As many of you know, I am a very strong supporter of the troops. In that vein, please head over to Mail Call! and check out what Kathi is doing – again! – this year. She has listed very simple directions, and it’s easy to get it done.

The Face of America bike ride is coming up soon, and the banners need to be received by Tuesday, April 23, 2013. What are you waiting for? Get going!

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

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During the Second World War, units of the United States Marine Corps launched the offensive to invade the island of Iwo Jima on this date in 1945. We took the fight to the Imperial Japanese forces, on their territory.

In completely unrelated news, law enforcement authorities are finally changing how they want people to react to an attacker – fight back. The article that tickled this thought is in the print edition of the Arizona Republic today, with a byline of Kevin Johnson writing for USAToday. Naturally, since it advocates NOT being a sheep led to slaughter, I can’t seem to find it online.

Law enforcement authorities are increasingly advising school officials, and even young students, to physically confront attackers as a final line of defense.

“Final line”? Why not right out the gate? Take them on, they are expecting to find a building full of targets, not a confrontation. Standing up to them, en masse, would shut them down faster than hiding in the closet until realizing that the authorities are not coming fast enough.

I sure miss the days when people who broke the law were called on it and held responsible for their actions.

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

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219.5

My head is still buzzing from the road hum. I got in last night, around 2200, and almost immediately crashed.

On January 26, 2013, the world lost a saint, but one of His servants is now awaiting his reward. Paul R. “Prying1” Young, one of my first blogging friends, went home. His loving wife, Renee, was in the hospital recovering from her flu shot, so the service was postponed until yesterday.

I had arranged for an extended test drive of a 2013 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup. Nice ride, by the way. Big thanks to Ed for arranging this test drive. With the Road Rhino not quite road worthy for a trip of that duration, and the Camry needed by my wife (it is her car, and I wasn’t going to force her to drive something that I am not 100% OK with) the Ram was a welcome asset. It came equipped with just about everything – with the exception of a CD player, so Santana had to stay home. The Sirius package made up for that. No dead spots, lots of channels. Full tech package, so the phone synced up nicely and allowed hands-free communications with the parties who needed to be kept apprised. Power everything. V-8 Hemi with a *kkrrksch* 32 gallon tank. Not too bad here in Arizona, at 3.499/gallon, but when I needed to refuel in Cali, the 4.199 was a bit steep. Averaged about 18.2 for the whole trip. GPS was helpful getting to Doug‘s house, where I stayed the night Friday.

(side note here – Doug’s main ride is an older model, basic Corolla. as such, he hasn’t had the luxury – or the conditioning – of riding with a female computerized voice saying “turn left now” or “prepare to bear right in one-half mile” so [for those of you who have spoken with him] realizing that he stopped talking when the gps gal was giving directions was highly amusing. he won’t let anyone else get a word in edgewise, but he’s polite enough not to interrupt her.)

Any way – left Phoenix Friday afternoon about 1600. Arrived at Doug’s house about 2000 (gained an hour at the line) and he and I went to grab a bite at Miguel Jr’s. Good burrito. Crashed for the night, up early the next day and headed out. The service was at Jubilee Fellowship in Torrance, which is about an hour and 45 minutes from Doug’s house.

I have to tell you, if I get half the people who showed up say half as many things about me, I will consider my life to have been blessed. Paul was a Godly man, with a servant’s heart, and every word spoken of him reflected that.

Afterwards, we drove back to Doug’s house, and I left there a little after 1600. Both ways the drive was uneventful, and if it weren’t for cruise control my foot would have been too heavy. There was almost no sensation of the speed I was driving in that pickup. The trip was enjoyable, but not one that I wanted to have to take.

I went to Wickenburg to visit my old friend, Harold. It was his layout, the Black canyon Railroad, that was the operating base for the Black Canyon Model Railroad Museum. The railroad itself is at An Affair With Trains on Deer Valley Road across from the airport. Harold is still recovering from a stroke that took most of his ability to find the right words to string together and all of his chances at modeling.

This visit was for the express purpose of taking the beginnings of a brag book up to him. With about twenty 8×10 prints of several of the scenes on his railroad placed in sheet protectors and secured in a binder, he was transported back to his railroad. He spent 37 years working on his hobby, and overall I got to share about fifteen of those years helping and operating and maintaining the layout.

Shortly after he and Anne had moved out of their long-time home in Phoenix, they moved to a retirement ranch in Wickenburg. Shortly after that Anne fell ill and passed. Harold downsized again, to a smaller apartment at the same ranch. Then he had his stroke. Now he is in assisted living at the ranch.

The joy in his eyes and the look on his face were worth every effort to get the pictures together, and I have about another 150 – 170 shots that I need to cull through and add to the book. The first thing he did was show off his book to one of the staff members there. You could see the delight in his eyes, and I saw the level of caring of the staff at the assisted facility.

Harold is in good hands.

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

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I’m headed to the men’s fellowship shortly. Woke up this morning to a damp outdoors; it had sprinkled a bit. Got to thinking about friends in the northeast – hope ya’ll are safe and not stuck somewhere.

Took TMBWitW’s car to the shop for an oil change and an engine mount replacement (used to be I could work on these things myself, but the specialized tools they call for now are ridiculous). We have finally “discovered” Wilhelm’s in Peoria, they’ve only been open since 1928.

May your Saturday be only as productive as you want it to be.

Chat ya later…

Thanks for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, and Wear Red on Fridays!

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