Only in Noble-tucky

These pictures were taken yesterday (4/29/08) by the Hamilton County Sheriff's department in Noblesville, IN.
They were taken at the Speedway on SR 32 across from Riverview Hospital .

Washer and Dryer................ $950

Refrigerator............................ $750

Chest Freezer......................... $300

Air conditioner.......................$500

Edit - (Artemis is right, this needed changed)

Leaving your hick ass wife AND taking all of the appliances

Your wife kicks your hick ass out of the trailer and ‘showing her’ by taking ALL of the appliances......................... Priceless

What an Honor

A friend, PO1 Hansel, Darrel, Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group, has returned from Kuwait. He has been there for over 9 months.

Back here, I won this contest and had Sparrow send the care package to him. Over Christmas, his wife organized a couple large boxes of donations of Christmas decorations for them to use. His duty involved processing all (yes ALL) outbound (and inbound, I think) soldiers from Iraq or Afghanistan. During the holidays, all that passed through were treated to a very American Christmas, complete with decorations all over the offices, mess hall and sleeping quarters. He says it made many a soldier smile.

Darrel has been greatly missed by family and friends but especially his wife, my friend and co-worker, Debi. So much so that she drove to Bethesda to pick him up and bring him home.

My thoughts regarding a welcome home surprise for them surrounded her initial plan (so she had said before she left) was to hang out there for a few days, leisurely drive home spend some time in the mountains ‘sight seeing’... (yeah, right). Then be home Saturday. I was making plans to meet them on the road just outside of Indy and escort them home, set a bunch of flags around their home and welcome him home proper.

BUT NOOOooo!!! Once on US soil and processed out, the Hansel Express drove home like... like he hadn’t been home in 9 months. Something about a new grandbaby, (phft, whatever) I heard later. Anyway, they got home about 4 yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.

Best I could do was ride over and welcome him home personally. Not quite the honor he deserves, so we’ll have to see about something big at a later date.

After the hugs, ‘glad your back’, ‘you look great’, ‘great to be back’, ‘thanks for the care package’, etc., we got to talking about my vest and some of the patches on it. Across the top, on my back is a patch of a folded flag that says "IN MEMORIAM”, surrounding it are patches of some of the most meaningful rides, or events I have been on. All are in memory of a veteran that is no longer with us, one from Vietnam, one from Iraq, one for Greg Bowman.

*deep breath*

While there [in Kuwait], just before Christmas, they, the Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group, lost their only, every, war time fatality. PO1 Jeffries, Victor W., 52, Honolulu, HI.
PO1 Jeffries “...died of injuries suffered during a vehicular accident in Kuwait.”. The Support Group designed a patch for Victor.

So, we’re standing there talking and Darrel disappears, andI can here him mumbling something about a patch. I look around the corner and he is digging through a sea bag, he pulls out a patch and says as he hands it to me... *deep breath* “I was wondering on the way home what I was going to do with this. I can think of no better honor than to give it to you and for you wear it on your vest.”

Sweet baby Jesus, I’m still all teary.

Good God what an honor!!!
(as soon as I can get a scan, I'll post it)


Related:

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 1445-07
December 31, 2007


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DoD Identifies Navy Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Petty Officer 1st Class Victor W. Jeffries, 52, of Honolulu, Hawaii, died Dec. 31, 2007 as a result of injuries suffered Dec. 24 in a vehicular accident in Kuwait. He was permanently assigned to the Navy Expeditionary Logistics Support Group, Kuwait.

For further information related to this release, contact Navy Public Affairs at 011 (965) 389-6335 or DSN (318) 430-6335.

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Petty Officer 1st Class Victor W. Jeffries' awards include;

The Navy Reserve Meritorious Service Medal,
National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star,
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal,
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal,
Armed Forces Reserve Service Medal with mobilization device and bronze hourglass,
Navy Unit Commendation Medal, Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon,
The Army Achievement Medal and
The Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal.

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(If you read nothing else, read this first one)
Unites States Army Central - Coalition Forces Land Component Command
Faces of The Fallen - Wahsington Post
Honolulu Advertiser

Ink

Some things in my life have changed me;

The Patriot Guard

September 11th, 2001

My brother going to Iraq

My son joining the Marines and his graduation

The many funerals I have been too

The sum of these parts or experiences (plus many others and a little smart ass) gets you me. For a couple years now, I've been thinking of how one can express those ideals, beliefs and convections symbolically. Photos, songs, art, etc., etc.

When I went to San Diego for my sons graduation from MCRD (Marine Corp Recruit Depot) I bought a patch. I wear it on my vest with one of his last name badges. Here is a scan. Nice enough, it is my son and a link to a very important memory. But it is not me, it IS a part of me.

September 11th changed so many people... there were days after that I wanted to drive to NYC to help... to do anything. I remember thinking, "I can carry buckets of rubble; let the fire fighters fight fires or rest." I felt helpless, I so wanted to do something. I ended up 'not letting them win'. Within a couple weeks of 9-11 I was flying for business. I was not going to stop doing the things they wanted to scare us into stopping. AND, I swore I'd never forget. I've been to NYC three times since then. Every time, I go to ground zero. Every time, I will.

When my brother announced he had re-joined the Marines/Navy so he could go to Iraq, I was prepared. The rest of the family was shell shocked. I would have been too, but he and I had discussed it in great detail a few months prior. I remember a couple things very distinctly:
1 - before he left, he told me that hardest thing he was doing to get ready wasn’t the physical training, (he was 38 at the time) or the 80 pound pack or the additional 40 pounds he got because he was a medic... it was having to write 'good-by letters' to me, my kids, our parents, his friends... That statement brought it all into a shocking reality.
2 - going a few days without talking to him drove me nuts. See here for more.

Funerals. 3 years ago, when co-workers lost a family member, I did not go to the viewings and defiantly did not go to the actual service. I did not handle funerals well. Now... I've been to many. The solemn words, the final good-byes, family members 'thanking' me...for being there. I go there to thank them, to support them.
The most moving part of any military funeral is the 21 gun salute; the shells are retrieved and tucked in to the folded flag that was on their loved ones casket then the flag is presented to the wife or mother.

A patriot. I have always been proud of my country and my flag. I always stand at a parade. I LOVE this country. I couldn't join the service with my son, or go fight with my brother. I didn't go make a difference in NYC but I can stand and honor the families of the fallen. I AM a Patriot Guard Rider. I ride to protect the families from the nut jobs... 'nough said 'bout that.

So, you ask, what does all of this lead up to, what does it mean? Like I said, I've been thinking about this for a couple years. Saturday, I pulled it all together.

Crossed flags from an MCRD patch
An American flag
A PGR flag
An American bald eagle
Hands passing and hands receiving a folded flag
and
"I WILL NOT FORGET"

Almost eight hours later, this is what I had...

Picture of the Day

I almost always hit a few POD sites each morning. This one (Astronomy Picture of the Day) I even go back and look at the weekend photos that I may have missed.

This picture is.... AMAZING!!! It is my new wallpaper. It was posted lst weekend.

The resolution is huge!! You can see so much. In the left third you can see a thunder head forming. They reach up to 50,000 feet above sea level.

Absolutely amazing!!

F'd Up my Whole Weekend

Riding in the car this weekend with this same person, I honked at a taxi-cab. We were in a parking lot and the cabbie was not looking at the road. He was obviously looking around because someone had called a cab, he was looking for his fair. So, to more or less wake him up and let him know he needs to pay attention, I honked.

He turned around and mouthed something and I think he even flipped me off. My buddy says “Ya know, some day somebody is going to hall off and take you out.”

Literally in the very next breath, I hear “Want to go look at guns?”

The mean spirited tone in the first statement mixed with the sarcasm in the second kinda freaked me out. And pissed me off.

I think I had my life threatened...

Am I being over sensitive?

That's Some Funny Shit Right There

There are only two kinds of people that understand Marines: Marines and the enemy. Everyone else has a second-hand opinion. - Gen. William Thornson, U.S. Army

Clicky this linky.

Vote for Carolyn, Please

Carolyn Maupin (Matt Maupin’s mother) is in the running for mother of the year. If you don’t know who the Maupin’s are, Google them.

Go here to vote, yeah, you have to register but to me, for a Gold Star Mom that had to go years without knowing... a little spam (if they sell my e-mail) is worth it.

Thanks for your help.

DNR

A Long Ride

The guys were all heading to a cross country riders rally. They had to bunk two to a room on the road and at the rally. No one wanted to room with DNR because he snored like a pissed off grizzly bear. They decided it wasn't fair to make one of them stay with him the whole time, so they voted to take turns.

The first guy to sleep in a room with DNR comes to breakfast the next morning with his hair a mess and his eyes all bloodshot. Hoss said, "Man, what in THE hell happened to you?" The guy answers, "DNR snored so loudly, I just sat up and watched him all night."

The next night it was a different guy's turn. In the morning, same thing -- hair all standing up, eyes all blood-shot. They said, "Man, what happened to you? You look awful!" He said, "Man, that DNR shakes the fucking roof. I just sat up and watched him all night."

The third night was DC's turn. DC was ex Army and over 6’ tall; a man's man. The next morning he came to breakfast bright eyed and bushy tailed. "Good morning," he said.

No one could believe it! They all asked, "Man, what happened?" DC said, "Well, we got ready for bed and I went and tucked DNR into bed and kissed him good night with a wink. He sat up and watched me all night!”

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OK - Now, I’m not saying this happened, but I’ve been threatened. Notice I did not change the names. No one here is innocent.

I Love Karma

Background -
Albert Snyder, father of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, sued the WBC and was awarded $5 million dollars after their protest at his son’s funeral.

The WBC is the group that forced the formation of the Patriot Guard Riders (PGR). They travel around the country protesting at the funerals of service members that have been killed in the War on Terror. It is said that they fund there travel by suing anyone that physically strikes out at them.

Thus we (The PGR) are a shield for the family. We do not confront, we stand, with our backs to them, shoulder to shoulder, with 3x4 flags and if required will start motorcycles to drown them out.

The story -
I love this line, “A federal judge in Baltimore ordered Westboro Baptist Church members to post their church building and nearly $500,000 more in cash and property while appealing a judgment for protesting a Marine’s funeral.”

You can read the rest of the story here.

Somebody Just Shot Me!!!

Kaizen Event... Kaizen (改善, Japanese for "change for the better" or "improvement"; the common English usage is "continuous improvement"). In the context of this article, kaizen refers to a workplace "quality" strategy and is often associated with the Toyota Production System and related to various quality-control systems, including methods of W. Edwards Deming. (see Wikipedia)

Basically I just spent 3 days in a meeting. Talking about a process and deciding what to do to make it better.

Now, this is a great concept but working the process is... challenging. You can only talk about a topic for so long before it becomes a dead horse.

My brain is dead.

The ‘best’ part was that my boss was there, the Executive VP of engineering, the Director of new products engineering, another EVP of something or other and 4 oher managers. Think there were some opinions of how things ‘should’ work?? Fuck yeah!!

12 people in a conference room for 3 days yielded 18 opinions.

Good God my head hurts.

It is nearly 50 here today and I rode in... highway here I come.

PS: tanie, thanks for checking on me.

Ten Things from betme's Place

WOW!! Did that bring back some memories. I read this at betme’s place last night. You’ll need to go read hers for some of these to make since.

1 - My mom says I would wonder off in the grocery store all of the time at the ripe old age of 4. Hands crossed behind my back just looking all around. Says if she didn’t come look for me, I’d never miss her. Even then I was very independent.

2 - Maybe guys learn to protect their private parts sooner. I ALWAYS swung a leg over while standing on the peddle. (gettgin off and on) Even on smaller bikes.

Is that a peddle on the handle bars of your pic??

3 - Our ‘throwing wars’ were green apples. There was a place about a mile from the house that had about 10 acres of green apple trees. They were about the size of golf balls and every bit as hard... unless you could find a rotted one!!

4 - We always went to grandmas for vacation. Have been to Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse and the Bad Lands in the RV a few years ago. (when gas was under $2 f’n bucks) Hope to get back soon on the bike.

5 - We swung a tire swing AT the tree. The objective was to spin your friend at the tree and try to make them hit the tree. You got to swing until you hit the tree, then switched... Led to many a bloody arms, knees and shoulders.

6 - heh!! I bought Aerosmith’s “Night in the Ruts”. Never did show my folks the back. Two of the letters were crossed out and the title then read “Right in the Nuts”. The guys were naked too... I think.

7 - We lived on a hill. Felt like you could get up to 30 mph on a skateboard. I left MANY pounds of flesh on that road. Surprised there aren’t rocks imbedded in my knees, elbows and face!

8 - We didn’t have snow drifts quite that high. We did, however, dig snow forts and tunnels in the piles at the end of the driveway and in parking lots. We’d sit in a small dug out hole with 8-10 feet of packed ice and show above us. Every once in a while you’d hear a car loose it and run into the show pack... it would rain ice for a few seconds, everyone holding their breath. Then we’d all bust out laughing.

Yes, the thrill of getting killed was VERY entertaining.

9 - There is something very therapeutic about poking a fire, stirring the coals and burning things.

Ya know, if you knock on the door of an old farm house (the kind that had the key-hole that went all the way through) and waited to hear the foot steps get just close enough... you could use the “hair-spray-flame-thrower” as entertainment... Light it and aim it into the key-hole. The screams could shatter glass and you better run your ass out of there, FAST... at least that is what I’ve heard. What...?

10 - I still hate chores.

Oh Shit!!! From what I learned yesterday and what K said, you better tell LL not to come over here... That last pic may do her in!

You Need to Read This

Open Letter From an Army Wife

Who You Gonna Call??

I don't know why but this struck me as really, really funny. I mean like crying funny.

Do you laugh hystaricaly as stupid stuff if you are stressed out?

Enjoy!

Obama For President??

EDIT - The Picture is faked, even faked a clock in the background...
Big THANK YOU to B!! She sent me this;

It's a photoshopped pic. Go here to see the real one: http://message.snopes.com/showthread.php?p=553117

What do you think?

A faked photo-op or is it 0300 and his preacher is calling???

Easter Sunday

Got to spend some time in the woods Sunday. It was a good day.

The Meaning of Life

On the first day, God created the dog and said:

'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'

The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?'

So God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said:

'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.'

The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'

And God agreed.

On the third day, God created the cow and said:

'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'

The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'

And God agreed again.

On the fourth day, God created man and said:

'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years.'

But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten
the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'

'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'

So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Life has now been explained to you.

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service.

If Celebrities Moved to Oklahoma

Britney Spears



Ashley Simpson



Cameron Diaz



Michael Douglas & Catherine
Zeta Jones



The Beckhams



Gwen Steffani



Hillary Duff



Jennifer Aniston



Jennifer Lopez & Mark Anthony



Johnny Depp



John Travolta



Mary Kate & Ashley Olsen



Pamela Anderson



Paris Hilton



Sarah Jessica Parker



Sharon Stone



Tara Reid



Tom Cruise

No, I didn't make these, but someone i know is excelent with p-shop!

A Dying Democracy

Got this the other day... interesting reading. I don't know about the five years part and I did not research the quoted. but it is something to think about.

About the time our original thirteen states adopted their new constitution in 1787, Alexander Tyler, a Scottish history professor at the University of Edinburgh, had this to say about the fall of the Athenian Republic some 2,000 years earlier:

'A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government.'

'A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury.'

'From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.'

'The average age of the world's greatest civilizations from the beginning of history, has been about 200 years'

'During those 200 years, those nations always progressed through the following sequence:

1. From bondage to spiritual faith;

2. From spiritual faith to great courage;

3. From courage to liberty;

4. From liberty to abundance;

5. From abundance to complacency;

6. From complacency to apathy;

7. From apathy to dependence;

8. From dependence back into bondage'

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, points out some interesting facts concerning the 2000 Presidential election:

Number of States won by:
Gore: 19
Bush: 29

Square miles of land won by:
Gore: 580,000
Bush: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by:
Gore: 127 million
Bush: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by:
Gore: 13.2
Bush: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: 'In aggregate, the map of the territory Bush won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of this great country.
Gore's territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare...' Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the 'complacency and apathy' phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the 'governmental dependency' phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegal and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.

An Empath...?

Stole thie from LL.

What Kind of Empath Are You? created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Judge You are a Judge Empath, one who is a "truthsayer". You can tell truth from lies, good from evil. You do not tolerate wrong doing. You are a defender of the good and the innocent. You are kind and merciful but do not play foolish games. (from "The Book of Storms" by Jad Alexander at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Empaths/) Judge 75% Shaman 60% Universal 50% Precog 50% Fallen Angel 40% Artist 35% Healer 25% Traveler 25%

Look Out Little Brats

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