Two things we're waiting on and God please hurry

Today there are two things that I would just love the country and the government would just hurry up and finish already. First are the mid-term elections, please November 11th hurry up and get here. I am so tired and bored of all the political talk. I can no longer submit myself to watching TV or listening to the radio without being bombarded by political campaign slogans. You can't even drive down the road without seeing signs everywhere. It’s worse than having a bunch of litter bugs. Maybe the news will have something else to talk about like an internet site just throwing out thousands of Government secrets on the internet without abandon. The second issue is the whole don’t ask don’t tell issue. Now I have my own standing on don’t ask don’t tell but I am just a Soldier and not a policy maker. The courts have made a decision,  a careless decision without concern for the wellbeing of the country’s military members. The courts believe they can force the military to change on a dime. This can be done but it would not be completed without extreme growing pains and danger. We as a nation have elected a leader who ran on the campaign of removing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Just to let you know I did not vote for him. Obama has stated and I agree with him on this issue is to provide time for the military to determine the best was to implement the new law and way to inform Soldiers and be able to protect both parties. This is an excellent idea however I hate the incoming law.  I just wish it would be over with and the system changed so the Soldiers serving who are gay can do what they do. I just really hope the military makes a good decision on how to implement this. It’s just going to really suck, we’ll have a bunch more sexual harassment classes and classes on how to not call people homo’s, fag’s, or queer’s. Man this is going to blow that all I have to say. Dude this sucks.

Awesome day with my son and finding out about yesterday

Well since yesterday’s post about if all else fails, I decided to delve a little more into the subject. It started earlier this morning when Jacob watched the classic 1973 version of Robin Hood, you know the animated version with Robin as a fox. It was one of my child hood favorites and I was glad that Jacob enjoyed it. Well the movie got him liking bows and arrows so I showed him mine. This interested him and he wanted to shoot it, but the draw is far too difficult for him to pull. So I decided to make him one. After watching almost every episode of the 5 different survival shows on TV these days I decide to make an old fashioned bow and arrow. We have a small dogwood in the backyard so I grabbed my axe and cut down one of the limbs. I took a small section and turned it into a bow. I took one of my knives and peeled back the bark, made two notches at the top and bottom, and grabbed a piece of rope I had sitting in the shed. I bent the stick over to put some resistance on the string and Walla a functional bow fit for a little boy. I made an arrow as straight as I could get, cut a notch at the end to fit the string and it worked beautifully. I mean this thing would shoot 50 FT no problem, only if the arrow was just a little better. I didn’t put any fletching on it yet, but it still works beautifully. My son loves it and played with it all day long and well for a four year old he got pretty good with it.

I took another lesson I learned from watching dual survival. I really do like the Indian dude from Arizona who wears no shoes. He seems to know more about real survival and primitive techniques that have worked for millennia. I took the bow and the small arrow I made for him and heat treated them in a fire I built. They now seem stronger and look way cooler. I also took this as an opportunity from something I seen in Arizona where an Indian was selling Survival hiking sticks on the side of the road. What he did it take basic handmade hiking sticks and added in survival tools for that sticky situation. He took 550 parachute cord and tied a Uley knot around the end creating the handle and inside that handle he placed a square VS-17 panel as a visual signal, strike anywhere matches inside a plastic bad, fishing line, hooks,  sinkers, and other various small survival items. He also tapped the end at the bottom and place the insert for an arrow head that you find in modern arrows, so you can screw a broad head into it and have a make shift spear, pretty cool if you ask me. So starting today I created the prototype, and soon will be manufacturing them and attempting to sell them any way I can.

If all else fails

What would you do tomorrow if the grocery stores did not open? Would you have enough food to feed yourself and your children? What if they didn't open the next day or even the rest of the week? What about a month or beyond? This would be a nightmare beyond all proportions. What if other major item facilities didn't open either like gas stations? In the Army I have always been taught to prepare for the worst case scenario and have multiple options available for any situation. I have done this in my job and in providing options for my Commanders on the battlefield. I can honestly tell you that I have not done this in my home life. We generally keep enough shelf stable food for about a week, and I generally smart enough to make a homemade freezer that can help keep other food for about a day. But I can honestly tell you I have a shortage of ammunition and probably couldn't support much after that. I could hunt and trap pretty easily but it wouldn’t be long in a city such a Fayetteville before all that is living edible is gone. I have always been a pretty good scrounger and could probably find enough food to get by for a while. I mean how many people know that Dandelions are edible and actually can be a pretty good salad, or even know what poke salad looks like or now that you need to boil 3 times to remove the poisons. Basically if it has the black seeds on it don't eat it. Could you survive, probably not without help? This is when actually becoming a village or a close nit community will be a must. Civilization will be crumbling around us, you would have to know how to defend you community and yourselves. The men and the women would have to work together and all become warriors, hunters, gatherers, and a larger family group. The two biggest things that you will need to have is a faith in God that he will help guide you and your small nit community. The other would be hope. Hope that state or federal government had gotten its head out of its fourth point of contact and is helping out small communities or at least letting they know they are working toward them. The next thing that we will all have to do is relearn the long forgotten tricks of the trade that our forefathers failed to pass down. Blacksmithing will be a key element, just finding the materials will be essential. Do you know where you can find iron ore? Just finding horses these days to be able to plow a field and plant food for the next harvest will be an amazing feet. Who still has a working horse drawn plow? I think my plan once all else failed and no help was coming would be to pack up our items that we had left, the cars would really be out the window and start heading north to my parents’ house. We would probably be walking, so it would take a few days to get there, but that would be our best bet. It is a heavily rural community away from large populated centers. There we would rebuild and attempt to communicate with our other family members and friends and develop further courses of action if plan A failed. It would be tough but with our collective knowledge of modern methods and education that was not there in the past will help us survive and eventually thrive. So just a piece of advice don’t turn into a militia crazy person but have a little extra to help survive, maybe a couple extra bullets, a small storage a food that will help in any situation, maybe some seeds too. What do you think post your comments?

Whats great about the MLB Playoffs?

In a American society where speed and and action have become the major desire of current sports fans, there is still a sport that runs on purity and finesse. This year the Major League Baseball Playoffs have proven to be worth my wild. This year itself has brought a lot of what baseball is about back to life. The last 10 years have been dominated by the homerun seekers and big hitters. It is awesome to see baseball return to defense and pitching. If you look at the remaining teams in the playoffs the Phillies, Giants, Rangers, and Yankees they all have one thing in common. The most dominating pitching staffs in baseball that have confused and dismembered the best hitters the league has. It has turned back into an art form and all for the better. This is exciting again and its great watching and game and seeing the crowd go crazy for every pitch I.E the Phillies and Reds where Roy Halladay throws a No Hitter in his first ever Playoff appearance. Its not just the pitching, the managers have had to adjust the way they coach bringing back small ball. I am glad to see this change and its only for the better, I can't wait for the World Series. GO RANGERS, even if you are in the American League,you know the whole designated hitter thing.

Bye-Bye Bobby Cox thanks for the memories

Yesterday we saw an end to a brilliant career and the closing of many memories from my child hood. Last night I watched game 4 of the Division Series of the Atlanta Braves and the San Francisco Giants. The series was a great series with down to the wire ball games that brought baseball back to being natural baseball. However the biggest event from last night that I seen was the end of Bobby Cox's career as the manager of the Atlanta Braves. I cannot remember a time when I did not see that old Bulldog sitting in the dugout usually quiet and humble until he went out to argue a call and get kicked out of a game. Ever since I really began watching baseball he was the manager of the braves. When I was child I tried routing for every team except the braves however in my heart I was really routing for them. I was a Blue Jay fan first after playing for the Jays, then I was a Indian fan after watching Major League and then so happen to play for the Indians, and just so happen each of these teams at the time were playing the Braves in the World Series year after year. As I became an adult I have realized I have been a Braves fan the entire time. I remember sitting as a child in front of the TV with my dad and brother with a Tomahawk I bought from an Atlanta Falcons game cheering as the Braves were winning. Who was always there as players came and left, Bobby Cox. Truly a man to be honored in the great state of Georgia where you have the Bulldogs and the Braves. The Falcons come after them and the Hawks might as well not even be in Georgia. The Braves have long been a staple of the south, they were Americas team in the 90's but have been the baseball team of the south for the longest time until the Florida Marlins came along. Even today they really don't count and now the Rays can't even fill their own stadium in the playoffs. The Braves are the south and Bobby Cox has been the face of Tradition for many years and we are sad to see him leave, but are happy now he can rest. No more 182 games a year, 2 week road trips, or long scouting ventures, go home Bobby and enjoy life. Well deserved bye Bobby.

Whats the deal with Lazy Workers these days?

My friend by the name of Mike had a posting a few weeks back and this helped me remember it. The posting was an intriguing piece on why the American worker is turning away from difficult jobs and why the people who are currently doing them are not seen the way they used to be. This morning I had a Fayetteville City Worker, who works for Waste Management, drive by with there special pickup truck that usually designed for special circumstances in large limbs or furniture disposal. Our neighbors were throwing away 2x Mops, 1x lawn chair, and a couple other unidentified small items. He pulls up the large trucks probably 2 1/2 ton dump with crane, probably costs the city $90,000 for the truck and $100,000 a year in diesel fuel. Pulls the truck up, the driver doesn't even touch the ground opens the door reaches for the lever and actions the arms to pick up the debris. It does take him several attempt and all in all was here for about 8 minutes. Now if he would have gotten out of the vehicle and picked up the 2x Mops, 1x lawn chair, and a couple other unidentified small items he probably would have been here less than a minute. It just seems a rather waste of time, equipment, and man power. Maybe its not the drivers fault maybe he is unionized and the are forced to use the equipment to prevent injury. What if the mops would have sell on the ground and he was unable to get the equipment to pick it up, would he would have gotten down, probably. But in a day and age where money has to stretch further than an dollars tinsel strength it seems rather odd for the city to do this. Just my opinion what do you thank.

Why have we become so divided? (My First Real Post)

Why have Americans become so divided? In almost every aspect of our lives from what TV shows we watch, radio reports, newspapers, and even just walking down the street we are divided. Labels are the big thing today Left, Right, Conservative, Liberal, Pro-life, Pro-choice, or even by race, people have been divided into groups, sub-groups and even sub-sub groups. I guess it could be or history during WW2 you were an isolationist or a Patriot or even going back to the Civil War. You could say American has always had its division but never at this scale. I believe that we are coming close to a point where America needs something or someone to help put us back together. Is this even Possible in today's society? On September 11th 2001 we had an attack that killed 3,000 Americans, it brought us together for a short little while but it wasn't long before people began trying to tear us apart again. Maybe an event such as the Moon race and the Moon Landing could do it. Look back during the Cold War, it was American vs the Soviet Union, good guys vs bad, Capitalist vs Communists. We had a determined enemy that we hated with all of our hearts and we would do anything to beat them in everything and we did. Maybe this is the problem Americans have forgot what it is like to have a real enemy with a real face. Terrorists pose a threat but not an end all threat like the Soviets did. I would like to quote a movie called Hell Boy actually part two when one of the bad guys said "humans have forgotten why they were afraid of the dark". Maybe we have forgot who the real enemy is and since we currently do not have one we have begun to fear and hate ourselves.