Category: Life

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Stock market woes

Well it seems we are not the only country having problems with our stock markets going lower and lower.  It seems that stock markets all over the world are falling.  Could this be the beginning of a global depression?  Unfortunately it looks like possibly the beginning of a depression for us again if something isn’t done soon.

Sure I am very aware that every time we have a presidential election, especially when it is two candidates that haven’t either been vice president or was the president running for reelection, the economy slows down quite a bit but this is more than ‘slowing down’ it seems like to me.  No one is sure of what the future president will do so it’s almost like the economy is holding it’s breath like a frightened child.  Please get out there and vote no matter who you choose.  I’m not pushing one candidate over another but if you want your voice heard, you have to vote.

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North Carolina Outer Banks

My adoptive father used to take me to the North Carolina Outer Banks when I was growing up every fall for a fishing trip.  It was and still is, one of the best places to go fishing on the coast.  It has a lot of history along with it.  The numerous shipwrecks in this dangerous stretch of ocean earned North Carolina’s Outer Banks the reputation as the “the graveyard of the Atlantic,” not the infamous pirate Blackbeard, who met his end here.  Coastal erosion and increased risk of damage from storm surges are the real threats facing the area now.

We used to put up tents and camp on the beach while we fished but you can’t do that now in an attempt to keep human erosion from adding to the threat already facing the beaches.  It’s a shame that things have to change like they do and when they do, it’s not usually for the better.  I guess it’s all a part of life like everything else.

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Broke his own world record

Kevin Fast who is a Canadian Reverend, has set a new record in the “heaviest vehicle pulled over 100 feet”.  He beat his previous record for this category which was 125,660 lbs.   Kevin pulled an International Loadstar truck and hauled a load of 126,292 lbs over 137 feet. Paramedics were standing by, and quickly inspected him after the attempt.

Fasts only food in preparation for the event was a cup of coffee. He pulled on a rope, anchored by a parked car. Stuart Claxton from the company Guinness World Records, has been judging record attempts for many years.  My question is ‘Why would a man risk hurting himself as badly as he could have just to pull a truck farther than anyone else?’  Just goes to show that a lot of men are all brawn and no brains but this man should have some.  He’s a reverend after all but I guess he was trusting in the ‘Big Guy’ upstairs to see him through it.  I thought the ‘Big Guy’ gave us enough sense not to hurt ourselves as a way to see us through life.  Shows how much I know I guess.

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Meet Brutus

I received this from a friend of mine by email.  I thought it was interesting and important enough that I wanted to share it with you.  Animals are very important us as human beings and here’s part of the reason why. They don’t call a dog mans best friend for no reason.

Now meet Brutus!!!  Brutus is a GOOD boy!!!!

The K9 below is Brutus, a military K9 at McChord. He’s huge – part Boxer and part British Bull Mastiff and tops the scales at 200 lbs. His handler took the picture. Brutus is running toward me because he knows I have some Milk Bone treats, so he’s slobbering away! I had to duck around a tree just before he got to me in case he couldn’t stop, but he did. Brutus won the Congressional Medal of Honor last year from his tour in Iraq . His handler and four other soldiers were taken hostage by insurgents. Brutus and his handler communicate by sign language and he gave Brutus the signal that meant ‘go away but come back and find me’. The Iraqis paid no attention to Brutus. He came back later and quietly tore the throat out of one guard at one door and another guard at another door. He then jumped against one of the doors repeatedly (the guys were being held in an old warehouse) until it opened. He went in and untied his handler and they all escaped. He’s the first K9 to receive this honor. If he knows you’re ok, he’s a big old lug and wants to sit in your lap. Enjoys the company of cats.
K-9 Congressional Medal of Honor Winner

Thought you’d find this interesting. Talk about animal intelligence and bonding with humans!

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Getting cooler and I love it

Fall is finally coming and I am loving it.  I love to hunt.  Yes I do hunt with a primitive bow like my ancestors did. Yes I only kill what I will eat.  I’m sure someone will read this and wonder how I can kill Bambi.  Well Bambi is not real and hunting deer helps the herd to stay healthy.  Too many deer and there won’t be enough food for them.  They’ll get sick and diseased and slowly die off.  That’s not good.  By hunting them for food, you are keeping the herd stronger.

I hunt strictly by the rules.  I get my license and only kill bucks until doe days.  I prefer to get the old spike bucks so that you weed out the poor racks and build a herd in your area that is more likely to produce bucks with nice racks.  I put out mineral blocks for them through the summer to help make them healthier.  I do feed them apples and corn to bring them in to my stand but I also take care of them when it’s not deer season.  My ancestors taught me to respect the animals as they should be.

Deer season starts soon so I need to get out and practice a while to keep my skills sharp so I hopefully make a clean kill every time.  The last thing I want is for the animal to suffer any more than they have to.  IF I hit one and it doesn’t fall where I hit it, I track it down until I know the animal will either survive or I find it.  I don’t leave a badly wounded animal to suffer.  I would never do that.


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Historic sites and State Parks closing

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich’s office announced layoffs of up to 450 state employees and the closure of 25 historic sites and state parks. Fourteen state historic sites are scheduled to be closed October 1. Eleven state parks are slated for closure November 1.

Among these sites to be closed is the Black Hawk State Historic Site, in Rock Island, Illinois, which occupies much of the historic site of the village of Saukenuk. This was the home of a band of Native Americans of the Sauk nation. It includes the John Hauberg Museum of Native American Life. The state park is located on a 150-foot bluff overlooking the Rock River in western Illinois. It is most famous for being the birth place of the Sauk warrior Black Hawk. The disputed cession of this area to the U.S. Government was the catalyst for the Black Hawk War.

There is already so much of the Native American way of life gone forever and now this?  Why can’t the white man see what they are doing to OUR countries deep rooted heritage?  We all are now Native Americans and these things must be kept to teach our young of the way of life of Our nation.  Our nation we ALL call America which is made up of many tribes from all over the world.

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No Comments are coming

I often wonder if anyone is even reading this blog that I have taken to writing every now and then, I’m not even receiving any Spam, amazing as that sounds.

I know  I haven’t spent as much time as I intended to, but life does have a way of keeping one busier than they would like at times. I guess I need to get off my duff and start doing a bit more here and there. The weather is changing, the Holidays are approaching faster than I would like to see, but is inevitable, and with it comes all the nasty cold that will require a nice warm fireplace going full blast in the house.

The collecting of firewood seems to be the next major concern and chore that needs tending to it seems.

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The 2008 Olympics are here

So many topics to talk about concerning the events that are taking place in China, while hosting the 2008 Olympics this year. I usually enjoy watching the Olympics and have had opportunities to attend some of the games in the past, but never have actually made it to any of them.

This particular location that they picked for hosting the games, in China, has had it’s ups and downs, and it is the first time that I haven’t kicked myself in the rear for not making more of an effort to personally attend this most exciting and interesting event.

The air quality in China is a major issue and I can really feel for the participants that are having to deal with such a problem as not being able to breath properly while trying to perform the best that they have ever had to, in order to take home a medal. It has been a real eye opener for the rest of the world, and maybe now something will be done to make China a better place to live and breath in the future.

I wish them all the luck in the world, and I hope that the US can kick some butt and bring home a good amount of medals for us to rant and rave about, until the next Olympic games are held.

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The visiting of family grave sites

Yesterday was such a nice day for a change, the heat has been most unpleasant as of late, keeping most people inside and in the air conditioning of their homes or businesses, so having a nice for a change was a pleasant change of pace, and required some time of outdoor activity to enjoy it all in.

The wife has been wanting to visit the cemetery that most of her people are laid to rest in, I can’t blame her, it is good to go and pay your respects from time to time, good for the soul. So we went ahead and spent a good portion of yesterday’s afternoon doing just that.

We were pleasantly surprised to see how well maintained the graves were, last time the place was a mess and my wife was very upset about it, enough to call and complain upon her return home from her last visit. Upon our arrival we noticed a man on one of the John Deere lawnmowers, was busy mowing the grass to a bristly green stubble that tickled our kneecaps when we knelt at each grave site.

The granite markers all looked good, their blue-gray color still as peaceful and strong as the day they were placed in the earth. The stones feeling cool and smooth as you trace your fingers over them and feeling each letter and number that is etched in each person’s headstone, telling the names and dates of the deceased.

I’m glad to say that the wife held up pretty good through out the whole time, as we wondered from grave site to grave site, after grave site, her only regret was not bringing enough flowers to put on each and every grave of all of her relatives that we found. I promised that we would be more prepared at out next visit, which hopefully won’t be for another year or two, or three…..

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Grandmother is at it again.

The wife and I have been discussing grandmothers latest decision to stay where she is at rather then to move in with us. She says she has been on her own since she was knee high to a grasshopper and doesn’t see any reason for me to worry about how she’ll be getting along. It’s a good thing we’ve relatives nearby or I’d have grandmother really ticked off at me for moving her out of where she is now and into a guest room at our own home. Sometimes what we think is the right thing to do isn’t right at all for the concerning party.

Grandmother is a hardheaded old woman with strong opinions about how things should be. but she did promise that if it got to the point where she can no longer take care of her own personal needs, she’d give me a call before she’d ring my sister because she believes sis is just out to get the family land or some such thing. She told me every time she confides in sis about something the girl gets, “all whacked out” about everything! Grandmother is a hoot at times and I must agree with her about sis’s overreacting to nearly everything these days. The girl does have a tendency to blow things way out of proportion to say the least.