Showroom Closed

Business today took me to the far NE corner of Colorado. Colorado 14 takes you through New Raymer, a once thriving town, where this sign survives. Nice building.

I'm a sucker for any and all steam engines. Another once thriving town has this.

There are a lot of missile silos along the route and extending into Wyoming. I'm sure the Russians (and maybe Chinese) can detect which ones are active, and which ones are closed with their satellites. If not, the Air Force makes it easy. The active ones all have Port-A-Potties.

Just for fun the Air Force should put one on every site.

A 312 mile round trip to visit one property to document, photograph, and submit a report. 

Profitable, for me, way to spend a Saturday and still get to poke around the Prairie National Grasslands. More, please! 

About To Get Real

Seems this travesty will soon be law in Colorado.

The majority of Colorado's 54 County Sheriffs have said they will not enforce it.

The 2nd Amendment sanctuary movement is gaining momentum. 

Several recall campaigns are underway.

Under the radar, a group I know of, but not as a member, is compiling a list of every person eligible to file a red flag petition on every legislator who voted for the red flag law. The criteria for who can file is extremely broad. 

The plan is for one or more petitions to be filed against every legislator who voted for this the day it becomes law.

It should be noted Gov. Polluted has/had a restraining order before he changed his name some years back.

What say you? Is that a plan or what?

After Action Report

You know you are in the South when you have an entire store aisle devoted to spices.

Back home  and looking at all that was placed on hold. Little stuff, unload the dishwasher, do laundry, visit the post office, and put away luggage will keep me occupied.

My appreciation for all you kind thoughts, and prayers, is profound. Please understand why I’m not responding to individual comments. 

In our community there is a grief center (my sister is on the board – is there a health related board she isn’t on?) and both my sister and niece want me to use it. I will. I think I’m doing ok but my niece has threatened grievous bodily injury if I don’t.

Several of you have recommended a National Service Officer’s assistance for my daughter in law. She will, in due time, get in contact with one. Her first meeting, Monday morning, was with an attorney specializing in probate.

The preliminary corner’s report was inconclusive. My immediate thought of a blood clot wasn’t supported. Toxicology reports will take time. As with any veteran, especially one with CRPS, suicide is the elephant in the room. There is zero evidence in his behaviors the day before. He and his wife had been at Cabella the afternoon before where, among other things, he bought a fishing pole for their youngest son and a replacement trigger for a .22. Probably within four to five hours before his passing he had sent me one of his typical obscene texts.

The coroner report will be crucial. Death caused, in part, by his service injuries keeps his disability income in play for his family. A National Service Officer will be helpful in this area.

One of his Afghan medic brothers gave a stirring eulogy that touched me deeply. A parent’s natural pride means you know your child is special. His eulogy expanded that. Travis wasn’t just a good medic and soldier, he was a great one and one the other medics looked to for help and inspiration.  One story  he told brought this out. Travis was in the shower when their position came under small arms fire. Travis arrived in their defense position with his rifle and nothing else. When some officer questioned his nudity, Travis told him if there was a fight he was going to be with his ‘buds’. Seems his three row “brick” with clusters was well earned.

My trip was uneventful. Enterprise didn’t have my vehicle ready so ended up with a Dodge Caravan. That came in handy for the funeral transporting people around. Comfortable, just over 25 mpg for the trip and a reminder of my long term complaints about Chrysler production. Great designs, great styling, and the quality comes out before the name goes on. Seriously, the windshield molding on a 25,000 mile vehicle coming off?

I doubt there are many straight streets in the Spartanburg area. Old wagon trails that grew. My GPS got a workout. Having I-85 under destruction for miles and miles didn’t help.

Making the loop on I-26 and I-40 though the Great Smokey Mountains reminded me of driving I-15 through the Virgin River Canyon between St. George and Las Vegas (except for the vegetation). Once again I was reminded, while we have mountains, the South has rivers that make ours look like irrigation canals.

One interesting experience was on I-70 headed West just short of Abilene. All traffic stopped and the line miles long due to an accident. A pickup/trailer combination with contractor equipment made a U turn across the median. I followed. Four miles East he turned off and I followed. Shortly, we were headed to Abilene on a two lane road.

One thing my daughter in law requested was for me to handle my ex-wife. That I was willing to do and it was an ordeal. The woman is ten months younger than me and looks twenty years older. Material for a future blog post probably.

One more ordeal to face is telling my oldest, autistic, son in Seattle the news. It will be by phone.  I deliberately haven’t told him. My decision, for my reasons. It is set up with his case manager for tomorrow. If possible, I will have a deacon from his church on standby.

 My middle son took the news hard. Who expects to lose your 40 year old younger brother? For a complex set of circumstances he wasn’t able to come to the service.

How am I doing? Breathing air and taking nourishment. Life goes on and quitting isn’t an option for me.

I don’t own a TV. In the motel I watched the coverage of the Mueller fiasco, switching from Fox, to CNN, to MSNBC. All those talking heads. None seemed to be ‘reporting’ on the same story. Spin, spin, spin. Haven’t seen such (P)regressive angst since Shillary lost.

Close to home recall is the story. One Facebook page to recall Gov. Polluted has 65,000 followers. With a state population of 5,000,000 I’m not holding my breath.

Warrior Gone III

Service over. Honors rendered. Went flawlessly. I will be back home Wednesday and will have something up later this week.

Your support, prayers and well wishes are most appreciated.

Now all of us are embracing the suck and moving forward. Potential Veterans Administration battles ahead. We are already lining up resources.

To those for whom it matters, Travis died a devout Christian. His minister was also a close friend (and had some difficulty conducting the service). 

People he served with in Afghanistan were there. His closest friend, also a medic, gave a stirring eulogy.

As I type this the thing welling up inside is a shout.
FUCK!!!!

Warrior Gone II

Thank all of you for your kind remarks on the original post. They have been a comfort to my extended family and myself.

I'm in South Carolina with his wife and children. The service is Saturday. His wife has chosen having him dressed in his Army blues and a military funeral with honors will be held.

Will return to Colorado next week and will get something up then.

Haven't used this laptop in eleven months - hence the briefness. Again, your understanding of a lack of responses to your comments will be appreciated. 

Warrior Gone

With infinite sadness must report my youngest son, Travis Robert White, died last night.

While we wait for a coroner report, the most likely cause was a blood clot from his bad leg causing a stroke. Travis suffered from Chronic Reflex Pain Syndrome, a horrid affliction, and was a 100% disabled Army medic and Afghan veteran, 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division. 

A warrior to the end, he had returned home from a work road trip. Disabled or not, his family and their needs came first.

He leaves a wife and five children, two adopted. Knowing him, I'm sure he was prepared for this and arranged for their welfare and future.

Please understand I won't be blogging in the near future nor responding to comments on this post.

Prayers will be appreciated.  

Loathing

Do (P)regressives get off on knowing a large portion of the electorate loath them? Do they take perverse pride in shoving their agenda up everyone’s ass? Ah, WSF, rhetorical questions. They are mean girls and bullies (or bullied) grown into adulthood, IMO.

Looking ahead to 2020, some painful lessons can be drawn from the recent Colorado elections where the (P)regressives took every, repeat every, state office. True, Polis spent $20 Million of his own money. True, outside PAC monies flowed freely into the state. What no one seems to talk about is the (P)regressives out worked the staid, set in their ways, Republicans. OK, they were being paid. I get that. Doesn’t mean the GOP wasn’t out hustled.

Look for the ‘Colorado Model’ to be implemented nationwide for the 2020 elections. Want proof? What party controls the House of Representatives.

Where the citizens of Colorado did get engaged was defeating Propositions 112, the move to stop drilling in Colorado by means of oppressive regulations. True, the petroleum industry put up money for yard signs and advertising but the opposition was a grass roots effort. The vote, statewide, was 57% against. IMO, this shows the (P)regressives can be beaten.

Three Boulder Democrats have sponsored legislation that will certainly pass and Polis will sign into law that is Prop 112 written large. Their position? We have the power and we are going to use it. Where have we heard that before?

Jon Caldara nails it down. Courageous man, he lives in Boulder.

https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2019/03/13/caldara-the-arrogance-of-colorados-one-party-rulers/

Do these three Boulderites care what happens to the rest of the state? Hah, trust funders to the core, the lot of them.

https://pagetwo.completecolorado.com/2019/03/16/oil-and-gas-legislation-likely-to-have-damaging-effects-on-weld-county-economy/

Also on their agenda is “Red Flag” laws. Already the 2^nd Amendment sanctuary movement is sweeping rural Colorado with most sheriffs vowing to not enforce those laws.

6^th Amendment? Just words on paper to the (P)regressives. They have a “higher” moral calling. Just ask them.

Folks on the right like to make noise about who has the guns, etc.  Do you have the will to use them? Are you organized? You have the entire deep state working to insure you can’t. Get real.

Will the GOP get their shit together? The Jeb!s, the Romneys, the McConnels, etc., will stand for decency, honorable debates and the rest of their excuses. Not a warrior in the bunch. Meanwhile, the (P)regressives are channeling their inner Al Davis ghost, “Just win baby, win”.

At the national level there is one warrior standing against the (P)regressives, President Trump.

So what can one citizen do? Try this. Become an election judge. Find out how. If most precincts have one or more honest election judges, some of the (P)regressive’s efforts will be nullified.

I’ve been there. It is a grueling day filled with conflict and unpleasantness but it is a way for one citizen to make a difference.

Take the fight to the bastards!

Fools, and Damned Fools

What damned fool dispatcher sends 18 wheelers out in the teeth of a major ice storm and blizzard?

Compounded by a damned fool driver that attempts the trip, one could say.

My sister, the insurance adjuster, is on her way to a huge pileup on I-25 just South of the Wyoming line. To get there she will be using back roads that won't see a snowplow for days. The main roads are closed.

With her 4wd F-150 and decades of dealing with the worse kind of weather she will get the job done. 

When I last talked to her on the cell she said it was, "Almost two hands on the wheel", conditions.

Can't fault her - I would be doing the same. 

In addition to the above mentioned damned fools I should include my sister and I. We have done similar things time and time again over the years.

UPDATE: The county has sidelined snowplows due to whiteout conditions.

Free Tune Up

Just a ways up Boulder Canyon from Boulder is Magnolia Drive, or Road, that snakes around and comes out between Nederland and Rollinsville. The first seven or so miles are up to 14% grade with many ’10 mph’ corners. No letup – all uphill. My work took me to a house eight miles up the road.

Drove my old Mitsubishi Mighty Max and, for the first time, saw the temp gauge needle climb to 2/3rds. Never in regular driving does it go over 1/3^rd. Seven miles, 1^st gear mostly, with a high engine temperature must have blown out some carbon and cobwebs as it has noticeably quicker acceleration. Of course, with just 2.0 liters, it isn’t an accelerating monster, but I can tell the difference.

What, WSF, you were in Boulder? Alas, yes. In my defense I was being paid. Surely you don’t think I would drive through that freak show on my own volition?

My client/employer was in a bit of a bind and I had agreed to help them out. From trust fund central I then proceeded to Denver’s Westside barrio. Interesting how gentrification is nibbling around the fringe.

My last call was out East near DIA. Got to ‘enjoy’ both I-25 and I-70 mid afternoon. Once again, was reminded how dismal Colorado drivers are in heavy traffic. Give me LA anytime.

Later on wide open I-76 saw something bizarre. A F250 with some ranch name on the door and Texas plates going 15 mph under the speed limit. My guess is the driver stole it. Certainly not a native Texan.  Weather was not a factor.

On a personal note, had my second VA visit. This doctor didn’t disappoint. He hit every checkmark on the dickhead list along with the personality of a wet diaper. Still, I’m getting an appointment in three weeks at the Cheyenne VA Hospital for tests. Baby steps.

There is a huge storm coming through but the worst is to the North. This one could be a real cattle killer. I have nowhere I need to be and a full refrigerator but I have vivid memories of surviving these storms in the past and feel great empathy for those in the path.

Many relatives and good friends are at risk.

There is a grim, but true saving: “This country can kill you”.

4th Amendment

The Democrats in the House of Representatives are demanding all kinds of information from anyone remotely connected with President Trump’s campaign.

I think we all understand this is the tactic of ‘lawfare’ and death by a thousand cuts.

What I don’t understand is how they can do this, a fishing expedition, in view of the clearly stated 4^th Amendment ,  the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, PAPERS, and effects…….

Wouldn’t the proper response to these tyrants be, “Come back with a warrant, signed by a judge?”

Since most of Congress are attorneys, could complaints for misconduct/malfeasance be filed with every bar association they belong?  Make them at least answer.

These assholes need to feel some pain beyond the small risk of them losing the next election. How?

Inquiring minds want to know.

Tis' A Privilege To Live In Colorado

Virtual Mirage http://symbolic-mirage.blogspot.com is promoting the concept of global cooling and the coming ice age. He may be right given what is happening in the Colorado Mountains.

https://avalanche.state.co.us/

Roads are closed everywhere and some communities nearly isolated (Leadville, Silverton).

https://denver.cbslocal.com/2019/03/07/interstate-70-closed-avalanche/?fbclid=IwAR1T2F5lJIbE7PzSGvacnjuXn2YCQ7-ymH-0IMgDNVOgv1m9-WCqxex6haM

Living on the Western side of the Divide, winters are rated by the number of wires covered on a four strand barbed wire fence. A normal winter is a ‘three wire’. A bitch of a winter is when the posts are covered. A ‘one or two’ wire winter means no irrigating water come summer.

Leading up to February, a ‘two wire’ seemed to be happening. Now? Irrigating water won’t be short.

This winter’s weather pattern has shifted South. Wyoming is having a mild (by Wyoming standards) winter. Arizona? Read LL’s blog.

The topography of Colorado is such that many highways are built in the bottom of canons or alongside cliffs. I-70 through Glenwood Canyon is a good example or Red Mountain Pass. In addition to avalanches, rock slides often block the highway with rocks the size of small houses coming down. As we get deeper into Spring with freeze/thaw cycles, look out!

Not all the news is bad. Thirty days or longer of sub-zero weather goes a long ways to killing off the pine beetles.

Want to escape to your dream retreat in the Rockies? Please consider this.

https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/our-colorado/this-colorado-town-was-wiped-off-the-map-by-an-avalanche-135-years-ago?fbclid=IwAR14IHdyLN-DGTNw_pSNCgiwP6wDrGSLWyb7UYBf4K9Y9CZvScrciRkLP0c

A really great winter would be avalanches engulfing the imported (P)regressives infesting the mountain towns IMO. YMMV

Old School

Old school - still the best. The most enduring lesson from my 50+ years ago military experience. 

Use this stuff all the time. Most recently to clean a cooktop stove.

Ghouls

An area man murdered his pregnant wife and two young daughters. You will not read his name here. He confessed, plead guilty, and will die in prison. 50-50 chance of old age or being offed by another prisoner.

Recently “details” of just how he killed them, step by step, has been released and disseminated worldwide (Daily Mail tabloid, for example).

What public good is served with this? Titillate ghouls? Fuck’em.

Three people are dead. The details rob them of any dignity. Yes, they are dead. The people who knew them and loved them are not.

Law enforcement, coroners, judges and juries need to know these kinds of details. Nobody else. It is a matter of respect. Why are accident victims covered with a blanket by first responders? Respect.

On a personal level I’ve seen enough gore that I won’t gawk at an accident scene. Eyes focused on navigating the scene, avoiding hitting pedestrians, and avoiding the damn lookylous.

Worse still, the local rag keeps running with the story for days. Sick IMO. YMMV

Political Winds

Too long without a political rant. Must fix that.

The Democrats have traditionally relied on three voter ‘blocs’, Blacks, Hispanics (excluding Cubans) and Jews.

Under Trump, Black and Latino unemployment is way down. Polling shows shifts away from the Democrats by both groups.

Now we have Muslim congress critters spouting Anti-Semitism over and over. You don’t hear Democrat leadership coming down on them, even Chucky. Tacit approval?

 How is that playing around the Jewish community? Might we see them #WalkAway?

Of course, it is horrible for a deplorable such as me to write about this subject in blunt terms.  Don’t like it? Kiss my deplorable ass.

See where the Southern Preposterous Lie Center is now being sued more frequently. Good thing, that, IMO.

I’ve said before I don’t like President Trump on a personal level. I do like the job he is doing and support him. If he has done nothing else, he saved us from Shillary!

Recently Seen

Not ready for Pebble Beach. Neat, just the same.

Didn't see the owner. Didn't have time to wait around.

Well Shucky Darn

First weekend of the month and move in/move out time. Sucks when it happens during a March blizzard and -5°.

Sure glad it wasn't me!

Nostalgia Brunch

Drjim gives a good weather report for our area.

http://every-blade-of-grass.blogspot.com/2019/03/2330-here-where-its-30-and-snowing.html

Decided to make hamburger gravy for brunch.  Reminded me of some Army breakfasts circa 1960’s.

We would be in the field, cold German winter, and the cooks in the mess truck would make hamburger gravy, scrambled eggs, hash browns, and toast.

I would take out my canteen cup and layer toast, hash browns and scrambled eggs topped off with hamburger gravy. Then the canteen cup went back into the carrier and the food would stay hot for several minutes.

Being a trooper with my shit together I had three canteens (bought two). The second canteen cup and cover was for coffee. The third was a backup.

Other than the dreaded Consolidated Mess Hall, I ate well in the Army. Part of that, I believe, was the cooks lived in the same barracks/tents as the troops they were feeding.

Soon it will be time to clean off the car and run errands. Two of the ladies in our building have asked me to take them to the grocery store (social security was paid out yesterday).

F^^k What The Voters Want

Last fall the voters in Colorado turned down, by a large margin, Proposition 112 involving regulating the oil and gas extraction industry.

https://www.vox.com/2018/11/5/18064604/colorado-election-results-fracking-proposition-112

In the same election Colorado went ‘blue’ in part by Polis spending $20 million of his own money to buy the Governorship.

Now the envirothugs are back with what is essentially Proposition 112 as legislation.

https://www.greeleytribune.com/news/weld-county-republicans-fume-as-colorado-democrats-plan-sweeping-oil-and-gas-regulations/

Likely will pass and be signed into ‘law’.

My response in the “remarks” section?

Frank White

Since "sanctuary" political entities are now all the rage, why can't Weld County become a petroleum sanctuary county?

I think it is a great idea. Doubt any state regulators can do their jobs without the co-operation of the Sheriff and he has already made Weld a 2^nd Amendment sanctuary county.

Rebellion comes in many forms IMO.