John "Savage" Thompson

John "Savage" Thompson
Born :  March 18, 1950
Passed:  August 9, 2020

 Well…, he always said, “They’ll never take me alive”…, and there is no chance of it now.  He passed away of natural causes on August 9, 2020.  I thought 2020 was cruel and depraved and sadistic after the fire and all…, not to mention climate change…, COVID-19…, financial Armagedon.., and the political three ring circus running non-stop through this country…, yeah…, “clowns to the left of me…, jokers to the right…, stuck in the middle”… wish you were still here to help pilot me through this quagmire.

Whoever is calling the shots now days got this one completely wrong.  Not that it could not have happened at other times back down the road on some pretty wild rides.  And I was along on a few of them.  Did you notice the missing ring finger on his left hand on the photo above?  Yeah…, I was along on that ride.  

Happy Hour at The Clearwater Club is over…, we pile into his Mazda pickup with three of wildest of the wild women…, it was a bit crowded and that caused a wide turn and little detour up over the wrong side of the road curb…, that a cop happened to witness and thought he ought  to investigate.  It was just two blocks to his parents house…, and we beat the cop there and Savage headed into Mom’s house…, thee Wild Woman…, who would spend the rest of her life with him .., stepped up and told the cop that it was her that piloted the Mazda up over wrong side of the curb and pulled into John Thompson’s Mom’s driveway.  OK.., this cop is a bit more Andy than he is Barney …, and says, “Look I am sure I saw John Thompson exit this vehicle and run towards the house…, “ and Jeannie says.., “No, no.., it was me.., “ .., and Mom arrives on the scene…, and Andy departs the scene grinning and shaking his head.

HOME FREE  !!!  Thunder Storm brewing…, and The Great Escape executed…. Somewhere near Zan’s Beach on the way to Weippe…, it cut loose …., and so did the traction on the Mazda…, and it didn’t seem like too bad a deal to be upright and perched atop a boulder battling the Clearwater River.  Seemed like a secure position at the moment…. , and nobody was injured…, so Savage was in the bed of the little truck gettting a suitcase…., and I thought it would be a good idea to get the bottle of R&R from under the seat in the cab.  I was about half way inside the cab on my stomach reaching under the seat when the little truck cut loose from the boulder.  It kind of catapulted me over the top of the rolling pickup on down into the river and I remember being on my hands and knees in the water and making a wild scramble to get out of the way of the little pickup rolling my way.  When I made it back up to the highway there was Savage…, with a missing finger.  A couple of friends from up on The Hill made a timely entrance and got us all to the hospital.

That wasn’t the first time we exchanged pleasantries between us in a hospital…, but I do believe it was the last.  The first was after the Blue Mountain Rock Festival at the University of Idaho in Moscow.  Yeah…, it must have been The Russians…, witnessing Savage taking a little nap during the festivities…, delivered a swift kick to the jaw.  The next day I stopped in at the hospital to listen to him talk through a wired shut mouth.  The other time it was he who took me to the hospital to get a split lip stitched up.  And well he should have…, he was the one who took us to the biker gang, Highwaymen’s Club House in Lewiston…, and by the time we left there…, with four of us in an old Dodge Power Wagon…, our driver decided to do a burn out from the stop sign before turning right on Snake River Avenue.  It took us by surprise and the momentum pushed that driver nearly out the door that was not properly secured…, hanging onto the steering wheel with one hand to keep from landing out on the street does not allow you to straighten out the turn…, and we crashed right into the rock wall.  We all kind of went our separate ways…, but managed to find our way back to Savage’s house in Clarkston, WA…., without my 10x Beaver Stetson cowboy hat I might add.  I didn’t think things were that bad…, the bleeding had pretty much stopped and we had opened up a new bottle of 100 proof Wild Turkey…, and after a few shots I let them take me to the hospital…, where my mustache got shaved for the only time in the last 40 some years.

Hey…, they weren’t all bat shit crazy adventures…, but when he bought the raft…, I went right down and bought a Stearns life vest…, and still have it.  But I never bought a parachute when he bought the hang glider…, and I never went along on any of those rides.  And I am glad that he had provided wet suits that spring day when we rafted the Irish Railroad Rapids of the North Fork of the Clearwater River.  As we scouted the rapids I told his drop dead gorgeous sister Ellen…, that she should position herself with her 35mm camera right below a big flat rock where the main channel was hitting hard…, I told her we would probably end up right on top of it.  Well…, we did slide right up there…, held steady for a moment…, and slide right back into the main channel…, and hit it with a little more force than I was prepared for.  It threw me right out of the raft…, but I managed to  grab the life line on the raft with my free hand…, and kept my beer upright with the other hand.  Knowing the priorities…, Rob Christopherson saved my beer first…, then dragged me back into the raft.  And ever foxy Ellen has the pictures to prove it.  Speaking of Ellen,,., reminds me of the Marshall Tucker Band concert in Pullman, WA that Savage secured tickets for me and her…, thank you brother…, many thanks indeed.  I just could not seem to secure a date with her on my own.

And another big thank you for coming all the way up to Weippe…, tracking me down and taking me to Troy, OR…, for The River Bottom Stomp.  Yeah…, when Credence Clearwater Revival broke up…, John Fogerty found the most isolated place that I have ever been…, and settled in.  But every year they held a little get together in Troy…, there were even Hollywood stunt men there doing flaming dives off the bridge over the Grand Ronde River and rockin’ all night.  I was never a CCR fan prior to that…, but I have been a Fogerty fan ever since.

I am not sure that I had really met “Savage”…, and never could figure out how he acquired that handle…, he was a lot more fun lovin’ and full of laughs and good humor than anything else…  but on the night of The Weippe Rodeo…, I got a little ahead of myself and had to take a little nap…, and a gal that I had admonished a few days before for waking me up on a work night and not performing as she should have…, woke me up again with intentions of making things right.  Well…, as we we headed for my bedroom.., we found it occupied by Savage and another female figure.  And not many weeks later after I knew him better he caught up with me at The Logger’s Lodge…, I was eating a cheeseburger…, in paradise…, and he says that he was just over at my place and the cops were there…,  asking questions.  Well…, I knew that there was some stuff there that I didn’t want discovered.., so I went to a friends house to spend the night.  We had to work the next day so I head to my place to suit up and build a lunch about four in he morning…, when I hear the gravel  crunching of a slow moving vehicle outside…, I peek out the window to see a F-ing cop car!  Well…, I have had some panic attacks in my day…, but if that isn’t the Oscar winner…, I don’t know what is.  I am sure you have all had to double flush a toilet…, and waiting for the bowl to fill back up can seem a little slow…, but when you are expecting the front door to be busted open by jack booted thugs…, time can literally stand still.  Well…, that door didn’t get busted down…, and my heart held up…, but some other stuff went needlessly down the drain.  Found out later that the boys living downstairs were the suspects…, they had robbed the local store for food…, my friend Jack Smith wrote a song about it…, “Weippe Hamburgers Don’t Turn Me On.”

One night up in Weippe we were  in the apartment of my cousin and her friend…, they had managed to ditch us…, can’t imagine why… but they hadn’t locked the door to their apartment…, and there we were…, Savage pulls out his 380 Walther and aims it at the door knob…, I am thinking he is bluffing…, I should have known better.  Well…, no more damage than that Belgein made Walther 380 made to that cheap door knob…, he graduated to a Smith & Wesson Model 59 with a 15 round clip soon after.

Probably a good thing that he didn’t have it when he and another guy got back from a logging gig in AK.  Yeah…, they had a bit of cash and hit Tacoma where some guys were brewing a concoction they called Mescaline…, that tested out to be LSD.  Well…, they did take him alive that night…, and when his partner made it back to Weippe and told the story…, I volunteered to drive back to Tacoma to help bail him out.  I didn’t have the money to bail him out…, his partner did…,but when they told him that if he waited until until he appeared in court on Monday he would be release with a $25 fine instead of a $250 bail.  His partner opted for the $25 option…, I wish I would have had the money partner…, you would have come home with us.

RIP brother…, nah…, raise a little hell…, a lot of hell…, it will make it easier for me to track you down…, and you won’t have any trouble recognizing me…, I will be the guy in the cowboy hat with the orange Stearns life jacket on..., lookin' for another ride!!!

Well..., I am sure he had his boots on..., Whites I am sure...,

Ruminations - 2020

Well..., you can’t say I didn’t warn you to hold on tight three years ago..., when I last updated The Blog.  And it is damn good thing I took my own advise to heart.  These last three years have been quite the rides around the sun..., let me tell you. 

From a personal perspective it appears to be one speed bump after another.  In December of 2017 I took Julie to Bremerton for what was supposed to be a minor surgery..., as I was out in the waiting room the doctor came out and said there were some major issues and she would be in the hospital for a while.  I didn’t even have a tooth brush or razor with me..., I had to buy those and get a motel room.  She ended up spending four days in the Intensive Care Unit.  We didn’t own a cell phone (still don’t) and I had to borrow a cell phone from someone at the hospital to call the job supervisor and say, “I don’t know when I will be back”.  And the gals running the Motel 6 flipped a switch for me so I could make some long distance calls to let some folks know what was going on.  If I had had my address book with me I could have alerted a few more people. 

A few lessons were learned from that one..., the most important..., was the importance of medical insurance.  When they send you a statement they make sure to remind you of that fact..., they show you in 20 point font what it would have cost you without it.  Over $378,000. 

Even if we only had to pay the price the insurance was charged..., under half price..., it would have been financially devastating for us.  A lot of folks out at the job ask me when I will be retiring..., with an air of, “Shouldn’t an old fart like you be put out to pasture already?”  I have a copy of the insurance statement on my desk and tell them I won’t be retiring until Julie is old enough to get on Medicare.  That will be a couple more years down the road for sure..., now that Bernie has dropped out of the Presidential campaign.  Not too likely that we would get Medicare for All even if he had been elected..., too many politicians..., from both parties..., are raking in too much money from those health insurance companies that are raking in billions to see that happen.

And don’t believe for a minute that those health insurance companies will be hurt by this COVID-19 debacle.  Since Obama Care was enacted they are operating virtually on a cost plus agenda.  They are guaranteed a profit margin..., so the more money they have to spend..., the more money they get to make by raising cost of their plans.  And after all the bluff that the Republicans spewed with vote after vote to repeal Obama Care while the Democrats were in control and all the bluster from The Chump that one of his first priorities would be to repeal it..., when they had the chance with control of the Executive, House and Senate..., it didn’t happen..., see above..., too many politicians are raking in too much money from those health insurance companies to see that happen.  It is all a big money game..., and the big money is literally flowing out..., again..., to rescue the mighty corporations while they sit on their asses..., and our asses are ordered to stay home and wait for a check that might cover the rent..., for a month...,  if we are lucky.

Yeah..., keep on hanging on.  According to Google...,  “In 2017, 335 natural disaster affected over 95.6 million people, killing an additional 9,697 and costing a total of US $335 billion.” “In 2018, there were 315 natural disaster events recored with 11,804 deaths, over 68 million people affected and US $ 131.7 billion in economic losses across the world.”  “In 2019, there were a total of 409 natural disasters events worldwide.”  Hurricanes, typhoons, wildfires, heat waves, droughts, flooding, earthquakes, tsunamis, melting polar icecaps, warming and acidifying oceans, coral reef bleaching, fresh water shortage, global warming and climate change are raging..., and nothing is being done about it.

What’s in store for the 2020’s?  I hope our personal experience isn’t a harbinger.  Yeah..., on 1/31/20 I pulled into the driveway of The Ranch after a day at the job..., to see the double wide afire. 

I can’t blame that on The Chump or Climate Change..., or maybe I can.  The Chump denies it..., and the storm that caused the generator to be started because of the power outage could be Climate Change related.  But no need to dwell on that..., it is what it is.  The place didn’t burn to the ground..., we saved a lot of stuff..., my computers, my guns, art work, too many books and record albums, lots of clothes..., but the place is not fixable and The Saddle Bar(n) is now crammed full of that “stuff”.   No human or animal casualties..., thankfully.  We had a little stash of money that enabled us to buy a small camper trailer and we are getting by just fine..., wondering what the future will bring us next. 

One thing that I am sure of is that we won’t have The Chump to kick around much longer.  I have commented to several friends on Facebook not to worry when they say that he will get re-elected.  No matter how hard the Doofus Democrats try to give it away..., and good gosh they are doing everything they can..., short of running Hillary again.  And don’t be shocked if they replace babbling Joe Biden with her..., or if she gets chosen as Vice President running mate for The Babbler.  Yeah..., even Hillary would win against The Chump this time.  She won the popular vote by nearly three million votes last time..., and all the folks that stayed out of the voting booths because they could not stomach a vote for her and because all the polls and pundits said she was a sure thing last time will be out there voting against The Chump this time.  The Chump may not have lost any supporters..., even after needlessly killing a lot of folks by waffling  on the COVID-19 response until the situation was so dire, even he could no longer deny it..., yeah they still love and support him.  But he hasn’t gained any new supporters and he has earned the wrath of many who just thought he was a doofus and a joke.

Speaking of COVID-19..., the delayed response and failure to isolate and contain it early on led to an explosion of infections that was indeed scary.  In the beginning the number of positive cases in the U.S. was doubling about every four days and increasing nearly 20% every 24 hours.  The number of deaths in 24 hours was doubling every three days and increasing at a rate of 36%.  With numbers like that it is easy to see why alarm bells were ringing and the projections were for millions of deaths in America alone.  But it has tapered off immensely..., as of 5/1/20..., about a month later..., it is taking almost 25 days to double the number of positive cases and they are increasing at just a 3% clip.  The deaths are taking 21 days to double and increasing at a 3% rate.  This trend is most definitely a good sign..., that isn’t getting much attention.  Here's a link  https://www.ianwelsh.net/may-1st-us-covid-data/  The media like to report just the numbers..., “2000” deaths a day the headlines scream!  Don’t get me wrong..., that is bad..., but not nearly so bad as it would be if the initial numbers had continued in the manner they started out at.  And a couple days in late  April only recorded 1000 deaths. It is debatable whether the “lockdown” has actually been the cause of this trend..., I tend to side with those who say it was unnecessary and ineffective.  Mike Whitney says  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/55111.htm 

The lockdown was conjured up by made-for-TV infectious disease experts who based their recommendations on the results of discredited computer models that don’t square with reality. In short, their calculations were wrong, thus, the policy they cobbled together, is also wrong. This is not a liberal vs conservative issue.  This is not a Democrat vs Republican issue. The issue is whether policy should be shaped by data and science or by fake computer models and the relentless fear-mongering of the media. That is the heart of the matter.

    ...

The virus isn’t something we choose or don’t choose, and it’s certainly not something that can be avoided by bolting the door and hiding under the bed. There are only two paths to immunity: Vaccine or the natural immune response of antibodies. That’s it! There is no third path. Self quarantine is not a solution, at best it’s a temporary fix.  Eventually, everyone will have to emerge from their respective spider-holes and reenter the real world. What other choice is there?

The social distancing certainly helps..., we have known that for years just from dealing with cold and flu virus..., but the masks are really only necessary if you are around someone infected or if you yourself are infected.  I know..., you never know who might have it or even if you might have it yourself..., but if you don’t get close enough to let people drool on you..., you shouldn’t be in too much danger.  Yeah..., take some common sense precautions if you are healthy..., and more precaution if you are at risk..., but I don’t believe that there is reason to panic or carry things too far.  The thinking that we can keep this lockdown and mask up routine going  until they find a vaccine is pie in the sky hopium.  We have never found a vaccine for the common cold virus and we won’t find a miracle cure for this one.  Keep in mind that this virus didn’t “wipe out” any cruise ships or nursing homes..., the survivors significantly out numbered the deaths..., so there is some kind of immunity in our bodies that can be tapped..., and it looks to me like that immunity is being spread.  Let’s hope that it is spreading faster than the virus.  

We must not forget about the financial-economic situation that this COVID-19 calamity has “caused”..., bullshit..., I call bullshit.  It is a a “God send” I am sure Goldman Sachs is saying..., something to blame the the meltdown on.  In 2008 Goldman and all the other To Big to Fail Banks and Wall Street were bailed out and given a new lease on life by the Federal Reserve and the bought and paid for politicians..., with not so much as a reprimand or corrective action taken.  In fact..., nothing was done to insure that this would never happen again.  Well..., here we are..., with another bailout that literally dwarfs the 2008 one.  And me and you are still waiting for $1200 “stimulus checks” to see us through a stay home with no income lockdown and a make your own mask pandemic..., while the plutocrats are raking in $billions.  Yeah..., and to pay for it..., our taxes will be transferred from safely net programs to million and billioniers to pay for their tax cuts.  Who needs food stamp money when we can give it to rich bastards that know how to put the money to good use..., by buying back stocks, paying out dividends to stock holders and “compensating” CEO’s and other executives for screwing over the hired help?  

Well..., I guess that is about enough for now..., hope you are fairing a bit better than us.  We will keep plugging along..., for as long as they let us.  Oh..., and don’t forget to hang on tight..., this ride is going to be one to remember.

Another Trip Around the Sun

Oh yeah…, another trip around the sun…, and damn, that was a quick one.  But they all are these days.  This trip won’t officially end for me for a few more days yet…, but it is close enough to reflect back on it a bit…, I guess.  I did manage to slow down long enough to slip a secret weapon into my wallet before I turn 65…, though I do hope to hell that I don’t get any more use out of that Medicare Card than I got out of the secret weapon that wore out a couple of wallets back in the junior and high school days…, when it seemed like the years would never end…, and it seemed that I would never get a chance to get that secret weapon out and use it.

Hear 'em singing happy birthday

Better think about the wish I make

This year gone by

Ain't been a piece a cake.

Everyday’s a revolution

Pull it together and it comes undone

Just one more candle

And a trip around the sun.

Well…, I don’t know what I could wish for.., that I haven’t already got…, and I just don’t have room for much more of any material things anyway.  OK…, I’ll just wish for one more ice cold beer…, and that’s never far out of reach here in The Saddle Bar(n).  You can keep the cake…, but I will warn you that processed white sugar is not good for you...,  there is ample evidence that white sugar robs the body of B vitamins, disrupts calcium metabolism and has a deleterious effect on the nervous system.

I guess I could wish for world peace…, but that isn’t conducive to economic growth.  And the military industrial complex…, or as I refer to it…, the Bomb and Bullet Builders, are about the only economic engine still firing these days.  I have always contended that the Wee Bush drug us into the Iraq War with lies about weapons of mass destruction and mushroom clouds on the horizon in order to “get the economy going.”  That worked just well enough to get him re-elected…, and if the economy would have held on just a little longer and it hadn’t all blown up in his face…, he could have smirked off to paint his toe nails in his bathtub…, swearing that it was all Obama’s fault.  Obama knew the score as well…, but played the game a little better.  Not nearly as many empty American boots on parade during his watch…, but maybe I should add “Drones” to my Bomb and Bullet Builders tag…, and note that he left a lot of bootless foreign bodies behind in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan…, and who knows where all else.  Now…, the current degenerate killer occupying the White House seems to be catching on quick and forgetting what he campaigned on.  Yeah…, 59 Tomahawk missiles, at about 1.59 million dollars apiece to Raytheon, unleashed for reasons at least as dubious as the reasons  for the Wee Bush’s 15 year war on Iraq.  More troops are being sent into battle in more hot spots and more US strikes have been carried out in Yemen during a recent five day period than were launched during any other full year on record.  As I write this…, there is a US Navy task force steaming full speed ahead to North Korean waters and Trump has unleashed a MOAB…, Mother Of All Bombs on Afghanistan .  Why waste a wish…, who knows how many more I will get?  I’m not taking any chances with that damn processed white sugar though…, so maybe I will fare thee well for a few more trips around the sun yet.

I'm just hangin’ on while this old world keeps spinnin’

And it's good to know it's out of my control.

If there's one thing that I've learned from all this livin’

Is that it wouldn't change a thing if I let go.

Well…, don’t worry.  I’m not about to let go.  I wouldn’t miss this upcoming circus for all the tea in China.  Speaking of China…, they seem to be building some suspicious looking island just off their coast  and over 10,000 miles off our US coast…, and we are squealing like stuck pigs that it is a military provocation directed at our Homeland.  Practically an act of war…, I am sure John McCain would say.  While at the same time…, we are shocked!  And I do meant SHOCKED !…, that the damn Russians have the nerve to say, “What the fuck?” when we instigate a coup in Ukraine, accuse them of "invading" Crimea,  and deploy missiles and the biggest troop and tank contingent since WW II in Poland…, about 10 miles from the Russian border . Is it any wonder that they want to find out what is going on in our muddled minds?  There is no doubt that during the campaign, there was a massive electronic “phishing” expedition by the Russians.  I made fun of it on my blog…, noting that I got some 800 hits in a month.  It didn’t seem to scare me as much as it did the surveillance sleuths in our deep state “intelligence” agencies…, and if the Russians really meant any harm…, there is no evidence of it.  And if they did help to defeat the blond toadstool who was hell bent on seeing just how far she could push them…, many thanks men…, many, many thanks.  Or so I thought…, until the Trumpster showed his true toadstool colors.  I would still much rather shake my head and wonder what goofy, oddball, doomed for failure plan the Trumpster will come up with next…, than sit here wondering just when the cackling hen would panic over another “phishing expedition” and pounce on the big red button…, or heaven forbid…, get loose with a bayonet in hand.  I am pretty sure that she imbibed in excess processed white sugar in the past…, and the visual evidence confirms that she still does.

No you never see it comin’

Always wind up wondering where it went

Only time will tell

If it was time well spent.

It’s another revelation

Celebrating what I should have done

With these souvenirs 

Of my trip around the sun.

A couple trips around the sun ago…, I penned a piece about the old home stomping grounds in north central Idaho and climate change.  Since that time the area has experienced the worst forest fire season in history during the summer of 2015.  While I was on the phone with my brother Larry…, he said, “Hold on…, the cops are here!”  Hold on hell…, I made a run for it.  Old Hippie habits die hard.  It was OK though…, I grabbed a couple more beers out of The Saddle Bar(n) while I was out there.  When I got back to the phone he said they were there issuing warnings…, not a mandatory evacuation at that time…, but to be ready for one if things got worse.  Luckily they didn’t.  This winter of 2016 – 17…, they got what still hasn’t been called…, but could be record snowfall…, with an abrupt warming and rain to follow close on.  Flooding, slides and washouts…, the County issued a disaster declaration to free up funds so repair work could begin immediately, without a bid process.  He works on a road crew for Clearwater County and I was expecting that he would probably be out working when I called.  He returned my call about a week later and said that he had indeed been busy and that he had never seen anything like the weather they were experiencing.  Yeah…, the Arctic has experienced 30 degree above normal temperatures, records are being broken monthly for temperatures and ice loss.  An iceberg the size of Delaware is ready to calve off the ice shelf in the Antarctic and the glaciers there are melting at alarming rates, Greenland is pouring fresh water from its melting glaciers into the ocean and sea levels are rising the world over  Practically the entire world got together and adopted the Paris Climate agreement during this last trip around the sun, determining that we had to do something about climate change immediately.  But we needn’t worry…, it’s all a hoax…, so says our new President.  I think someone has been slipping him the processed white sugar…, in bigly yuge doses.

I'm just hanging on while this old world keeps spinnin’

And it's good to know it's out of my control.

If there's one thing that I've learned from all this livin’

Is that it wouldn't change a thing if I let go.

Yeah…, I plan to hang around and watch the show…, maybe even participate in it now and then…, when the need arises.  The CO2 levels that are widely believed to be a significant factor in warming up our little spaceship earth…, seems to have been kind to the potato garden and the pastures last year and the Spruce trees were producing cones like I have never seen.  There were record worldwide grain crops last year and there is no place to store all the excess grain that the farmers don't want to sell at the low prices offered  Yeah…, excess food and low prices…, world hunger solved…, right?  Yeah…, make a wish.  Anyway…, the dogs, horses, cats, chickens and ducks don’t seem too alarmed about the climate…, so I am not ready to panic either.  The people of the world seem to almost yearn for some sort of catastrophic, world ending apocalypse…, whether it is Nostradamus predictions, the Mayan Calendar, the Hale Bopp Comet…, or Nibiru.  I am more of a "Long Emergency" and "Catabolic Collapse" believer myself.  The climate doomers feel that massive methane releases  in the Arctic will dramatically accelerate the warming trend.  I think old mother earth is trying to cool and de-acidify our dying oceans to hold off that methane release by feeding all that ice cold glacier melt into them.  So…, I guess I really don’t know for sure what is going to happen…, but I do know one thing for sure…, I don’t want any processed white sugar…, but I will have another ice cold beer…, thank you…, and maybe a shot of 1800 reposado gold tequila.

Now…, let’s all hang on…, and I do mean hang on tight…, and do our very best to enjoy our remaining rides around the sun.

Yes I'll make a resolution

Then I'll never make another one.

Just enjoy this ride on my

Trip around the sun.

Just enjoy this ride

On my trip around the sun

Just enjoy this ride

Till the ride is done.

Written by Al Anderson, Stephen Bruton, and Sharon Vaughn.

Performed by Jimmy Buffett and Martina McBride

Ceremonies of the Horsemen

When the Tom McGuane book, "Some Horses" came out in 1999..., I had Amazon send a hard copy edition to my dear old Dad.  I got a call from him soon after.  He said that he was surprised when it unexpectedly arrived in the mail and that he opened the package up at the post office..., then went straight home..., and read it through.  Well..., if the old boy was still around..., he would be getting another book in the mail.  The one pictured here.

Yeah..., I was first exposed to Tom Russell by his writing on his old blog..., and that drew me to his music..., which I have written about..., here..., and..., here.  I even fashioned a few YouTube video slide shows..., here..., here..., and here.

About five years ago Tom started writing a column for an online magazine called Ranch & Reata.  It was a high class and beautiful production..., though a bit slow and clunky loading for those of us still stuck in the dial up dark ages out on the ranch.  I only got to read a couple of the essays before the magazine hid behind a pay wall.  So I was pretty excited to see that the essays had been collected in book form..., and I was not disappointed.

From the opening essay about the famous bronc rider Casey Tibbs and scattered though out the book I was having flashbacks of that dear old Dad of mine.  I don't recall us specifically seeing Casey ride at The Lewiston Roundup..., but it is a distinct possibility..., and I certainly knew his name as one of the great ones. And I pretty much grew up with a Johnny Cash sound track in my head..., along with Marty Robbins, Tex Ritter and Hank Williams...., all of whom appear in book.  And Tom writes of the pack horse men like Rayburn Crane in the high Sierra and Russ Knox in the Grand Canyon that bring back hunting camp memories. 

OK..., not all of the memories that Tom brought back are so fondly remembered..., I wish I could forget an incident of my own that involved the subject of Tom's essay on Tequila...,

After reaching the bottom and eating the worm I thought my chair was dancing the cumbia.  I toppled over backwards, spun a few times, and passed out.  I was ushered into a long and nightmare laden sleep, broken only by the sounds of six a.m. garbage trucks at first light, and the smell of bagels steaming up from the shop below.  I was alive.  There were no mystic revelation in the journey.  No Aztec maidens or curanderos named Don Juan.  My tongue felt like it had swept the bottom of the Sonora desert.  Lesson learned.  From the worm.

I haven't been too fond of Tequila since I did my own tongue sweeping of something way worse tasting than any desert sand.  But it is a testament to the quality of Tom's writing..., that I find myself wanting to seek out a 100% Agave Reposado..., maybe..., after I get this posted and the chores done today.

Yeah..., if you are a fan of anything western in nature you will find something that will utterly delight you in many of the 25 essays found in "Ceremonies of the Horseman: The Ranch and Riata Essays".  And those that don't utterly delight you..., will certainly be more than pleasing.  My only disappointments..., were running out of stories..., and not being able to share them with my dear old Dad.

So I will share them with you..., get the book.

 

Have the Frogs..., Finally..., Hopped Out of the Pot?

Over on Facebook I commented..., on a couple of posts..., regarding the protests of the Donald's election. The posts were denegrating the protesters. My comment...,

Well..., I am glad to see people in the streets..., it might be a bit misguided in this instance..., but that's what it took to turn this country around after ten years of war in Vietnam..., hope that it doesn't take the National Guard to start killing students to put a stop to the last 15 years of war. Whatever it takes.

Yeah..., the mainstream media is trying to portray..., spin?... the protests as only being about Trumps personality shortcoming..., and many they are.  They also seem to be saying that the protesters are all Hillary supporters and are displaying a "poor loser" mentality. But the MSM has been so wrong about everything else throughout this election that I don't put much faith in their analysis of anything.

The protesters appear to me to be the frogs that have been simmering in that pot of water..., and instead of getting that gradually increasing temperature rise that a Hillary victory would have surely cooked them..., the temperature was cranked up by the Trump victory and they have hopped right out of the pot to protest.  Right on I say.  If a Trump victory is what it takes to shake people up then I will celebrate it..., though I was not a Trump or Hillary supporter..., I wrote in Bernie on my ballot.  I endorsed and gave money to Bernie early on..., when I thought that plutocrats and oligarchs of the GOP would run Jeb Bush against Hillary.  The First Time...., posted in August 2015.

Later in February of 2016..., when it became apparent that Trump had..., to my disbelief..., somehow thwarted the powers that be in the GOP and would be their nominee..., I doubled down on Bernie..., because of my fear and loathing of both Hillary and Trump.  Here is a snip of the comment I made over at The Agonist Blog some ten months ago...,

Earlier this week I floated another $100 to Bernie…, and now my emails asking for more are addressed to “Scott R.” instead of just “Scott”. Makes you think that there are real and thoughtful people running his show.

I do think though…, that a lot of Bernie supporters are really just anti-Hillaryers. If it comes down to her and Trump…, the only way she will win is if the Republicans vote for her out of spite for Trump. And a lot of Bernie supporters are likely to vote for Trump rather than Hillary. I sit on that fence myself.

So..., maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised that Trump won..., I called it back then.  But with the MSM, the military industrial complex, the fossil fuel industry, big pharma and health insurance industries..., and most of all..., Wall Street and Goldman Sachs..., not to mention all the shot callers in the GOP..., pushing and pulling for her..., and all the polls showing she would win..., I grudgingly accepted it.  I went to bed about 9:30 Tuesday night thinking that there was no way that the powers that be would let her lose..., even after Florida had been called for Trump.  After all..., the Dow futures had dropped 1000 points when it looked like a tighter race than predicated.  Wall Street had a whole lot of money invested in Hillary..., and they were showing their displeasure at the prospects of a Trump win.  But it didn't take them long to face up to reality when Trump actually won.  Yeah..., the Dow didn't just bounce back..., it hopped up to near a record high.  They really aren't that alarmed about the Trump victory..., and neither am I.

As Dave Lindorff over at CounterPunch says in The Silver Linings in Trumps Win...,

Let’s look on the bright side.

Donald J. Trump is the next president of the United States. His stunning victory over Hillary Clinton came after he had first crushed the Republican Party establishment, steamrollering all the candidates it put forward and defeating party leaders’ concerted efforts to deny him the nomination as he rolled up victory after victory in that party’s primaries.

But Trump did more than that. He also, along with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, smashed the Democratic Party establishment too.

He goes on to say...,

Most importantly, it seems likely that we will no longer have to worry about the US going to war with Russia.  While Hillary Clinton, with her stated desire to establish a “no-fly zone” in Syria that even leading generals said would mean “war with Russia,” Donald Trump throughout the campaign made it clear that he did not want the US confronting Russia. He said, to the consternation of most establishment Republicans, that he thought the two countries “should be working together.”  That view, if he is serious, bodes well for Syrians, and for Ukrainians as well. Trump has also condemned NATO, which since the collapse of the Soviet Union has been converted into a military adjunct to aggressive US efforts around the globe to sow chaos, mayhem and regime change — something Trump has opposed. With luck Trump, who recognizes that Americans do not want endless war, may act to neuter NATO, hopefully by withdrawing US funding for the organization and allowing it to fade away — something that should have happened in 1990 when the Berlin Wall came down. 

 Lindorff goes on to chronicle all of Trumps shortcoming..., as I have already acknowledged..., there are many..., but says...,

On balance though, I would argue that Trump’s victory and his drubbing of a Democratic Party that has been fleeing from its New Deal and Great Society past for decades, is what is needed if we are to have any hope of restoring any kind of popular sovereignty in a US that was sleep-walking into a kind of corporatist oligarchy. Trump, along with the Sanders movement during the Democratic primaries, effectively tossed a molotov cocktail into that whole system.

 He sums up his piece this way...,

But that’s all history now. At this point, it’s on all of us on the left, and in the rest of the Democratic base — the working class, union rank-and-file, people of color, immigrants, feminists, environmental activists and peace activists —  to pick up the pieces and to build a movement of resistance and a new political party of the left to keep socialism on the political agenda in America and to fight for real progressive change and real democracy.

 Which brings us back to the current protests.  I think that the MSM is wrong about those people out in the streets.  They don't look like Hillary supporters to me..., they look more like Bernie supporters.  In rally after rally it was noted that young voters were out in force..., and I also believe that the violence is being pumped up and misapplied..., just as it was during the Trump rallies.  I believe that there has been a seething anger building in this county for quite some time now and has been ready to boil over.  The current election has demonstrated the very worst that this county has to offer. The protests may be a bit misguided at this point..., my hope is that the anger can be harnessed and applied in a positive way.  Martin Luther King preached none violent protest with eloquent words..., but it took people in the streets to accomplish what was accomplished. The Vietnam War might still be going on if it wasn't for people in the streets..., how long have we been in Afghanistan and Iraq? OccupyWall Street was a good..., but short lived start.  Standing Rock is hanging on.

Yeah..., Lindorff may say that the..., "...US has been sleepwalking into a corpratist oligarchy"..., but I say that we have been a batch of frogs slowly snoozing and simmering away in the pot.  I hope we have hopped out of that pot now.

THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING !!!

At least to my blog.  Yeah..., the Scott R. - The Quillayute Cowboy blog has been getting an unprecedented number of hits lately.  I usually get a bit of a bounce when I link to a new post on my Facebook page..., but I haven’t posted a new piece since “Those Good Ole Days” back on 7/8/16..., and it only garnered 83 hits since then. And my best recent post, “The Drive” got 446 hits since 4/30/16.  

So..., I was a bit curious about who was hitting my blog so hard the last three weeks or so.  Blogger Dashboard shows this for the last month...,

Russia	852
United States	300
Mauritius	110

And just last week it was...,

Russia	392
United States	27

Those Good Ole Days

I was born in 1952…, so when I try to sum up my life in as few words as possible…, I say that I was born in the 50’s…., grew up in the 60’s…, came of age in the 70’s…, somehow survived the 80’s…, built a nest in the 90’s…, tried to feather the nest in in the 00’s…, and am sometimes wondering why in these 10’s?

Sometime in those 80’s I tried to pen the lyrics to a song about those 70’s…, a time that those of us around my age were trying to recreate the magic of the psychedelic 60’s that we were a little too young to experience firsthand.  Why couldn’t we have our own Woodstock?  We tried.

Those Good Ole Days

Been tunin’ up all day,

Now we’re feelin’ right.

Gonna head out for Tacoma,

In the middle of the night.

Jerry’s passed out in the backseat,

Got Bruce behind the wheel.

Goin’ mostly for the party,

But just might make a deal.

What Do You Call It?

Irony?  I once wrote that I may not be able to define irony for you…, but I know it when it slaps me upside the head.  The dictionary says, “… a state of affairs or an event that seems deliberately contrary to what one expects…”.  Or maybe you should call it disrespect…, or insulting?

I am sure it was merely coincidence that the five part-eight hour documentary “OJ: Made in America” was scheduled for TV release on June 11, 2016…, just a week after the passing of Muhammad Ali.  OJ and Ali were both great athletes…, but only one was a great man…, The Greatest.  If there is any doubt in your mind about which one that is…, don’t bother reading any further.

There's A Double Trouble Bubble Brewing

We’ve seen and survived some pretty nasty bubbles in the past.  The Tulip Bubble, The South Sea Company Bubble, The Florida Real Estate Bubble, The 1929 Stock Market Bubble, The Japanese Asset Price Bubble, The Dot- Com Bubble, The Housing Bubble(s), The Subprime Bubble, The Debt Bubble, The Financial Bubble…, and no one saw this one coming either.  But we may have a chance to turn it around before this Bubble Bursts.  And by “us”…, I mean the working man or woman, common folks, debt serfs…, beer drinkers.  I doubt that we will have much help from the plutocrats and oligarchs or the politicians or CEO’s or other scum of the earth.  They aren’t beer drinkers and wouldn’t stoop to buying a beer for a working man…, if they ever got close enough to one to do so.

Say what?  I am speaking of The Beer Bubble.  Haven’t heard of it?  I told you already that no one saw it coming…, but here it is…, World Domination - the Chinese Now Drink More Beer Than Anyone  .  And the Double Bubble I referred to?  Here it is…, Corprate Overlords Will Soon Own 1 Out of Every 3 Beers Made On Earth.

The Drive

Along about April or May of every year when the high county around Hemlock Butte and Rocky Ridge Lake were still socked in and buried in perhaps 10 feet or more of frozen snow at over 5,600 feet in elevation…, Lewiston, ID at barely 700 feet above sea level…, had been snow free for many months and the flower and vegetable gardeners weren’t much worried about any killing frosts.  As we would head east up US 12 along the Clearwater River toward Weippe and home in our old car, my Dad would look across the river at that giant, smoke belching, rotten-egg smelling, Potlatch Forests, Inc. pulp mill and say, “Well…, looks like they are getting mighty short of logs…, guess I better sign on for The Drive this year.”  He never did sign on when I knew him though.  He had been on a couple, or maybe a few, before I was born, or when I was too young to remember.  Strange how those little details never seem to matter…, until it is too late to sort them out.