Miscellaneous Colorado Observations II

Foothills flooding is beyond serious. Authorities are talking in terms of 100 year and 500 year flooding. Starting at Coal Creek canyon, just West of Arvada/Golden and extending North to Lyons, all the streams are over their banks. Boulder County is especially hard hit. We are not out of the woods, yet. The above picture is looking NNW where Longs Peak, the highest 14,000' peak in Colorado sits. Looking East, lots of moisture, and the clouds at about 1,000' AGL are moving North. That is not our usual weather pattern.

Outside the flood areas, there are many flooded basements. People neglect their roof gutters, or have none, and the ground is becoming saturated. Few people in Colorado buy flood insurance.

The South Platte is still running high. West of Monument, CO, this river drains all of the Front Range. After a huge flood in 1965, two big dams were built in the drainages above Denver, and dikes were built along the river below Denver.

Unusual doings this morning, an Amtrack train on the Union Pacific rails to Cheyenne. Passengers were aboard. The only scheduled service is the California Zephyr, which runs on the BNSF trackage.
This picture was taken around 10 a.m. The Zephyr goes Westbound around 6 a.m. and Eastbound around 7 p.m.

On the other hand, the neighbor's chickens were busy putting their feathers into place.

Once again, the Denver Post has given space to as vile an attack on 2nd Amendment supporters as you are likely to read. MSNBC has linked it.
 http://www.denverpost.com/opinion/ci_24081847/columns

The article says he is a businessman. Bullshit, he is a professor at the University of Denver School of Business. He inherited his business, that he has someone else run and has had two jobs in the private sector. One was for a firm run by a relative.

And this just in.
https://www.facebook.com/BoulderCounty/posts/10151878339068545

Miscellaneous Colorado Observations

The successful recall election of the two Democratic Senators is shaking things up. A local café often has local Democrats present having breakfast. Yesterday, not a one was to be seen. The remaining Denver newspaper, a Progressive stronghold, had a whining editorial. A “We don’t agree but respect the voters. Now, can we just put it behind us?” Oh, yeah, all the Progs would like to pretend noting happened. 

Democrats now have just a one vote majority in the Senate, and not all the Democrat Senators voted for the gun bills. The Republicans who did are probably taking notice.

 Governor Wishywashy is trying to distance himself from the debacle. The 2014 elections will be interesting. We will see how well the Progressive’s Colorado Model holds up.

 My hope?  Enough Colorado voters are pissed off at the way outside money is trying to buy the state’s elections, they will throw all the bums out. Faint hope?

Did contact my two US Senators about the Syria vote. The one up for reelection never responded. The other did, with a three paragraph twaddle that said nothing. Think he uses the same writers as Obama. Why not, Obama got him appointed after the Loathsome Cowboy (h/t Michelle Malkin) became Secretary of the Interior, and helped him win his primary election. How else does the Superintendent of the Denver Schools, who had never run for elective office, get elected US Senator?

After a long, dry, and near record breaking hot summer, we are in the monsoon weather pattern along the Front Range. A large low pressure system stalls in New Mexico. Moist air flows from the Southeast and hits the Rockies. The air lifts, it starts raining, and the system stalls while the moisture keeps coming. Areas in the foothills start getting 4” to 9” of rain in a short period. Now, for some of you in other parts of the country, that may not seem like a lot of rain. Here, the foothills have little vegetation so the rain become runoff and overwhelms the drainage system. Add areas denuded by recent fires and the problem gets worse. 

I live out in the plains near the South Platte River. Most days you can wade the river and it will be, at most, thigh deep in the channels between sand bars. Today, it is running bank to bank,  and four to five feet deep.

Many road closures in the area today. Several deaths reported. Prayers for all who are affected.

While this rain is hurting the foothills, out on the plains it is welcomed. Depleted reservoirs are being filled and vegetation revived. The trees in my neighborhood were showing signs of distress but have now perked up.

This is a historic weather pattern in Colorado. Bet it won’t stop the whining about “climate change”.

And this, from a recent email.

Moderation has never been in the lexicology of Colorado. A friend of mind posted on FB that if it snows next week, Colorado will have a hat trick. It could happen.

Not Up To Unalaska Standards, But Not Too Shabby

From the Peoples Republic of Boulder.

http://www.dailycamera.com/news/boulder/ci_24058944/boulder-da-drunken-horseback-riding-prosecution-could-be

Wonder why he is headed North when his destination is SSW?

Sister Kink

See where Colorado State Representative Lori Saine (R) Dacono has managed to get herself mentioned in national news outlets, again. Not bad for a first term representative.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/06/rep-lori-saine-fried-chicken-poverty-hearing_n_3882811.html

http://twitchy.com/2013/02/19/colorado-rep-lori-saine-fights-like-a-girl-for-2nd-amendment-rights/

Lori was a minor legend in the car business and one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known. We worked together for years. She was also one of the kinkiest salespeople I’ve ever known. In this context, nothing sexual is implied. 

To the best of my knowledge, she is a totally faithful wife to her husband. 

Rather, it is the way she dealt with customers. Every single deal had a complication (kink) in it. Now, in the car business, “You kinky motherfucker”, is often a high compliment. In this context, she was a superstar. Not every deal needs a kink; it is not necessary. She just couldn’t resist.

Super competitive, she was driven to win every contest. We often had six position “walk around” competitions as part of ongoing sales training. As you walk around a vehicle, at each position you present advantages, benefits, and commitment.

“This car has six airbags. If you are unfortunate as to be in an accident, they will protect you. That’s important to you, isn’t it?”

Usually, I was the only person at the dealership that could best her. While I really didn’t give a rat’s ass about winning, I did enjoy making her sweat. A seasoned pro can spend an hour doing six position sales. Every item on a vehicle, if you know your product, has a selling point.

“Folks, this vehicle has safety rims. Say you have a blowout. No matter what, the tire will not come off the rim and tie up your steering. Gives you a little peace of mind, doesn’t it? And, once you are safely stopped, call your complimentary roadside service to have the spare put on.”

Now, by law since 1932, every vehicle sold in the United States that carries passengers has safety rims.

At one point, I was overseeing four used car lots. I recommended Lori to manage the Windsor, CO operation. When I say she was a hard worker, look at the pictures below. The snow plow operator piled snow directly in front of a bay door. We needed to get the vehicle parked in the bay out. I arrived to find Lori, all 5’2” of her, attacking the frozen pile with a shovel.

                           

I think we will be hearing more about Lori in the future. If hard work, long hours, and sheer determination alone makes for success in politics, she will be there for a long time. God help us all!

Maps and Prejudices

For those who enjoy maps and surveys this is offered.
http://www.businessinsider.com/poll-how-americans-feel-about-the-states-2013-8#ixzz2e8FU6oJr

Completely unrelated, and of trivial importance, a picture of a clever merchandise display.

Good vibrations along the Front Range today as the Broncos won last night. Bronco fans can be insufferable.

Sorry folks, all I have today.

Kind and Gentle Army NCOs, Circa 1963

One son is on active duty with the Army (68W – “Medic”) and the contrast between his Army and the one I was in fifty years ago amazes me. The standards, physical fitness, and the skill sets are miles and miles higher than my era.

In my youth, the one common denominator all men faced was THE DRAFT. Conventional wisdom was the Army was the worst place to be. The Air Force, Navy, Marines, and National Guard were able to recruit enough volunteers that they didn’t need draftees. Hence, their recruits were probably better motivated, and, perhaps, more intelligent overall.

Digging through some boxes, came across my basic training “year book”. Below are the pictures of the “kindly and gentle” NCO’s that introduced me to the Army.

These men faced many challenges. The facilities, equipment, training aids, and barracks were leftovers from WWII and Korea. More than likely funding for anything was a problem. Then there were the raw recruits they were tasked with training.

Recruits fell into three groups, draftees (US), volunteers (RA), and National Guard (NG). The draftees had a few college men and high school graduates but had a high number of men dumber than a box of rocks. They were not highly motivated. The National Guard recruits had, in my opinion, a draft dodger mentality. They seemed to regard themselves as much higher in status and smarts than the rest of us. Volunteers had a few men that saw the Army as a career, many who saw the Army as three hots and a cot, and men like me. I never doubted I would serve. By enlisting, I was in a small way controlling my destiny and where I would go. Others joined to learn various skills. Draftees were in for two years active duty, volunteers for three years active duty, and the National Guard for six months of active duty. All of us had a six year obligation.

In a tradition that dates back centuries, these NCOs started grinding us into soldiers. They were not allowed to hit any trainee. Their method was induced fatigue. By working in shifts, they got us up at 0400 and kept us in motion until lights out at 2200.  For those few of us who were in great physical condition, we were drained of most of our piss and vinegar. For those who came in out of condition, it must have been hell. Few dropped out. The rumors of the conditions in the “retraining companies” were extra motivation. Also, we were told often by the cadre that the way out of the Army was a lot harder than getting through basic. This was reinforced when we passed the occasional work parties that closely resembled chain gangs. These men were “retrainees”.

My biggest challenge, which has been my life’s biggest challenge, was controlling my temper. Those kindly NCOs soon spotted my problem and came up with various ways of helping me learn “anger management”. What I could do was shoot. I’d spent years in the NRA Junior Rifleman program, and grew up in a hunting culture. That ability was spotted, and made me stand out from the “herd”, which brought certain perks. The cadre hoped we few “shooters” could raise the overall average of the company. Very selfish of them, don’t you agree?

What a challenge these men faced. There was no “drill sergeant” ethos at that time. Little effort was spent to build “esprit”. No learning the “Army Song”, which didn’t exist at the time. Their job was turning a mob into soldiers. The end result.

My advanced individual training (AIT) was at the same post (Fort Lost in The Woods in the State of Misery). A large package for me arrived in the mail at my basic training company. Rather than it being forwarded, I was allowed to leave early and take a cab to pick it up (cab fare was 25 cents). The cadre spotted me and invited me to eat with them in the mess hall. What a revelation! Friendly, laughing, and teasing me about my mishaps, these were not the same men who I feared for eight weeks. There I learned the Battalion had scored a new FLW low with our training cycle. How frustrating it must have been for those cadre members!

They did a good job of  teaching me soldier skills. Rarely, standing Guard Mount, did I fail to make Supernumary. All guard details have one extra man in case someone gets sick or otherwise needs to be replaced. This person doesn’t walk guard and is often rewarded with perks.

When I see my son and his fellow soldiers, I realize most from my era wouldn’t make a pimple on their asses. As a nation, we are fortunate to have them.

I will always be in favor of universal, compulsory, military service for both sexes, if only for a few months. Nothing else comes close to building a sense of national identification and unity.

Precis

Another car story, as requested from one of the (four or five) readers. In 1988, Hyundai did not have a good reputation. Mitsubishi, in their wisdom, rebadged the base Hyundai and call it a Precis. Since Mitsubishi didn’t have a much better reputation than Hyundai, selling a Precis was a challenge. (Many Mitsubishis were, for the time, good vehicles)

Circa 1988, enlisted military personnel under the rank of E-7 were not welcomed by most lenders making car loans. This is a story of one such financing effort.

First, the customer was black, i.e., African American. My description of him is not racially motivated; just painting a picture. Bluntly, when selling a car, I didn’t care anything at all about a customer except for three questions. First, did they have the means to buy a car? Second, would they make a purchasing decision? Third, were they legally able to buy (age, driver’s license, mentally competent)?

I was moved, not willingly, from my comfortable niche at the Ford franchise in a multiple franchise operation and dispatched to the Mitsubishi store to be a “closer”. This was supposedly a promotion. Yeah, blow me. My job was to “takeover” a sale when the first salespersons floundered,  and find a way to “close” the sale. Did the customer like this? We didn’t care. Old school, hard core selling was the order of the day.

The customer was a black E-3 airman from McCord AFB. He was tall, gangly, walked like he learned how to move from chickens (arms flailing, head bobbing up and down), and had an arrogant attitude. He overwhelmed the salesman,  and I was sent in.

As I came in, he stood up and announced, “Ize don’t want no fucking Precis”.

 Using my best NCO voice, I said, “Sit down!” He folded up in the chair. “Let me explain something to you. You are an airman. No one wants to finance you. You have $500, that’s it. You need a bank to buy you a car and let you buy it back from them one month at a time. Do you understand me?”  

“Shit, man, you hard”, he responded. 

“The only car the bank is going to buy you is a Precis. You have three choices. Buy some beater piece of shit that will break down, strand you, and make you AWOL. Or, you can keep bumming rides and use the bus. Or, you can drive the only car that the bank will buy you. What is it going to be?” 

He sat there in the chair, twisting, twitching, and bobbing up and down. “Can I gets me a red one”, he asked?

 “No”, I said, “Blue or silver.”

He again did his spastic chicken imitation and cried out, “Silver." 

Paperwork started, and forty five minutes later he was driving away in his silver Precis. As he hit the driveway, he spotted me, and yelled, “I still don’t want no fucking Precis.”

Three weeks later he was back for his license plates. The windows were tinted black. He had a sub woofer strong enough to vibrate the body panels. I made the weak suck salesman go out and put the plates on.  The customer told him, “Ize don’t got no damned Hyundai; I got’s me a Precis!”

Ah, wonderful. A happy customer.