In a way, this is a letter to our “Leaders Pretend” (we pretend they are leading somewhere,,,,).  Its sorta personal, but I think there are many in this country that will feel an afinity to what I am about to write.

I’m a simple man,  I like simple things, can be amused easily, and just want to be left alone to pursue my simple life.   I like my steak and eggs, Bacon, simple fair for lunch (with bacon strips), and meat and potatoes type dinners (with bacon somewhere in that mix).   I found that whatever dietary measures were suggested by “TPTB”, I always felt lethargic and tapped out, so I started playing with what worked for my body, completely ignoring the ‘suggestions’ of PAID experts.   What I eat works very well for me, and I have been losing weight, and my recent bloodwork shows a super nice balance of good and bad cholesterols (must be all those olives.)  I like a cold beer after mowing my lawn, a shot or two of GOOD bourbon with friends, and the smell of food being grilled over open flames and smoke.   Simple pleasures for the simple life of a simple man.

I like a simple life,,, Do the J.O.B. thing to keep me in my toys and needs, keep the truck running, and playing at being human when I am not being the wage slave.   I like my time in nature, and that means I need to be certain that my homestead is in good order while I am gone.  Simple things, right?   Techy toys are well and fine, but what gets me a dopamine rush is GOOD TOOLS.   A good tool will last a lifetime or more and makes doing the J.O.B. thing much easier,,, or at least not as taxing as dealing with crappy tools that break things.  Simple tools,  Simple man, Simple needs.

Simple does not make me a patsy or milquetoast that deserves to be walked over.    Like my meals, bread and butter of the world: simple people keeping the lights on, the world fed, and the trucks running on time.

Go ahead, Fuck with us and find out.   We know how much you have been stealing, not just money, but our rights, our voices, and our futures.   We, the simple people of the world do NOT need you, but you most assuredly NEED us.    Stop fucking us over, listen to our desires, and stop stealing our futures and those of our children.   IF push comes to shove, you won’t like the simple mans game plan.  

Its a simple one.   YOU WILL DIE.   and yah, you’ll probably get more than a few of us as well, but we will have died on principles, not as in your case: Long delayed justice coming.

LIve

Learn

LAUGH

LOAD and keep one in the chamber,,,,

And no, NOT blackpilled either,,,,  Go read that one, especially those that keep harping that VOATER FRAUD ain’t a thing.   Give me a damned break, please, that shit has been going on for longer than I have been alive.  Farther back than the JFK/LBJ shift-a-palooza in Texas to make sure JFK won and there wasn’t a deadlock on the Presidential race. (look it up, don’t wanna find the linkies this AM.)

Tired of the shit, shit so damned obvious to anyone with a couple of braincells,,,,  

The best advice: the very last paragraph in Sarah’s post, 

“Now stop listening to this mad woman and go make your preparations. Because win or lose, the next three months are going to be a stone cold bitch.

Go.“

yeah, that!    live learn laugh LOAD,,,,   And I have been.   Also observing, documenting, downloading (to save from the memory hole) and PRAYING.

Spent three hours on the porch last eve, kitteh in lap, sun on face, Meditating on the future.   All I came up with was “we are gonna see shit change, but no  one can say in which direction, WITH ANY CERTAINTY.”    Some are freaking out about that “literally Hitler” aspect, and I can see it IN BOTH SIDES, and y’know what?   Doesn’t matter, thats how history rolls,,, we are gonna end up with a megalomaniac eventually and there is no way around it (it’s hardwired into social systems )   So if we can’t avoid it, lets embrace it and run full tilt boogie at the tilting board of history and GET THIS SHIT OVER WITH AND BEHIND US.  

I’d rather it be in my time, because the if it takes much longer, the younger Gens are in for a shit storm and have no basis of good education to fall back on to recover.   There will be MUCH lost if we lose now.   Just ask some under 25YO questions about how this “Republic” is supposed to work and you are in for some vauge answers if not outright shoulder shrugging and waffle-worded garbled mess of ideology.  

Think about what it takes to make a toaster, and if the kids today could replicate that without needing to re-invent the wheel.   (may be exxagerated for illustrative purposes, but I personally feel that exxageration is only a little off, not wildly so.)   Hell, people of my generation are sorely lacking in much of the basics, and the only reason I am aware of the lack is because of 12 years of digging for my own knowledge.  AND, I know I have HUGE gaps in such: I am aware of some of my ‘unknown unknowns’

shit!   gotta get to work

LLLL    more laters.

I feel that I grew up in the greatest musical period of all time,,,  The wisdoms that were passed on, (and still accessible),,,,,

For those that think DIE is a good thing.

I grew up in a time when the Unions were losing strength, and this song relates my feelings towards unions still.   Not a fan, do not reccomend the things.   Didn’t buy into them when I was working the sound gigs, don’t buy into them now.  Think a large part of our problems and the divisiveness we experiance are in no small part driven by unions.   I can illustrate how unions have driven corporate interests overseas, and while some would say thats because of greed; well, the same could be said of those union members wanting ungodly amounts of money and absolute protection from termination, without offering much in return.     Meritocracy!!!    Not Seniority,,,

Verse 1]
Days grow shorter and the nights are getting long
Feels like we’re running out of time
Every day it seems much harder tellin’ right from wrong
You got to read between the lines
Don’t get discouraged, don’t be afraid
We can make it through another day
Make it worth the price we pay

[Verse 2]
The Good Book says it’s better to give than to receive
I do my best to do my part
Nothin’ in my pockets, I got nothin’ up my sleeve
I keep my magic in my heart
Keep up your spirit, keep up your faith, baby
I am counting on you
You know what you’ve got to do
[Chorus]
Fight the good fight every moment
Every minute, every day
Fight the good fight every moment
It’s your only way

[Verse 3]
All your life you’ve been waiting for your chance
Where you’ll fit into the plan
But you’re the master of your own destiny
So give and take the best that you can

[Verse 4]
You think that a little more money can buy your soul some rest
You better think something else instead
You’re so afraid of being honest with yourself
You’d better take a look inside your head
Nothing is easy, nothing good is free, but I
I can tell you where to start
Take a look inside your heart
There’s an answer in your heart

[Chorus]
Fight the good fight every moment
Every minute, every day
Fight the good fight every moment
Make it worth the price we pay
Every moment of your lifetime
Every minute and every day
Fight the good fight every moment
Make it worth the price we pay

Doesn’t verse 1 sound like what we are dealing with these days?   Some things never change,,,,,

This is what I grew up on,,, Any one wonder why I am so damned introspective?   

Can’t go home, it ain’t there: but the music I grew up with carries forward in my head heart and soul, and I can still pull it up for strength when I need it.

Live

Learn

Laugh

LOAD

and maybe dance a little while you are  going about your days,

one whole weekend without paddling something/somewhere.

and My shoulders are BITCHING, HARD!!!

Sounds counter-intuitive, no?

My paddling is my R&R for my shoulders; its why I use a Greenland paddle over the Euroblades.  The paddling ‘pattern’ is different and a whole lot less strain on shoulders, getting most of its power from the core muscles,  even using hips and legs to add power to the boat while ‘hooking’ into the water.

A week of punching holes followed by a $h!tty job on the ‘stead, and today, domestic duties, to include (hopefully) the last battle against the weeds.  Had to mulch up all those damned leaves that are littering the place.

Next week, I expect the trees to be barren of leaves.   They are coming down fast now.

the Kold is starting to be felt, I may be channeling the polar explorer before long,,,,

At least this year, I have the gear for it.

clocks ticking out there.

My bodies clock is too.   “Gettin’ old ain’t for pussies” Rusty Smith.  

Fact!   A paddling guru of a sort, Ken Whiting, just posted that he is in Kayak-y Hiatus INDEFINITELY,,,

Reason: Blown out shoulder joints.   Ken is prior WW competitive kayaker, and probably puts as many miles on boats as I do my truck on the weekly (if not more)

I don’t want to be there, but I have a feeling that at some point, I will need some reconstructive surgery on the starboard appendage.   Port side seems fine (could be masked by the ugh I feel in the starboard side.)

And it ain’t from kayaking,,,   Its from swingin’ hammers after doing something stoopid at the gym many years back.    Got so bad I had no grip at all for two weeks: couldn’t lift a 22oz framing hammer, let alone the 3# hammer my job at the time required.  

As I said, the kayaking thing seems to help, but the rest of my working conditions don’t.   And I would say that given the right conditions (rough and tumble) kayaking would/could tip me into the same state that Ken is at.  Sadly, the rough and tumble is where the joy is at: more the open water rough, but getting to where I sorta like the WW stuff too, UP TO A POINT.   Its the whole chasing flows thing that drives me batshit,,,  Lake waves can be found with wind (and boats), not flow rates.

I ain’t no spring chicken,,,   and the milage is adding up.  sigh

Live

Learn

Laugh

LOAD.

Posted up Friday about a sh!tty job I needed to do.   That job started yesterday as soon as I finished my first cuppa.

The argument to live rurally is a strong one, when one prefers their own company and thoughts.   It sucks ass when you find yourself in need of things.

In this case, subflooring to replace the rottted out stuff I found.    Closest place that had it was 15 miles away, and they close at noon on Satyrdays.  That meant, the closest place to get it for me was over 40miles away, ONE WAY.    There is very little ‘conveinence’ living rurally.  (Amazon has been a boon to the rural living market, but it really puts a dink into the local vendors as there is ZERO chance they can carry that much inventory.   Local markets compensate by carrying local only items as touristy attactions.IMO)

short version: You’d better know EVERYTHING you need to get, first run.

I ran out of tile last night,,,

No running to grab it at the last minute, like I could when I lived in Sin-cin-nasty. (and no, I’ve visited since I left, and its gone downhill even further.  No ‘going home’: it ain’t there.) 

There is a reason I have extra fittings and hardware stacked will-he-nil-he about my shed and storage areas.   There is always that need at the odd minute and no other options.   A body gets pretty good at make-do, MacGuyvering when the other option is long drives or waiting on Zon/UPS to come through.

Tile on the other hand,,,, not so much.   LOL   As much as I hate the saying “is what it is”, there are times where that is to be.  This is one.    And while I won’t be making that run today to pick up more tile, I will eventually make it out there (like when I am returning from kayaking next weekend: I drive right by the place I bought the original tile from.)  What I have will have to do until then. (and I covered the un-done parts to keep kitteh paws away.)

Solid arguments for rural living.  I like my own company: if you have issues with your own thoughts, rural living may not be for you.    If you MUST have the latest and greatest, rural iving may not be for you. (off-grid will be torture to those that like techy toys.) 

I believe I have said it here before.  My biggest gripe with living where I do is the drive to get a decent burger (not the Micky D’s CRAP)  Luckily, I prefer to make my own and I DO have access to grassfed beef that I know isn’t some mRNA Injected, growth hormone laden simularcum of “meat”.  (can you say the same about what is served at Burger King or MickyD’z?)  

I deal with the inconviencence of long drives or waits for delivery.  The cushion of distance from Kray-Kray is a comfort. With the caveat; we have our own form of kray-kray here in the pillheads and meth junkies.  They tend to a short half-life; easily dealt with if RoL goes buh-bye.

LIve

Learn

LAUGH (at yourself, A LOT)

LOAD

An afterthought: a huge thankyou to my Da; he insisted I use treated lumber for my floor joists.  Subflooring rotted out,  but the joists looked pristine.

And I’m only gonna show ya the cleaner side of this’un.   Things were way worse than I thought.

Carpentry,  plumbing, possible tile work,,, (debating doing away with tile and going vinyl,,, con to that: I have the tile,  just dont like it)

Cutting in HARD to my weekend,,, supposed to be at a party with Brudda B n the Kayaky-krew,  but this takes priority.  Been trying to get to a point where I can “slam, bam’ thankee ma’m”, and still have facilities available; Wonky as those are.

Anywhoosits, I has werktado,,,

Live

Learn

Laugh

LOAD

With the patience of Job,,, 

Live

Learn

LAUGH

Load