad to see her.

Click the picture to see more (some captions are NSFW).

Good and Bad

It's been a rather busy week.

Easter Sunday I was once again at the ER with the wife. Once more they pumped her full of fluids and couldn't figure out what was wrong.

Tuesday she got in touch with her original oncologist and set up an appointment with him, a little more than an hour's drive away.

Yesterday we went to the appointment and got the low down on her condition. For the first time I know what type of cancer she has (adenocarcinoma) and what stage (it was at I but is now at IV since she has tumors in the liver now, not surprising since the liver filters the "dead" cancer cells out of the blood). That the cancer has now spread to other organs besides the lung is the bad news.

The liver shouldn't be a major issue since the tumor can be removed and the liver is the only organ that will regenerate. He is scheduling the surgery now.

The good part about all that is the tissue that is removed from the liver can then be analyzed to refine the treatment method. Since it's now a stage IV it is now classified as "incurable" but since the tumors have not been shrinking since the end of radiation treatments this does not come as a huge shock.

The doc that is looking after her now was the one that was looking after her in the beginning. He left the local clinic due to a disagreement with the head doc; he is in favor of more aggressive and experimental treatments and the head doc tends to stick with the old ways. He's kind of upset that her cancer has progressed as much as it has, he is of the opinion that the treatments were not aggressive enough and if they had been she would be at stage I still.

At least we are getting some clear feedback now, it has been a while since that has happened. I'm willing to make the longer drive if it means she gets better care. I know how it eventually ends, but the longer we can put that end out into the future the better.

She did not get the med port put in, by the way. She's still going to get it done, it just hasn't happened yet.

Anyway, back to the chain of events. Yesterday at the doc's office she told him she could feel another episode coming on, and sure enough before it even got dark outside she was sick again. We called the doc and he said to bring her to the hospital by his clinic, the one that is a bit over an hour away.

She's there now resting comfortably and he says he will have her until Tuesday at the earliest. I'll go back to work tomorrow and Tuesday will know if I need to go get her or not. It is my fondest hope that he will be able to figure out what's causing the nausea and make it not happen any more. He seems to have a pretty good handle on it, so we will see.

In the meantime the car that we will be using for this soon-to-be regular commute needs front struts, tires and a timing chain. These are all items that have been needed for a while but pushed back because of this or that.

If it is going to get all these miles stacked up on it they need to get done sooner rather than later. I have all the front end parts, Eldest Son will be putting them on and then I'll go get the tires and alignment done. The timing chain will get done when the next round of funds come in.

I think I'll be happy to go back to work. I need the rest.

Dealing With Pirates

Early last week pirates fired on and tried to capture US Navy frigate USS Nicholas. Apparently they could not tell the difference in the dark between a US Navy warship and an unarmed civilian freighter.

It was their hope to hold the ship for ransom. Instead the ship returned fire, sinking them, and captured their mother ship. To put it lightly, it didn't end well for them.

Well done USS Nicholas.

Later last week a tanker came under attack and called for help. A Swedish patrol aircraft located the scene of the attack and US Navy destroyer USS Farragut responded to the scene. Again it did not end well for the pirates as another mother ship was sunk.

Well done USS Farragut.

Experts say piracy will continue to be a problem until an effective government is established on Somalia's lawless shores, but if enough pirates are captured or killed it might persuade the rest them to find another line of work.

Tomorrow

Tomorrow she goes to get the med port put in.

She has resisted it so far because as long as she didn't have it she didn't have to acknowledge that her condition is not temporary.

She has gotten tired of continuous sticks whenever she has to visit the ER, and since those visits have been frequent as of late (she went in Sunday night for a few hours) she's decided it's time.

The doctor's office that we have to go to in order for the insurance to cover the procedure is an hour away. They wouldn't cover the same procedure at the local clinic with the same doctors. I don't know why, just one of those things about insurance companies.

On a related note, a news story tonight on NBC News mentioned that Inositol, available over the counter at health food stores, has been discovered to positively affect cancerous cells (they specifically spoke of lung cancer) in six of ten patients. We will pick some up tomorrow.

Can't hurt, might help.

Belated April Fool's Day

My new favorite author has a sick sense of humor.

Happy Easter

Daughter and her newly wed hubby are here and Easter dinner preparation is underway.

Hope you and yours have a good one.

It's A Done Deal

Middle daughter's wedding went off today without problems. The minister mispronounced their last name as he introduced them and she hissed the correct pronunciation at him. Her new mother in law told her "Get used to that!"

Vows have been exchanged, wedding cake has been consumed (they wimped out, neither one got the cake face treatment) and receptions have been recepted. Much needed naps have been caught and we will call this one a successful day.

Hope you had a good one today as well.

Nice Timing

So apparently there are two ceremonies in the state of North Carolina, or at least that is what happened in this case.

At any rate, I went to the magistrates office this afternoon to witness Middle Daughter's marriage. In the eyes of the State of North Carolina, she is now lawfully hitched although the paperwork won't be filed until Monday.

The ceremony that everyone is going to be present at will still be Saturday, and that is the day that they will celebrate their anniversary on, but officially, they were married on April Fool's Day.

At any rate, Eldest Daughter has arrived and Middle Daughter has gone to be surprised by her presence. Hamburgers and steaks on the grille will be the order of the day.

Submitted Without Comment

HT: Ace of Spades HQ

OK, one comment. You would really like to believe this is an April Fools joke. Unfortunately, it's not.