Finally!

I've been a re-enactor for nine years now, and I'm finally getting a new tent!

Saturday, before the whole Shedd Aquarium outing, I called Panther Primitives and ordered their Super Bell Wedge: 8' tall x 12' wide x 14' long, plus a 6' bell, putting it to 20' long. It took about 10 minutes to order over the phone, and it'll be here in 3 to 4 weeks, in plenty of time for Macktown.

I. Am. Psyched!

Next time I have money, I'm ordering the 16'x20' fly. :^)

What A Great Weekend!

For once, a lot went on this past weekend. Most importantly, Magoo turned 6 on Monday, so the Missus & I took Snoofy, Magoo & Baby Boy (cripes, I've got to come up with another name for him - he's 4 for fucksake!), along with a couple of cousins, to Shedd Aquarium as a Birthday outing on Saturday.

Magoo loves "sea critters", she wanted a stuffed dolphin, & I thought, "Where's the best place to find a stuffed dolphin?"

(They're hard to catch, and you just can't find a taxidermist willing to stuff one anymore!)


On the way, we stopped at the Des Plaines Oasis for lunch. We ate McDonald's, & as the kids had never been to an Oasis before, we watched the cars and trucks drive beneath us. We were getting ready to go when the kids became fascinated with the crane game, just looking at the stuff inside, when this HUGE biker-type dude came over to the machine. He looked at us & said, "I play this game every time I come here." Okaay....

He put a dollar in the machine, & the kids were watching & cheering him on. Sure enough, on his second try, he won this spongy rubber ball the size of my head that lights up when you bounce it. Biker dude looks at Magoo and says, "This is for cheering for me so good", and gave her the ball! She was delighted! She said, "THANK YOU!", & he smiled and walked away.

That was cool.

We get to Shedd, & what's waiting for us? One huge friggin' line. Wasn't a problem, though, as the view of Lake Michigan was fantastic. The last time we'd gone there, Snoofy was 4, Magoo was an infant, and Baby Boy wasn't even a glint in my eye. The cousins had never been there before either. All the kids kept talking about how awesome the "ocean" is. Cute.

I won't get into every little thing we did, but I will say that if you go to the dolphin show, don't go to the last show of the day. The dolphins are tired and they're smart enough (barely) to say, "Piss off! I've been jumping and tail-walking all friggin' day, and I'm beat! Gimme a beer, stick a ciggy in my blow-hole and leave me alone!"

Add to that lackluster performance the inane comments of the presenter: "Dolphins can swim much faster than we humans." No. Fucking. WAY! Are you shitting me? An aquatic mammal can out-swim my landlocked ass?! Hell, I was just telling The Missus how slow those little bastards were swimming.... What a maroon.....

Anyway, we saw feeding time in the Big Tank (or the reef or whatever they call it) amongst the rays, sharks, various fish, and one HUGE green sea turtle (mmmm, soup... is what I said). We also saw the beluga whales along with the baby whale, which was really cool! Adult belugas are white, but the baby was black.

(Yes they were the real parents! Thanks for asking.) ;^)

We all had a good time, especially Magoo. She got her stuffed dolphin, a ball from her Biker-dude/Birthday angel, and she got to eat McDonalds for lunch and supper with all of us, as a family, and her two favorite cousins.

I don't think we'll be going back, though. I told The Missus that, the next time we go, I'm getting and wearing this.

Like a fart in church.....

Let's Try This Again....

I finally got some new material so I'm bringing back

The Weekly Chuckle.

Into a Belfast pub comes Paddy Murphy, looking like he'd just been run over by a train. His arm is in a sling, his nose is broken, his face is cut and bruised and he's walking with a limp.

"What happened to you?" asks Sean, the bartender.

"Jamie O'Conner and me had a fight," says Paddy.

"That little shit, O'Conner!?" says Sean, "He couldn't do that to you, he must have had something in his hand."

"That he did," says Paddy, "a shovel is what he had, and a terrible lickin' he gave me with it."

"Well," says Sean, "you should have defended yourself, didn't you have something in your hand?"

That I did," said Paddy, "Mrs. O'Conner's breast, and a thing of beauty it was, but useless in
a fight."

Thanks to my Irish accordian playing friend for that! :^)

Fine. Then *I'll* Say It.....

So many folks on The Right in this country are so worried about "offending" those on The Left that, especially when it comes to the war, they don't want to call a spade a spade.

Fine. I will.......

Saying, "I support the troops but not their mission" is contradictory. You can't support our soldiers/sailors/airmen/marines if you don't support what they DO.

That being said, those on The Left who do not want our brave men and women to succeed in the war on terror obviously want us to lose this war. If we lose, the terrorists win.

(If my writing seems simplistic, it's supposed to be. Some Lefty might be trying to read it, and I wouldn't want them to become even more confused.)

Now how can someone who dreams of the downfall of our unique society, and victory for Islamo-nazism even remotely call themselves "Patriotic"?

They can't.

Ergo, if you're a Left-wing dingbat then You. Are. un-American!

Pure and simple.

A Whole New Wrapper.

Well, ain't this exciting?

I got tired of looking at the same black background, so yeah, I changed it.

Of course, if you're reading this, like, with your eyes, then I really shouldn't have to write about it, should I?

Well, you'd appreciate it if you were blind, because then you'd need someone to let you know....

Or something....

Who knows, maybe I'll actually post something later.

An Irish Valentine

This wasn't what I was originally looking for in an Irish Valentine, but this is what I found, and if you're inclined to listen for a bit, this is what you get.

You can't get much more Irish than Valentine O'Hara...





Happy St. Valentine's Day to you all... or both... whatever the case may be...

What The Hell'd I Do??

Recently, I received a message from Contagion saying,

"Payback! TAG!"

And a link to a freakin' geek test!

"Payback?" I don't know what I did to warrant that, but okay, what the fuck, I'll take it.

I've come to find out that, indeed, I am 35% geek.

Somewhere around here I have a book of Monty Python scripts, and can recite "Holy Grail" damned near verbatim, I have quoted Yoda, I roleplay on a fairly regular basis, I do know what "GURPS" stands for, was a drummer in my high school marching band, routinely corrected spelling/grammar of teachers, co-workers, and bosses, have worn my kilt just for the helluvit, worked at a Renfair, enjoy reading sci-fi and fantasy books, as well as historical fiction and historical fact, listen and play music that hardly anyone else listens to, I like watching "Charmed", I do believe in dragons, fairies, leprechauns, unicorns.....

Ya get it? I'm. A. GEEK! I've made peace with it, embraced it, and made it my own.

So there.

Go take the test (if you haven't already) and let me know how you score.

And remember: Embrace your geekiness!

If You Like The Sad Ones....

Like I know Contagion does, then you'll like this Christy Moore clip. I think it's from the '80s or early '90s.

If you're not familiar with Christy's performing style, he gets intimate with his music. That's the only way I can describe it: sensually, almost religiously intimate.



"The Middle of the Island" is one I hadn't heard before, but "The Well Below the Valley" is one I've enjoyed singing at rendezvous for a couple of years now.

I hope you get as much pleasure hearing it as I did.

Ya Wanna See a *Real* Bodhran Player?

Hey y'all.

I've been told that I'm a pretty fair hand with a bodhran, but this guy.... Fan-freakin'-tastic!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ChbigufBC8

Embedding is disabled, so you gotta go there, but trust me, it's worth it!

What A Trip!

Let me start by saying, "Mistakes were made", and not just by me...

I was to leave Rockford by 10 am on the 16th, be in Peoria to pick up the load by 12 noon (a real stretch in a straight truck), leave Peoria by 12:30 and be in Beaufort, NC by 5pm on the 18th.

That was the plan.

First off, this should've been a team run. Beaufort, NC is 17 hours away from Rockford, IL. I had to stop after 11 hours, rest for 10, and so on, rather than switch off with another driver so the truck keeps moving.

Secondly, I got to Peoria at 12:30 and didn't get loaded and gone until 1:30.

Thirdly, I made the mistake of going through Ohio, a state just as bad as Illinois when it comes to speed limits - 55 mph is just stoopid!

Now, I said that Beaufort is 17 hours away. Peoria wasn't in the equation. That should've made it 20. Also, traffic conditions weren't considered.

The whole way I was two hours behind schedule, and that's just frustrating!

I'll just say that by 5pm on the 18th, I was still 2 hours away from my stop. By the time I'd've gotten there it would've been about 8pm and the place closed for the night.

So I stopped for ten, as per DOT regulations.

Wait. It's gonna get better.

Next morning, around 5 am, I'm up and running. Found Beaufort fine. Found the cross street fine. Oops, I missed my turn. No big deal, just go to next street, around the block, and come back.

Yeah.

Did I mention that Beaufort, NC is on an island? Well....

I couldn't go down to the next block, because the truck wasn't an amphibious vehicle, so I did what I've done dozens of times before - pull onto the shoulder, reverse, pull forward, and repeat until I've turned the truck around.

What I didn't know was that it had been raining there for 2 and a half weeks, turning the shoulder into quicksand.

*Visual* Me in a 28' straight truck, front end stuck on one side of the road, rear end stuck on the other, up to the axles, two blocks away from my stop.

Funny, huh? It gets better....

I call my boss, tell him I'm stuck. He wasn't too upset, just asked where exactly I was (Steel Tank Road, Beaufort, NC.) and , said "I'll call a wrecker and get ya pulled out."

An hour later he calls me: "Where are you? The wrecker can't find you and I don't see you on the map."

We have GPS units installed in all the trucks.

I said, "Boss, I'm in Beaufort, NC on Steel Tank Road. He can't miss me; I'm in a big white truck blocking off the end of the street 3oo feet from the bay!"

Long story short(er), I sat there for FIVE BLOODY HOURS waiting for a wrecker to pull me out, all the while fielding questions from curious locals, most of whom were just wanting to help, but one conversation went like this:

Him: "Gotcherself stuck, huh?"
Me: "Naw, this just looked like a good place to park."

I'll tell you, the reason it took FIVE BLOODY HOURS to get out of the mud was because my boss and the DP (dispatcher) were talking to a towing company in Buford, SC.

That's Buford, South-fucking-Carolina!!! No wonder the dude couldn't find me, I was roughly 300 hundred fucking miles away!!!

I don't know how many times I told them "Beaufort. North Carolina".

NORTH CAROLINA!!!

When I left, the white board in the DP office had my name and destination written on it, along with truck number and cell phone number (it was all still on the board when I got back).

On their computer is a map to my destination.

And in the truck is a fucking GPS system, so they can find me anywhere, anytime, right?

They couldn't look on the low-tech whiteboard first? They couldn't look on my map? They couldn't look at the fucking GPS?!?

Well, they finally got a local wrecker, he was there within 15 minutes, and had me out of the mud in 30 minutes. I made my delivery and came home.

The return trip was uneventful.

THANK GOD!

In the morning, I'm going to have an interesting conversation with my boss...

Thanks for the good thoughts and/or prayers. That must've been what got me through. :-)

That's all for now. Maybe I'll let ya know how my chat with the boss goes...

God bless, ya'll.

I'm North Carolina Bound!

I'll be back soon. I got a sweet run to NC. I don't know where exactly I'm going yet in NC, but I'll find out before I leave.....

Duh.

I don't usually get a run that far away: they're normally reserved for teams and I just don't play well with others, unless there're Irish session players and I don't work with any.

I just hope all goes well, with me being away and the family staying behind. I don't know, just got a weird feeling is all.

If you're so inclined, throw a prayer or good thought our way while I'm away.
I'm sure it's nothing, but still.....

Roll on, ya'll!

What Time Is It? Is It Still January?

Damn, that was one helluva New Year's party!!!

Now if I could only remember.....

Something about glogg

(Mmmmm, glogg...)

and Harvey demanding I sing "White and Nerdy" while playing the bodhran, and LittleJoe picking up TNT

(Nothing funny there, he was picking her up. Physically. Ya know I can't write that in an unprovocative way...)

and Contagion (or maybe it was Grau.... things were blurry at this point) saying, "Hey, wanna see something sick and disgusting?"

(In future, for the LOVE OF GOD, say NO!!!)

Thanks Contagion and Ktreva! When it comes to throwing a party, nobody does it better! I hear I had a great time....... ;^)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everybody!

Today/tonight there shall be much imbibing of alcoholic beverages, good company with great friends, and good food.

And with Sadam finally swinging in the breeze, it was a great end to 2006! Rock on Iraq!!!




Contagion has a clip of the bastard going to the gallows. Unfortunately, we don't get to see him swing, but I'm sure that'll be available somewhere.

I hear that the last thing Sadam said was, "Aaack!!!", but that's unconfirmed.

I'm sure the next thing he said was, "Shit, it really is hot down here!"

Well, I'm going to take a piss facing east in honor of the mass-murdering fuck.

Merry Christmas!

I wish everyone a Blessed and Happy Christmas!

That is all...

It Can't Happen Here, Huh?

A terror threat in Rockford, IL?? If you don't think these nut-jobs are all over the place, then you just don't think.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061208/ap_on_re_us/terror_arrest

Thank God and the FBI this one was caught.

By the way, Shareef..... That's not a Presbyterian, or Methodist name, is it?

Dear Mr. President,

Where did your balls go?!

Since the election, you've thrown Rummsfield under the bus, let Burton go from the UN, and let the liberals run rough-shod all over your military policy before they've even taken over Congress!!

You are the Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces, charged with upholding our Constitution as it is written, and with protecting the citizens of the United States of America.

Pull your finger out and unleash the hounds of hell!

If (hell.... when!) we cut-and-run from Iraq, when we give legitimacy to the two-bit dictators of Syria and Iran by treating with them (when they are the ones RESPONSIBLE FOR FUNDING THE VERY TERRORISTS OUR TROOPS ARE FIGHTING!), when we start to de-fund the war effort (and wait.... when Democrats take over Congress, it will happen), we LOSE!

And our children and our grandchildren will have to deal with the Islamonazi threat that we were too weak-willed to deal with.

By letting the liberals turn the war into a political issue rather than a military one, you are betraying the men and women who volunteered to face EVIL in order to protect us at home.

Oh, now we have to talk to, and negotiate with the subhuman scum who delight in decapitating their captives.....

They. Want. Us. DEAD!!! Do not pass "go", et al. They want us dead, and you cannot negotiate with that!

Leftists say that the Islamonazis are, "just like us. We are all one people".....

Bullshit! These are the same people who say that Afghanis and Iraqis "can't handle" freedom because they're too different from us!!! Which in itself is retarded thinking: Who the Hell wants to live in slavery??

Republicans, in this case, are not much better. They're busy being bi-partisan. Do you know what that means? It means "Republicans bending over for Democrats and doing everything the Left wants them to do", that's what bi-partisan means. And they want to lead by consensus....

You CAN'T lead by consensus! It's impossible! You lead by LEADING, and for taking responsiblilty as a LEADER!

So get your NUTS BACK and LEAD us!

Respectfully,

Wes

Let Me 'Splain.... No, There's Too Much. Let Me Sum Up...

Too much time has passed since I last posted. I just can't seem to put words on screen for the last few weeks. So, for those who care, here's a summing-up for what's gone on since Trail of History 2006:

Trail was fun -- good friends, good music, and good booze on the one hand, and wet, cold weather on the other. Closed early on Sunday (which sucked beyond all reason), but the time I had was great with the time I had.....

Does that even make sense?!

(Oops, hold on a minute.... The Wife just brought me a McRib sandwich (a.k.a., bar-b-que crack on a bun) that I must consume with all speed!)

Uurp! That's the stuff! Now where was I? Oh, yeah....

Trail was short this year, but all in all, a good time was had.

After Trail I got bronchitis.... that I'm still fighting. Zythromax didn't touch it. 500 mg tablets of Levaquin seem to be having an effect. Doc gave me 10 of them, I'm down to my last one, and I'm starting to feel better. I still cough hard enough to make myself dizzy at times

(which is really fun whilst driving...)

but I'm sure I'll be better soon.

Hold on a sec.... I need a smoke....

*Cough, Hack, Wheeeeeze....*

That's better....

Let's see..... Trail, bronchitis.... what else....

Don't even get me started on the elections!

Hey.... Dumbasses (and you know who you are), take what pride you can in knowing that you: had a hand in undermining our military's efforts in Iraq and around the world, and that soon the Liberals you elected will have us fighting Islamonazis on this side of the world; that our nation's enemies ABSOLUTELY LOVE the fact that the cut-and-run crowd have come to power, and will be emboldened enough to spread their hate and murder even further abroad, while our ability to defend ourselves as a People will be hampered.

Thank you so fucking much for voting for terrorism and against YOUR OWN CIVILIZATION!!!

Now that I've gotten that out of my system... for now...

Didn't I tell you not to get me started?

What else....

The Wife had a birthday on the 2nd of this month -- she's as old as I am again, albeit a helluva lot easier to look at -- and Baby Boy had a birthday yesterday. Yeeaah, Baby Boy.... I'm gonna have to call him something else now (suggestions welcome), 'cause he's 4. Can you freaking believe that?!

HE'S FOUR FRIGGIN' YEARS OLD!!!

Cripes, I'm old....

That's about it for now. Anyone have any questions? Anyone?

Bueller?

23 Days And Counting...

Twenty-three days 'til Trail of History, the last re-enactment of the year.

This year's actually a first for me: I'm going alone rather as part of a group. Because of that, I had to re-apply. Since I'd been going since '98 (but for a couple of years I had to miss), I thought that was a bit silly, but hey, what can you do? I sent in an application, complete with photos (thanks to Contagion), and a character history. Below is what I wrote:

I portray Tomas "Dhu" ("Black") MacGregor, or Tam to me friends. I am the only surviving son of Fergal McBrian, an Irish Jacobite from West Meath, and Fionna MacGregor, a daughter of James MacGregor, a Jacobite from Balquidder, Scotland.

I was born in Balquidder, Scotland and baptised Tomas McBrian, some years after the failed Jacobite Rebellion of 1715. An Irishman by blood, a Scotsman by place, and a fervent Jacobite by the Grace of God, I was there at the dog's dinner that was the Battle on Culloden's Moor.

Me da is there still.

After, knowing that McBrians were well known as Irish Jacobites fighting in Scotland, I thought it wise to take me ma's name.

(Although there were MacGregors at the Battle of Culloden, we didn't fight as a clan. Because of this there was more peril in being known as a McBrian than as a MacGregor!)

I tried to rebuild a life in the land of my birth, but the Sasanachs found more value in cattle and sheep than in Scotsmen, let alone Irishmen! So, selling what little goods and gear I had (but for me granda's claymore and me bodhran), I booked passage as crew on a leaky tub for the Americas.

Landing on the quay in Virginia, I've since come West trying to find a peaceful life away from the bloody English. But the Sasanachs are looking for another fight, this time with the French and certain tribes of Savages.

’Tis only a wee matter of time afore I take up me granda's claymore against the Bloody-backs.

Until that time, I find peace where I may, playing me bodhran and singing what Irish and Scottish ditties as come to mind - many of the Jacobite persuasion, of course - for what crumbs may come me way.

The "Tam to me friends" refers to the way it sounds when a Scotsman tries to say "Tom", so in effect, I'm "Black Tom" in English.

Just in case you were wondering.

I'll post pictures later, if I can remember how.....

Happy Birthday Harvey!!!

Harvey's turning 40, Harvey's turning 40.....

Oh, wait.... I'm right behind him....

Four more years to go, but still....

Crap....

It's cool that we share a birth-month, though.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARVEY! :^)

El Rey De Cerveza??

It used to be, when I wanted a cheap beer at a bar, I'd order a MGD.

Not after this.

If they're going to support ILLEGAL immigrants, I'm not giving them my money.

Of course, the Miller Brewing Company denies that they support ILLEGAL immigration.

Sure. OK. Right....

Apparently, Miller's just another corporation that's going to bend over the alter of political correctness and kiss the asses of ILLEGAL ALIENS!!

What the hell, there aren't enough of us LEGAL CITIZENS buying your swill, that you need to encroach on Corona's turf?!

FECKING CORPORATE WHORES!!!