In my beginning, there was the Colt 1911

Here are three more of my handguns, ready to play or to work.

Driving, shooting & music go well together ....

This is a lazy day (night) post. Drove my Mustang "boy racer" style on Saturday. Fired three handguns on Saturday. Listened to rock music on Saturday, mingled with the sound of the gunfire. That makes for a good day, in many respects, for me.

To show the culprits in this escapade. On top is a Smith & Wesson Model 629. It is a .44 Magnum, and this is a more recent version of the revolver made famous by Clint Eastwood in his "Dirty Harry" movies. I can "pop" two-liter pop containers at 40 yards with this baby. (I do have lots of babies in my life, do I not?)

Next is my carry (if and when I carry) Colt, Model 1911, Gold Cup, National Match pistol in .45 caliber. It has had a bit of custom work, visible on the outside, but the more important work is on the inside. It is a greater shooter.

Finally, on the bottom, is my concession to modern handguns. It is a Glock Model 30, which also is .45 caliber. It is my house pistol, my back-pocket pistol.

Incidentally, what might appear to be designs on the slide of the Colt 1911 are simply clouds and blue sky reflecting on protective oil. Sort of a neat look, though.

Personally, I cannot understand why an average, normal person would be afraid of firearms. Take a pistol course from a trained, professional, licensed instructor, and I think eight or nine out of ten would fall in love with shooting sports.

I cannot imagine life without firearms. There is no need to be a hunter with them but, I think, there is every need to increase the number among us who believe in the personal rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Only tyrants wish to disarm the common folk. Remember that, or your descendants will live to regret your lack of courage and wisdom.

Music Note: Listening to "Yes" ....
Specfically, "The Yes Album" ....
Some lines from "Starship Trooper:"

Starship trooper, go sailing on by,
Catch my soul, catch the very night.
Hide the moment from my eager eyes.
Though you’ve seen them, please don't tell a soul.
What you can't see, can't be very whole.

Speak to me of summer, long winters longer than time can remember,
Setting up of other roads, travel on in old accustomed ways.
I still remember the talks by the water, the proud sons and daughters that,
In the knowledge of the land, spoke to me in sweet accustomed ways.

Young ladies & cars sometimes are special

Slim, sleek, somewhat non-descript; it's all in her personality.

Ice Ice Baby ....

To say I have been neglectful of more than a few things the past three months would be an understatement. It has been a bad winter for me in several respects. Today, I decided to take out my 1991 Mustang, which has been resting idle in the garage, untouched since early January. You guessed it. Dead battery.

I bought this Mustang new. In another two years, with 20 years under her belt, I understand she will be considered a "classic car." The odometer reads 55,251. Know of many 18-year-old automobiles with only 55,000 miles? She is a GT with a 5.0 engine and a five-speed transmission = one hot car. I blew the speedometer on the day I bought her, and never fixed it. Give me one reason why I should.

She is not a vehicle in which a person wants to drive on a journey much longer than 50 miles. She runs close to the ground; the suspension is stiff and tight. This car is meant for running fast and taking sharp curves at high speeds, also meaning she is not designed for driver or passenger comfort. No lean, no sway, no drag, no bounce. She wants to challenge the wind whenever she is on the road, and the driver's butt and back pay the price for the thrill. Your body feels every ripple in the road that her body feels.

Before this one, I had a 1982 (you guessed it again) Mustang GT with a 5.0 engine. She had the words, “Ice Ice Baby,” painted on each side of her. If you cannot figure out why or where those words came from, do some research. I am not your daddy. (At least, I do not think so.)

It was not wise in dollars and cents for me to sell my old baby when I did, but I am not a late night talk show host who hoards vehicles. (Although, I did have five cars at one point -- dumb.) A stunningly beautiful young girl bought my former baby (at a discount price; wonder how she managed that?) so she could have a Mustang which matched her boyfriend's Mustang identically. Absolutely unbelievable. That girl is one in a million or a billion or a trillion. Really, have you ever heard of that?

This young girl would have been willing to pay a premium price for my baby. No way. This young girl was too special to pay a premium price. And, if you think I was "snookered" by a pretty face, I tell you this: I saw both cars, side-by-side, at a car show about a year later. My old baby never looked so fine when I ran her. She is well loved and she knows it and she shows it. I knew this would be true from my first meeting with the young girl who bought her; a young girl cannot hide her love for a young boy or for a particular automobile. Real, real love, I tell you true.

My current baby gets to rest another day with a battery charger to keep her company. I have a lot of words and gifts to give her to make amends for my neglect this winter. But, she is a real lady, and I am sure she knows I still love her. We all have bad times, and she understands that, and maybe even is grateful for being allowed to hibernate throughout this cold, snowy winter.

Saturday is tomorrow. We will talk it over then, and she and I can run a couple of roads. We will turn up the music and outrun the wind. We will shake more of the winter dust and cobwebs from ourselves. We will fall in love all over again.

Music Note: Listening to Queen ....
Specifically, "A Night at the Opera" ....
Some lines from "I’m in Love With My Car:"

I'm in love with my car
Gotta feel for my automobile
Get a grip on my boy racer rollbar
Such a thrill when your radials squeal

Told my girl I'll have to forget her
Rather buy me a new carburetor
So she made tracks sayin'
This is the end now
Cars don't talk back
They're just four wheeled friends now

When I'm holdin your wheel
All I hear is your gear
When I'm cruisin' in overdrive
Don't have to listen to no run of the mill talk jive

I'm in love with my car
Gotta feel for my automobile
I'm in love with my car
String back gloves in my automolove

For every prince, a movie star awaits

Grace Kelly, Princess Grace of Monaco, certainly had her choices.

Do girls still dream of being a princess?

Not too many days ago, I was sort of talking to someone about "handles" or "nicknames" for use in blogs or in forums or in chat rooms. I asked her which "moniker" she would choose to use. She said, Grace Kelly. That started the wheels cranking, so I did a bit of research on Princess Grace.

The first thing you will notice, and I am certain you will agree with even a quick glance at the cluster of photographs, is that Grace was a very attractive young lady. Assuming there is no need for a left to right or clockwise explanation, Grace is shown with William Holden. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in "The Country Girl," which also starred Holden and Bing Crosby. She is shown with Jimmy Stewart as they appeared together in Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window." Cary Grant was her partner in another Hitchcock production, "To Catch a Thief." These gentlemen and other movie stars of their generation were among the men in Grace's life.

So, who is the guy dressed up like Napoleon she is shown standing next to? Looks all right, I guess, but maybe a little silly since they are not appearing in a movie together but, rather, in a wedding. Of all the men in her life, Grace picked an actual prince to marry, Prince Rainier III of Monaco.

It would not be inaccurate to describe Monaco as a tiny country -- sort of an old-fashioned city-state. The same family has ruled it since the 13th Century. It is a place the rich and the even richer like to hang out. Next time you cruise the northern edge of the Mediterranean Sea in your yacht, you might decide to anchor in Monte Carlo and test your luck as a high stake's gambler.

It is entertaining to speculate more than 50 years after the fact why she chose the man she did. Nice looking man, with his own castle and money to burn. That probably answers the question right there. Security and a family as a real-life princess vs. life as a glamorous movie actress. What a choice. She only appeared in 11 movies, and had a couple of opportunities later in life to do others, but those did not work out. She died in an automobile accident in 1982 at the age of 52.

Even more curious I am than to know why Grace chose being a real-life princess over a motion picture diva is to know why a young lady of today would choose Grace's name to be her "handle" or "nickname" or "moniker" for use in a blog or in a forum or in a chat room. Still hoping to be a real-life princess, maybe? I assume that it continues to be the dream of every little girl and, perhaps, a thought that lingers forever in the minds even of a few big girls.

Music Note: Listening to Queen ....
Specifically, "Queen Rocks" ....
Some lines from "I Want It All:"

I'm a man with a one track mind
So much to do in one life time (people do you hear me)
Not a man for compromise and where's and why's and living lies
So I'm living it all (yes I'm living it all)
And I'm giving it all (and I'm giving it all)

I want it all I want it all I want it all and I want it now
I want it all (yeah yeah yeah) I want it all I want it all and I want it now

I want it
Now
I want it I want it

Hi there, my name is Billy Pilgrim

Have you looked out of your window recently?

Welcome to the planet Tralfamadore ....

I know I have mentioned that I really enjoyed growing up in a small town setting, and that I once wished I could be age 11 forever. (Now, now, now.) Around town, Fram the First and I often were referred to as the Fram boys. A few people confused us with La Framboise, who lived a few blocks away, but that never was a big problem.

I’m sorry. I’ve just got to stop doing this. I start out by telling you that Fram the First is my ancestor. Then, I am the reincarnation of Fram the First. Next, Fram the First and I grew up together, playing our fiddles and dancing in the streets. I would imagine a few of you by now are asking, is this guy losing it or what?

Yes, I’m sorry. Remember, a few days ago I said I was revealing too many personal details about my life? Well, I've been trying to confuse everyone since then just to throw you off course. I apologize.

Actually, none of these scenarios is real. Actually, none of what you think you are experiencing at this moment is real, either. You all are in a drug-induced state and have been abducted by aliens. Didn't notice that your breakfast this morning tasted a little funny, did you?

You are being transported to the planet Tralfamadore, where you will be met by Billy Pilgrim. He will assign you to a residence hall, and from there you are on your own until orientation tomorrow. Good luck, and please wake me when we arrive.

Music Note: Listening to Cheap Trick ....
Specifically, "The Greatest Hits" ....
Some Lines from "Surrender:"

Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird.
Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away, ay, ay, ay.

Whatever happened to all this season's losers of the year?
Ev'ry time I got to thinking, where'd they disappear?
When I woke up, Mom and Dad are rolling on the couch.
Rolling numbers, rock and rolling, got my Kiss records out.

Mommy's alright, Daddy's alright, they just seem a little weird.
Surrender, surrender, but don't give yourself away, ay, ay, ay.

Away.
Away.

Wait-wait, I never had a chance ....

Easter bonnets are Easter bonnets, but, I mean,
I think I melted ....

I think I am in love, but where did she go?

Have you seen this woman? I was out for a bite to eat earlier today and she walked into the restaurant. All the tables were full, mostly with the Easter Sunday after-church crowd. She walked over to my table and asked if I would mind her company.

You actually think I would say no?

We ordered, we ate, we talked for maybe an hour after finishing the meal. She said she was going to a movie, and asked me if I wanted to come with her.

You actually think I would say no?

As we walked from the restaurant, I dropped my newspaper and bent to pick it up. When I looked back, she was gone. I mean gone, as in vanished. I looked for her outside, went back inside, then outside again, and waited for 17 or 23 minutes. She was gone.

She said her name was Norma Jeane. I did not catch her last name. If you see her, give me a call and let me know where she is, will you? I am in the mood for an afternoon at the movies.

Music Note: Listening to White Lion ....
Specifically, "Pride" ....
Some lines from "Wait:"

Wait-wait
I never had a chance to love you
wait-wait
if only our love could show you
wait-wait
I never wanna be without you
wait-wait
no I never had a chance to love you
now I only wanna say I love you one more time