Deputies

Deputies are a vital part of any Sheriff's Department.  They deserve to be treated with fairness, honesty, and respect.

Pitching a New Venue

We've already decided that hosting a major CFDA sanctioned event outdoors is simply too risky for Louisiana weather.  We have to schedule these events six or more months in advance, and the weather is simply too much of a factor.

The only way to remove the weather as a factor is to get indoors.  So, were looking for an indoor venue.  Luckily, Cowboy Fast Draw is safe to shoot indoors.  At our club, we regularly shoot indoors at our home range, which was built (in large part) to get us ot o the weather.  I can support about thirty shooters, but beyond that, we're going to need more space, especially for parking.

When you approach a venue "cold" and tell them that you want to host a major shooting event indoors, they look at you like you've lost your mind.  Fortunately, there is a wealth of information online, so I'm going to leave some of it here to make it convenient to find it tomorrow.



One big positive is that for a sanctioned event, the CFDA supplies a healthy liability insurance policy to cover venues  That insurance policy goes a long way to assuage any concerns that the lawyers might have.

We'll start looking for an indoor venue tomorrow.  Wish us luck.  Next year, Louisiana State should be held indoors.

Dancing With My Gal

We spent Sunday afternoon at a local dance club, the No Name Dance and Dinner Club,  This is a private club for folks who like to dance.  They meet monthly, bring in a band, and serve a dinner.  The club meets from 4:00 to 8:00 pm one Sunday a month, and it is very well attended by folks in the 40 and up age group.  Belle and I are trying to join, and are on a waiting list.

It was an altogether lovely event; a chance to get away for a bit and relax with my favorite gal, a chance to visit with friends, and a chance to do a little retail politics.

We were invited by our friend, Jerome Scott, who we've known for decades.

Jerome Scott dancing at the No Name Club

The best part of this club is that the dance is over at 8:00 sharp.  Participants have plenty of time to go home and get a good night's sleep before Monday morning.

Sunday Campaigning

We're making hamburgers for lunch.  It's been a while since I fired up the grill, and grandson Lucas asked for burgers today.  Easy, peasy.

This afternoon, Belle and I are going to an event, a gathering of a local dance club.  It will be a good time to relax, meet some nice folks, and do a little retail campaigning.

I think I've broken the code on Facebook ads.  It seems like a very frugal way of putting my message out before people who may never of herd about my campaign.  I took delivery of my yard signs on Friday, and I will be getting those our this week.

Years ago I was talking with a very successful,, very rural Sheriff in north Louisiana.  He disdained yard signs, saying "Signs don't vote." I suppose he was right, he served four terms as Sheriff.  Signs are a cost that may or may not reach the intended audience.  But, it's customary to buy signs and hand them out.

We will see how the Facebook ads do, and what traffic they bring.  Like, I suspect, many other folks, I don't watch much traditional television.  These days, during my down-time, I'm apt to be surfing YouTube.  I see a lot of ads on YouTube, and I might consider trying to break that code as well.

There are now six of us in the Sheriff's race.  It's early yet, the election is not till October.  If someone gets a simple majority, it's over.  If not, the two front-runners meet in a run-off election the following month.

Socialism and Roosters

What does a rooster have in common with a socialist?


Thanks, Termite.

Incognito

There is some sort o 24-hour virus going around, and yesterday, it slayed me.  You don't want the details.  Suffice to say that I was miserable.  Today, I feel almost human, and I should be right-as-rain by tomorrow.

Thankfully, I had nothing scheduled for yesterday. Belle is out-and-about with her mother and I've been piddling around today.  Busy weekend ahead, though, and I'm ready for it.

The Burn Pile

Everyone in the country has a burn pile.  Limbs, scrap lumber, odd pieces of cardboard, things that you don't want to have the trash man haul away, but definitely needs to go away.  Mine was getting pretty large, because I had't burned in a year or so.

This morning was fairly cool, the wind was calm, and the ground was wet, a perfect time to burn.  So, I went out and lit it up.  One light from a butane lighter on a bag that once contained Sacrete, and it went up just like it was waiting to go up.  I got the rake, and a lawn chair, and watched it burn. 

The pile had grown over the past year and was fairly close to a yaupon bush.  Truth be known, it wouldn't have bothered me if the bush had caught fire.  I detest yaupon, much like ranches out west detest mesquite.  It'sa nuisance plant, but the darned thing wouldn't burn.  I did hare-lip it pretty bad, and maybe it will die.

Got cleaned up after the fire and went in to shower.  I needed to run to town, and while I was there, did a little retail politic-ing.   Then, came home and cut up that pork roast that we had for Sunday.  Chopped it, added BBZ sauce and other goodies and concerted it into sandwich barbecue.  Zach got home from school and made a sammich.

Wednesday was an easy day.  Tomorrow, we'll try to get soething done.

Let There Be Light

A classical reference from Genesis, but that's what I felt like standing on a ten-foot ladder today.  Let me explain:

When I built the shop, I was trying to be frugal with lighting.  I went to a local lumber yard and bought brooder light bases.  When we installed the electrical system (which I did NOT scrimp on), we installed standard electrical outlets in the ceiling of the building.  Four on each side, for a total of eight in the building, each about 12 feet above the floor.

I bought these big twisty CFLs and hung them into the brooder bases ad that was my light in the building.  I thought it was pretty good, until I realized that it wasn't.  There was just not enough light in the building.  Oh, we could get by, but it was fairly dark in there.

I cast about for a solution.  Amazon.com is always available, but I wanted to actually look at one, to explore  bit, and as I was passing the local electrical supply, I pulled in.  The guy told me about the newest, latest and greatest, something called a UFO light.  These things are made for high bay installation, and the guy claimed that they are bright.  He has them installed in his building, and there is plenty of light, so I bought one.  I wrangled a deal, making him put a male electrical plug on it so that I could plug it in when I got to the shop.

For the record, I bought this one.  It's a 100 watt fixture, guaranteed for five years.  When I plugged it in, I thought that the combined Kelvin was going to knock me off the ladder.  That sucker is bright.  My pupils immediately pin-holed, and I had trouble getting down off the ladder.  After studying the light output for a while, I decided that it needed to be over the kitchen, where Belle and I have said that we didn't have enough light.

There is enough light in there now, by God.

If she doesn't lie it, I'll take it down, but it's easy to see what is happening in the kitchen now.  Brooder light fixtures are cheap, and my quest for the perfect shop lighting continues.

Retail Politics

For the past three days, I've been doing retail politics.  When I talk to people in the stores, I tell them that I'm running for Sheriff.  I have some postcards wit my campaign sign on one side and my platform on the other.  I give them a card nd if they want to talk, we talk.  If not, they get the card anyway.  If they decline, they decline.

I'm trying to break the code on Facebook ads.  The ads are cheap, and you ca target your audience.  I don't necessarily need the folks inn WHerever, KS to see my ads, but I sincerely want the folks in Rapides Parish, LA to see my ads.  Facebook and I are to the point where they are sending me a letter through snail mail with a verification code.  As soon as I get the letter, I'll sit down and finish filling out their online stuff.

I happened to stop by  local liquor shop this morning and talked with the owner.  One of his girls mentioned that she had never seen anyone campaign in a liquor store.   Retail sales of liquor are brand-new to this part of the parish and from all indications, he's doing a land-office business.  He's the kind of guy I want on my side.  And he has several cards o the cash register.  I"ll make sure that he keeps them stocked.

One lady, in a hardware store, told me that I could put a sign in her yard.  She lives on a prominent curve, and lots of folks would see it.  I ordered signs yesterday.  They should be ready for pickup next week.

Belle Likes

My favorite-est gal, Belle, is a fan of the .32 revolver.  She loves them, she does.  Her current carry is an old Cold D frame in .32-0.  Not the most potent of firearms, but eminently shootable.  She likes it, is comfortable with it, and its okay with me.

She was surfing around this morning and came upon a new .32 revolver, this one from Charter Arms.  They call it the Professional, and Belle likes it a lot.  It is chambered in .32 H&R Magnum, has a 7-shot cylinder,, and weighs just 22 ounces with a 3-inch barrel..

Evidently it was designed in cooperation with Concealed Carry Magazine.



Grabagun has it listed at $404.99 but it is not in stock.  I told them to give me an email when they get one.  Belle already had her card out, ready to order.  I think that she wants to retire the old D frame.

Cleaning Out The Freezer

Younger son is moving to Los Alamos, NM in mid May.  They've been planning this move for a while, and he's down to the last stages.  They came up to visit this weekend, and brought two pork butts that won't make the trip.

Younger son is an accomplished cook, to the point where he managed a barbecue house during college.  He made some sort of savory stuffing from onions, salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and other goodies.  Then stuffed the pork butts and left them with me, giving me instructions on how to cook them.

So, last night about 9:00 I started the smoker and set the temp to 225.

Then I went to bed.  This morning I got up, made coffee, and went out to check the smoker.

This is working out just fine.  I'll let them rest there till he comes over in a couple of hours.  Then we'll run the beans into the smoker to get some smoke.  After another cup of coffee, I'll go open the shop and start cutting up potatoes for 'tater salad. 

Happy Easter, everyone.

Easter Egg Roundup

Spent the morning at the church for our annual Easter Egg Roundup.

Horses, sheep, rabbits, chickens.  Games ad a big bouncer.

Plus, enough candy to keep the young'unns sugared up for several hours.

Laid-Back Busy

Louisiana State is over, and in the record books.  It was one hell of a shoot, supremely successful, despite the weather.  We had drenching rains, gale-force winds, and power outages, yet we continued on.  At one point, we had an entire range blow over.  Yet, the resilience of our shooters shown brightly; everyone pitching in to keep the match rolling.

I've always done an after-action review, to learn lessons from what has happened to avoid issues in the future.  First, logistics matters.  If you don't have spares, you're screwed.  Thankfully, I had plenty of spares and used a few of them.

This is what a lightweight range looks like after a sustained 54 mph gust.

We had some setbacks, but we kept plowing forward.  If you want to see pictures, there are several albums posted at the Cross Branded Peacemakers Facebook page.  Go over and look.

We carried on.  Cowboy Fast Draw shooters are resilient, happy, helpful and ready to step-up..  They are great folks.  We couldn't do this without volunteers.

Congratulations to the winners, those who took home my trophies, and we gave away a bunch of them.   I would be remiss here if I didn't at least show a picture of the Champions.

Louisiana State Champions
Left, Madame K - Lone Star Gunslingers
Right, Delta Whiskey - Big Thicket Bushwackers

So, it's over.  It was a challenge and a lot of fun, but now we move forward.  The home range is reset and the club monthly match is next Saturday.  And I've learned lessons.  This was the third Louisiana State I've done, and I've been whipped by the weather all three times.  With the lead time necessary to put on a big match, it's simply impossible to accurately predict weather, so I have to take weather out of the process.  I'll do other championships, but I'll never do another one outdoors.  In the coming weeks, I will find an indoor venue and lock it in.  Next year, Louisiana State will be done in a place where the weather will be only a matter of conversation.

Resetting the Range

This morning was pure piddling around.  I'm still sorting stuff that we moved for Louisiana State, and before I get it all back in place, the range needs a good sweeping.  Wax bullets get everywhere and I've found a bunch of them.  I also wanted to refurb he backdrop before I set up the targets, and I want to test all the electronics.  I may have one bad timer, and I have to sort that out.

Which is to say, one thing leads to another.  At noon, I decided to mow the lawn, and dropped what I was doing to cut grass.  It's supposed to rain tomorrow, and I can test electronics indoors, but the lawn is outside where it will be raining.

The lawn looks better now, so the neighbors won't be muttering under their breath.  Belle will be home shortly and we'll declare happy hour.

I can still do a full day's wor, but it takes me two days.

Buckles

I doubt I'll ever win a chmpionship buckle, but that's not why I'm in the game.  However, a club member commissioned a commemorative  buckle for the match and gave it to me at the awards meeting.

It's really nice, and I think it would look good on my gun belt.  I'm losing a little weight, and  my gun belt doesn't fit properly.  So, maybe I can get my son, who built the belt, to figure out a way to cut it down this weekend.  We'll see.

It is a good looking buckle, isn't it?

What The Wind is Blowing

We're coming in to the spring tornado season, and some storms have already caused massive damage in Texas, incuding loss of life.  Please be careful and seek shelter when necessary. 

I found this photo on the Book of Face and thought that I'd share it.

Remember, it's not THAT the wind is blowing, it's WHAT the wind is bowing.

Putting Stuff Away

Louisiana State is in the record books, and we're putting stuff away.  We got the church cleaned this morning, and this afternoon I've been sorting and stacking.  I'll take a couple of days to do that before I reset the indoor range.  I really want to test my timing equipment.  We hd a couple of glitches this weekend, nothing I couldn't fix because I keep spares, but I want to see if I fan find out what was causing the problems.

Our photographer, Miss E, is startinng to put up albums, and she took this onne of me on Friday.  My daughter thinks it is a good likeness.

On the Friday of a sanctioned shoot, we all wear red. (Remember Every Deployed)  It's just one way of saying thanks to the men ad women who are overseas keeping us safe.

Yeah, That's About RIght

The weather around here has bee truly horrible on the weekends, lately.

Oysters

Fresh Gulf oysters, grilled in garlic butter, then topped with cheese and put back int he broiler.  Serve with crackers.

Thanks, Termite.

Here We Go!

Tomorrow, we start setting up or the Louisiana State Championship of Cowboy Fast Draw.  We've been panning this since October, and it's time to thit the ground, and run.  We'll put up one range tomorrow ad a second range o Thursday, prep everything (including the banquet hall) and start shooting Friday Morning.

Posting will be light for the nex several days.  We shoot, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Then break everything down and ry to remember what normal feels like.

New Holster

Yeah, I own a lot of holsters.  Every pistolero does.  This one is from Mernickle holsters a known name in Cowboy Fast Draw and Cowboy Action shooting.

It's the Mernickle CF15 LR

So far, I like what I see.  It rides nicely on my favorite belt, and it fits the gun properly.  The one thing that baffles me is the omission of a leg-tie, to tie the gun to the shooter's leg.  A piece of latigo i that regard is very common in CFDA and this one omits it entirely.  However, it's easy enough to add if I decide to do so.

Into Every Life...

Into every life, a little rain must fall.

For the past two days, it's been a deluge, and Monday is starting off in that same vein.  If it's going to rain, though, let it rain now.

The reason I retired last week is because of this week.  I knew that I would be too busy to work a job this week, and this week I'm hosting the Louisiana State Championship of Cowboy Fast Draw.  Every day this week is prep, as has been the past couple of weeks.  Today, it's fairly light, running errands, paying bills, and staging gear. 

We were going to mow grass today, but it's entirely too wet to mow.  Hopefully, the weather will change later today and set up a several-day drying trend.  It's in God's hands now, and I"m okay with that.

Foggy Saturday Morning

It's a foggy, wet Saturday morning.  I ran some errands, did some chores, took care of piddling things.  Paid bills.

I'll break down the range later today, but some of the club wants to come practice one last time before we make the move toward Louisiana State.  We're scheduled to shoot today from 2:00 till 4:00 today, and I"ll break sow afterwards.

Right now we have shooters coming from LA, TX, OK, AL, FL, and IL.  Twenty men and tn ladies, and I expect that to double over the ext week. 

But, the cat doesn't seem to be bothered by y of this.  She's slept it off on the porch all morning.

I like having a cat around the house.  A cat will keep the mice and other small varmints nervous, and I ike it when varmints are nervous.

Friday NIght Music

Buseri'n Hell

I'm glad I retired.  I couldn't do all the stuff I need to do, and work, too.

Spent all day organizing for Louisiana State, and I'll continue in that regard until it's all moved to the venue and the match is over.  This afternoon, Belle and I made a trip to town, hit Office Depot for some supplies and spent the afternoon making name tags and banquet tickets for the shooters.

A seasoned match director told me that the more you do, the easier it gets.  I suppose so, because I've got the lists from last year, and the year before.    This will be the third year I've been involved in putting on a sanctioned state shoot.

This year has been easier, but it's still a lot of work.   However, it is Friday afternoon, and I do believe that we'll declare Happy Hour shortly.

My Platform

People are starting to ask about my platform, and it's fairly simple.  Basically a continuation of all the leadership and management skills that I have learned over the years, both as a police officer and an Army officer.

That about sums it up.  It's what I intend to do.

Annotated Battle Maps

If you're like me, it's hard sometimes to put together the strategy of a war ad follow the events as they unfold.  We generally study battles as a series of engagements, and sometimes I get confused about the order of things.

The Civil War Trust has a number of annotated battle maps that really help to see events as they unfold.

Here's one that shows the major events of the Revolutionary war.



Enjoy!

Formally Announced

I formally announced my candidacy yesterday, ad the local news station was there to cover it.


It's time to get busy.

First Day

I remember the first time I retired, back in 2000, I was amazed at how busy I was.  I didn't know how I had enough time, previously, to go to work.

Today is the first day of my second retirement, and I'm still busy.  Not complaining, though.  Got up this morning, piddled around in the shop, straightening, the did some book work for the Louisiana State shoot.  Ran an errand to the bank, the the grocers.  Now I'm hoe, hydrating, and prepping for a retirement reception this afternoon.

Church tonight, the to bed.  Tomorrow, I hope to stay on my acre all day and never start an engine.  We;ll see how that works out.