Timestepper

Actually, for the most part the "Wild West" wasn't really as wild as it's been made out to be, but I think we get your point. ...TS...

Spent a couple of hours at ETO with my lovely wife this morning. Great folks and the owner is quite knowledgeable on a variety of subjects. Had several very good, very quick conversations with him this morning (he was busier than the proverbial one-armed paper hanger) and look I forward to assisting in/presenting future demos at the store. Definitely good folks and one of the better stores I've been in. Great big . ...TS...

In honor of my lovely and talented better half's birthday today: Just don't get any better than the Gentle Giant! Amazing that he sounds as good in his 70's as he did in his 30's.

[TABLE] [TR] [TD] Political Science for Dummies [TABLE] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] DEMOCRAT [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. You feel guilty for being successful. You push for higher taxes so the government can provide cows for everyone. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] REPUBLICAN [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two cows. Your neighbor has none. So? [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] SOCIALISM [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two cows. The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor. You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] COMMUNISM [/TD] [TD] You have two cows. The government seizes both and provides you with milk. You wait in line for hours to get it. It is expensive and sour. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two cows. You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two cows. Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk the other, and then pour the milk down the drain. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] AMERICAN CORPORATION [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two cows. You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one. You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses. Your stock goes up. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] FRENCH CORPORATION [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two cows. You go on strike because you want three cows. You go to lunch and drink wine. Life is good. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] JAPANESE CORPORATION [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two cows. You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow and produce twenty times the milk. They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains. Most are at the top of their class at cow school. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] GERMAN CORPORATION [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two cows. You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour. Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] ITALIAN CORPORATION [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two cows but you don't know where they are. You break for lunch. Life is good. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] RUSSIAN CORPORATION [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two cows. You drink some vodka. You count them and learn you have five cows. You drink some more vodka. You count them again and learn you have 42 cows. The Mafia shows up and takes over all cows you really have. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] TALIBAN CORPORATION [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have all the cows in Afghanistan . Exactly two. You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts. You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] IRAQI CORPORATION [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two cows. They go into hiding. They send radio tapes of their mooing. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] POLISH CORPORATION [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have two bulls. Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] BELGIAN CORPORATION [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have one cow. The cow is schizophrenic. Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish. The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow. The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk. The cow asks permission to be cut in half. The cow dies happy. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] FLORIDA CORPORATION [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have a black cow and a brown cow. Everyone votes for the best looking one. Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for theblack one. Some people vote for both. Some people vote for neither. Some people can't figure out how to vote at all. Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you think is the bestlooking cow. [/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD=bgcolor: #001FF0] CALIFORNIA CORPORATION [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #BFC3F9] You have millions of cows. They make real California cheese. Only five speak English. Most are illegal. Arnold likes the ones with the big udders. [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] [/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Hazelnut coffee w/hazelnut creamer spiked with just a little Burnett's Spiced Rum - actually, that's my preferred adult beverage in the morning when I'm not on the road.

Change "Regions" to "Bank of America" and I could very well have written the last paragraph myself. Would dearly love to drop them, but don't want the hassle of changing everything over.

Seems to be a 'glass half full/glass half empty' sort of thing. I've been alive long enough to have an inherent distrust of the federal government and I somehow can't bring myself to trust them on this. Seems to me that if this bill were all it's cracked up to be, it wouldn't be necessary in the first place because of our inherent second amendment rights. Personally I need more government involvement in my life like I need the guys here in Jonesborough where I'm delivering to close up shop and go home before unloading my truck. I just don't. And I want to believe in our government... I just can't. ...TS...

+1 Wow! After these two very high class responses, I kinda' wish I lived closer to one of the G&L stores - you'd definitely have my business! (Guess you shouldn't judge a book by the librarian either.) ...TS...

Dang, think I'm gonna' change my screen name to "Thread Killer." :-\

Yep, it do!

Sounds like fun, but there's a good chance I won't know for sure until the day before or something. The campout idea sounds like fun although, again, I likely won't know until immediately prior. If I DO get to come, I might just show up in Western mountain man garb (since that's what I'm most comfortable camping in) with accompanying tumpline bed roll, provided y'all promise not to laugh too terribly hard... at least until I'm out of ear-shot. Might or might not bring a smokepole - it'll depend mostly upon what I'm in the mood for cleaning. Probably will at least bring my good ol' Savage 24 just for incongruity's sake. ...TS...

Something on the order of 23 or so years ago, I'd stopped at truck stop in Cape Girardeau, Mo. to fuel up and take a shower. As I was walking up the stairs leading to where the showers were located, I met someone coming down who looked at me, did a double take, then backed up a step and tripped and fell on his butt. I asked, "Are you okay?" He replied, "Man! you look just like a guy I went to high school with!!!" Given his reaction when he saw me, I quipped "Do you owe him money?" He looked at me again and shook his head and shivered then said, "Christ no - he was killed in a car wreck last week and I just went to his funeral two days ago!!!" Getting back on track: I'm not going to judge whether or not the OP's young friend was in the right or the officer was in the wrong or vice-verse, but I will say that I never go ANYWHERE without some sort of I.D. Even when I'm just screwing around in the canoe down at the creek, I have (at a minimum) my D.L. and insurance card tucked into a waterproof I.D. case - worst case scenario, at least they'll be able to I.D. my body if I do something monumentally stupid. ...TS...

Feel free to borrow my voice mail greeting: "Hi, this is ___. I'm not answering the phone right now because I'm avoiding someone I don't like. Wait for the tone & leave a message - if I don't return your call... it's YOU." Oh, and "right now" I'm taking a break after de-tarping in the rain in Brownsville, Tn...

The sound of the truck next to me idling and fan on my electric Coleman Cooler. Earlier, I was listening to this: Yeah, I know - I need a life...

Nope, I'm delivering a load of lumber here in the morning. (Got here about 30 minutes ago.) And my wife says that no matter what kind of wonderful sportsman I am, I'm no longer allowed to hunt that "different kind of whitetail.":(

Geez, rub it in! Right now I'm sitting in the living room with my laptop, knowing that I need to get my butt in gear so that I can leave for Anderson, In. in few hours. Congrats, JF! And good luck! Now, put down your phone and pick up your shootin' iron - there's a bigun' out there somewhere waiting to be spotted!

Actually, most people are easy to read. Even easier when they're trying to/hoping to hide something. And it doesn't have to necessarily be something illegal. A buddy of mine who is a LEO up home in Kansas stopped a guy one night with the intention of letting him know he had a tail light out. Wasn't planning on issuing a citation, just letting the guy know. But the guy got to acting nervous and so my buddy asked for and was eventually granted permission to search. The only thing he found was a box of condoms under the seat with 3 missing. Turns out that the guy had been cheating on his wife (with whom he was trying have a child) and he was scared to death that his wife would find out. My buddy told him, "Well sir, it ain't my job to judge you, but if you're that worried about it, maybe you should find a better place to hide your rubbers than under the seat. Good luck juggling your relationships and PLEASE get your tail light fixed - next time you might be stopped by a female officer who would feel it's her duty to tell your wife!" Long and short of it is, if you don't have anything to hide then it's doubtful you'll have anything to worry about.

Great post. I've mentioned elsewhere my intent to largely OC. Looks like this might be good opportunity to further elaborate: I like guns. I've been around them literally my entire life and am quite comfortable with them. I'm also a cheap b*stard and the vast majority of what I own (guns, camping equipment, garden tools, EVERYTHING) was chosen for its ability to serve multi-purposes/functions. Not sure if its an efficiency thing, or if I just don't like having a bunch of stuff lying around that I might use only once or twice a year. You see, I have neither the desire, nor the resources to purchase multiple handguns to fit any given scenario, so when I do get around to buying a "modern" (that is to say, non-muzzle loading, non-black powder) handgun, it will be with the idea that said modern handgun will serve as both companion piece to my trusty Savage 24 (.357mag/20ga.) for hunting purposes as well as my "primary carry gun," (not to mention home defense for my lovely and talented wife while I'm on the road). Given that criteria, I've already arbitrarily decided on the S&W 386 XL Hunter in .357mag w/6 inch bbl. In times of colder weather, CC will not be problematic as I generally wear a longer western cut jacket along with my standard "uniform" of boots, jeans and cowboy hat. During warm weather however, CC with the aforementioned weapon will be extremely problematic not only because of it's size, but also because the only time you'll ever see me with the baggy pants or un-tucked shirt requisite to carry the 386 is... well, never. So that's the deal. If I OC, it's not because I don't recognize the potential benefits of CC, or "feel the need" to OC so much as the fact that I don't own/can't afford multiple handguns and simply choose function over form. Now, on the other hand, if a fellow TGO member feels sorry for me because I'm too terminally broke to buy a smaller piece for CC purposes and would like to "donate to the cause," in order to more readily facilitate CC on my part, I will happily take anything in .38sp/.357mag off your hands. ...Don...

With all due respect, Sir - and please bear in mind that I've never visited your shop and probably never will simply because of it's location not being convenient my usual routes - your initial email response to the OP (which was the whole purpose of this thread to begin with) would seem to be very indicative of how business is conducted. I mean, for crying out loud, I don't even have a dog in this fight and I was personally offended by the smugness and innate superiority of your self-verified email response even though it wasn't aimed at me. Put another way, I'm a semi-professional smart@$$ (and make no bones about it) and your response offended even me. I'm willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt, but you've done nothing to help your case with your various responses. Nice gesture to ask that issues be brought to the shop and worked out in person, and I see where you've stated that you'll "settle the issue directly with Mr. Dolomite" but you still have yet to even hint at an apology for what most members of this forum - indeed I'm guessing most members of polite society - <would> see as a completely and unnecessarily rude initial response. Your message seems to be "We're great guys in person, but we're socially inept at answering emails, so come on in!" And my take on it is what my dad used to tell me: "If you're not nice when no one is looking, you're not nice, period." Sincerely wish you all the best in resolving this and negating the damage already done to your reputation, but I'll be honest, it don't look too hopeful... Sincerely, Don McCrary Claxton, Tn.

Great information and responses here. Very educational and my thanks to the LEOs who have commented. I can't really add anything except to say that the one time I I was asked (and consented) to a vehicle search, I did so with the caveat that, "I really don't think you're going to find anything, but if you do I'll be happy to know about it because I know a certain stepson who'll be wearing his butt between his shoulder blades for the foreseeable future after I get out of jail." The officer just laughed and told me to have a nice day. Didn't even bother to write the ticket for speeding that he'd stopped me for (and that I deserved). Guess a good attitude goes a long ways, huh? ...TS...

I was commo. Specifically, I started out as a Tactical Communications Systems Operator/Mechanic then did a sh*t load of cross training and ended up as a Master of Communications. Initially, I was detached in support of the 2nd of the 130th Field Artillery Brigade, but later became a more or less freelance Commo guy going wherever, whenever and however I was needed. To my fellow Vets, I say "Thank you for your service and dedication!" To pretty much everyone else, I say, "It was my honor to serve the greatest nation the world has ever known - no thanks necessary." Happy belated Veterans Day. ...TS...

Yep, me too what you said.

This is what's cookin' for us: Slow smoked beer-in-the-rear chicken with hard cider substituted for the beer, dusted with rosemary/garlic "magic dust" & Corona soaked, roasted-in-the-husk corn on the cob. MMmmm!

I'm sure they do - our local Co-op does - but a few minutes on the phone would probably be the easiest way to find out.

Indeed it do. Got an older brother who's tagline is "Remember, you're special! (Just like everyone else on the whole freakin' planet.)" ...TS...