I let a fire go yesterday in the hope that it would burn quite a few acres that are in need of having fire run through them. It clouded up very darkly yesterday but today it rained like heck on the fire and it is barely hanging on in the big trees that are on the ground burning under them where it is protected from the rain. Most likely this one will burn out at no significant acreage because of the rain but the rain will make the grass grow so that is OK too. OH WELL - AT LEAST I TRIED.
This morning I got a call from one of my employees requesting that I come out and help him on an investigation of some vandalism. When I got there it was not our jurisdiction so we waited until the Deputh Sheriff arrived and we investigated the scene together. After we finished that we decided that each of the three of us would check the campers on three different roads and see if there was a vehicle with that type of tire on it.
I found a truck at the very end of my road and thought the tires had a tread similar to the tracks we had made plaster casts of. I talked to the person in the camp and they assured me that the truck had not moved since they pulled into the site last night at about 7 until the lady took it to town this morning for more groceries.
I pulled down the road to a large turnout and waited for the Deputy to get finished with his road. When he got there I told him I thought I had the truck located so we went back into the site. The truck had been moved and I believe the woman decided she was going to get out of there but when she pulled down to the road she saw me sitting on the turn out waiting for the Deputy so she drove back and parked the truck.
She was not in the camp site when we got back so we did the tire measurements and compared the tread to the cast - YUP - I believe it is the right truck. When the owners got back to camp they denied anything to do with the vandalism so we discussed it with them and told them that lying to an officer had very serious consequences. They started blubbering about getting an attorney to discuss it with us. The Deputy told them that we would see them later and that he knew where they lived so didn't need any additonal information. We left and went back to the site and compared tracks again - it is the right vehicle - time will tell but my bet is both the man and lady will do time for this vandalism. I feel really sorry for their two little kids.
They could have got by with a simple ticket and requirements to fix the vandalism. The judge won't give them that opportunity when they are dragged into court after more investigation for both the vandalism and for giving false information to an officer. SOME PEOPLE NEVER LEARN
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
UNMANLY?
Yesterday Inklings and I went to the graduation of two of our grand daughters. That makes three of our seventeen that have now graduated from High School.
We were told that the graduation was to take place at the Marriot Center at BYU and we needed to be seated by 7:30 p.m. We left home early enough to have about an hour to find a building on the BYU campus that neither of us had ever (to our knowledge) been to.
We arrived and decided to eat dinner before going to the graduation. We stopped and ate then started out with plenty of time to find the building and where we could sit. We drove easily to the junction that took us to the Marriot Center. Traffic was terrible. I told Inklings to roll down the window and ask someone where the Marriot Center was. She refused to do that so I continued up the road. Off to the right we could see a huge building but could only read center on it not the name (BYU needs to fire it's forester because the trees obscure the name - on all the buildings). So we kept going up the road looking at how to get into the parking lot to see what the building was. There was a traffic cop waving all the traffic past the drive way into the building so we went on up the road to the next entrance. We pulled in that entrance, drove over close to the building and parked the car. We still couldn't read what building it was so we walked over to where we could - YUP - first try - the right building. I told Inklings I was really, really glad that we didn't do anything unmanly - like ask directions.
We called our son and made arrangements on where to meet them and had a lovely evening watching the girls graduate. CONGRATULATIONS GIRLS - WE LOVE YOU.
Just as the ceremony started I got a call on my cell phone (on vibrate) - they were reporting a fire on the area I am responsible for so I walked up the stairs (LOTS OF STAIRS) to take the call. After a short discussion I told them to call one of my employees and tell him I wanted to let the fire burn but that he would have to check with a couple of specialists to see if it would meet the criteria for using the fire to meet resource objectives. I also told him that I thought I'd see him in the morning if we decided to come home otherwise I was comfortable with him taking care of it.
I was pretty proud of myself - THAT IS THE FIRST TIME IN MY CAREER THAT I ACTUALLY DELEGATED A FIRE TO SOMEONE ELSE AND STAYED AWAY. Maybe I really am ready to retire. MAYBE
We were told that the graduation was to take place at the Marriot Center at BYU and we needed to be seated by 7:30 p.m. We left home early enough to have about an hour to find a building on the BYU campus that neither of us had ever (to our knowledge) been to.
We arrived and decided to eat dinner before going to the graduation. We stopped and ate then started out with plenty of time to find the building and where we could sit. We drove easily to the junction that took us to the Marriot Center. Traffic was terrible. I told Inklings to roll down the window and ask someone where the Marriot Center was. She refused to do that so I continued up the road. Off to the right we could see a huge building but could only read center on it not the name (BYU needs to fire it's forester because the trees obscure the name - on all the buildings). So we kept going up the road looking at how to get into the parking lot to see what the building was. There was a traffic cop waving all the traffic past the drive way into the building so we went on up the road to the next entrance. We pulled in that entrance, drove over close to the building and parked the car. We still couldn't read what building it was so we walked over to where we could - YUP - first try - the right building. I told Inklings I was really, really glad that we didn't do anything unmanly - like ask directions.
We called our son and made arrangements on where to meet them and had a lovely evening watching the girls graduate. CONGRATULATIONS GIRLS - WE LOVE YOU.
Just as the ceremony started I got a call on my cell phone (on vibrate) - they were reporting a fire on the area I am responsible for so I walked up the stairs (LOTS OF STAIRS) to take the call. After a short discussion I told them to call one of my employees and tell him I wanted to let the fire burn but that he would have to check with a couple of specialists to see if it would meet the criteria for using the fire to meet resource objectives. I also told him that I thought I'd see him in the morning if we decided to come home otherwise I was comfortable with him taking care of it.
I was pretty proud of myself - THAT IS THE FIRST TIME IN MY CAREER THAT I ACTUALLY DELEGATED A FIRE TO SOMEONE ELSE AND STAYED AWAY. Maybe I really am ready to retire. MAYBE
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
SOMETIMES CHICKEN....
SOMETIMES FEATHERS!!!
It has been a while since I heard that statement but it used to be one of the things we said all the time when I worked on a District to the south a short ways. It meant that sometimes we won - other times we lost. I will tell you for sure that we worked hard not to get the feathers - sometimes really, really hard - sometimes way late into the night - sometimes when we should have been home doing more important things.
Through that time we developed some really strong bonds with the other members of the team and we made it tough on anyone not on the team to come in and work with us. For sure everyone that came in had to earn their way - and I do mean earn it. There was no free lunch and if they weren't willing to do their best to win they didn't really get to play. Some of them got to work with us for a long time but when the chips were down we didn't rely on them and usually didn't even let them know things were going down until afterwards - then they got to help clean up the mess if they were willing to help---if they weren't we just did it without them. It really didn't make a lot of difference how much extra work that might entail since we were just doing it anyway - and weren't getting paid for the extra time required either.
Did all of that make any difference - YUP - there are lots of people over there that still wonder how we got everything done and wondered how we could be everywhere. Ask any of the families involved and they will tell you the same thing - we did all of those accomplishments at the expense of our families.
Some of our families are still together but more than half have split up and went different ways. Just saying there may be more to the break ups of all those families than meets the eye. For sure there is a price to be paid for any accomplishment - many times if we studied it out instead of just doing it we would find out that the cost is to dear.
If I learned anything out of that experience it is that hind sight is always 20/20 - ALWAYS - but it never helps your fore sight.
It has been a while since I heard that statement but it used to be one of the things we said all the time when I worked on a District to the south a short ways. It meant that sometimes we won - other times we lost. I will tell you for sure that we worked hard not to get the feathers - sometimes really, really hard - sometimes way late into the night - sometimes when we should have been home doing more important things.
Through that time we developed some really strong bonds with the other members of the team and we made it tough on anyone not on the team to come in and work with us. For sure everyone that came in had to earn their way - and I do mean earn it. There was no free lunch and if they weren't willing to do their best to win they didn't really get to play. Some of them got to work with us for a long time but when the chips were down we didn't rely on them and usually didn't even let them know things were going down until afterwards - then they got to help clean up the mess if they were willing to help---if they weren't we just did it without them. It really didn't make a lot of difference how much extra work that might entail since we were just doing it anyway - and weren't getting paid for the extra time required either.
Did all of that make any difference - YUP - there are lots of people over there that still wonder how we got everything done and wondered how we could be everywhere. Ask any of the families involved and they will tell you the same thing - we did all of those accomplishments at the expense of our families.
Some of our families are still together but more than half have split up and went different ways. Just saying there may be more to the break ups of all those families than meets the eye. For sure there is a price to be paid for any accomplishment - many times if we studied it out instead of just doing it we would find out that the cost is to dear.
If I learned anything out of that experience it is that hind sight is always 20/20 - ALWAYS - but it never helps your fore sight.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
WHO'S THE BEST
Jerry West said yesterday that LeBron James is the best player in the NBA - he also said that if he had to choose a closer he would take Kobe. This morning in an interview they asked him to explain what he said. He said first of all there have been lots of folks and lots of pressure for me to either appologize for what I said or to say that I was misquoted. I assure you that I was not misquoted.
LeBron IS the best player in the NBA today. He has many, many good years left and he is improving every game. Kobe is a great player and has been the best several years. He is no longer the best and he no longer has the most potential of all the players in the game. But don't sell him short. He still knows exactly what he needs to do to win - and he does everything he can - every night - every time to win. I'll take him for my closer every single time.
Jerry West was also one of the best - I loved the interview - I loved his bearing during the interview. He was and IS an intimidator.
LeBron IS the best player in the NBA today. He has many, many good years left and he is improving every game. Kobe is a great player and has been the best several years. He is no longer the best and he no longer has the most potential of all the players in the game. But don't sell him short. He still knows exactly what he needs to do to win - and he does everything he can - every night - every time to win. I'll take him for my closer every single time.
Jerry West was also one of the best - I loved the interview - I loved his bearing during the interview. He was and IS an intimidator.
MEMORIAL DAY 2009
Last night two of my kids and three of my grand kids showed up at the house for at least a few hours. It was really good to see them. They are still here for a while and it is fun to have them. Right now I am the patient for my grand son playing doctor.....he loves giving me shots in the arm - loves it - I have had more shots in the last ten minutes than I have had in the last 40 years.
First crack out of bed this morning I came down and read my e-mail. Included in that mail were several things from my youngest brother regarding Memorial Day. I forwarded one to just family and one to family and friends. They were awesome. They really made me think of what this day is all about. This weekend we celebrate the lives of all the veterans that went into harms way (many thousands to never return) so that we could continue to have our way of life and our freedom.
I must say that thinking about all of those sacrifices of all those people put a lump in my throat that probably won't leave this weekend. Think about why we have Memorial Day this weekend.
First crack out of bed this morning I came down and read my e-mail. Included in that mail were several things from my youngest brother regarding Memorial Day. I forwarded one to just family and one to family and friends. They were awesome. They really made me think of what this day is all about. This weekend we celebrate the lives of all the veterans that went into harms way (many thousands to never return) so that we could continue to have our way of life and our freedom.
I must say that thinking about all of those sacrifices of all those people put a lump in my throat that probably won't leave this weekend. Think about why we have Memorial Day this weekend.
Friday, May 22, 2009
HOLIDAY WEEKEND MY A _ _
So the Memorial Day Weekend started for me today at noon. At 3:00 p.m. (1500) I got a call that people were locked out of their trailer over in the Gooseberry drainage past the closure gate and concrete barricades we put in place this week to keep people out of there so they wouldn't get into trouble. Yeah right - they didn't see the sign - because they parked their trailer last week end - right - I believe that a lot but can't prove otherwise. If I could I would simply write them a ticket and send them on their way for failure to obey a posted sign. Can't do that because I can't prove anything - so I just had my officer open up the gate and let them in and then closed the gate behind them - I had my officer tell them that if they went up the road any further than their trailer I would have them arrested and impound their trailer. Pretty big bluff - but I'll bet you a new car it works through the weekend. I also told him to tell them to use only their ATV's for ingress and egress to their campsite for the weekend. For a grand finale I had him tell them that on Monday when they are ready to leave they need to pull their trailer out with them and lock the gate behind them.
I am so tickled I have good people working for me. Most of my career I would have had to go up there and take care of this whole situation myself. It felt really good to talk to someone on the radio tell them what I wanted done and have it just happen. It is really great to have good people working for you.
I started working on my 40th season for the same employer this spring. In those 40 seasons I have not had one - no not one - three day holiday weekend during the months of May to November. I hope all ya'all have a great time with your three day holiday weekend. I think I will leave town for at least part of the rest of the weekend.
I am really looking forward to the beginning of fire season...can't wait to get out there and accomplish something. I don't get a lot of satisfaction in accomplishing things anymore because it is so hard to get any projects through the approval process anymore.
AHHHH RETIREMENT LOOKS PRETTY GOOD TONITE!!!!! WILL BE A GREAT DAY WHEN I AM NO LONGER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STUPID PEOPLE!!!!
I am so tickled I have good people working for me. Most of my career I would have had to go up there and take care of this whole situation myself. It felt really good to talk to someone on the radio tell them what I wanted done and have it just happen. It is really great to have good people working for you.
I started working on my 40th season for the same employer this spring. In those 40 seasons I have not had one - no not one - three day holiday weekend during the months of May to November. I hope all ya'all have a great time with your three day holiday weekend. I think I will leave town for at least part of the rest of the weekend.
I am really looking forward to the beginning of fire season...can't wait to get out there and accomplish something. I don't get a lot of satisfaction in accomplishing things anymore because it is so hard to get any projects through the approval process anymore.
AHHHH RETIREMENT LOOKS PRETTY GOOD TONITE!!!!! WILL BE A GREAT DAY WHEN I AM NO LONGER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE STUPID PEOPLE!!!!
Saturday, May 16, 2009
A COUPLE OF FUNNY THINGS HAPPENED
A couple of funny things that I thought should be shared happened today.
My Mother, who is 92, called and reminded me that my Aunt T. was turning 92 tomorrow. Then she said that my Aunt F. would be turning 92 on June 4. I kind of chuckled and said it is nice that the three of you have been good friends most of your lives and will be 92 together. My Mother immediately bristled up and said "I am 92. They will be 92 on their birthday." I would have thought that a couple of days or weeks to a 92 year old wouldn't have meant that much. After I hung up the phone I had a big laugh about this. So when I get to be 92 don't laugh where I can hear you. Oh yeah she can't hear either.
I went garage saling with Inklings today. We left pretty early and went to a lot of sales. At the last one there was a 1969 Thunderbird and a 2000 Harley Davidson cycle for sale. I hurried over to look at the T-Bird and Inklings looked at the price over my shoulder. Then I went over and looked at the cycle - it was beautiful.
When we finished and got in the car Inklings said "I was really surprised that you didn't buy that car." I said "buy that car? Did you see the price?" She said "yes but when I saw it was $2,700 I was pretty sure we were going home with another car." I said "yeah right if it would have been $2,700 I would have bought it - it was $27,000 - and the bike was $17,500." Inklings said "Now I understand why you didn't even ask me to come and look at them."
I am going to continue to watch that bike---he'll never get his asking price--- but when the price goes down I will reconsider a purchase. I would dearly love to have that bike. The engine is 1400 cc's - that is 200 cc's bigger than the engine we had in our Volkswagon Van. It would be awesome to open that up out on the freeway - yeah I know alone - Inklings would never go with me on that.
My Mother, who is 92, called and reminded me that my Aunt T. was turning 92 tomorrow. Then she said that my Aunt F. would be turning 92 on June 4. I kind of chuckled and said it is nice that the three of you have been good friends most of your lives and will be 92 together. My Mother immediately bristled up and said "I am 92. They will be 92 on their birthday." I would have thought that a couple of days or weeks to a 92 year old wouldn't have meant that much. After I hung up the phone I had a big laugh about this. So when I get to be 92 don't laugh where I can hear you. Oh yeah she can't hear either.
I went garage saling with Inklings today. We left pretty early and went to a lot of sales. At the last one there was a 1969 Thunderbird and a 2000 Harley Davidson cycle for sale. I hurried over to look at the T-Bird and Inklings looked at the price over my shoulder. Then I went over and looked at the cycle - it was beautiful.
When we finished and got in the car Inklings said "I was really surprised that you didn't buy that car." I said "buy that car? Did you see the price?" She said "yes but when I saw it was $2,700 I was pretty sure we were going home with another car." I said "yeah right if it would have been $2,700 I would have bought it - it was $27,000 - and the bike was $17,500." Inklings said "Now I understand why you didn't even ask me to come and look at them."
I am going to continue to watch that bike---he'll never get his asking price--- but when the price goes down I will reconsider a purchase. I would dearly love to have that bike. The engine is 1400 cc's - that is 200 cc's bigger than the engine we had in our Volkswagon Van. It would be awesome to open that up out on the freeway - yeah I know alone - Inklings would never go with me on that.
I WAS WR...!
I WAS WR...!
LETS TRY THIS ONE MORE TIME
I WAS WR...!
So that didn't work too well so I'll just fill you in on what happened if you don't already know. Rachel Alexandra went wire to wire in the Preakness this afternoon. She broke on top and improved her position from there. Granted if it had been another furlong or so then I think Mine That Bird would have run her down. He came close anyway finishing just a length back.
OK the excuse is he didn't get any breaks and no one would give him anywhere to run---Mike Smith rode a terrific race and brought Mine That Bird through a lot of traffic to give her a good run at the end but she was just too good today.
Eighty five years since a filly won the race - never before in history has a horse from the far outside pulled off a victory. Borel guarenteed a win when they did the final interview with him. He also said he had never (in 5 wins) had to ask her to give more than she was giving. He had to ask today - and she delivered. She is a great filly and will go down as one of the best in history. The price of her colts just went through the roof.
When we were playing with race horses my grand father always purchased colts based on the performance of the mother. He didn't care much what the father had done. He claimed that all of the athleticism in colts came from the mom.....take a look at all the human athletes you know and you'll find out they get it from their mom too. TAKE A LOOK!!!!
AND THE NEXT TIME YOU GO TO THE POMONA YEARLING SALE TAKE A LOOK AT THE COLT THAT BRINGS THE MOST MONEY AT THE SALE AND YOU'LL SEE THAT THE BIG BUYERS PURCHASE THEIR COLTS ON THE ATHLETICISM OF THE MARE TOO. I PICKED THE TOP MONEY COLT AT THAT SALE FOUR YEARS IN A ROW A FEW YEARS AGO......WISH I COULD HAVE BOUGHT ONE OF THEM.
LETS TRY THIS ONE MORE TIME
I WAS WR...!
So that didn't work too well so I'll just fill you in on what happened if you don't already know. Rachel Alexandra went wire to wire in the Preakness this afternoon. She broke on top and improved her position from there. Granted if it had been another furlong or so then I think Mine That Bird would have run her down. He came close anyway finishing just a length back.
OK the excuse is he didn't get any breaks and no one would give him anywhere to run---Mike Smith rode a terrific race and brought Mine That Bird through a lot of traffic to give her a good run at the end but she was just too good today.
Eighty five years since a filly won the race - never before in history has a horse from the far outside pulled off a victory. Borel guarenteed a win when they did the final interview with him. He also said he had never (in 5 wins) had to ask her to give more than she was giving. He had to ask today - and she delivered. She is a great filly and will go down as one of the best in history. The price of her colts just went through the roof.
When we were playing with race horses my grand father always purchased colts based on the performance of the mother. He didn't care much what the father had done. He claimed that all of the athleticism in colts came from the mom.....take a look at all the human athletes you know and you'll find out they get it from their mom too. TAKE A LOOK!!!!
AND THE NEXT TIME YOU GO TO THE POMONA YEARLING SALE TAKE A LOOK AT THE COLT THAT BRINGS THE MOST MONEY AT THE SALE AND YOU'LL SEE THAT THE BIG BUYERS PURCHASE THEIR COLTS ON THE ATHLETICISM OF THE MARE TOO. I PICKED THE TOP MONEY COLT AT THAT SALE FOUR YEARS IN A ROW A FEW YEARS AGO......WISH I COULD HAVE BOUGHT ONE OF THEM.
Friday, May 15, 2009
"HORSES AND MARES
ARE FOR BREEDING, GELDINGS ARE FOR RACING." Grandpa H.
On ta the Preakness tomorrow and the world is astir with the filly Rachel Alexandra and the turn coat jockey (my term) Borel up (he rode Mine That Bird to the win in the Kentucky Derby a couple of weeks ago) being the favorite to win the race. (OK It might just be my opinion that he's a turn coat - turns out they have won five of five races together since the first go).
Yeah right - it has been 85 years since a filly was able to compete with the boys in this race and she ain't a gonna win it. Ain't a goin' ta happen Keep your money in your pocket. If you want to double it take it out of your pocket and fold it in half and put it back - that is the only way to double your money on this race.
I believe that Mine That Bird has a great chance of pulling off another win but the start of this race will be a whole new ballgame because of starting positions. I doubt that he will be allowed by the other jockeys to fall to the back of the pack and loaf until they reach the quarter pole and then blow the doors off the competition. They are gonna take it to him - they are gonna make him compete the entire distance. They are gonna run speed horses at him on the front end and long range horses at him on the back end. They are gonna do whatever they can to assure that Mine That Bird doesn't win the second leg.
BUT it is my guess that he will pull off another win and will do it with style - I'm not putting any money on it just sayin'. By 4:00 pm MDT the race will be history and we'll all be talking about the horse with the chance to win the triple crown for the first time since 1978 or about waiting for 2010 when the next colt has a chance to win it all.
I hope that Mine That Bird has the where with all to do this. We need a triple crown winner.
On ta the Preakness tomorrow and the world is astir with the filly Rachel Alexandra and the turn coat jockey (my term) Borel up (he rode Mine That Bird to the win in the Kentucky Derby a couple of weeks ago) being the favorite to win the race. (OK It might just be my opinion that he's a turn coat - turns out they have won five of five races together since the first go).
Yeah right - it has been 85 years since a filly was able to compete with the boys in this race and she ain't a gonna win it. Ain't a goin' ta happen Keep your money in your pocket. If you want to double it take it out of your pocket and fold it in half and put it back - that is the only way to double your money on this race.
I believe that Mine That Bird has a great chance of pulling off another win but the start of this race will be a whole new ballgame because of starting positions. I doubt that he will be allowed by the other jockeys to fall to the back of the pack and loaf until they reach the quarter pole and then blow the doors off the competition. They are gonna take it to him - they are gonna make him compete the entire distance. They are gonna run speed horses at him on the front end and long range horses at him on the back end. They are gonna do whatever they can to assure that Mine That Bird doesn't win the second leg.
BUT it is my guess that he will pull off another win and will do it with style - I'm not putting any money on it just sayin'. By 4:00 pm MDT the race will be history and we'll all be talking about the horse with the chance to win the triple crown for the first time since 1978 or about waiting for 2010 when the next colt has a chance to win it all.
I hope that Mine That Bird has the where with all to do this. We need a triple crown winner.
Monday, May 11, 2009
CARZZZ
Cars will drive you crazy. We have a little car that has made a noise near the hazard marker switch since we very first bought the car. At times the blinkers wouldn't work so you had to push the hazard marker switch and let them blink a few times then the blinkers would work again. We have fought this phenomenon since we first bought the car several years ago.
Last week the car developed a leak of coolant from somewhere near the back of the engine. We couldn't see exactly where but the water pump (what I thought the problem was) on this car is near there and when it goes out it leaks like that and you have to remove the timing chain and a lot of other stuff to replace it so we took it to a mechanic that has done some really good work for us in the past.
Turns out it wasn't the water pump but it cost us a pretty penny to fix the leak anyway. When I picked up the car he told me the blinkers didn't work so I showed him what you had to do to make them work. He said you really ought to get that fixed so I told him to go ahead and do it. He looked up the part on his computer and came back and told me that there was a recall on the car from the Company that builds it for that part and that the dealer would replace it free. So he thought we should take it there for the repair. Tonite we took it down to have it looked at - sure enough there is a recall and they will replace the switch tomorrow. He told us it should take about 45 minutes to fix it - we'll see. He also acted like there was no recall on the car but after he looked it up on the computer told us the other mechanic had been right.
For those of you that know that noise the car makes by the switch - it will be gone the next time you drive it - and it was FREE to fix it. Sometimes I wonder about my mentality of figuring out how to fix stuff just enough to get by. We could have had this fixed for the last however many years without having to pay a single cent to fix it. DAMN!
Anyway this just goes to show you that procrastination isn't always the best route. If I had stalled on this a few more thousand miles the recall would have expired because it only goes until you have 150,000 miles on the vehicle. That must be what they think the normal life of a vehicle is.
Last week the car developed a leak of coolant from somewhere near the back of the engine. We couldn't see exactly where but the water pump (what I thought the problem was) on this car is near there and when it goes out it leaks like that and you have to remove the timing chain and a lot of other stuff to replace it so we took it to a mechanic that has done some really good work for us in the past.
Turns out it wasn't the water pump but it cost us a pretty penny to fix the leak anyway. When I picked up the car he told me the blinkers didn't work so I showed him what you had to do to make them work. He said you really ought to get that fixed so I told him to go ahead and do it. He looked up the part on his computer and came back and told me that there was a recall on the car from the Company that builds it for that part and that the dealer would replace it free. So he thought we should take it there for the repair. Tonite we took it down to have it looked at - sure enough there is a recall and they will replace the switch tomorrow. He told us it should take about 45 minutes to fix it - we'll see. He also acted like there was no recall on the car but after he looked it up on the computer told us the other mechanic had been right.
For those of you that know that noise the car makes by the switch - it will be gone the next time you drive it - and it was FREE to fix it. Sometimes I wonder about my mentality of figuring out how to fix stuff just enough to get by. We could have had this fixed for the last however many years without having to pay a single cent to fix it. DAMN!
Anyway this just goes to show you that procrastination isn't always the best route. If I had stalled on this a few more thousand miles the recall would have expired because it only goes until you have 150,000 miles on the vehicle. That must be what they think the normal life of a vehicle is.
JOHN HENRIE
I told you last blog that I would write about John Henrie - who is that you ask - well he was a steel driving man in the song but at the race track he was the winningest horse in history. Why you ask - because his owner gelded him (took away his manhood) when he was a yearling because he was so hard to handle and they didn't think they would ever be able to handle him and get him ready to run unless they did.
What that did for him was put him on the track for as long as he stayed sound. That means for as long as his legs and his body could stand the exertions of running in the races. In his case a very, very, very long time. The last time I saw him run he was running at Santa Anita in a handicap race with a fairly large purse (but nothing compared to todays purses - this was back in the late 80's). He was really something to watch come down the track at the end of the race.....it was like he started the race at the 1/4 quarter pole while all the rest started at the first of the race. He always made a valiant try at the end of the race. He didn't always win but he was always the horse to beat in any race he ran.
Now just a little about the horse - he was miserable to be around. He would bite you from the stall if you ever let your guard down. He'd kick you in the paddock if you didn't watch your step. He'd run over you on the way to the walker if you didn't put the chain across his nose when you took him from the stall. He'd knock you down with his shoulder as you hooked him on the walker if you weren't paying attention. All in all you had to always be paying attention or he'd get you. And when he got you it always hurt - always.
SOOOO...why did I like this horse? He was a great athlete. And I do mean a great one. After he was saddled in the paddock and was on his way to the track he had a ritual with which he put his game face on. If you haven't participated in sports putting on your game face is when you psych yourself up and do all the things that you have done your entire life to prepare yourself to win and convince others you are going to win whatever competition you are going to participate in. He had a ritual too. After the jockey was in the saddle he would start toward the track entrance and take a couple of steps and just freeze. He'd look around and watch what the crowd was doing and just see what was going on. The jockey never asked him to move because when they did that early in his life he would buck - like crazy - and only the good riders could stay aboard. After doing this for a few seconds he would take a few more steps and do the same thing all over again. He did that all the way to the gate (at least 5 stops) at the entrance to the track. There he stopped one last time and looked around and transformed from a horse they were having trouble getting to the track to a real race horse. And I do mean a real race horse!
When he took the first step onto the track he was fully alive and fully ready to put it to the competition. No matter how good they were he was ready. He would prance and dance in front of the grand stands on the way to the starting gates but as soon as he was past them he would settle down and pay lots of attention to what was going on inside the track fences. He was never a problem to load at the gates and he always broke cleanly and ran back in the crowd until it was time to win the race. Then he just ran away from the competition from the 1/4 pole to the wire. Every single time he made that try - and way more often that not he won the race.
I am pretty tickled that I got to spend some time with this horse and had a chance to see a really good horse run for a lot of years. The last time I saw him run he won and that was after he was fifteen years old. Why was he the winningest horse of all time. Mostly because he ran hard every single time - but probably more likely because he ran for more than fourteen years and he ran a lot of races every year he was at the track.
Would he have been allowed to run that long as a stallion? Would you have passed up the breed fees if he hadn't been cut? I doubt anyone would have let him run past his four year old year had he been left a stallion. So because of a slip up early in his life he became the winningest horse of all time.
What that did for him was put him on the track for as long as he stayed sound. That means for as long as his legs and his body could stand the exertions of running in the races. In his case a very, very, very long time. The last time I saw him run he was running at Santa Anita in a handicap race with a fairly large purse (but nothing compared to todays purses - this was back in the late 80's). He was really something to watch come down the track at the end of the race.....it was like he started the race at the 1/4 quarter pole while all the rest started at the first of the race. He always made a valiant try at the end of the race. He didn't always win but he was always the horse to beat in any race he ran.
Now just a little about the horse - he was miserable to be around. He would bite you from the stall if you ever let your guard down. He'd kick you in the paddock if you didn't watch your step. He'd run over you on the way to the walker if you didn't put the chain across his nose when you took him from the stall. He'd knock you down with his shoulder as you hooked him on the walker if you weren't paying attention. All in all you had to always be paying attention or he'd get you. And when he got you it always hurt - always.
SOOOO...why did I like this horse? He was a great athlete. And I do mean a great one. After he was saddled in the paddock and was on his way to the track he had a ritual with which he put his game face on. If you haven't participated in sports putting on your game face is when you psych yourself up and do all the things that you have done your entire life to prepare yourself to win and convince others you are going to win whatever competition you are going to participate in. He had a ritual too. After the jockey was in the saddle he would start toward the track entrance and take a couple of steps and just freeze. He'd look around and watch what the crowd was doing and just see what was going on. The jockey never asked him to move because when they did that early in his life he would buck - like crazy - and only the good riders could stay aboard. After doing this for a few seconds he would take a few more steps and do the same thing all over again. He did that all the way to the gate (at least 5 stops) at the entrance to the track. There he stopped one last time and looked around and transformed from a horse they were having trouble getting to the track to a real race horse. And I do mean a real race horse!
When he took the first step onto the track he was fully alive and fully ready to put it to the competition. No matter how good they were he was ready. He would prance and dance in front of the grand stands on the way to the starting gates but as soon as he was past them he would settle down and pay lots of attention to what was going on inside the track fences. He was never a problem to load at the gates and he always broke cleanly and ran back in the crowd until it was time to win the race. Then he just ran away from the competition from the 1/4 pole to the wire. Every single time he made that try - and way more often that not he won the race.
I am pretty tickled that I got to spend some time with this horse and had a chance to see a really good horse run for a lot of years. The last time I saw him run he won and that was after he was fifteen years old. Why was he the winningest horse of all time. Mostly because he ran hard every single time - but probably more likely because he ran for more than fourteen years and he ran a lot of races every year he was at the track.
Would he have been allowed to run that long as a stallion? Would you have passed up the breed fees if he hadn't been cut? I doubt anyone would have let him run past his four year old year had he been left a stallion. So because of a slip up early in his life he became the winningest horse of all time.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
HORSES AND MARES
Horses = Stallions
Mares = Female Horses over two years old.
Grandpa H: "HORSES AND MARES ARE FOR BREEDING - GELDINGS ARE FOR RACING."
OK frustration raised its ugly head yesterday when I lost half of my blog -I debated whether to do it again and wondered if I could even get close the second time but thought at least my kids ought to know a little more about the race track than they do. I spent quite a lot of time there with my Grandpa to start with and later as an exercise boy and I even got to ride a few races. I never got good enough to ride the rail like the jockey that rode Mine That Bird though.
I watched the race again last night and I was in awe at how the jockey rode him through the traffic. He shot the gap to come from dead last, then rode to the right around a horse that was blocking the rail nicely. As soon as he passed that horse he pulled Mine That Bird back against the rail and rode him through another gap of less than 18" to take the lead. The gap was certainly there and he certainly took the horse through it. I sat on the edge of my seat as he went through again even though I knew he made it and won the race. Why was I on the edge of my seat? Well for one thing anytime a horse tangles up the front legs the only thing you can count on is the horse is going down and I mean head over heels down. The back legs are nowhere near as sensitive and they almost always recover and just lose a few yards.
SO....Mine That Bird is going to run in the Preakness on May 16th. Was there any doubt in anyones mind when the trainer said we'll wait and see if he comes up sound from the Kentucky Derby. There is so much money at stake now that he has one in the bag it isn't even funny. As of Saturday he is the only three year old out of 400,000 foaled in 2006 that has any chance of winning the Triple Crown - which by the way hasn't been won since Affirmed did it in 1978. No matter how you look at it unless this colt breaks down he will run all three races (the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness and The Belmont) - if not because of greed by the owners then because of the pressure from us racing fans - we need another Triple Crown winner - and it is likely to happen this year because every year since 1979 I have taped the races as long as there was a chance of a new winner. I didn't do that Saturday so this colt can also make me personally sorry that I didn't follow my own tradition.
OK here is just a little racing history so you can ponder the SPORT OF KINGS. The Pimlico Race Track opened in 1870, and the first race that was called the Preakness and running the same distance as it runs today was run in 1873 (a long damned time ago). The first Kentucky Derby was run at Church Hill Downs in 1874 (yup the Preakness was established first so it is kind of funny for me to see it running second in these races but that's just how my mind works - or doesn't). The Belmont (the longest and most grueling of the races - and the distance has been played with a lot over the early years) had it's beginning in 1867. I don't know all the history of the rest of the story and can't tell you when they finally started calling the three races the Triple Crown but I do know that there was not a Triple Crown winner until 1919 when Sir Barton won it. I can also tell you that early on there was less than a week between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness and only another couple of weeks until the Belmont. The race dates were moved further apart to give the horses a chance to recover and hopefully give us better horse races.
I was going to give you the year and the names of the Triple Crown winners but I have misplaced my little piece of paper with it written on - eleven horses have won it (if you want their names put in a comment on the blog and I will put them in the remarks after I look them up again) - three of them occuring in the 1970's (73, 77, & 78). I remember at that time that I just thought there would be a new winner every year or two. It certainly hasn't turned out that way and it gives me new respect for the horses that were able to win all three - especially early on in the history of these three races.
OK that is the end of the trivia - now back to my other blog that I lost yesterday.
The media is c0mparing Mine That Bird to Sea Biscuit - you know the horse that ran through the depression as the horse that all of the common people won money on. He won all the time and was a great horse even though no one thought he'd amount to anything. Apparently they thought the same about Mine That Bird because they gelded him - and lost all of that breeding potential. Bet they are kicking their butts now - both for cutting him and for selling him for $9,500.00.
SOOOOO........Here is my hope. I hope this horse goes on to run a long, long, long time and actually replaces John Henrie as the winningest horse in history - he didn't win the most money but he did for sure win the most races. Geldings have to run a lot of races to make any money. When I last saw him run he was 15 years old and blew the doors off the competetion. I loved watching that horse not only run but prepare himself on the way to the track for the run. He was named after that STEEL DRIVING MAN and he could damned sure carry the steel around the track. I ran out of time tonight so I'll write about John Henrie tomorrow.
Mares = Female Horses over two years old.
Grandpa H: "HORSES AND MARES ARE FOR BREEDING - GELDINGS ARE FOR RACING."
OK frustration raised its ugly head yesterday when I lost half of my blog -I debated whether to do it again and wondered if I could even get close the second time but thought at least my kids ought to know a little more about the race track than they do. I spent quite a lot of time there with my Grandpa to start with and later as an exercise boy and I even got to ride a few races. I never got good enough to ride the rail like the jockey that rode Mine That Bird though.
I watched the race again last night and I was in awe at how the jockey rode him through the traffic. He shot the gap to come from dead last, then rode to the right around a horse that was blocking the rail nicely. As soon as he passed that horse he pulled Mine That Bird back against the rail and rode him through another gap of less than 18" to take the lead. The gap was certainly there and he certainly took the horse through it. I sat on the edge of my seat as he went through again even though I knew he made it and won the race. Why was I on the edge of my seat? Well for one thing anytime a horse tangles up the front legs the only thing you can count on is the horse is going down and I mean head over heels down. The back legs are nowhere near as sensitive and they almost always recover and just lose a few yards.
SO....Mine That Bird is going to run in the Preakness on May 16th. Was there any doubt in anyones mind when the trainer said we'll wait and see if he comes up sound from the Kentucky Derby. There is so much money at stake now that he has one in the bag it isn't even funny. As of Saturday he is the only three year old out of 400,000 foaled in 2006 that has any chance of winning the Triple Crown - which by the way hasn't been won since Affirmed did it in 1978. No matter how you look at it unless this colt breaks down he will run all three races (the Kentucky Derby, The Preakness and The Belmont) - if not because of greed by the owners then because of the pressure from us racing fans - we need another Triple Crown winner - and it is likely to happen this year because every year since 1979 I have taped the races as long as there was a chance of a new winner. I didn't do that Saturday so this colt can also make me personally sorry that I didn't follow my own tradition.
OK here is just a little racing history so you can ponder the SPORT OF KINGS. The Pimlico Race Track opened in 1870, and the first race that was called the Preakness and running the same distance as it runs today was run in 1873 (a long damned time ago). The first Kentucky Derby was run at Church Hill Downs in 1874 (yup the Preakness was established first so it is kind of funny for me to see it running second in these races but that's just how my mind works - or doesn't). The Belmont (the longest and most grueling of the races - and the distance has been played with a lot over the early years) had it's beginning in 1867. I don't know all the history of the rest of the story and can't tell you when they finally started calling the three races the Triple Crown but I do know that there was not a Triple Crown winner until 1919 when Sir Barton won it. I can also tell you that early on there was less than a week between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness and only another couple of weeks until the Belmont. The race dates were moved further apart to give the horses a chance to recover and hopefully give us better horse races.
I was going to give you the year and the names of the Triple Crown winners but I have misplaced my little piece of paper with it written on - eleven horses have won it (if you want their names put in a comment on the blog and I will put them in the remarks after I look them up again) - three of them occuring in the 1970's (73, 77, & 78). I remember at that time that I just thought there would be a new winner every year or two. It certainly hasn't turned out that way and it gives me new respect for the horses that were able to win all three - especially early on in the history of these three races.
OK that is the end of the trivia - now back to my other blog that I lost yesterday.
The media is c0mparing Mine That Bird to Sea Biscuit - you know the horse that ran through the depression as the horse that all of the common people won money on. He won all the time and was a great horse even though no one thought he'd amount to anything. Apparently they thought the same about Mine That Bird because they gelded him - and lost all of that breeding potential. Bet they are kicking their butts now - both for cutting him and for selling him for $9,500.00.
SOOOOO........Here is my hope. I hope this horse goes on to run a long, long, long time and actually replaces John Henrie as the winningest horse in history - he didn't win the most money but he did for sure win the most races. Geldings have to run a lot of races to make any money. When I last saw him run he was 15 years old and blew the doors off the competetion. I loved watching that horse not only run but prepare himself on the way to the track for the run. He was named after that STEEL DRIVING MAN and he could damned sure carry the steel around the track. I ran out of time tonight so I'll write about John Henrie tomorrow.
Monday, May 4, 2009
MY $0.02
The Supreme Court sent the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction at the Super Bowl back to the appeals court with the recommendation they re-instate the $550,000 fine levied by the network. Just goes to show you that we waste a lot of time at the Supreme Court. The fine levied was about 1/3 what a 30 second commercial cost for the same amount of time on Super Bowl Sunday. I personally hope it cost her more to fight the fine and then lose it and have to pay the fine anyway. I think Justin Timberlake should be responsible for the fine money.
LeBron James was just named MVP of the NBA. Like it or not he's a great player. I was very impressed today by what he said in an interview. Asked if he were a CEO of a major club who he would pick for his team. The choices him or Michael Jordan. After some pretty fine words about how great the game was and how tough it was to earn public respect he said " I would have to pick MJ after all look at all the firsts in his career." That has to be one of the best statements I have ever heard an athlete make.
Today, the stock market gained back to where it was at the beginning of 2009. That's right today we are at the same place we were on January 5. That is a good thing. Depending on how you do the math or where you start this is a 22% increase from the year low - on the other hand it is still a 40% decrease from the all time high. Either way it is a good gain for this early in the year.
I just lost about half of this post so I'll be back later with my assessment of Mine That Bird.
LeBron James was just named MVP of the NBA. Like it or not he's a great player. I was very impressed today by what he said in an interview. Asked if he were a CEO of a major club who he would pick for his team. The choices him or Michael Jordan. After some pretty fine words about how great the game was and how tough it was to earn public respect he said " I would have to pick MJ after all look at all the firsts in his career." That has to be one of the best statements I have ever heard an athlete make.
Today, the stock market gained back to where it was at the beginning of 2009. That's right today we are at the same place we were on January 5. That is a good thing. Depending on how you do the math or where you start this is a 22% increase from the year low - on the other hand it is still a 40% decrease from the all time high. Either way it is a good gain for this early in the year.
I just lost about half of this post so I'll be back later with my assessment of Mine That Bird.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
RECOLLECTIONS
Today I had some thoughts of my childhood and how things were done where I grew up. Sunday morning we all got up early and went to an early morning meeting, had a 30 minute break and went back to Sunday School. We (all of us) always went to a cafe downtown and had a sweet roll and hot chocolate between these two meetings. Every one of did it - and all the kids from the other part of town that went to the other church did it too. Then we had a break until late afternoon...I think we went back to Church at 7:00 p.m. but it could have been 6:00 p.m.
We went home from Sunday School ate lunch and then everyone came to our house to play baseball. Our neighbor had a huge yard with a baseball field layed out on it. Left field was pretty short because there was an electrical sub-station adhacent to his property - so the fence of the sub-station had to be the left field home run fence (unless the ball was hit fowl - then it went into the sub-station too). We played four or five hours every single Sunday.
Every time someone got a home run by hitting the ball inside the sub-station I climbed the fence (8 foot chain link with three strands of razor wire to prevent access) and threw the ball back into play. This process generally took about five minutes because when you are squeezing between razor wires you had to be very careful that you didn't get hung up in or cut by it. I never worried that I might be killed by the electricity because I knew exactly where you could safely go and when you had to use a wooden handle to get the ball from where it was located (yeah right). Any way there was always a baseball game going on Sunday - unless of course - there was a fight between a couple of the players (which happened every single Sunday too).
Regardless our house was the place to be on Sunday afternoon. When it was time to go home and get ready for Church we would all run to get cleaned up and get to the chapel. Everyone went to the early meetings at church, everyone played baseball, and everyone went to Church at night. We also all sat together in church on the back two rows in the chappel. Maybe that is where I learned to sit on the back row on the closest seat to the door. I still sit there - every meeting.
Anyway when I worked in Logan I stopped at second dam and the City was doing some work across the dam along the trail. The headworks at the dam was fenced kind of like the fence I climbed many times every Sunday (except it didn't have razor wire on the top) so I just climbed over the gate walked across the head works area and climbed out of the fence to the other side. I was met there by an irate City employee who demanded to know what I thought I was doing. I introduced myself as the person they should have dealt with before they started their work which kind of shut him down a little. I can remember him looking back at the fence and saying fences don't seem to mean much to you. I responded I always thought any kind of fence was built to be climbed. He laughed and we went over and I approved the job they were doing on the water line.
I wonder how that experience would have been different had I not learned how to climb chain link fences playing baseball!!!
We went home from Sunday School ate lunch and then everyone came to our house to play baseball. Our neighbor had a huge yard with a baseball field layed out on it. Left field was pretty short because there was an electrical sub-station adhacent to his property - so the fence of the sub-station had to be the left field home run fence (unless the ball was hit fowl - then it went into the sub-station too). We played four or five hours every single Sunday.
Every time someone got a home run by hitting the ball inside the sub-station I climbed the fence (8 foot chain link with three strands of razor wire to prevent access) and threw the ball back into play. This process generally took about five minutes because when you are squeezing between razor wires you had to be very careful that you didn't get hung up in or cut by it. I never worried that I might be killed by the electricity because I knew exactly where you could safely go and when you had to use a wooden handle to get the ball from where it was located (yeah right). Any way there was always a baseball game going on Sunday - unless of course - there was a fight between a couple of the players (which happened every single Sunday too).
Regardless our house was the place to be on Sunday afternoon. When it was time to go home and get ready for Church we would all run to get cleaned up and get to the chapel. Everyone went to the early meetings at church, everyone played baseball, and everyone went to Church at night. We also all sat together in church on the back two rows in the chappel. Maybe that is where I learned to sit on the back row on the closest seat to the door. I still sit there - every meeting.
Anyway when I worked in Logan I stopped at second dam and the City was doing some work across the dam along the trail. The headworks at the dam was fenced kind of like the fence I climbed many times every Sunday (except it didn't have razor wire on the top) so I just climbed over the gate walked across the head works area and climbed out of the fence to the other side. I was met there by an irate City employee who demanded to know what I thought I was doing. I introduced myself as the person they should have dealt with before they started their work which kind of shut him down a little. I can remember him looking back at the fence and saying fences don't seem to mean much to you. I responded I always thought any kind of fence was built to be climbed. He laughed and we went over and I approved the job they were doing on the water line.
I wonder how that experience would have been different had I not learned how to climb chain link fences playing baseball!!!
UPDATE
Yesterday was the 135th running of the Kentucky Derby - won by - Mine That Bird (purchase price $9,500) who went off the boards at 50-1 + change. This was the second biggest upset in the history of the derby according to the announcers - I don't know what the biggest was but this was truly an unknown pulling it off. The trainer dragged this horse 21 hours in a trailer behind a 40 year old pickup truck from New Mexico to get him to the derby. Just a little quick math and you will find that the horse earned nearly 10 times his purchase price every hour of that journey when he won the derby. Bet the owners were pretty happy - you know - just a couple of old boys that love the races and thought this was a pretty nice horse from Cananda. He was a Kentucky bred foal though so just went home to pick up some much needed money.
We had PsychoDoctor and two of his girls come for a while yesterday. It was fun to have them. We barbequed some hamburgers then started a fire in the back yard stove Epitome of Sweetness and her husband gave me for Christmas and roasted marshmallows. Pretty tricky way to get all the little branches cleaned up from the yard.
I watched the 1974 championship fight between George Foreman and Muhamud Ali last night. It was the first time the rope-a-dope tactic was used by Ali. Foreman finally got so tired of swinging at him he could barely lift his arms - then Ali knocked him out - in the eighth round. Foreman came back later when he was in his forties to win the title again and his comment then was that the ghost of Ali was finally lifted. It was one heck of a fight.
The stock market finished up about 3% for the week - if it kept that up for the rest of the year we would all have more than all of our money back. Is this a Bull Market - I doubt it - just a fluke.
We had PsychoDoctor and two of his girls come for a while yesterday. It was fun to have them. We barbequed some hamburgers then started a fire in the back yard stove Epitome of Sweetness and her husband gave me for Christmas and roasted marshmallows. Pretty tricky way to get all the little branches cleaned up from the yard.
I watched the 1974 championship fight between George Foreman and Muhamud Ali last night. It was the first time the rope-a-dope tactic was used by Ali. Foreman finally got so tired of swinging at him he could barely lift his arms - then Ali knocked him out - in the eighth round. Foreman came back later when he was in his forties to win the title again and his comment then was that the ghost of Ali was finally lifted. It was one heck of a fight.
The stock market finished up about 3% for the week - if it kept that up for the rest of the year we would all have more than all of our money back. Is this a Bull Market - I doubt it - just a fluke.
Saturday, May 2, 2009
WHAT YA GET
This is what you can expect if you think you are taking a picture of me without me knowing it.
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