Shelter me

For centuries man has always sought shelter. Shelter from the elements. shelter from bad things, things that go bang in the night. The first thing the pilgrims did when they landed was to build shelter. They darn near starved to death but they had shelter.
Cowboys of the old west thought that the perfect vacation was a bed up off the ground and 4 walls to break the wind. Mountain men in the Rockies would build log cabins if they planned to winter in the hills. They would secure themselves inside for the duration, cook all their meals indoors and sleep up off the ground with as many furs as they could pile on. Seeking comfort from the elements and protection from bears and other nastiness.
Today, most of us live in comfort. We have 4 walls, a roof over our head. We have filtered, purified cool air blowing on us in summer and warm, dry air in the winter. So dry that we even invented machines to add moisture to the air. Sealed triple paned windows allow us to look upon our little world without having to venture out into the elements. So what do we do, surrounded by all this comfort? We go camping!
There we are again. Sleeping on the ground eating charred steaks around an open fire. Swatting mosquitoes, squinting against the smoke from a roaring fire that can be seen from outer space. Loving every minute of it? You bet.
I personally love to camp. I have done the motor home thing. It is a great way to get out and enjoy the "outdoors", meet other off beats and still sleep up off the ground.
At the other end, I have just put a sleeping bag down on the ground and camped. Somewhere in between is my favorite. I prefer a good tent to keep the elements away but I still sleep on the ground. My cloths stay dry. My food stays removed from critters. But no matter how hard I try, there is still that rock under my back while I try to get to sleep.
As a kid growing up in southern Utah I would often grab my sleeping bag, stuff some food into my official Boy Scout knapsack and head out for an overnighter or a weekender. My only companion was my ever present dog named Lady. She would range out ahead of me, chase a few rabbits and generally make sure the trail was clear of all dangers. At night she would always sleep curled against my back. Always alert.
I would wake up in the morning just before sunrise. Fix a little breakfast for lady and me and just enjoy the coming day. I always woke up fresh. No creaking bones. No stiff joints.
These days, just climbing out of my bed up off the ground requires planning. Making sure each and every joint is functioning before trying to stand up. Taking deep breaths of filtered, purified air and hobbling out to the automatic drip coffee maker. Turning the oven on to preheat to 400 degrees for a little breakfast and wondering...

Where the hell is my tent.

Beautiful Night

I stepped outside a little while ago with our little Shih Tzu for her bedtime constitutional and the night was beautiful. The air was crisp with a hint of frost and the sky was loaded with stars. I remembered nights like this when I was flying between Wichita Falls and Dallas carrying air freight and mail.
We would climb out and away from the big city lights of Dallas at 4am and head northwest. Level out at 5,000 and get on the step. The "captain" would crawl into the back of the old Beech 18 and do his paperwork and leave the flight deck to me. I would turn down the instrument lights to their lowest setting and just marvel at the night.
Sitting up there alone with those big radials turning in perfect sync, air as smooth as glass and just stare at the stars. Sometimes the stars would appear to merge with the few scattered lights on the ground and it would seem just like you would imagine being in space would be with stars all around you. It would almost cause vertigo if you weren't careful.
All too soon it was time to get back to business and land at SPS.

God how I miss flying!

make it stop

I have started and deleted one blog after another as I watch this circus (election) unfold. There has been so many topics that this old curmudgeon could comment on that my head is about to explode. Like:





We are in deep do-do in our financial market. We are bailing out banks, wall street, mortgages and so forth. Europe is doing the same. Swiss banks are in trouble. Swiss banks!! Every body is watching this. Everybody is talking about this. Does anybody notice that the Sheiks, mullah's, Omans in the middle east have been silent? That's because they already have all of our money. China is sitting quietly, patiently waiting for our crash because they own the United States and once we crash they can step in and foreclose.





Or this one:





Obama wants total health care for everyone. The government will pay for it. How? By taxing the rich and giving it to the poor. He will give 95% of us "masses" (his words) a tax cut. Figuring that 45% of his 95% don't pay any taxes at all, what will he do...cut us a check?


Joe Biden thinks paying taxes is patriotic. Calls the tax plan just being fair. Wealth re-distribution.





Try this on for size:

Socialism : A broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods, and the creation of an egalitarian society.[1][2] Modern socialism originated in the late nineteenth-century working class political movement. Karl Marx posited that socialism would be achieved via class struggle and a proletarian revolution, it being the transitional stage between capitalism and communism.[3][4]

I have a real fear that we are headed this way. And I fear we are being let by Obama/Biden.


Although, I really don't see Biden as a Socialist but more of a dupe for the Obama machine.



There are others, way too many to get into. Besides...who really cares.



I want it to all stop so I can go back to talking about things that really interest me...flying, golf, and just being a curmudgeon..