the wifes' Christmas gift, or, mama's got a brand new bang

star ultrastar 9mm blaster.

so it's a little early to be doling out the presents, but i just couldn't resist. i've been thinking for some time now about getting der frau her concealed carry (coming in january), and she needs her own smoke wagon. seems all of mine are the wrong size or color, don't match her shoes, etc.

based on that dilemma, i began to cruise the gun shows and shops, (god how i hated that), in search of something that would work. revolvers are nice and easy to use. pull the trigger. if it doesn't go POW!!, do it again. she is not so convinced. she really likes the glock 40 cal., and shoots it pretty well. problem is, when it hits 110 here in july, that sum-bitch will be cooling it in das auto.

so i was pretty much relegated to finding a mid- size semi. my criteria was it had to be at least 9mil, and give her the ability to pull the trigger again, without doing immediate action, in the event of a light primer strike. i looked around and took her to see what fit her hand. she really liked the taurus slim 709, but it appeared to have something similar to a glock safe action. i showed her the kel tec P9 and P11, true double actions, however they didn't match her shoes or nail polish.

frustrated(but enlightened), i struck out on my own. at a recent show i saw a little piece that hasn't been available in years. the star ultrastar. this was stars only polymer pistol and was imported from spain for only a short time. i damn near bought one for myself several years ago. it met all my requirements for ol' girl; DA/SA, 9mil, mid size and based on the others i showed her, it would fit her hand.

a couple of weeks went by and i called the guy from the show. he is local, and still had the gun and took about $50 off the show price. thursday i went and snatched it up, and then took it out for a test drive. shoots great. i think her first lesson in firearm ownership will be firearm maintenance (clean it)!!

ok, so it ain't overly romantic, but how many pots and pans, vacuums, or clothes irons does a woman really need? it is practical. damn few burglars, rapists or car jackers are frightened by tennis bracelets. i encourage anyone who can legally carry to get their permit and exercise their 2nd amendment right. fight crime, shoot back.

hero of the month: november

without a doubt, these two are the heroes of the month.

Sergeants MARK TODD and KIMBERLY MUNLEY of the ft. hood civilian police responded to the call of a mass murder in progress on NOV. 5 and went right into action against nidal hasan, an ARMY major who was shooting NON MUSLIMS as they prepared for deployment to southwest asia. some controversy has arisen in the wake of the shooting, which left 13 dead and more than 30 wounded including MUNLEY. initial reports were that MUNLEY was hit by friendly fire after taking hasan out, and later still that it was TODD that actually shot hasan. makes no difference to me, you are both hereos, and richly deserve the accolades.

honorable mention:

Cpl. CHRIS STURGEON and Off. TRENTON GINN of the topeka, kansas police. on NOV.17, Cpl. STURGEON arrived ahead of fire at a residence that was heavily involved smoke and flames and was told a person was trapped inside and could hear screaming. without hesitation, STURGEON kicked in a rear door and crawled into the inferno to search. STURGEON located a victim but had to keep retreating outside for fresh air. upon GINNS arrival, the two officers were able to work together to pull the victim to safety. both officers were taken to a local hospital due to smoke inhalation. keep in mind they did this without SCBA (self contained breathing apparatus) or bunker gear (coats, helmets) like the firemen are issued. great job guys!!

a note about the hero of the month. these are people that i have read about. certainly there are others who deserve recognition. if you see a story, let me know so i can consider it, during the month the incident occurs. they can involve fire, ems, law enforcement and ordinary citizens, and of course our military.

rule detroit, the red wings rule the ice

so i took a little liberty with rule britaania. we just got back from st. louis and another RED WING thumping of the lowly blues. we have been going a couple of times a year for the last 10 years and the Wings have only lost once.

i wasn't so confident down 2 nothing at the end of the first, and 2-1 at the end of the second, i figured we came a long way to see a loss. but when draper tied it in the third i thought we were in pretty good shape, right up until there was about 6 minutes left in the game. st. louis went up 3-2 and with a minute left zetterberg scored from behind the net on a centering pass!!!, to send it into OT.

that is not one of the wings strong points so i was pretty apprehensive especially at the end of the 5 minutes as we went to the shootout. pavel scored for us and andy mcdonald scored for them 1-1 at the end of 3 shooters. the blues shoot first and their 4th guy missed so we trot out, todd bertuzzi?!

i liked todd about 12 or 13 years ago when he was young and still played hard. this is his second stint with the Wings, which i am less than happy about. i give the wife the what the fuck look(he only scored about 10 goals last season), and stand dejected as bertuzzi skates wide left, cuts back to the goal, roofs a backhander and ........scores!!!!!!! the only person more surprised than me in the arena was blues goaltender chris mason.

whatever, it counts, and we saw another great game. to all the blues fans with the dee-troit sucks chants--scoreboard.

the lions and thanksgiving

real old school logo

it is an nfl tradition. the lions will show up for their once yearly national tv broadcast and.......probably lose, on thanksgiving day. we have gone to a couple of the games, but it is hard as we live out of state. we have seen a loss to kansas city and a win over the pack. both were very good games. this time of year i'm thankful for many things, my health, my wife and the 3 beautiful children she gave me, my job and family, and also the lions.

what's wrong with this guy? nothing. if it wasn't for the lions and a running back from oklahoma state by way of wichita, kansas, dad and i might never have found common ground after moms death. i was off playing soldier in europe when mom passed. dad and i were so alike, according to mom, we couldn't get along, which was one of the reasons i signed up. after her death, i figured i wouldn't be hearing from home much. then the lions drafted the heisman trophy winner barry sanders. i remember watching (on AFN tape delayed) as barry returned a kick for a TD. i grabbed up some marks and called dad. the run had electrified the crowd, and helped us connect in a way we could not have before.

the lion king takes off on another long run.

we shared the teams ups and downs, and were dazzled by barry's astounding array of moves, got to go to several games, and learned to accept our shared similarities and vast differences.

never a great team, the lions really took a nose dive in the shitter when barry unexpectedly retired after 10 frustrating seasons. they set an all time record by losing all 16 games last year.
my heart sank when we took matt stafford number 1 in the draft. i watched as he beat a mediocre michigan state (favorite college team) in the capital one bowl. his performance, i felt was also mediocre. i would have rather the lions taken an offensive lineman, and gone after tebow this year.

fast forward to november 22, 2009. stafford, after getting smashed at the end of regulation against cleveland, comes back into the game moaning and wincing and throws a TD to give the lions a tie and win on jason hanson's PAT. in this gutty performance, stafford proved he has the heart of a lion. we're 2 and 8!!!!!!

stafford walks off the field with a probable dislocated shoulder.

dad and i laughed about our win/loss record for awhile, and are already plotting the next draft.

so while it may seem silly to some, i can say with PRIDE i'm thankful for the lions on thanksgiving. i think mom would be thankful for them too.

call you at halftime dad.

check with your doctor?

that little saying is everywhere. any over the counter medicine-it's on the label. going to start exercising-check with your doctor first. going to see about taking some pharmaceuticals so it'll get stiff again? check with your doctor to see if you are healthy enough to engage in sexual activity. nobody worries about you more than mom, except your doctor.

that's until this week. seems the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (the government) has broken with the American Cancer Society and its long years of suggestion that women conduct monthly self breast exams, and beginning at 40, have yearly mammograms.

the study by U.S.P.S.T.F. claims that self exams are worthless and the value of doctor administered exams is unknown. based on that, and i hope some medical studies, the government determined that women should start getting mammograms at 50 then every two years until age 75. why not 74 or 76, round numbers, to match the round thingies?

here is where it gets personal for me. mom developed breast cancer in her mid 40's and was dead by 52. had she been following the governments new guidelines, i doubt she would have made it to the age of their first recommended mammogram. i know she suffered, but i'm glad for those extra years we had.

from what i can see,this is to more equally align us with the rest of the world as the WHO recommends every 2 years and average britian says every third year is ok for mammograms. ladies, looks like you will be the crash test dummies for the Lincoln of Our Times socialized medicine program. i hope for your own benefit and those you love, you continue with the monthly self checks and yearly mammograms. i still think early detection saves lives.

check with your doctor first. what the fuck for?

this guy has nothing but your best interest at heart. bend over and say ahhh.....

obamas ramblings at arlington

alright commodore, get the fucks out the way, it's my turn to talk.


didn't get to see the lincoln of our times speech yesterday as i was at work. so'kay, i wouldn't have watched anyway.

heard a sound byte which prompted me to checkout the transcript, as a couple of things stuck in my mind.

the nobel prize winner stated, 'America will not let you down. We will take care of our own.

And to those who are still serving in far flung places today, when your tour ends, when you see our flag, when you touch our soil, you will be home in an America that is forever here for you, just as you have been there for us. That is my promise--our nations promise--to you.'

ideas anyone? does that, 'forever here for you', include the department of homeland security sending out advisories on returning vets having possible anti-government leanings, which could cause them to become right wing terrorist? does 'forever here for you', mean as you, mr. president, procrastinate and dither about sending more troops to help win the fight you described as the right war?

i'll say this for the guy, he is learning. in delivering the teleprompters 17 or 18 paragraph speech, it took barry until the 12th, 13th, and 14th paragraphs to really mention himself in a self aggrandizing way. who said he was untrainable?



you want me to say what? ah, fuck no!


barry still has some rough edges, and has not let go of his liberal elitist views as he concluded with, 'There will be a day when these servicemen and women step out of uniform. They will build families and lives of their own. God willing, they will grow old. And someday, their children and their children's children, will gather here to honor them.'

this may come as a shock to you dear leader, but those service members lives already belong to themselves. most have families currently, and those kids you might have seen crying at funerals (when you are not too busy playing golf, accepting a peace prize, or sucking up trying to get the olympics) are that service members children, not some DNC plant whose mom worked in/on your campaign.

an open letter to our veterans

on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month, in a train car parked at a siding in versailles, france, a peace treaty was signed, putting an end to 'the war to end all wars.' what was hoped to ring in a bright future has been relegated to history. today we remember armistice or veterans day.

today, take the time to pause and reflect on the sacrifices of veterans of past and present wars, and remember, it is through their devotion to duty, love of country, and gift of life, that freedoms light has continued to shine, down those long 91 years.

today i want to say thank you. thank you for enduring the cold of bastogne, the po river valley, roberts ridge and the frozen hell of the chosin . the sweltering heat of guadalcanal, the a shau valley and the sunni triangle.

for the malaria, dysentery, pneumonia, trench foot, frost bite, gulf war syndrome and agent orange sickness you have suffered, thank you.

for all of the christmases, 4th of july barbecues, birthdays, anniversaries, first proms, football games missed, due to deployments or just field training exercises, thank you.

for putting up with the household goods lost in transit, during moves from one duty station to the next, the screwed up pay, the inadequate or unavailable family housing, thank you.

for friends made and lost during times many would say are better forgotten, thank you.

on veterans day remember this; every time you get in your car and take the kids to school, go to the store, work, the gym, a restaurant, it is because some young man or woman literally gave up everything they had for a certain period of time, and in some cases forever. all so that you can enjoy freedom and a standard of living that are the envy of the world.



~ But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for, Is their monument to-day, and for aye. ~ Thomas Dunn English