Saturday, February 7, 2015

God bless rock 'n' roll, baby

As promised, here is the Smith & Wesson Model 57 .41 caliber magnum I just purchased. I misjudged its age. It is not from the 1960s (oh, well), but, rather, from 1975. Never-the-less, look at it .... forty years old and just like new. It is breathtaking, from my point of view. Now that I have it, I am not certain I ever will fire it (he mumbled Saturday) .... hmmmm .... well, I did (he admitted Monday) .... bang, bang .... it is a masterpiece. I just might delegate it to be next to me in my home work area in case I ever need it and, in the meanwhile, look at it from time to time .... the bluing is radiant (despite not having been cleaned since I fired it) and the natural patterns/grain of the wooden grips are spectacular. It is firearms perfection personified; it functions as a weapon and it is a work of art in the same breath. By the way, freshman art theory 101: Can you visualize the revolver from the description, but without the photograph; can you visualize me admiring it lovingly ?? [Adjusted this segment a bit Monday evening, February 9, 2015, after entering "Dakota Territory."]

A few things

I will be gone for a week or two. I am reprinting part of a comment I made to Anita in case you did not see it, which should explain the situation:

My Smith & Wesson .41 magnum revolver will/did arrive on Saturday. I am restless -- and, I continue to be wired and nerved-up and strung out. I am disgusted with watching barbarism flourish around the world while Europe and America stand idly by watching it. Winter and I are no longer friends, and I need to hibernate a bit and to renew the "Zen" of shooting. I am planning on taking the .41, the .38 Super and the Browning BAR .300 WinMag to a sheltered canyon in the Dakota Black Hills where I have access to an isolated cabin.

There, for a week or two, I will be a hermit, think, dream, drink brandy, listen to rock and/or read late into the night, commune with Nature and see if my shooting eye remains true. No need to leave the cabin even; just open a window and fire off the kitchen table. Very relaxing. So, no posts after this from me for a while; if you post, though, I will see it unless I decided to leave my computer at home.

Now, another matter

I see there are a few who visit my blog frequently, but never leave a comment. And, as I often say, I am curious. If you would be so kind as to reveal yourself and to tell me why you are so often present, I would be grateful. There is nothing to lose by saying hello via a comment or an email. Right? But, if you prefer invisibility, your wish is granted.
 
And, there are some who seem to have wandered away from me who I still have feelings for and I miss. Before I forget the past, I would like to know that the past has not forgotten me. Does that make sense? You see? I am making decisions about my life at the moment.

The final matter (for now)

This is not the fourth of the promised February posts. That will come later, if it comes at all. The "winds of change" are sending me in another direction, I think, and I am trying to tie up a few unanswered questions (in my mind) before I try to set a course.

I also have a leg wound which still needs a bit more time to "fix" itself. You might recall a photograph a while back which included crutches. (No, I did not shoot myself in the leg playing "fast draw," so no wise cracks, please.) No more crutches, but I still am walking like Walter Brennan in old Western films.

I also have a former wife with some medical problems. I have not mentioned this except to Smareis (thank you, angel), and although my former wife and I have been divorced since 2007, I need to shelter and to protect her in any way and every way she needs, at least for a while. She is the mother of two of my three children, and "semper fidelis" is very important to me, although I live in a world where fidelity counts among fewer and fewer as each year passes.

Uffff .... even a non-post, post seems to get long ....

But .... anyway .... I finally am leaving one of my posts open for comments again .... and, again, I am curious. Under the circumstances, though, I either might not reply or there might be an interval of days before I do reply.

The title for this post comes not from me, but from the music accompanying it .... I have been listening to concerts all evening -- remembering some, thinking about others I missed, imagining what it would be like to attend concerts by some bands I yet want/hope to see .... hmmmm .... like most things, concerts are best when shared with another ....


21 comments:

Anita said...

Yes.Where is the photo??Heh heh..Goodmorning USA!
Nice post!
I wish you a great adventure to South Dakota.Also think its very nice of you to take care of your former wife.That tells us something about the man you are.Just great.
There are many anynemous faces that comes to my blog too..Specially one that is called Nachobot.Its totally insane how many times that page is visiting..Looking for old post i have made..But they do me no harm..and i can do noth. about it..But i agree..They could show them selves.

Ok i will make this reply quick..(you are probably tired of me coming here again and again)

Wish you a good blog brake Fram!

Here i am soon of to work again.Treating those Polish and Rumenian work incidents.The blast has gone.It was heavy.Back home late night yesterday Could not go straight..Winther storms.

See you soon and take care:)

A Cuban In London said...

ENjoy your hibernation and your Smith and Wesson. Anecdote: the first time I learnt of the existence of a gun with that name was through a salsa song by Ruben Blades and Willie Colón, "Pedro Navajas". Good track.

Jimmy and Jeff, you are indulging me now, aren't you? :-)

Greetings from London.

Fram Actual said...

Thank you, Anita. I never tire of your presence.

Sometimes, life simply takes us where it takes us, and all we can do is the best we can and hope we are doing the right thing ....

Fram Actual said...

Thank you, CiL.

I ignored the Grammy (teenybopper) Awards; I hope you did too. Rock on, man !!

Smareis said...

Hello Fram!
Andei um pouco ausente, mais cá estou para ler com carinho sua postagem. Gosto de ler o que escreve.
Essa fotografia da arma é muito bonita, muito bem conservada pela idade, uma obra prima, parece que fez uma excelente compra e me parece bastante feliz com isso. Embora eu não conhecer nada de armas, alias nunca peguei uma arma na mão. Não sei se teria coragem para tanto. Aqui no Brasil as pessoas são violentas, usam armas só pra atingir, ferir e machucar as pessoas. Elas não colecionam armas como hobby, elas as têm por querem apenas machucar alguém, segunda intensão. Você é um colecionador e isso é bem diferente.

Desejo que você descanse bastante nessa cabana isolada, e seja um eremita bem cuidadoso, não beba muito e sonhe bastante. O lugar deve ser encantador.
Então Fram, as pessoas visita muito os nossos blogs mais poucos são os que comentam. Talvez não queira se identificar. Ultimamente meu blog tem mais visita que comentário. Na verdade aqui no Brasil muitos blogs estão parados, uma parte da visita que faz comentário em meu blog está dando pausa no blog. O ano só começa depois do carnaval aqui no Brasil. São muitos feriados e as pessoas prefere ficar ausente dos blogs.
Fram obrigada pelas palavras, sempre é um prazer estar aqui te lendo, te enviando e-mails, esta em contato com você. Eu desejo que sua perna esteja bem e sare logo e você pare de andar como Walter Brenn risos.
Espero que sua ex-esposa tenha força, coragem e continue sempre lutando para suportar e vencer todos esses problemas... Sempre há uma luz, uma esperança, e o mais importante, o criador no comando da nossa vida.

Gostei muito do vídeo. Os caras tocam muito! Obrigada por compartilhar.

Envio sorrisos!
Envio noticias!
Ótima semana!

Smareis

Fram Actual said...

Yes, Smareis, I am a collector of firearms, in a minor way, but I also am a believer in them in the sense of keeping the good guys equal to the bad guys in terms of personal empowerment. Only a fool with a death wish would try to invade my "castle," for instance, and, possibly, I might be able to do some good somewhere, sometime, because I am an advocate of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. Pretty flowery words, hmmmm? But, I really do believe those things.

And, yes, it is a beautiful revolver. Swords once were both beautiful and utilitarian; now guns can be that way if one wishes them to be.

And, yes, again. My former wife is strong and tough and loves life. I will be close by her watching her until she and I both feel she is ready for her life to return to normal.

There is a point in the novel, "Centennial," by James Michener, when one of the characters, Alexander McKeag, is snowbound and knows it will be that way until springtime. He accepts it, but begins to dream and to plan. I think I have been feeling that way since the winter of 2014. But, I have been unable to find springtime. It makes no difference where I am, and I have been a number of places during recent months. Whether I am in Saint Paul or in the Black Hills of South Dakota, for instance, I am snowbound in my mind. But, springtime might be real this year. As the cliché goes, where there is life, there is hope.

As for the blogs, people come and go, "talk" to you or choose not to talk, just as in "actual" life. But, Fram Actual will always be Fram Actual and shall never be Fram Interrogatory.

Thank you, Smareis. See you here and there and everywhere ....

A Cuban In London said...

I can't remember the last time I watched a Grammy ceremony. Not for me anymore

I chuckled at your comment. I must admit that a lot of modern jazz leaves me cold. But as long as there is a groove to latch onto, I'm in! Some bands just try too hard and forget about the groove. Rock on wherever you are.

Greetings from London.

Fram Actual said...

I frequently tell people (and have written on my blog) that my taste in music is rather narrow, and the centerpiece might be labeled "classic rock." For whatever reason (perhaps, for having had to take lessons as a boy when I rather would have been playing baseball or fishing or almost anything else), I have a strong distaste for brass today. Actually, it probably has more to do with childhood grudge matches than with sound.

Find Deadwood, South Dakota, and Sundance, Wyoming, on a map. I am sort of between the two of them.

Thank you, for coming by for a visit, CiL.

Fram Actual said...

P.S.

Strings sing;
Brass blasts ....

Anita said...

Goodmorning Fram!How are you on the blog brake?
Hope everything is good with you and yours..

Greetings Anita!

Fram Actual said...

Good evening, Anita.

I guess I am not on a complete break because I am visiting and commenting on other blogs, but it is nice not thinking about my own. Even when my excursion has ended, I am not sure when I will post again.

I hope all is well with you and your family, too, and I thank you for checking up on me.

Noushka said...

Hello Fram,
Thanks for visiting my blog :)
Yes I believe you are right to have fire arms as long as you don't shoot me if I pop up!! LOL!
Just joking, I won't be back in the States soon!!
I had the exact same gun in South Africa, fortunately I never had to use it...
Happy break, cheers!

Fram Actual said...

I have visited your blog a number of times, Noushka, but the photography is so splendid I could not think of enough adjectives to express my admiration and I have refrained from commenting.

I am glad you are not frightened by firearms and know how to use them. I also am glad you know how to choose them for their specific purpose. To me, firearms are like cameras in substance -- they are tools -- but many people are ill-equipped to use firearms because they are not properly taught or trained.

In these times, you might soon need a revolver such as the one you had in South Africa to have with you in the south of France. The safest place to be in the United States today, for a variety of reasons, is in the region which once was the "Wild West." "Bad guys" generally do not tend to stay in areas where conservative ideals and law and order values are dominant.

Thank you, Noushka, for your journey here to visit me and for your words. You seem to be living an intriguing life, and I would like to learn more of your experiences should you choose to post them.

A Cuban In London said...

You're in minus temperatures, I'm in early spring. Damn, give me some snow, otherwise don't give me any winter! :-)

Greetings from London.

Fram Actual said...

Between driving on icy roads, shoveling sidewalks and driveways, and constantly experiencing polar-like temperatures for about five months of every year, I am running out of patience with life in the northern climes. This is the second year in a row -- in particular -- that I have not handled winter well. Sooner or later, I will stop complaining and actually wave goodbye to Minnesota for good.

Thank you, CiL, for returning. It always is nice to see you here.

A Cuban In London said...

A very interesting tale the one you tell in your latest post. I'm sure that is why ghosts still "linger". You are lucky to do something I have always wanted to do in the States (if I ever get there), to get out and about. Not just in one state, understand, but go from east to west and viceversa. I know it will take me forever and first I would need to convince my other half, but it's something of which I think in realistic terms.

Thanks for the post and the music.

Greetings from London.

Boris Estebitan said...

Escuchar rock y leer hasta altas horas de la noche es genial, gran texto,

Fram Actual said...

Travel is an endless proposition. One could do it every day of the year and not tire of it .... exhaust himself, sure, but not tire of it.

History is my fascination and, in this particular region of the United States, the story of the meeting of the immigrants and the indigenous is the history I most enjoy to pursue. I had plenty of that on this short venture.

I hope you make here some day, CiL. I am sure you would never tire of the places to go and the things to see. In the meanwhile, thank you, for traveling to my blog once again.

Fram Actual said...

Yes, Boris. Listening to rock music and reading are fine ways for we, who seem to be night owls, to utilize our time.

Thank you, for coming here to my blog, Boris. It has been a while, and I miss your visits to me and your posts at your blog.

PhilipH said...

Good post, as are all those I have viewed thus far. The Bolero music: sadly not for me. I am a 40s/50s old fart with a great affection for Ol Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Vic Damone and a few others. The 70s is another era with a few good'uns.

I tried to comment on an earlier post of yours where you said that music can make you sad and happy, or similar words. That is a truism if there ever was one. But comments had been disallowed for some reason.

Certain music can and does make most people feel nostalgic. It has a massive effect on one's mind and memories. My very first purchase of a record, a 78 rpm, was of Frankie Laine's 'Jezebel' back in 1951. I didn't even have a record player back then but my very first love DID have one. We must have driven her Mum mad as we played it so often when I was with her in her home. It's not that the song is that good (now) but it reminds me of Stella, even though I said goodbye to her when I joined the RAF. It's just that it brings her to my mind whenever I hear it.
I congratulate you on the various philosophical pieces that are alongside your posts. Great stuff.
Cheers from England.

Fram Actual said...

You found a back door, in a manner of speaking, Phil.

I do not often check older posts in which the ten-day (or whatever) time frame has passed for publication of comments without authorization. I sort of stumbled onto your comment here.

In any case, I enjoy all the singers/songs you have mentioned, especially Frank Sinatra. I also think he was a fine actor, and I enjoy his film performances. He was "above and beyond" in "From Here to Eternity," for instance.

And, yes, it is not unusual for me to block comments on posts. I have various reasons for doing this, but some people find a "back door" to comment about "closed posts," anyway.

In terms of contemporary music, the late 1960s, the 1970s and the early 1980s are the absolute best. It has nothing to do with age, either. It has to do with who you are and what you are and where you are .... and, who you are hanging with at the time.

Thank you, for coming here, Phil. I appreciate your visits and your words.

Something special ....