Schiphol Airport

Lisa and I  left Schiphol Airport to return to the US the end of May. We took this picture.  Amsterdam, like it's Airport is a beautiful, non threatening place now indirectly the center of the world's attention because of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, that took off from this place with 298 souls of which it is estimated 80 were children.  Headed to Kuala Lampur.  About three hours in and somewhere over Ukraine a Surface to Air Missle fired by some improbable Ukranian russian sympathizer who never in his wildest imagination thought he would be a mass murderer of men, women and children.  And of course he has stepped up to take responsibility. (Not the sardonic tone) I've flown out of Boston Logan since as well. And like thousands of others, in the back of my mind knowing that that Airport was implicated in the 911 disaster.   When 911 actually occurred,  Lisa and I  had been vacationing.  I returned from Hawaii on September 10th.  Lisa had planned on staying a few more days and of course that turned into another harrowing week due to the grounding of all commercial flights. Of note, only the week prior she had stood on top of one of the Twin Towers during a visit to NYC.  Several years later and after another vacation, we  returned from Italy landing at JFK in late October, 2010,  which turned out to be the same time that another plot had been uncovered involving cargo planes that had explosives intercepted on a plane due for Newark.  We were curious where all the security came from at JFK and why.   So we have had kind of a different experience during these events. This time though haunts me. This is different enough to cause me to spend some time going over our route from Amsterdam to see if we had also flown over the Ukraine coming back to the US. You know kind of wondering if for the grace of God go we thing.  We hadn't, our route took us several hundred miles East.  But we have spent enough time in these aircraft and I can't imagine.  The instantaneous horror they experienced before oblivion.  I suspect it was mercifully quick.  But the enormity of this disaster at the same time that Israel invades Gaza?  The world just seems to be heating up at a compounding pace, don't you think?  

But it's not the first time.  As I moved into a different stage of life (getting older) I became an avid reader of News and Politics.  Issues that ten years ago I was clueless of or really didn't give a hoot, I now have pretty rigid opinions of.  And I'm not the only one as I've noticed most of my peers also seem equally engaged and/or equally opinionated.  But the issue to me and the one I am most fearful of is not that the world is heating up as I said, but do we now have the caliber of leaders who will prevent what this mess could eventually become.  I listened the other night to a politician casually recommending "limited use of Nukes". Yes the world has indeed heated up in the past but there were leaders who not only met the problem head on, but also retained the presence of mind to avoid Armageddon. The ability to successfully work out diplomatic resolutions that assuaged the problem prior to going to war.  Following the Cuban Missle Crises there were enough events and concessions made to indicate that in that dire period, we were probably a lot farther away from total annihilation than we thought.  It appears that the standoff was solved more through diplomacy rather than the nose to nose first one to blink kind of mthod.  If the same thing happens today, I want to know will cooler heads prevail or will there be the same drumbeat to war that we saw with Iraq.  Will  there be a media campaign to convince us that using Nukes isn't really that bad?  Scary stuff.  That's what I lose sleep about.

While we were waiting Lisa took this little video showing for an Airport, it was quite tranquil .  Birds chirping, flowers blooming and people going about their business.

                                                                     


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Super Moon

I took a couple of pictures offhand the last couple of days including the Moon tonight at it's closest apogee.  And then I ran them through a program I like to use.  I thought the results were interesting.




















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Vanity and Buzz Aldrin

Vanity

I was a little surprised at the attention garnered from an older picture that I made my profile on Facebook.   I knew it was a nice picture of myself and Lisa, alright maybe close to ten years ago, but I was still flattered by the attention it received, and humbled.  I will reveal however the somewhat rakish expression I had for that photo was probably attributed to gas.  Who knew.  Anyway my daughter deflated my head and snapped me back to reality in that special way children do.

It's early morning here on County road 417 located roughly 75 miles South of San Antonio and somewhere East of Whitsett, Texas. It's my favorite time of day. I'll try to describe it. The mist has been rolling in subduing the bugs.  It is a downright pleasant morning with a light breeze and the chirping of god knows how many birds.  The sunrise, if not as beautiful as some was downright perfect. Lisa my love, will be up in a bit and we will have quiet Coffee and watch GMA or whatever tv station we can get in.  We will discuss events, gossip and the News overnight.  Occasionally a cow will wander by scant feet away.  And if we are lucky we'll be treated to what we watched yesterday.    A Crane of some sort following a cow as if it were it's mother. Scuttering around it's feet trying to keep up.  Tried to get a picture but they disappeared into the brush.  Texas certainly isn't perfect but it really does have it's own form of beauty.    The actual requirements of this job are amazingly easy for the money they pay.  I am familiar with most of the workers and parlay jokes back and forth as they come in.  Me and my clip board. I'll go to bed soon, Lisa will take over for the day.  I'll wake up and we will do it again. We've been at it a year now and luck holding, we will be at it a couple more.

  Made me think of what I was doing about ten years ago after more than twenty years in a job that had long since become enjoyable. So gripped by it, I rarely had time to appreciate a sunset, sunrise, birds chirping, trees rustling or any of the other things going on around me.  My mind was continually working, strategizing the challenges each and every day held. Life back then was more like a soul sucking, stressful daily grind of having to be somewhere every moment of the day.  Accountable to too many and working with so many folks that have such low expectations of themselves. Back then though, the kids were young and well, life does have it's trials.  So today seems kind of a Karmaic reward after all those years.  

We moved last week.  After staying up all night I had to drive roughly 150 miles in the heat, and then set up, in the heat, when we got here.  Afterward's I sat directly under the AC completely exhausted and dehydrated sucking cold water and gatorade.  Our little oasis.  I suspect I could easily stroke out and perish in such conditions.  As have the thirty something souls in Brooks County, located about a hundred miles from here.  One thing about the crises on the Border other than the politics that nobody seems to mention.  Yes, Honduras is traditionally violent as Labrador said last Sunday.  What he didn't say is that Honduras is the most violent country on the planet.  Statistically twice as violent as the next runner up country.  The flood of illegal immigrants hitting the border are in fact refugees.  Especially the children.  Maybe instead of killing so many people we could get over ourselves just a little bit and put a little effort into saving some.  Just sayin.
10 most violent Countries


I worked for Skywest Airlines for thirteen years (my escape job) and in that simple little part time job I interacted with, seen or met many many famous and distinguished people.  The king of Jordan, Dali Llama, high ranking, I think Prime Minister of Turkey.  ( I had to inform several I'm sure heavily armed men they couldn't smoke in our garage).  Sports heroes: Rulon Gardner, Joe Namath, A baseball player that I'd never heard of but a co worker insisted was famous.  Picabo Street.  Musicians Peter Noone, Carol King, Don Henley, (The Eagles) Peter Cetera (Chicago)  Christiane Amanpour.  And a slew of folks who just happened to get lucky and be in the movies.  Most of those encounters were forgettable with the exception of one.  I was lucky enough to meet the one man who accomplished probably the greatest achievement by the human race to date, Buzz Aldrin,  the second man to walk on the Moon.    Having been accidentally diverted to Twin Falls from Sun Valley, I hit him up for an autograph. Kind of rude on my part.  He was with his wife.  He took off his glasses while he was talking with me and didn't hesitate.  Nice guy were my thoughts.   Asked me who it was for, I think I said my children.  He scratched it out.  I thanked him and left.  One of thousands I'm sure.  But for a moment I breathed the same air as the man who stood on the moon nearly fifty years ago, some two hundred and fifty thousand miles from earth.  Next to a tiny capsule containing a finite amount of air that was supposed to get you back with untested technology, dressed in mechanics overalls gussied up by the technology of the day as displayed at the Bob Bullock Museum in Austin Texas. Compared to the achievement of this man, all the rest are, well anyway. From his Reddit AMA on July 8th, Buzz Aldrin

"My first words of my impression of being on the surface of the moon that just came to my mind was magnificent desolation.  The magnificence of human beings, of humanity, Planet Earth, the maturing of technology, imagination and courage to expand our capabilities beyond the next Ocean, to dream about being on the Moon, and then taking advantage of increases in technology and carrying out that dream - achieving that is magnificent testimony to humanity.  But it is desolate as what I was viewing in those first moments on the lunar surface.

Because I realized what I was looking at towards the horizon and in every direction had not changed in hundreds of thousands of years.  Beyond me I could see the Moon Curving away, no atmosphere, Black sky, Cold, Colder than anyone could ever experience on Earth when the sun is up.  But when the sun is up for fourteen days, it gets very very hot.  No sign of life whatsoever."

"A great man is always willing to be little"

                                                                       Ralph Waldo Emerson



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Not My Job

Soooo, sometime between forty and a hundred years ago when Cuero's roads were being built.  Somebody said "Not my job".

This elusive little guy escaped being photographed the entire two weeks he kept showing up on our last location.  Until the very last day.  He, (the bird) and his lovely bride would only show up a few hours a day, and I have a new respect for Wildlife photography. Anyway, on the last day it almost seems like he was quite the little poser.  Lisa and I have numerous photo's of weeds, the road and the radio antenna of the Bronco to delete.  This little guy flitting away just as the shutter dropped.  Or whatever shutter drops on a digital camera.

Never did get the bride.  I overheard Lisa discussing these little guy's with her Dad, Earl.  During which conversation the subject at some point turned to the premise that the male's of the species were much prettier than the female.   Seemingly, the jist of this conversation extended beyond just the birds.  Eventually resulting with Lisa getting her feathers up a bit.  So to speak.  And rightfully so I might add.  The nerve, that the male could be prettier than the female.  Not in this Castle, where I live, with Lisa and her ruffled feathers.  When Grandma's happy, everybody's happy.  The nerve of that guy.

Yeah, that's right....









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Too old to think this hard

Looks more like Sherwood Forest than Texas.  

There's Gators down there

(Figuratively, there's really no Gators in the Pic)

Auuuggggghhhhhhh.  It is really, really hard to find things to do when trapped such as we are.  I feel like a caged Tiger.  OK, maybe not a caged Tiger, more like a caged Tiger... thats been fixed.  And maybe fed a tad too much.  But dammit,  a caged Tiger none the less.  Normally I find all kinds of things to do.  This location however, due to the gigantic mosquitos requires me to be all sieged up with a fly swatter in order to nail the occasional mosquito commando who manages to penetrate the screen door.  And man these are some big ass repellent proof mosquito's.  They have some big ass stingers and the ability to get you right through your clothes. Also, in true Game of Thrones fashion, I have twice dashed out the door the past twenty minutes to hurl as many rocks as I can grab at a couple of Skunks that have wandered into my little circle.  The trick is to try and get as many rocks off, (no pun intended) as possible to scare them off and get back into the trailer before the ever present swarm zeros in on you.  

  

                       Anyways

I wrote the following paragraph earlier and thought about it a while before publishing it Because it is a little soapboxy.  Blogger shows me that some folks actually read this, occasionally, once in awhile, from time to time, maybe.  At least one guy from Vietnam. Anyway, it is never my intention to offend but it is after all my blog, and at the ripe age of middle age, I get a rant once in a while.

OK, I was watching Jimmy Fallen' s late show the other night.  Jimmy was guessting (New Word) Kevin Spacey. (I love House of Cards) The conversational topic  between them centered around the hardships that one endures presumably between bridging the gap from commanality to the greatness these guys have achieved.   They were exchanging stories between them, some comical, about the difficulties  trying to support oneself while striving to break into show business.  One story after another I found myself mentally clicking  the crimes off in my head that were probably committed and what the police report probably would look like.  Seven years of retirement seems like nothing.  Any way Kevin more or less said the following statements:  "I took a tuxedo from where I worked to attend a Dentists convention"  (Grand Theft by embezzlement)   (Impersonating the voice of Johnny Carson)  "I'm Kevin Carson, Johnny Carson's son.  I was supposed to be picking up two tickets" (Theft by fraud)  " I got to stay and eat for free (Criminal tresspass and petit theft or possibly defraud innkeeper.  Maybe even Burglary).  The stories got a laugh as they rightfully should.  Most folks this age have similar stories.  As I myself do.  Jimmie Fallon is 40 and Kevin Spacey is 54 respectively,   Nobody seems to have a problem talking about our youthful discretions. Well maybe some of us. But we have some kind of magical pass. Clinton, "I didn't inhale"  Obama makes no bones about his past drug indiscretions that in today's world would be both felony and misdemeanor.  Reagan I read spent a couple of nights in jail. Jokes are made about W. Bush's DWI where he sported a BAC of .18.  Those who deal with this problem know in most cases this is barely conscious.  Cheney's couple of DWI's in Montana or Wyoming.  Hell it goes on and on.  But that pass ended with us.  In today's world even the slightest screwup can mean some very detrimental things happening to your life.   In one of the southern states a young lady is serving a probation term and will pay many times the price of a parking ticket conviction.  Hell she might even go to jail for failing to pay a private probation company that will keep her under supervision as long as possible to reap the maximum profit.    That peoples lives can be sincerely impacted by failing to buckle a child in just once.  Maybe even the loss of that child to the state.  There are some pretty recent insightful articles about this.  Hell, I can't count the number of times I got whacked in the face as my Mom instinctively put out her arm as she pulled up to a stop sign.  Waiting in the care with my siblings while a parent ran into a store or place of work. Anyway, I'm treading lightly here being a former PO taunted by various public defenders over the years. But it is important to realize the freedoms we have indeed lost as a result of the shenanigans of both political parties and the rising Nanny state that can't seem to differentiate between a real gun and a pop tart. An amazing book "Rise of the Warrior Cop"  by Radley Balko depicts this in some dismal detail, The war on drugs proliferated a number of laws and acts created by the federal government that seriously eroded the 4th Amendment and created an environment conducive to combining military and law enforcement operating in our own country. Once thirty years ago that would have been thought unthinkable. Many many innocent  folks have been killed in drug raids of wrong addresses and without warrants.  Law enforcement has been tantalized by the easy money of forfeiture and the ease of acquiring a drug conviction.  One of the early surprises of the legalization of Pot in Colorado is the serious reduction of crime as Pot cases consisted of nearly fifty percent of that state's crime problem.  Those who scream for the National Guard to be activated to assist the Border Patrol should be thinking twice about it.   It's a slippery slope.  
  
WSJ Rise of the Warrior Cop

Washington Post

Finally. I recognize and appreciate the sacrifice many officer's make.  I am the first to recognize a good job.   In my life I have known good cops that were considered bad cops by the people they worked for.  And I have known bad cops who were considered good cops by the people they worked for.  I suspect this guy is of the latter variety.  

CHP beating homeless woman



IF you are one of the five or so folks that has not seen this, a link is provided. It's kind of gruesome.  I've already seen the CHP spin machine working and this action is somehow described as keeping this woman safe.  That we should not rush to judgement.  I know a little about this and there is nothing that will change my opinion of this officer.  He should be fired and convicted of what looks like attempted murder.  Had the citizen not gotten involved this guy would have continued and possibly killed her.  It was not always like this.  Am I the only guy getting tired of this kind of crap.   Hmmmph.

            Art imitating life.  Storm Trooper Cops spoof

Idaho is beautiful.  Idaho has been good to me for the most part.  But, I have been a resident of Idaho my entire life  Life just kind of got in the way and  I didn't find the courage to venture outside of Idaho until a couple of years ago when Lisa and I just sort of bugged out in a popup camper. It's not  for everybody.  Have our live's improved.  Overall I would have to say a yes.  We have kinda sorta landed in Texas and will probably for the most part remain here as a base.  But the people we have met, the experiences we have had and the opportunities that have come our way, even at the age we are now, have collectively been very positive. I'm convinced this was the right thing to do.  Of course I am a realist and know things can turn South in an instant, but we are pretty resilient. Now the kids, a couple of them anyway are venturing out at a much younger age.  Idaho, particularly the Magic Valley, well let's just say it is not the land of opportunity like it once was.  The  jobs available are low paying service, factory or what is commonly considered contemptible by the population, government jobs.  The lowest paying area of the almost lowest paying state in the country.  In almost all the metrics Idaho is near the bottom with the exception of one.  And that is the number of people leaving.  Particularly folks with advanced degrees.  Oh of course Idaho is growing in number of retirees which more or less means the status quo is likely to continue.   ( I get a mental image of when the kids move away, the local Starbucks being manned by cantankerous geezers.  Hell, maybe it already is. )   Anyway, the Twin Falls Times News recently featured a columnist whose editorial slammed Idaho Democrats on their efforts to increase the minimum wage, asking smugly, how stupid did they think Idahoans were?  That Idaho leaders should concentrate on the things that matter to true Idaho conservatives.  Benghazi, The IRS scandal and how to get rid of Obamacare.  Really, this is almost a quote.  And he's right. Things that have nothing to do with infrastructure, education or opportunity.  Idaho leaders continue to pour tax money to lure low paying industries for the "real life minimum wage experience".  And of course there is also the High School to Prison problem that even the Governor said is an issue.  I'm not saying it's impossible to make it there.  It's just grown a lot harder since my day.

So after many months of careful planning, for better or for worse, they have packed up, not in a popup like we did, but in a thirty foot fifth wheel heading for greener pastures.  And, while still in their mid twenties to boot, having the opportunity to see the country as well.  All I can say is wow, how flipping awesome is that?  Makes me proud

                                Our Peeps

From County Road 322 

Adios

T

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Again no snakes

After a month long run all over the world kind of vacation last April, returning to the dismality (New Word) of South Texas can be a little taxing.  So it's time for random events, or what Glen calls ramblings, or rantings of an old Dude.  I can't remember.  

But our view went from this....

And this...

  To this.....

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not being ungrateful.  They're both beautiful in their own way of course.  It's just a new kind of excitement, sort of.


Anyhow  Lisa and I somehow do not seem to be losing the weight we collected over traveling something like 12000 miles, two weeks of that time being on a cruise ship.  Anyway, thinking the sluggishness is just because we are as my Doc told me,  not spring chickens anymore. I have finally come to the realization that if I intend to carry on with my threat that we will never upsize our digs because of the size of our assets.  It's probably going to take a little work.  Speaking of "Spring Chickens" Lisa,  actually is a little bit more of one than I am.  She's just off fifty whilst I, on the other hand, wish I was just fifty.  Therefore we have dug out all the cookbooks that facilitated her loss of some sixty pounds and myself a mere forty some odd years ago prior to our Italy trip and are going to take another crack at it.  It's funny, I have a craving for a glass or two of red wine or a martini most nights and hell no, for the most part, have I ever denied myself this pleasure.  Until now, or for the past month and a half.  And the month and a half before that when we were working, and whenever we are working.  I kind of thought that removing those nightly calories would somehow lead to some magical weight loss.  Uh uh.  Seems if anything those dalliances kept my weight down and I suspect blood pressure too.  I'd be tempted to sneak a sip here and there just that I have never drank on the job and don't intend to now.  Not that I haven't shown up with a hangover or two.  So anyway we are fan's of "Rocco" Dispirito's  "Now Eat This" and an Italian followup.  And we will see how creative our cooking can get in our little 21 footer.  Updates for later.
Now Eat This

Our recent cruise has really turned my whole attitude around as far as a vacation.  No, I doubt that I will ever fold into the "Cruiser" lifestyle and just shoot me if I should ever pack a Tux for one.  But during our last little foray, though physically challenged as I have aforedescribed, we made excellent friends and seen some amazing sights.  The beauty of it being after your various visits to the different ports of call, you get to return to the relative safety of you stateroom to be waited on hand and foot.  I'm not dissing our after adventures in Barcelona and Amsterdam, but the cruise part was just less stressful.  Ok a lot less stressful.

So we are entertaining our next adventure to be the far East.  However, everything seems to embark from either Shanghai or Singapore.  I tend do my research before these trips and both of these cities seem to have serious drawback if the warnings on the Internet are true.   So I guess we will get it sorted out.  One of the reports said a guy got fined a thousand bucks for an unopened carton of cigarettes in Singapore.  Similarly on the other spectrum there have been a lot of robberies of tourists in Shanghai.  Oh to be a traveler.  So addicting however.  BTW if anybody is interested this guy has one of the coolest traveling websites.  I have been inspired by some of his writings.  Not that I will ever, ever go to Yemen.  But a good source for researching future possible wanderings.

Wandering Earl

  
The paper from my old home town Twin Falls, Idaho  had a front page caption showing the TFPD looking for a robber they thought had escaped somewhere on the street that I grew up on.  I thought to myself, Wow wouldn't that have been some exciting stuff when I was about ten.  Subsequently that triggered a dream that day, (remember I work nights).  In the place I am now and after many many years, I have started to dream again at night.  For better or for worse it is what it is.  Some of them have been pretty bizarre which I won't go into.  But this one was a very very vivid dream of life in Twin Falls, Idaho in about 1964, from a ten year old's standpoint.  (Fifty years ago.  Wow, didn't think I would ever be saying that but, thank goodness I can.)  Crystal clear images from the wintertime early morning sessions waiting for the school bus on the beautiful tree lined old Blue Lakes Ave. to my old Elementary school where Albertson's now sits.  I saw the other kids that I used to wait there with and even the coats they wore then.  This dream had wonderful detail and involved more than one sense.  I felt the cold weather, freezing wind through my clothes.  The frost on the ground and ice on the puddles that I heard crunch as we stepped on them,  And a mental picture of what  the rest of what the old neighborhood looked like at that time.  I also dreamed about the basement of my best friends house around the corner from mine.   Many a Tarzan, Jungle Jim  and scary Friday night movie was watched there.  Yeah Glenn.  Your old place. Couldn't remember the address to find a pic of it.  Our old place looks a bit rundown after fifty years.
                        (Old House from the Net)



We have moved three times since coming back to work six weeks ago.  Usually I'm busier in the evenings but these have been slow assignments  And the 93% humidity. And the heat.  And the Mosquitoes the size of Butterflys have kept me inside under the AC.  OK, and I'll admit it, a couple of days ago during the wee hours,  I sensed a movement in the corner of my eye and outside the screen door I saw a black object run very fast past the door.  In the middle of the road and under the lights no less.  Now we are usually a couple of miles from civilization and tucked back in the country more or less alone.  As I grabbed for the camera what it could be was going through my mind.  At first I thought it the size of a fox but then I don't know.  Might have just seen the aft most parts.  When I finally bust out the door with the camera, whatever it was, was long gone. Now, a month ago the wife of the guard we replaced we were told had seen a panther just outside her door. Prior to that at one of our other assignments in this area the company man told us of an eccentric rancher in the area who collected exotic large felines that we should keep a watch for.  I thought that if one escaped surely something would be in the News.  Then I recalled the guy who had been killed about a mile from our assignment last summer on the border.  As we heard it he lay on the side of the road  quite some time before anybody come to get him.  Random Passers by taking cell phone pics.  Pretty grisly sight we heard. That didn't make the news.   So's unlikely I guess if one little kitty escaped anybody'd be talking about it much this being Texas.  Or my imagination's just runnin wild which I suspect is the case.   Anyway's it's nice in here just sippin coffee.  No reason to go outside in the middle of the night.  


Anyway, I forgot to talk about the snakes.  Dang it's hot and humid outside.

Toodles

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