A Slice of Daily Life

 

A slice daily of life in a small city.

Stories taken from the local rag, excuse me, newspaper.

https://www.greeleytribune.com/2021/08/11/1-dead-after-3-vehicle-crash-on-10th-street-near-47th-avenue-in-greeley/

This is a real jowl shaker. I drive that section of 10^th Avenue daily. That section has no obvious dangers. Very wide, multi-lanes and few side streets. Heart attack?

Small city but we still have a criminal element.

https://www.greeleytribune.com/2021/08/12/greeley-man-injured-after-wednesday-night-shooting-at-animal-hospital-in-evans/

https://www.greeleytribune.com/2021/08/11/weld-county-coroners-office-identifies-40-year-old-man-killed-in-shooting-near-greeley-mall/

Even 100 years ago.

Chief Ben Florance is in the news again. This time, he and his son were leaving the house early in the morning to go fishing, but they then discovered the chief’s auto had been stolen. The chief said he didn’t think anyone would want that ramshackle auto. It has no fenders, no windshield and no taillights.

COVID gets all the headlines but there is other nastiness out there.

https://www.greeleytribune.com/2021/08/13/2-women-diagnosed-with-west-nile-virus-in-weld-county-becoming-third-colorado-county-to-report-human-cases/

I know a man that had this and he was flat on his back for two weeks.

Speaking of COVID, not all health care folks are on board.

https://www.greeleytribune.com/2021/08/13/north-colorado-medical-center-employees-protest-covid-vaccine-requirement/

One of many reasons I support our local peace officers.

https://www.greeleytribune.com/2021/08/13/anonymous-tip-leads-to-arrest-of-suspected-child-predator-in-greeley/

This is not “woke” country and this piece of shit won’t be getting a slap on the wrist. President Trump carried this county with 70% of the vote.

While not strictly local, this is good news.

https://www.greeleytribune.com/2021/08/14/i-70-glenwood-canyon-reopens/

This was accomplished by the Colorado Department of Transportation with no help from either the Feds or Emperor Polis and the Boulder Mafia, excuse me, (P)regressives. It is heartening we still have good state employees.

Small Victory

The lobby of Peakview Trails has been nearly restored to pre-covid configuration after 15 months. I’m taking credit.

A few days ago the manager and assistant manager were having lunch in the community room and invited Banner, and me, to sit down. While Banner kept some unwanted fast food out of the trash, I had a few words to say. Specifically, the lobby needed to be restored.

My points were:

 

1.    This building is a residence, not an institution. While managed by the county housing authority, it is owned by private investors and we residents pay near market rent.

 

2.    Entering the vast open space from the front entry is depressing.

 

3.    The COVID excuse has expired.

 

4.    They brought up some residents don’t police up after themselves and extra cleaning is required. My response was for them to pay some resident a stipend to spend an hour or two daily to keep everything clean. They first said that wasn’t possible but I pointed out it is being done at other properties under the housing authority umbrella.

 

5.    Then I drove the guilt train. “The difference between private industry and government agencies is how problems are viewed”. Since they were still listening, I said, “Private industry first asks how to solve a problem. Government agencies first ask why something cannot be done”. I should add all of this was in a respectful tone and my temper was firmly in check.

 

Early in my management career, I was taught a lesson that has served me well over the years. My boss, ex Boeing engineer and Harvard MBA said, “We have policies to cover 90% of the day to day operations. We do this so we don’t spend time on trivia. The difference between a profit making business and government is how the other 10% is viewed”.

While I don’t want to go back to peddling cars, I think I still have the ability.

Estes Park, CO

 Relatives from Nebraska are vacationing in Estes Park, CO. Last afternoon Sisty and I joined them for dinner.

 

After dinner we returned to where they are staying for a quieter place to have a conversation.

 

This YMCA today would sell for millions. Such a treasure.

 https://ymcarockies.org/

 If you are seeking a family friendly place for your vacation you won’t go wrong with this.

 You will need to share with the local residents.

 

Smoke continues to blanket Colorado.

 Estes Park is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. Like so many parks, it is being loved to death and reservations are required. The Trail Ridge Road to Grand Lake, CO is not for the faint of heart but a worthwhile experience.

https://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm

When you flatlanders visit the mountains, stay hydrated! Altitude sickness is very real and will spoil you experience.

https://www.healthline.com/health/altitude-sickess-prevention#7.-Medication-

 I’m not a resort type person. That said, if you are, Estes Park is a great designation. Great restaurants, funky bars, all kinds of outdoor recreation, boutiques, and, hopefully not needed, a good hospital. For the budget minded, several fast food chain outlets are scattered around town.

https://estes-park.com/

 The roads and streets are paved and getting around fairly easy. Like the nearby park, the town can be loved to death and crowds are to be expected. Just part of the resort experience.

91 Bravo

Grandson Connor called this morning to let me know he graduated A.I.T. and is on his way back home to South Carolina. He is a National Guardsman. What he was trained to do:

https://www.operationmilitarykids.org/army-wheeled-vehicle-mechanic-mos-91b/

Naturally I’m proud of him. The services today are not nearly as easy as in the past despite what many think.With smaller forces, the selection criteria is much more stringent.

Connor is a 5^th Generation soldier.

The call was bittersweet. He sounds so much like his late father.

Being in the Guard will give him a financial floor of around $4k a year to start.

Soon Spartanburg will have another qualified mechanic working on their cars and trucks.

What Is The Difference?

A political rant.

Political power in the history of this country has ebbed and flowed, up till now. One hundred years ago was Prohibition. Some places it even extended to tobacco. The religious folks were in power.

WWI brought draconian edicts from the Federal Government, many of dubious legality. The socialists were in power.

The Roaring 20’s kicked ass, socialism was weakened, and the religious block got their asses kicked with the recall of Prohibition.

The Great Depression gave socialist another chance. WWII and Eisenhower slowed them down.

1980 saw the rise to power at all levels, from local to the White House with the election of Ronald Reagan, of the Evangelicals. At the time I was a Republican Precinct Committeeman. There was no compromising with the Evangelicals. They were in the right and anyone who didn’t agree with them was the enemy. (More below)

Today’s leftists are just like them, only with a different doctrine. They have the same fanatic belief in their “cause”.

So WSF, what is the difference with today as opposed to the past? Respect for the rule of law, IMO. In the past, most people had a respect for the rule of law. It may have ebbed faint and twisted, but it was there. Today, the Democrat leaders don’t have any respect for the rule of law. None!

Side bar:

Being a precinct leader is mainly thankless and time consuming. You are elected 99% of the time with no opposition. Often the position goes vacant. The Evangelicals put up a candidate to oppose me and worked harder to elect their candidate than they did for the important candidates. I lost by three votes.

After turning in my files, etc., to the King County Republican Headquarters, I went two blocks away in Seattle to the Democrat Headquarters where I was appointed to the vacant office in my precinct.

For the next three elections I “delivered” my precinct to the Democrats.

The main differences for me, personally, were the meetings. The Republicans had lukewarm Chicken ala King at the Holiday Inn meeting rooms and listened to long speeches. The Democrat meetings were at a Longshoreman bar on Harbor Island. The speeches were still long but, remember, the bar!

Recently divorced, my transition to single life and interesting females was enhanced.

Where do I stand politically? It depends on the issue.

In the 60’s there was a cartoon showing a man in his living room reading a newspaper. His wife stood by his side. His words directed to her were, “The more my thinking moves to the right, the more I find in common with the left. I think I’m becoming a middle of the road extremist.”

 

Iron Horse

 

Spent the morning in Pine Bluffs, WY viewing the passage of the Union Pacific “Big Boy” 4014. It is embarking on the 2021 tour.

https://www.up.com/media/releases/210614-big-boy-tour.htm

A side note. The Big Boy is not the world’s largest steam locomotive. Most likely it is the largest one operating today. The largest was operated by the Northern Pacific and called the “Yellowstone”. It weighed 624 tons to “Big Boys” 604 tons. The Big Boys were far better locomotives. The Union Pacific owns vast amounts of coal In Wyoming and only retired the 4000 series because they are labor intensive to operate. The 4014 was converted to oil.

 An agriculture aerial applicator was busy.

Most days you would be able to see for 100 miles but all the drifting smoke from the West Coast fires continue a month+ of poor air quality.

We met up with my sister for the viewing. We then went 14 miles west to a truck stop operated by Indians (from India) where she bought lunch; chicken curry on rice. Banner made new friends with some of the kids playing on their scooters in the parking lot.

Banner and I stopped in Briggsdale, CO for treats and a cup of coffee. The town is a spot on the map in the middle of Colorado’s largest oil and gas field. 

It is a fair assumption few Xiden voters live around there.

When passing by I like to stop and look at this old truck.

No pronghorns were seen on this trip but two weaned fawns in a creek bottom had thoughts of crossing the road.

A nice morning.

Your Opinion May Differ

 My niece, as I have mentioned, is a career public health employee in Reno. She has a razor sharp wit and isn’t afraid to speak her mind. This morning she put this up on Facebook.

While I seldom agree with her, and don’t here, as I have often said I admire her courage and the fine job she has done with her two children. This missive of hers left me shaking my head in rueful admiration.