First Mowing

 The neighbors have been cutting grass since February, but I have wisely abstained until this morning.  The crop of thistles in the front ditch convinced me that today was the say to crank up the zero-turn.  A winters worth of leaves has been mulched.  The thistles have been chastised. 

So begins the mowing season that will last until October.  I need to do a little weed-whacking and spray some herbicide, but I am pacing myself.  There is also a burn pile that needs attention, but it is too dry to burn.

Back Home

 We rolled in from central Texas yesterday before dark. It was a great match.  Your humble scribe had a great Saturday. After 8 rounds, I had only one loss. Then, the combined challenges of age, stamina, arena dust and heat took its toll.  I didn't finish in the money,  but it was close and I have no one to blame but myself. I'm still coughing central Texas arena dust out of my sinuses.

Leaving the arena on Saturday, Belle and I were dog-tired.  She noticed a Burger King near the arena and suggested that we swing through Burker King, pick up some sandwiches and go to the room.  Great Idea. Five o'clock in a Saturday, and there was no one in the parking lot.  I thought that was odd, but went to the drive-through and noticed that the menu board was dark. Then I saw it and laughed.

The darkened menu board had a bullet hole in it. Another dissatisfied customer had registered a complaint. I thought that was funny as hell.  We drove out of the parking lot and went down to Dairy Queen for our sandwiches.

We're home and safe.  It is time to unpack the van and get ready f our next adventure. Three weeks from now, it is Georgia.

Never Quit

 It's time for Texas State, and I'm remembering a song sung by Part Time at the 2015 Texas State

You can find it here.

I'm going to leave it here so that I can find it tomorrow.

Texas State

 In March of 2016, Belle and I went to our first state championship, the Texas State Championship of Cowboy Fast Draw in Fort Worth, TX, We were green as grass, brand new to the Fast Draw game, and we wandered around the Stock Yards, wide-eyed and having fun.

Tomorrow morning, we are leaving for our 11th Texas State.  This one is in Burnet, TX, just south of Austin.  These championships move around, just as they should.  We've been to Fort Worth, Amarillo, Odessa, Silsbee, Houston, and this is our second trip to Burnet.  We really enjoy the Texas State Championship.

Tuesday Tidbits

 I went this morning for a AAA scan (Abdominal Aorta Aneurism).  It is a sonogram to tell if my abdominal aorta is about to spring a leak.   When they scheduled it a week ago, I old then it was a waste of time and money.  I'm okay.  The doc insisted, because he doesn't believe me when I tell him something.  Evidently, this test is VERY fucking important.

So, I went this morning and got the scan done. I was right.  It was a waste of time and money. Scan showed absolutely no problems. It was a wase of my time and your tax dollars.

On another note, I heard that the 82nd Infantry Division (Airborne) just got a warning order. The headquarters elements are moving east with the full division to follow shortly.  That is interesting.

On a more local note, we learned yesterday that our recently retired Sheriff was killed in what is characterized as a hit-and-run.  Rumors abound.  I worked for that man for eight years, and while I did not always agree with him, I always thought his heart was in the right place.  Rest in Peace, Sheriff.

F-35 Damaged

 I see that an F-35 was damaged this weekend by hostile fire.  The pilot is fine. Everyone is okay.

The pearl-clutches are wondering how this happened?  The F-35 is stealthy, invisible, invincible.  No, it's not.  It's an aircraft. It's a fine, technologically advanced aircraft, but it is still just a metal tube.

There is still a thing called the Golden BB, and it still comes into play.  Basically, if the enemy throws enough crap into the sky, a plane will inevitably run into some of it. The Golden BB has been around forever, and aviators know about it. Eventually, some sonofabitch gets lucky.

The pilot is okay, the airframe can be repaired.

Chuck Norris

 I learned yesterday of the passing of Chuck Norris.  He was certainly an icon. A proud US veteran, a movie and TV star,  He played larger-than-life roles He supported the troops, traveling to unnamed battlefields to entertain them.  He did it all with self-deprecating good humor. He celebrated the absolutely absurd memes that followed him, understanding that the fans needed to laugh.

He counted to infinity, twice.

He was in all the Star Wars movies.  He was The Force.

Chuck didn't die.  The Earth just moved into a lower plane of existence.

Rest in Peace, Chuck.