Don't be silly! Where are we ever gonna find a virgin?

Tonight is the peak of the annual Geminids meteor shower.

They're considered to be “one of the best and most reliable” annual meteor showers, according to NASA. The shower is a result of an asteroid known as 3200 Phaethon. Though the shower will be active until Dec. 24 — Christmas Eve — it will peak Wednesday night into early Thursday morning. “During its peak, as many as 120 Geminid meteors can be seen per hour under perfect conditions,” NASA states.

While most meteors appear to be colorless or white, the Geminids appear with a greenish hue. The shower will begin around 9 or 10 p.m. and will last until dawn. To view them, find an area well away from the city lights or street lights,” the website states. Under these ideal conditions — including clear weather — viewers will be able to see more than one meteor each minute.

I think that in '48, Chevy was still using babbit bearings on the rods. Those bearings could keep on going when they were really loose.

1) I don't believe that anyone should be eligible to be commander-in-chief unless he's actually served.
2) We don't treat veterans well enough. Too many scandals coming out of VA hospitals, for instance.
3) Veterans day should be a legal federal holiday with only veterans being eligible for a paid day off from work.
4) GI's are woefully underpaid!
5) The main reason for recruiting difficulty is that todays young people are so ENTITLED! They think that they have an absolute right to wh**ever they want, without having to give anything for it.

My favorite is granola with nuts and no fruit.
At my age though, I might be wise to develop a taste for bran.
But it's hard to get excited over something that looks like sticks and twigs.
I wish I'd have appreciated my youth while I still had it.

Well, my most tense moment behind the wheel was when I was a firefighter. I was driving the ladder truck with red lights and siren, responding to a call. It was the peak of the afternoon rush hour and we were coming up to the worst intersection in town. When I stepped on the brake pedal, it went to the floor with no effect whatever. I hollered "NO BRAKES" and the lieutenant grabbed the hand brake lever and nearly tore it out of the truck. I know it's not true, but I felt like that made us go even faster! We gave the siren and air horn all they had while I was trying desperately to downshift (The old truck did NOT have a syncromesh transmission)! Double-clutching, I had to rev the engine past the redline, but by the grace of God I got it into a lower gear. We got it stopped and on the shoulder, and radioed for another truck to respond in our place. I'd give a dollar to know what my pulse rate was.

When I was a kid, my Grandad gave a .22 rifle to by Bother and I. It was shared ownership, but each of us thought that our own share was 60%. It was small, a typical boy's rifle. The wooden stock was gone and someone had made an outline of a stock with a flat 1/8" thick 3/4" wide strap of iron. It worked fine, I considered it a 'skeleton stock'. At the back end of the barrel there was a breechblock with a peg sticking out of a slot that ran lengthwise. You'd cock it by pulling the peg to the rear until it made a click. Then you could swing the breechblock to the right to expose the chamber in order to put in a fresh round. The breechblock had a tab that extended under the back end of the barrel and it pivoted from there. Once loaded, you'd swing the breechblock back into position where there was a detent that kept it in place. When you pulled the trigger, the striker with its firing pin and the peg I mentioned earlier would snap forward to fire the gun. Someone in the past had dry-fired it and the firing pin had peened the edge of the chamber so we had to carry along a pair of pliers to get the fired case out before we could reload for the next shot. I loved the name on the gun, I thought it was funny: QUACKENBUSH.

Dad only ever gave us .22 shorts, though the gun could use long rifle ammo.
Thanks again, Grandpa, you'll never know what that meant to my Brother and I.

I used to believe in Santa.
Then I had to BE Santa.
Now I'm built like Santa.

Yeah, they're always telling us "follow the science!" ...except for g****r and anything else they tell you that science is wrong about.

There was a time when you could tell an oilman by the things he'd say.

"You want fries with that?"

Happy Thanksgiving!
There's one special day each year to have a big old turkey feast.
But every day is a good time to give thanks!
I wish you all a great day and a relaxing tryptophan coma!

Wow, you could make a movie out of that!

Spectacular!

I've posted this before, but here it is again. Every time I read this, I say goodbye again to every dog I've had.

The Journey

When you bring a pet into your life, you begin a journey. A journey that will bring you more love and devotion than you have ever known, yet will also test your strength and courage. If you allow, the journey will teach you many things about life, about yourself, and most of all, about love. You will come away changed forever.

Along the way, you will learn much about savoring life's simple pleasures -- jumping in leaves, snoozing in the sun, the joys of puddles, and even the satisfaction of a good scratch behind the ears. If you spend much time outside, you will be taught how to truly experience every element, for no rock, leaf, or log will go unexamined, no rustling bush will be overlooked, and even the very air will be inhaled, pondered, and noted as being full of valuable information. Your pace may be slower, except when heading home to the food dish, but you will become a better naturalist, having been taught by an expert in the field. Too many times we hike on automatic pilot, our goal being to complete the trail rather than enjoy the journey. We miss the details; the colorful mushrooms on the rotting log, the honeycomb in the old maple snag, the hawk feather caught on a twig. Once we walk as a dog does, we discover a whole new world. We stop; we browse the landscape, we kick over leaves, peek in trees. And we learn what any dog knows - that nature has created a marvelously complex world that is full of surprises, that each cycle of the seasons bring ever changing wonders, each day an essence all its own, each day a gift from God.

Even from indoors you will find yourself more attuned to the world around you. You notice the insects collecting on a screen; how bizarre they are; how many kinds there are or noting the flick and flash of fireflies through the dark. You will stop to observe the swirling dance of windblown leaves, or sniff the air after a rain. There is no objective in this; the point is in the doing, in not letting life's most important details slip by. You will find yourself doing silly things that your pet-less friends might not understand: spending thirty minutes in the grocery aisle looking for the dog food brand your pet must have, buying dog birthday treats, or driving around the block an extra time because your pet enjoys the ride. You will roll in the snow, wrestle with chewie toys, bounce little rubber balls till your eyes cross, and even run around the house trailing your bathrobe tie with a dog in hot pursuit, all in the name of love . Your house will become muddier and hairier. You will wear less dark clothing and buy more lint rollers. You may find dog biscuits in your pocket or purse, and feel the need to explain that an old plastic shopping bag adorns your living room rug because your cat loves the crinkly sound. You will learn the true measure of love. The steadfast, undying kind that says, "It doesn't matter where we are or what we do, or how life treats us as long as we are together."

Respect this always. It is the most precious gift any living soul can give another. You will not find it often among the human race. And you will learn humility. The look in my dog's eyes often made me feel ashamed. With such joy and love, she saw not some flawed human who could be cross and stubborn, moody or rude, but only her wonderful companion. Or maybe she saw those things and dismissed them as mere human foibles, not worth considering, and so chose to love me anyway. If you pay attention and learn well, when the journey is done, you will be not be just a better person, but the person your pet always knew you to be. The one they were proud to call beloved friend.

I must caution you that this journey is not without pain. Like all paths of true love, the pain is part of loving. For as surely as the sun sets, one day your dear companion will follow a trail you cannot yet go down. And you will have to find the strength and love to let them go. A pet's time on earth is far too short, especially for those that love them. We borrow them, really, just for a while, and during these brief years they are generous enough to give us all their love, every inch of their spirit and heart, until one day there is nothing left. The dog that only yesterday was a puppy is all too soon old and frail and sleeping in the sun. The young pup of boundless energy now wakes up stiff and lame, the muzzle gone to gray. Deep down we somehow always knew that this journey would end. We knew that if we gave our hearts they would be broken. When the time comes, and the road curves ahead to a place we cannot see, we give one final gift and let them run on ahead, young and whole once more. And bless their souls for sharing their lives with us... and adding so much to our very existence.

LOSING A PET

How lucky I am to have had a dog that makes saying goodbye so hard.

A dog doesn't care if you're rich or poor, educated or illiterate, clever or dull. Give him your heart and he will give you his.

Time spent with your dog is never wasted.

Dogs’ lives are too short. It’s their only fault, really.

No amount of time can erase the memory of a good dog, and no amount of masking tape can ever completely remove his fur from your couch.