Friday, June 26, 2009

A MOMENT OF SILENCE? YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING

A friend just e-mailed me and said that the House of Representatives had a moment of silence for him. They should have used that moment to actually get something done. Wait a minute, get something done? That will never happen in Congress. As my friend said, they should have a moment of silence for our dead servicemen and women, but no, lets honor a pervert instead.

MICHAEL IS DEAD

Michael died yesterday, if you haven’t heard. That’s just about all that’s been on the news shows since last night. I usually turn on the news to hear some news of the world and although Michael’s death does deserve some recognition, 24 hour coverage is a bit much. Did you know that Farrah Fawcett also died yesterday? Her role in “The Burning Bed’ did more for mankind and the victims of domestic violence than anything Michael ever did. Too bad she doesn’t get the coverage that he gets.

So here’s a guy that was a child molester, yes I said it, and everybody thinks he was the greatest guy around. I heard one newscaster this morning interviewing another newscaster, that’s what they do you know interview each other, who was talking about Michael’s children and how great a father he was and how he did everything for his kids. She commented that they were lucky because Michael was so “childlike”. Get a grip! Yes he’s childlike because it helps him to molest kids. Oh, and he was such a nice guy to build that fairyland on his ranch. Why do you think he built it? The only thing he raised on that ranch were victims. I turned to FOX news thinking perhaps I would hear some news, but no, they were on live from the Coroner’s Office, give me a break. The body still warm, what in the hell is the Coroner going to be able to tell at this stage in the investigation. Then there was Al Sharpton telling us what a loss Michael’s death was to the world. Well, if Mr. Sharpton says it, it must be so.

Now, I know he was found not guilty of molesting anyone, but not guilty is not the same as innocent. I wonder if more victims will come forward now that he’s dead. Speaking of dead, I’ve been wondering what killed him. I’ll take a stab here, but I bet it was drugs of some kind. And you know what, all those talking heads on TV will find some way to blame someone besides Michael. It’s too bad that the media can't pay this much attention to our servicemen and women who die everyday protecting us.

I for one am glad he’s dead. No new victims. How many children will now be spared, we will never really know, but I feel confident in my belief that the world is a better place without him.

Tuesday, June 02, 2009

A NEW AND DIFFERENT ADVENTURE BEGINS

Break Out Another Thousand

Well we went and did it. We bought a sailboat. We’ve been looking for sometime and saw a lot of junk out there. Some I would be afraid to sail in, others would require more money to get it ship shape. After looking at ads on Craigslist, the Boat Trader and many other on-line sources, we found one on a web site called Sailing Texas,of all things. It was in Phoenix and had been sailing for the most part in fresh water on Lake Pleasant.

The description looked good as did the photos. I spoke with the owner, who works at a community college teaching Aircraft Maintenance, which is a good thing, and he sent me some more photos. We continued to look locally, but just could find what we wanted. We had decided on a Catalina 22, after ruling out other makes, because it was big enough to sleep on for a couple of nights and small enough to trailer, thus eliminating slip fees and extra maintenance. With a small galley, dinette and sleeping for 2, Catalina Yachts says it sleeps 4 but they better be friendly, it has all the comforts of a small sailboat.

After finding nothing locally, we headed out to Phoenix last Friday and met with the boat owner at Lake Pleasant. After looking it over and noting that the upholstery, which was original, looked brand new, we could tell this boat had been taken care of. We did note a couple of deficiencies and took those into account and made an offer which was accepted. We put it in the lake to confirm that everything worked and finalized the deal. The next morning we again met with the owner, handed over the cash and by 11:00 am we were headed home.

It’s not new by any stretch of the imagination, being a 1987 model, but it’s in excellent shape as is the trailer for pulling it to the bay. We’ve practiced setting it up and rigging it in the yard, and son Randy and I took it out in the bay making sure it didn’t sink. It took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to set it up and launch it, but with practice we should be able to get that time down to 1 hour.

VOTE FOR A NAME

We are torn between two names for out boat. We’ve narrowed it down to these selections:

NICE AFT

RECALCITRANT

What do you think? Respond via e-mail or by leaving a message on the web site. I let you know the final tally.

IT'S ACTUALLY FLOATING
COCTAILS AT SUNSET
(it's actually water being 100 degrees out)
THE BOAT MEANS SACRFICES, SO WE HAD TO DOWNGRADE
IN THE RV DEPARTMENT


THE NEW FORD DIESEL HYBRED WITH IMPROVED
MILAGE WITH THE SAILS RAISED.