"Me Guy"

Many, many years ago when I was a couple years old, my family was having a new home built. The previous home was very cold and drafty. I remember nights when after the wood stove fire went out, the teapot would get cold enough to have some ice on it before my dad would get up to set a fire for the next day. That is cold.
Back to the new home. I was especially fond of the carpenter named Guy. I would emulate him by hammering nails into boards given to me. I bet I was cute. When I was building a home for Andy and Jo Marie, their son Aron, was like this. It was amazing to me how well Aron could drive nails into his chopping block. In a short time, the entire block was covered with nail heads.
Mom tells that when I would be at it, hammering like my hero, Guy, I would be saying "Me Guy". I guess we were now moved into the new home when I was entertaining myself with a hammer. My mom came to the basement and found me with her new overshoes. You guessed it. They were nailed repeatedly to a board and me reciting "Me Guy". It must have been so cute that my mom did not discipline me. I do not remember any repercussions, anyway.
I still like to emulate my friend Guy. I no longer say " Me Guy" and I sure do not nail overshoes.

Maggie

We have a dog named Maggie. She is an easy-going beagle. A couple years ago she lost her best friend, sister Molly, to a stomach tumor. Then a year ago, she lost another friend, Bandit, to stomach tumor.
Maggie still has her animal friend Zoie, but a cat is likely not the same as a dog. They clearly like each other, but——?
Along with her friend losses, Maggie has become fully deaf. This clearly distresses her a lot. She cannot find where we are in the house or yard by listening for us. When we are away, she remains awake, peering out at the driveway waiting for our return. If you touch her when she is unaware you are near, she reacts with fright.
Now, I suspect she is struggling with dimetia. She will go to the dog door and start through it. She will repeatedly go in and out looking like she is lost. When I am in the shop, even if I give her a comfy bed to lay in, she will get up and get totally lost. If I am on a ladder or inside my boat, she will go barking from room to room. To me, she cannot remember that I am nearby for her. My heart is breaking fo her obvious insecurity.
So, for now, she is always given a nice comfy bed that allows her to keep an eye on me. Maggie is sweet. Hang in there girl.

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors

I have a hard-working neighbor, Art Berg. Art lives about a mile East of me on his beautiful farm. We became great friends over our common interest in our own version of antique tractors. I say version because he collects John Deere tractors while I collect Allis Chalmers tractors. In defense of Art’s poor choice to collect John Deere tractors, he has also acquired a couple Allis Chalmers tractors, too. Maybe there is hope for him.
A few weeks ago, Art and his son, Daniel, started building a long piece of rail fencing around the entrance to his farm. Progress stalled when Art’s health reduced his strength and mobility. The diagnosis is bone cancer. While this diagnosis is very serious, Art declares he is going to fight and defeat it. I bet he does.
His family saw Thanksgiving as an opportunity to get together and support them. They traveled from their Western Washington homes to spend the holiday with their parents. They came prepared to to work on the fence.
When Doug D’Avis, Assad Altayer and myself heard that the family was planning to work on the fence, we raised our hand to pitch in. The day went very well. The entire fence is done except some trim work. That will likely be completed today.
This Thanksgiving will go down as one of my favorites. Thanksgiving Day was superb, as I wrote about, yesterday. It is equally memorable because of the warmth of the shared effort. Art, you are loved! We are praying for you!

Post Thanksgiving

How is it possible to describe the Thanksgiving Day Celebration we enjoyed Yesterday. You know me too well. I am going to try.
Stephanie and Jeff hosted us in their home. We arrived to a lively batch of family playing. I got a tour from Jeff showing the hard work of installing their surveillance equipment. Good job, Jeff.
Shortly, Jennifer and family arrived with snacks to hold us over until the main course. These snacks could easily have been a celebration of thankfulness. I especially liked the herb soft cheese with fresh vegetables.
When we were called to the table, we were blessed with a beautiful arrangement. The arranging was done by Lily Balladone, home from college. I am so proud of Lily. She is achieving at an excellent level. Lily is the first grandchild to be enrolled in a full 4-year college program. Keep up the good work. Each person had a lovely name placard with a handwritten joke inside. My joke was; Why did the turkey cross the road twice? To prove he was not chicken!
Jeff gave a wonderful presentation about thankfulness and allowed me the honor to give thanks for the meal. The food was unbelievable. I think there were four salads, plus enough olives to satisfy all the grandkids. A favorite salad for most of us--broccoli. Greg volunteered at the last minute to find sunflower seeds for it.
 The main course lived up to it's billing. The turkey was perfectly cooked. Again there were many choices. My personal favorite was the baked carrots. The carrots were all different colors. That is a first for me. Delicious.
Somewhat across from me was Amaris celebrating her first Thanksgiving. She sure did well feeding herself. Amaris is something special to all of us. We are all very thankful for her.

Let’s Eat

We are all together at Stephanie’s home. Family is scattered around. The smell is terrific. The table is beautiful.

Paradise?

When Paradise is not paradise!
I am unable to comprehend the anguish that must be felt by those that lived in Paradise, California through this year's fire season. How can they get through their day without all the stuff they had gathered around themselves. No favorite coffee cup for the morning cup of coffee while you read the morning paper. Many lost their pets. Your neighbor is not available to listen to you tell how well your child is doing in school. Oh, no way for your child to go to school. My home has its own personality. I leave the TV on while I go about my day, but theirs is GONE! Not only the tv, remote, recliner, reading glasses, but the home itself!
I did the math on how much has burned. Yesterday, they said it was to 151,000 acres. That means it would be 15 miles by 15 miles. Another way to look at it is; an average lot is about 2500 square feet and it would be about 26,000 homes. I realize that it matters none about the math if it was your own family that is impacted.
God Bless those going through this Hell while I will be celebrating Thanksgiving with my family. I am certain to be more thankful this season because of what I see going on in Paradise.

Oh Happy Day

"Oh Happy Day" is something I heard often as a child. Sometimes it was used sarcastically. For example; grandma was making waffles and the batter sticks to the waffle iron. You can just hear grandma say "oh happy day". Emphasis added! Or, mom asks where my younger brother is and I say I do not know. Mom drops her task at hand and races out to search for her child. When she finds him she exclaims "Oh happy day".You can feel the relief in her voice.
Well, which is it? Does it mean a negative exclamation or a positive exclamation? Or, could it also mean a literal, nonexclamatory utterance? I want to establish that today is a truly happy day. There are so many reasons to be happy. I feel I will succeed in my tasks to ready myself to drive to Stephanie's home for Thanksgiving. I will get the eggs off the ceiling. I will get the morning newspaper and relax with a cup of coffee. My feeling of a great outlook is normal for me. I am quite positive about my outlook on life. I am blessed with much. To which, I simply say "Oh Happy Day".

Eggs on the ceiling

About two months ago, I forgot my pot of eggs on the stove while doing other tasks around the house. The stove setting was quite low, but I let a lot of time go by until the water was boiled out and the blackened eggs eggsploded. Get it? Eggsploded! Ha. Ha.
The result was pieces of egg on the ceiling, a pan that was nearly impossible to clean, no boiled eggs, and my ego shattered. Eventually, I managed to clean the pan. My Ego is still shattered. I did promise myself to never leave a pan unattended. Smart!
Well, tonight I did it again. I must admit that it took the third egg eggsploding before I realized what was going on. The same scene was found when I rushed into the kitchen. I am such an idiot! I hate to watch a pot boil for six minutes. It seems one should be able to check back before the disaster. Nope. Not me, anyway.

Thanksgiving 2018

I love to tell Stories. My favorite subject is my family. Our daily lives are filled with much interest and excitement. I look ahead a few days and know we will gather together to share Thanksgiving in Stephanie's home. 

Our family is clearly different than when I was young. We lived in a community where we were near both of my grandparents. If I walked through the woods from our home to either of their homes, it was about one mile. Now, we have to travel halfway across the State to gather together. I am mostly to blame for the distance between us because I refuse to live in a rain-infested climate. My health is much improved when I live in a drier climate.

Admitting the family is different today does not include admitting it is less loving. I love time spent with all of my family. We can do many of the things fun to us in the past. We all enjoy table games. Hand and Foot, anyone? Speaking of table games, Stephanie is amazing at doing many things while whipping us at any of the games we choose. She can be texting instructions to others, making dinner, settling squabbles, loading the dishwasher and more and still be faster at her turn of play than anyone else. 

So, on Thanksgiving, find me happily sharing the thankfulness I feel. We will gather and formally give thanks for all we have. It is abundant. As far as my love to tell stories, I plan to restart writing to this blog.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE

It has been a long time since I thought about writing a blog. I am not sure if this site still works. I am going to attempt to post this.
Kayak Bandit

Sunshine

Sunshine is priceless. Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Spokane. Today is set to be even better. There is no way to adequately describe all the positive things gained by a sunny day. It lifts the spirit. It makes you start thinking about planting a garden. It makes you more likely to take your best friend for a walk. Come on Bandit, I am not going to sit here at the computer and waste the sunshine.
Kayak Bandit

Treating a Nation of Anxious Wimps

Treating a Nation of Anxious Wimps

by Thomas Doyle, MD on December 8, 2009

Emergency departments are distilleries boiling complex blends of trauma, stress and emotion down to the essence of immediacy:  what needs to be done, right now, to fix the problem.  Working the past twenty years in such environments has shown me with great clarity what is wrong (and right) with our nation’s medical system. It’s obvious to me that despite all the furor and rancor, what is being debated in Washington currently is not healthcare reform.  It’s only healthcare insurance reform.  It addresses the undeniably important issues of who is going to pay and how, but completely misses the point of why.  
Healthcare costs too much in our country because we deliver too much healthcare. We deliver too much because we demand too much. And we demand it for all the wrong reasons. We’re turning into a nation of anxious wimps. 

I still love my job; very few things are as emotionally rewarding as relieving true pain and suffering, sharing compassionate care and actually saving lives. Illness and injury will always require the best efforts our medical system can provide. But emergency departments nationwide are being overwhelmed by the non-emergent, and doctors in general are asked to treat what doesn’t need treatment. 

In a single night I had patients come in for the following complaints (all brought by ambulance):  “Smoked marijuana and got dizzy”, “stung by a bee and it hurts”, “got drunk and have a hangover”, “sat out in the sun and got sunburn”, “ate Mexican food and threw up”, “picked my nose and it bled, but now it stopped”, “just had sex and want to know if I’m pregnant.” 

Since all my colleagues and I have worked our shifts while suffering from worse symptoms than these (well, hopefully not the marijuana), we have understandably lost some of our natural empathy for such patients. When working with a cold, flu or headache, I often feel I am like one of those cute little animal signs in amusement parks that say “you must be taller than me to ride this ride” only my sign would read “you must be sicker than me to come to our emergency department.” You’d be surprised how many patients wouldn’t qualify. 

At a time when we have an unprecedented obsession with health – Dr. Oz, The Doctors, Oprah and a host of daytime talk shows make the smallest issues seem like apocalyptic pandemics – we have substandard national wellness. This is largely because the media focuses on the exotic and the sensational and ignores the mundane. Our society has warped our perception of true risk. We are taught to fear vaccinations, mold, shark attacks, airplanes and breast implants when we really should worry about smoking, drug abuse, obesity, cars and basic hygiene. If you go by pharmaceutical advertisement budgets, our most critical health needs are to have sex and fall asleep.

Somehow we have developed an expectation that our health should always be perfect, and if it isn’t, there should be a pill to fix it. With every ache and sniffle we run to the doctor, or purchase useless quackery such as Airborne or homeopathic cures (to the tune of tens of billions of dollars). We demand unnecessary diagnostic testing, antibiotics for our viruses, narcotics for bruises and sprains. And due to time constraints on physicians, fear of lawsuits and the pressure to keep patients satisfied, we usually get them.

Yet the great secret of medicine is that almost everything we see will get better (or worse) no matter how we treat it. Usually better. The human body is exquisitely talented at healing.  If bodies didn’t heal by themselves, we’d be up the creek. Even in an Intensive Care Unit, with our most advanced techniques applied, all we’re really doing is optimizing the conditions under which natural healing can occur. We give oxygen and fluids in the right proportions, raise or lower the blood pressure as needed and allow the natural healing mechanisms time to do their work. It’s as if you could put your car in the service garage, make sure you gave it plenty of gas, oil and brake fluid, and then expect the transmission to  fix itself.   

The bottom line is that most conditions are self-limited. This doesn’t mesh well with our immediate-gratification, instant-action society.  But usually that bronchitis or back ache or poison ivy or stomach flu just needs time to get better. Take two aspirin and call me in the morning wasn’t your doctor being lazy in the middle of the night; it was sound medical practice. As a wise pediatrician colleague of mine once told me, “Our best medicines are Tincture of Time and Elixir of Neglect.”  Taking drugs for things that go away on their own is rarely helpful and often harmful.  

We’ve become a nation of hypochondriacs. Every sneeze is swine flu, every headache a tumor. And at great expense, we deliver fantastically prompt, thorough and largely unnecessary care. There is tremendous financial pressure on physicians to keep patients happy. But unlike business, in medicine the customer isn’t always right. Sometimes a doctor needs to show tough love and deny patients the quick fix. A good physician needs to have the guts to stand up to people and tell them that their baby gets ear infections because they smoke cigarettes. That it’s time to admit they are alcoholics. That they need to suck it up and deal with discomfort because narcotics will just make everything worse. That what’s really wrong with them is that they are just too damned fat.  Unfortunately, this type of advice rarely leads to high patient satisfaction scores.   
Modern medicine is a blessing which improves all our lives. But until we start educating the general populace about what really affects their health and what a doctor is capable (and more importantly, incapable) of fixing, we will continue to waste a large portion of our healthcare dollar on treatments which just don’t make any difference.

Dr. Thomas A. Doyle is an emergency physician who practices in Sewickley, PA. He is the author of the forthcoming book “Suck It Up, America: The Tough Choices Needed for Real Health-Care Reform”


I took the liberty to copy this here. I like what he says. Thank You, Dr. Doyle.
Kayak Bandit

I'm On My Way To.......

I may be silly, but I did not go visit my daughter's and their families at Christmas or New Year. For that matter, It was before Thanksgiving that I was last over in the Seattle area. I really like the time I spend there. But, I prefer to spend time when their lives are running along on normal.
When you are a guest at someone's home and they have all the responsibility to entertain you and others, they have little reserve energy to sit for a long time and chat. They may be heading to the store to buy last minute presents. They may be double checking the cupboards to make sure they have all the ingredients to make the pies, potatoes, turkey, gravy and more. I like it best when you can casually wake up and go into the living area with socks and pajamas. If no one has beaten you to the punch, you can make a pot of coffee and go get the paper. In other words, just fit in.
I am headed to Seattle tomorrow. I know there will be open arms waiting for my hug. There is nothing better than an enthusiastic hug from a grandchild. It is even better than the delightful hug of your own child. Children do not hold back. They come running and actually do jump into the hug. I can hardly wait.
I suppose I will help build some contraption out of Legos. I will slightly exasperate the boys because I do not know all the tricks to make something fit perfectly. But, it will be evident they enjoy the "help" anyway.
I am hoping I will get some hand written booklets with pictures. The pictures will show the obvious similarities to their family and pets. I say obvious, tongue in cheek, because I miss the obvious until the author points it out. And only then can I see what should have been obvious.
I am hoping I get to read some of them to sleep. Oh, and isn't it great to study the face of a child or baby while they sleep? Holding a baby in your arms while they succumb to sleep. The soft breath, the twitching lip or when they react to an unexpected noise. Boy, am I lucky. I can hardly wait.
Kayak Bandit

Parenthood

Today is January 9, 2012. What an amazing day. You see, forty years ago, Kathy and I headed to the hospital because contractions were beginning. We were at full term for the delivery of our first baby.
Since it was our first we did not know what to expect. Sure we had listened to the wisdom of our parents and friends, We were told what to expect from our doctor. We had attended Lamaze training. This is where you are taught to breath the right way. The men were instructed how to comfort and support our wives.
Nothing could prepare us fully for what was ahead. It was not the same as today. Today we could be calling important loved ones from our cell phone while on the way to the hospital. That is not the way it was. We called our doctor's office and explained where Kathy was at with her contractions. When it was appropriate, they instructed us to head to the hospital. Once we had called Louise, Kathy's mom, and started driving, we were alone until we pulled up to the emergency door at the hospital.
Once we were at the hospital, the contractions continued. There would be periods of quiet for Kathy, put then here would come another contraction. It tore me apart as she contorted with obvious pain during each contraction. The hardest part for me was realizing the contractions were not getting closer together as we had expected they would be doing. So, time extended into hours and the contractions were staying about the same. It was clear to me that Kathy was really getting exhausted. The nurses tried to convince us to employ the techniques we had learned at Lamaze. Kathy and I did not do so great at this.
Louise would relieve me in the Labor room. There were other families in the waiting room with us. Some were only in the waiting room a brief time until they left the waiting room because the expected baby was born. A quick delivery was not to be for us and one other couple. This man and I were about the same age. They were expecting twins. They too, were expecting their first. As the hours dragged on, we talked a lot. We aspired many of the same things. We were going to be parents. We wanted the best for our expectant babies.
Some time in the middle of the night, my new friend was summoned to the labor room. It was not the same summoning that previous times the doors had opened and a family name was called. The summon had a sadness to it. It caused me to worry for my friend. And, sure enough, we learned that his twins were still. No life could be detected for either baby. They had to take the babies by C section. And sadly, they did not survive.
Kathy continued to have regular contractions. After much time, the doctor decided to induce the baby. Once this happened, the process moved forward. The contractions were stronger and closer together. When the birth was imminent, the staff shewed everyone out. It was a brief time, and the staff came to the waiting room and invited me in the delivery room. Here is a picture I will never forget. My beautiful, radiant, proud, yet exhausted, wife with an adorable baby on her bosom. Soon, the nurse gave the baby to me to hold. The bond between my darling daughter, Stephanie Lyn was formed. It was magical. No words can describe holding the life that came directly from you. The miracle of new life is special.
This experience will forever be the highlight of my own life.
The depth of despair, by contrast was witnessing the loss to my new friend and his wife. I met him briefly as he was leaving the baby viewing room. He apparently had asked to go see the babies ahead of open viewing time. Back then, there were only certain times that the public could go see the babies all lined up in their cute little beds behind a glass wall. We recognized each other with knowing in our eyes. There were no words available. We passed by each other in silence.
Stephanie continues to be the blessing to me that she was when she was first placed in my arms. Tomorrow is her 40th birthday. Happy Birthday, Stephanie. Thank you Kathy for sharing with me to allow the birth of our two precious daughters.
If you find mistakes in this post, please understand the handicap of tears in my eyes.
Proud Papa

New Year

Happy New Year!
Happy is not the perfect word. Yes, I want you to be happy. But, I want for many more positive things than just happiness.
I want you to have the best year ever. I want it to surpass the high time it was when you graduated from college. Or even better than when you hit your first home run. Or, landed a big fish. I want it to be better than hot cocoa after a sledding party.
I hope you achieve much this year. I want you to get advancements at work. I want you to get higher grades in school than in the past. I wish for you to achieve any/all of your resolutions.
I hope your days are enjoyable. I want the days repetition to not be a drag. Our daily responsibilities take up a lot of our life. May it be pleasant and fulfilling.
I hope your health is good. May you have good health to pursue anything that you desire. One's outlook is so often affected by their health. I extend this hopefulness to your family.
For those of us that like gardening. May your garden grow with beautiful flowers and vegetables. May you have more than enough to share with others in your life.
If you hunt and fish, may you bag that big one. I hope you will be sending me pictures of limits caught. For those who hunt with a camera. I hope you enjoy your outdoor experience. Outdoor time is always a big spirit lifting time for me.
I hope all your traveling is safe. Whether you are going to the store or on a major vacation, I hope you get to see much and return home safe and sound.
Above all, I hope you are snug, secure and cozy at home. Home is a wonderful place where we get to pursue all of our hobbies. It is where we entertain our friends and family. It is where we can be quiet and reflective. May your home be a very blessed place.
I hope everyone increases their interests in politics. We are at a place that needs improvement. I believe we Americans are Blessed. None of us dare take this Blessing for granted. God Blessed this Nation. We need to remember that this Nation is of the People. That means you and I. So for the Nation to continue to succeed, we the People need to be engaged in directing it toward that success.
I wish I could be with each of you to exchange a warm New Year Hug. But, let this blog be a virtual hug from your friend,
Kayak Bandit

WINTER HOLIDAY

For My Liberal Friends: 

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2012, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere . Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. 

By accepting these greetings, you are accepting the aforementioned terms as stated. This greeting is not subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself/himself/others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

For My Conservative Friends: 

Merry CHRISTmas and a Happy 2012! God Bless You!!

This was copied by my dear daughter, Stephanie and posted on her Facebook page. I could not resist posting it here.

Merry Christmas, EVERYONE!

EMAIL

Here is a post that will likely not be interesting to most that will read it. Okay, I get your point. None of the previous posts have been all that interesting. 

I added some folks to my email list. If you get this in your email, and you like to receive my posts, do nothing. If you get this in your email, and wish not to get them in the future, let me know and I can remove you from the list. If you know someone that really would like to get my posts, but did not get this email, let me know and I can add them to my list.

That is all this is about. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

STOP! THIEF!

I had a great night last night watching the movie Sherlock Holmes with a friend. Afterward we walked the mall. We bought some things for Christmas.
Well, this morning I am casually going about my business. Some of my morning business needs not be discussed here. More to the point, I was making coffee. The coffee maker sits right next to the sink and the sink is centered under the kitchen window. So, all to a sudden, and with much more fervor than usual, Bandit is barking. I look out the window to see him hit the fence next to the garage. His focus is this man wearing a stocking cap. I watched for a moment until I realized this is the man that has been stealing from me over the past year.
I have had ladders, lawn mower, fence posts, and more stolen. Only those that have been violated by these low down awful people know how much of a kick in the gut it is to have things taken. It is not the value alone. It is the VIOLATION! It leaves you without options. It makes you feel like hitting the wall with a closed fist. It makes you start suspecting all that live near you.
The most awful thing it does is make you consider what you would do if you had a gun handy. You probably are laughing under your breath and thinking I am kidding. Of course no one should get shot for simply stealing. It does not threaten ones family or self, so we know not to take it to that extreme.
Okay, back to the story. So once I realized the thief was right here, I wanted to get his license plate. I raced to the bedroom and pulled on my pants and grabbed a winter coat. Mind you I only had my under shorts on before Bandit's announcement. I rationally chose not to grab a gun. This choice was made to save time. I did not even slow down to put socks or shoes on my feet.
Because of the thievery I had started locking my gates. Knowing it would slow me down entering the combination and going through the gate, I chose to go out the front door and run around the house to the side yard. Then I sprinted bare footed over the very cold frozen grass to the even colder gravel and cement at the garage. As I turned the corner of the garage, the pickup was just turning the corner at the far end of our alley. And, no, I could not see the licence. Drat.
I sprinted back across the still cold grass to the front yard to catch another glimpse. Gone.
To my surprise, two of my neighbors were out at their cars. Are you kidding me. They were so close by and were totally oblivious to my misfortune. I ran past them to the corner. Nothing moving. I ran to this street's intersection with my alley. The corner where I caught a glimpse of the pickup.
Now the cold is starting to really scream at me. My feet hurt so bad. I wanted to run because of the cold, but I did not have the energy. I walked back to the spot of the crime. Yes, he had stolen again.
During the summer, I was given a cutting bit off a big loader. The contractor needed to install a new one because his loader was cutting more on one side than the other. The bit was only a little lop sided, so I asked for and was given the slightly worn big piece of steal.
This was heavier than I could load by myself. The contractor helped load it into my Tahoe. Once it was home, I affixed a cable to it and drove my Tahoe forward until it fell to the ground. I say all this to point out that the thief must have been pretty stout to quickly load this into his pickup.
The only evidence I could see were the tracks where he sped away. I am not good at describing something. I was trying to tell myself to make careful observations. What I remember of the pickup is that it was not a full size, it appeared to be a sea green/blue pickup.
So I guarded my memory as I walked across the extremely cold grass to the front door and inside to the comfort of home. Home: my castle!
Now I am sitting here telling you my sad story. I am so jaded by the lack of help from our city police. They are so impotent. They are legal thieves. They take much of my money to supposedly keep us safe. No, they are not keeping me safe from thieves.
Remember, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away!
Okay, so what would I do if I had a gun? You see, I know very clearly what I should do. What I do not know is whether I could sort out everything with clarity in split seconds. So, for sake of discussion, what if you get the drop on the thief and have him dead to rights. Let's say he is surprised and tosses a wrench at you. What will he try next. Does he have a gun. What to do? We are not trained to know how to do this. There will be so many choices needing to be made in way too little time.
I just want to say that I do not want to be involved with an event in which I find out the answer. I hope I never have to point a gun at a human. I hope no human ever considers saving his bacon by using a gun on me. I will never invite the confrontation. I will do what it takes to keep me and my family safe.
Kayak Bandit

Over the River and Through the Woods

Christmas is just around the corner. People are smiling and humming Christmas jingles. Me, I am really into the Christmas Spirit. 

This afternoon a wonderful lady opened her home to a big bunch of us that are friends and friends of friends. We all brought potluck in the early afternoon and stayed for a rousing singalong of ALL the old time Christmas Carols. This wonderful family spared no expense. She hired a professional musician to lead the singing, play a wonderful portable electronic piano and provide song lyrics. The fun thing is that not all of us knew everyone else as the afternoon began, but by the time the song were over, we were more than familiar with everyone, we were family. What is better than family at Christmas time? You are right, Nothing!

Another thing significant was that we did not have to shy away from the songs that Celebrate the Birth of Jesus. Who knows what Religion, or non-religion any of us held dear. But, without exception everyone sung with gusto. I am proud to claim Christ as my Savior. My singing loudly the familiar songs did not negatively affect anyone that might not Claim Christ. My delight does not fly in the face, at all, of those that do not share my happiness. 

I sure wish some of the people in charge of schools, public places and courts could understand the difference between State sponsored Religion and freedom of worship. No one could tell me to sing the songs with gusto and make me sing with passion. It effervesces. It is from within. No one can tell me to stop humming songs in my mind. It would probably make the song more durable. 

I just know that we had a wonderful time tonight. We stopped at times to define "lowing". A smart phone to the rescue. We joked about some of the times the author used poetic liberty to make something rhyme instead of make perfect sense. We had a wonderful evening. The very most fun for me was singing "The Twelve Days of Christmas". A different person volunteered to sing each of the twelve verses. I spoke up for "Five Golden Rings". I threw my whole being into the song. 

Merry Christmas everyone,

Kayak Bandit

Where's the Snow?

Oops, I just published this post before I was really ready to publish it.
The question I ask is "Where's the snow?" I sure is not here and the there is very little in the forecast. Some of you need to send me a thank you note. I am the very reason there is no snow. You see, I bought a new snow blower during a fall clearance sale at my neighborhood hardware  store. I seemed like a very good idea at the time. I did not need a new snow blower, I wanted one. The old one does not have power drive. I have to push and pull it. The new one has about ten speeds forward and two speeds back. The plan was to wait for a heavy snow and offer my old snow blower for sale on Craigs List. So much for that plan. maybe it will still work.
A couple years ago I bought a four wheeler with a snow blade. I admit the snow blade was pretty weak. Well, shortly after getting my good deal on the snow blower, I tore the snow blade off the Polaris 500 HO and completely revamped it. I have had no snow to test it out. I was so anxious to test it out that I used it to push dirt up to my new retaining wall. I sure worked good. At one point I got too close to the soft dirt and the 4 wheeler tipped against the wall. It was trapped there. Now, what was I to do?
The answer was simple. Go get the tractor. What tractor, you ask? The tractor with a big bucket for scooping up manure. That tractor. Yep, the tractor did just fine tugging the ATV away from the wall. I had to straighten one block that had been nudged out of place. Since I am on the subject of tractor, let me tell you how great my tractor will be for scooping snow. Sure, I bought it to scoop manure, but if it will scoop manure and dirt, I bet it will also scoop snow. Last year it was marginal at scooping snow. If the snow was driven on before I tried to scoop it up it was too hard for the scoop to cut. I did some revamping of the way the cutting edge was installed and I think it will work just fine.
I guess I have enough equipment to handle the snow. I have several hand shovels, two snow blowers, an awesome ATV and a tractor. So, bring on the snow, please.
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas! That sure has a nice ring to it. I may write a song.
Merry Christmas,
Kayak Bandit