Remember Me (Kleenex alert)

The Cost of Freedom

Habeas Corpus

Dear Mr President,

Why are you refusing to release the photos of Bin Laden's corpse? Who are you afraid of offending?

Are you concerned that the photos might enflame the Muslim World? They are already enflamed. The want us dead! They post You Tube videos of our citizens on their knees surrounded by masked Jihadists while they saw through their necks and scream through their own blood. They walk into crowds of innocent people all over the world and detonate bombs designed to cause the maximum collateral damage. They shoot into crowds of US Soldiers and their families in waiting areas of military clinics. They are not concerned about offending US!

Mr President,
You offend ME. You offend me when you quote the "Holy Qu'ran" and misquote the Bible. You offend me when you push to afford our enemies the same rights that they are trying to destroy. You offend me when you spend our money to help the terrorists move back into Gaza after Israel has removed them for their own safety.
Finally, you offend me when you protect the dignity of our worst enemy while his followers send our brave men & women home IN PIECES from a Improvised Explosive Device.

Give the families of over 3000 9/11 victims the closure & satisfaction of viewing the result of justice for Usama Bin Laden.

Give the families of our American Armed Forces the closure & satisfaction of viewing the result of justice for Usama Bin Laden.

Give the American People what we want; Habeas Corpus Show us the body!

If only I could write a song...

Forgotten Verse-Star-Spangled Banner

Is flotilla battle signaling start of 'Gog and Magog'?

Is flotilla battle signaling start of 'Gog and Magog'?

"That's What We Do..."

DOES GOD EXIST?

A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As
the barber began to work, they began to have a good conversation. They talked about
so many things and various subjects.
When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: 'I don't believe that God exists.'
'Why do you say that?' asked the customer.

'Well, you just have to go out in the
street to realize that God doesn't exist.
Tell me, if God exists,would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children?

If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain.

I can't imagine a loving God who would allow all of these things.'

The customer thought for a moment,
but didn't respond because he didn't
want to start an argument.

The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.
Just after he left the barbershop, he
saw a man in the street with long,
stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard.

He looked dirty and unkempt. The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber:

'You know what? Barbers do not exist.'

'How can you say that?' asked the surprised barber. 'I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!'

'No!' the customer exclaimed. 'Barbers don't exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.'
' Ah, but barbers DO exist! That's what happens when people do not come to me.'

'Exactly!' affirmed the customer. 'That's the point! God, too, DOES exist! That's what happens when people do not go to Him and don't look to Him for help.

That's why there's so much pain and suffering in the world.'

2nd Amendment Vote

Obama's new Attorney General, Eric Holder, has already said this is one of his major issues.
This takes literally 2 clicks to complete. Please vote on this gun issue question with USA Today. It will only take a few seconds of your time. Then pass the link on to all the pro gun (& others, too) folks you know. Hopefully these results will be published later this month. This upcoming year will become critical for gun owners with the Supreme Court's accepting the District of Columbia case against the right for individuals to bear arms.

Here's what you need to do:

First - vote on this one.

Second - launch it to other folks and have THEM vote - then we will see if the results get published.

The Question is:
"Does the Second Amendment give individuals the right to bear arms?"

Click on the link below and PLEASE vote.

USATODAY.com - Quick Question

Grandpa? Grandma?

After 7 months of sharing our lives with our oldest son, his wife and their son and 3 months with our daughter and her two rambuncious toddlers, we are coming to the realization that the "empty nest" is not a term we will be using to describe our lives any time soon. The crew will be coming soon to start repairing the damage to drywall, carpet & paint in the aftermath of the "Jones Gang".
We miss the little "demolition team" terribly since reuniting them with their daddy who was dodging bullets in Afghanistan before his return in early Dec. and we are looking forward to the time when they live closer then 1200 miles away (we made that trip 4 times last year).

Brayden (pictured above) DOES live much closer (15 min.) and we will be helping his mommy while she travels to Seattle off-n-on for the next couple months to get some mandatory training on a new computer system (normally, she tele-commutes from home).

Brayden LOVES his guitar. He also LOVES to climb up on the piano bench an pound an original composition of his own creation (with an ear-2-ear grin on his face). He's not bad on the drums, either.

Well, I always wanted to play in a rock band; maybe I'll just "grow my own" with the Grand-kids.

Happy 234th Birthday, Marines!

To my Son-In-Law, currently serving in Afghanastan, "Thank You" for your service to Our Corps and Our Country.

Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful)

Brian Baird vs. a Marine Dad

Viva Liagra!

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Bragging Rights

All 4 of our children possess some level of artistic talent (music, theater, comedy, etc) but I am shamelessly taking the opportunity in this post to brag on my daughter, Carol.

First, with pencil and paper, she captures (beyond question) one of America's icons.

But second (and more importantly) she chooses Patriots and Conservatives as her heroes (no "pin-heads" allowed).

Great job on the Duke!

Love, Dad

Part 3 of "...Last Train to Clarkston..."

Monday came all to soon and it was time to point the chrome & steel (and rust) back toward the West. Our host seemed to think home was "that-a-way".

So we cleaned the bugs off from the East-bound journey and set out to collect a few hundred more with the sun at our backs. Down along the Snake and then West into Pomeroy (our favorite pheasant hunting ground) and then down through Walla Walla and Pasco where we brushed elbows with the Might Columbia before rolling up into Richland for gas, water and "feeling" in our butt cheeks.

At Richland, we veered northwest onto Hwy 240 to Hwy 24 and skirted the West edge of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Out there, the sage brush rolls down the highway almost as fast as our suicide machines.

Those are the Rattlesnake Mtns. in the West behind K.T.

And the Hanford Reservation behind me in the East...After the photo-op, it was on to Yakima for more fuel (gas & groceries) and then back on Hwy 12 through Naches and up over White Pass.A very talkative truck-driver was kind enough to shoot this pic of K.T. & I with Mt Rainier in the background.

To make a long blog short, we had one more gas stop in Packwood before the last leg of our journey. Tired as we were, we still took the long way home and ran the "twisties" between Alder Lake and La Grande on Hwy 7. Yeah, Eatonville Cutoff would have been shorter but "who cares"? It's all about the ride.

And the ride was worth it all. Besides a great visit with an old friend, K.T. and I bonded on a new level. He's not just my son anymore, he's my "riding partner".

And, oh yes, his '81 CX500 made the whole round trip without incident. (Gotta' hand it to Honda- they just keep running)

See you on the road. Don't forget to "wave"...

Part 2 of "...Last Train to Clarkston..."

Learning to "cool my heals" and relax has been a lesson long overdue for me (just ask Mrs. WingMaster). For many years I attacked everything like it was a job with a deadline. And, Oh, the pleasures I missed along the way; like wading in a clear creek on a hot spring day in Hell's Canyon.

Dan-Da-Man and his best friend, Lori took K.T. and I on a cage trip down the Snake River and into the north end of Hell's Canyon. Since a majority of the expedition involved gravel roads, the iron horses had to stay at the barn (gravel & chrome don't mix well).

The scenery over there is gorgeous; I love deserts, canyons, rivers and mountains and Hell's Canyon delivers all these in wild abundance.

Our first stop on the River was to let Dan and Lori show us the Petroglyphs- 500 yr old rock etchings by the Nez Pierce Indians that document a Gathering that could be described as their version of Thanksgiving. (I thought a few of them might have been added by teenagers in the "Big Hair" days of the '80's.)

Then, we pushed onward, deep into the canyon to drink in the splendor that is God's Creation.

Although this was the most blog-worthy part of "Part 2", the rest of the weekend was just as precious to me. Often, Dan would ask, "Is there anything particular you guys want to do?". We would look at each other and then reply, "No, man. We're just happy to hang out with you and relax." And that's exactly what we did. We barbecued, played music, swapped stories and reminisced about our 36 years of history together (I've known Dan since 7th grade). He is probably one of the few people in my life that I can pick up a conversion with after 10 years of silence and not feel disconnected.

I am ashamed to admit that it took a motorcycle to teach me to "enjoy the ride" along the way but I am thoroughly absorbed in the lesson and looking forward to more "field trips" as extra credit assignments.

Thanks for taking this ride with me. There's more to come in Part 3...

"...Last Train to Clarkston..." (Part 1 of 3)

OK, it wasn't a train; it was a couple motor "sickles" (as Dirt would say), And it was Clarkston, WA (not Clarksville). And it was the best bike trip I've been on yet (except that Mrs. WingMaster wasn't on the back to massage my stiff neck).

We left Friday at 0900 with full hearts and full tanks and headed for White Pass... ( Yes, that's K.T. and his "vintage" '81 Honda CX500 Custom- the "custom" part is the rust and bent hard-parts) Will it survive 750 mile round-trip?

1st fuel stop was Packwood and then on through Yakima (following Hwy 12 E) to the next fuel depot- Grainger

Then on through Richland until we got off the beaten path and headed for the Umatilla Wilderness. (I wish I had stopped and taken more pics on the way there, but the ride and scenery were so awesome that I got lost in the joy of it all.

And finally (8 hours later) we arrive at our destination, Clarkston, WA, to spend some time with one of my oldest & dearest friends, Dan-the Man (confirmed Cager, guitar-player, singer-songwriter and all-around great guy). I know- I should have taken more pics! So, K.T.'s Death-Cheater made the first half of the ride; will it survive the scourching heat and miles of sagebrush, asphalt and oil-mat on the ride back? Stay tuned for Part 2 of the "Last Train to Clarkston" (A lot more pics in the next two parts).

Comments

I don't know know what happened to the "comments" link on my last post. It's not that important; I was just noticing that it dissappeared. Hope y'all enjoyed the "bears".

Grin and "Bear" it....

And then there's the Right-Wing-Wacko bears....

And finally, the Happy-Go-Lucky Pole-Dancing Bears...

Which bear are YOU today?

"What Would Peter Do? (WWPD)

My sincere thanks to all of you who have commented on my last post. I was beginning to feel "alone" out here. Obviously, I am frustrated, sad, and angry at the direction our country is heading.

The next question is (as Christians) what do we do now? Pray, of course, but what else? Anything? Nothing?

Being "me", my first reaction is "fight, not flight". (Kind of a "What would Peter do-WWPD" reaction)

The real question to be explored is "What would JESUS have ME do?" And the answer may be different for each Christian in America.

Please ponder that question and share your insights.

God Bless you and God Bless the United States of America.