Ramblin' Road - Tom Blair

Light Bulbs & other Stupid Things

(Sponsored in part by stupid politicians)

I am sure you heard about the compact florescent, curly looking, little energy-saving bulbs that Congress says we all have to have by the year 2014. They are banning Thomas Edison’s incandescent electric light bulb.

Did you know that these new little florescent bulbs contain dangerous amounts of mercury? If you break one, the EPA says you have to dispose of it properly… and that’s a long process. This includes NOT using a vacuum or broom to sweep it up, as this spreads TOXIC mercury dust around your home... you are even supposed to shut down the furnace or air conditioning during the clean-up process. (Even evacuate the room for 20 minutes.) You have to use sticky tapes, wet cloths and a bunch of other preventative measures, so you and the family don’t get contamination from the mercury.

There are two other benefits from using these toxic, money-saver bulbs (besides saving energy). They cause interference with electrical devices, including radios, TVs, dimmer switches, and remotes and GET THIS… They are ONLY MADE IN CHINA!

China, the place that brought us lead-painted toys and poison pet food. And now… dangerous levels of mercury in our home and landfills. Gotta love spending our dollars on slave labor, huh?

Coming soon, people will be throwing out a lot of TVs (especially those little black and white portables). The government is requiring TV stations to cease broadcasting analog channels. April 7th, 2009, is the current date the FCC is requiring U.S. stations to broadcast using digital signals instead of existing analog signals. Forget the rabbit ears; you’ll need a special tuner box.

I won’t go into all the details, but if you don’t have cable or satellite TV, you’ll have to PURCHASE more equipment. Why did this happen? My guess would be that someone making and selling digital equipment (in China) talked our politicians into making the new law.

Last minute news… the government just announced that gas prices are going to continue to climb up to the election. Doesn’t that really make you think? What the hell is the government doing making a statement like that? Are THEY in control of the fuel prices (like many suspect)? Are they not encouraging oil companies to run up the prices? It seems like when the media mentions fuel going up… it goes up before the bulk tanks get filled at the stations. I’d like to see our leaders look into that crystal ball and tell us whom we can trust and vote for to make things better. Tom “RoadRunner” Blair road742@aol.com Website: www.tomroadblair.com

Starting to Hunt - 6/12/2008

It’s true that everyone is feeling the effects of the high gas costs, but what’s really aggravating is… those idiots in the media that say things like: “It really hasn’t affected the Memorial holiday much” or “People still seem to be using a lot of gas.” Well, talk about DUMB! People that have made plans, rented hotels, committed to family vacations, reserved seats on planes, trains and automobiles still have to follow through.

We’ll all be cutting back, that’s for sure, but the poor working class still have to drive to work, kids have to be delivered to schools (by car or bus) and do a little recreation.

We all know this: We have plenty of oil in the ground in America, but we don’t have enough refineries and more are not going to be built. We know that if ethanol could be made for 50 cents a gallon… it will still come out at the same pumps as our gas does, and will sell for close to what gas is selling for. We know oil companies are making record profits and we are getting screwed into the ground… but our politicians keep right on doing nothing about it and keep spending our tax dollars like there is no end to it.

When they say the high cost of fuel will affect everything… many do not realize what “everything” is. Dow Chemical raised its price 20% on everything they sell. (Now, that’s just one company… and one start of an upswing in prices.) If you make $30,000 a year, that’s like taking a $6,000 pay cut.

Meanwhile, the government passes out a few bucks to people on Social Security while the fat politicians never seem to forget their healthy raises. Yeah, I know I voted for Bush, but I am not only worse off now than when he took office, but I see everyone around me in worse shape than they were.

Maybe a Democrat would be better… Obama says he is for change; well, we certainly need to change the way government does business. I like what Red Skelton once said. He was doing a comedy routine as a politician running for office and made this statement: “I am an honest man, but I have watched these politicians rob and steal from us for four years… now I would like a chance.” Isn’t McCain a Bush “parrot?” Won’t it be the same thing? “Business as usual”? Maybe Obama doesn’t know anything about foreign policy, but maybe we need a president who spends LESS time with foreign policy.

I really don’t know, but we do need some changes…. You know, less taxes, finish the war, energy crises, crime, health care, border security, national debt, jobs and better

Simple Sex Offenders Solutions - 5/30/2008

It’s really quite simple. If grandpa gropes a niece (or nephew), we should get him in for treatment and help. At the same time, our court system should see that he gets a taste of prison life (for future reference).

When a human being rapes, brutalizes, tortures and kills another human being… “So long, pervert; you are going to prison for life (or death). I don’t know if you can be rehabilitated and I don’t care. I don’t want to ever wonder or worry if it will happen again, so you are behind bars till you die.”

The case in which the couple “in love” (he is 18 and she is 16) and have consensual sex: it is against the law and similar cases need to be judged in court on their individual merits.

I keep seeing these “level three” sex offenders (which means that they may be likely to offend again) on parole and living in our community. WHY? If they are not rehabilitated and haven’t served their full time… they shouldn’t be amongst us. If they are to be released early… then they should be living in halfway houses in the back yard of the members of the parole board.

When someone rapes a woman, weather the woman is married, single, 21 or 91 years old… WHAT'S the difference? They should do a lot of serious jail time. Not enough prisons? Prisons too crowded? Baloney! Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, solved that problem with his “tent city” prison. (Look it up on the web.) It’s cheap, it saves tax dollars, and is more effective than countryclub prisons. The ACLU says that Joe Arpaio’s tent city is “inhumane.” What is humane about the violence against the American public by these animals?

Yes, giving us maps, locations and addresses of sex offenders may be helpful, but is it OUR job to keep track of them? Does treatment and rehabilitation work? In some cases… maybe. Does castration work? I think so. Is it humane? For repeat offenders… damn right. Does this mean we are stooping to their level? Of course not; we are just protecting our children and other loved ones… at all costs.

Why is our judicial system so worried about repeat sex offenders’ rights? The only right they should NOT be denied? A SPEEDY TRIAL!

Saving Private Freedom - 5/23/2008

Why do people want to make laws to force everyone else to follow their beliefs? Don’t they care or realize that it tears down the entire freedom structure? Most people sit around and complain when laws that affect our individual freedom are passed and do nothing.

Take seat belts. Sure, they save lives, but were you out there pushing lawmakers to pass the mandatory seat belt law? No… and neither was I or anyone else I know. And who wanted it? A small group of do-gooders who wanted us to be forced to wear them (because they wore them), and the insurance companies who wanted fewer deaths (not to reduce our insurance cost, but to make more profit).

It’s the same with helmet laws for motorcycles, except the bikers fought and won the right to decide for themselves in many states. No one else helped them fight; they did it themselves. That’s the way so many people think… “If it doesn’t affect me, I don’t care.”

It’s like when the 18-year-olds couldn’t drink but could get drafted into the service… you know the argument: I can die for my country, but I can’t walk into a bar and have a drink. Well, why not? They could fight for that right, but who would help? Why don’t we jump on the bandwagon and help people?

When police started setting up sobriety check points, EVERYONE should have hit the roof and come together to stop it immediately! If that law was passed (under the table to allow it), we should have fought to repeal it. I repeat, how many people were out there on the streets helping get that law passed… to allow random traffic stops?

Of course, it may help reduce people driving drunk, and police get to make other arrests because of the stops… but it’s a step closer to Nazi Germany. (“Let me see your papers, please.”)

Everyone stands by and thinks nothing of the police walking into any bar at any time and checking for IDs and any other violations they see. It’s done on a regular basis and most people don’t care… because it doesn’t affect them.

Eighty-five percent of the bars in the Fargo- Moorhead area are smoke-free, but there are those who won’t be happy till the remaining 15% are smoke free or out of business, and very few are willing to help them fight for survival.

Actually, if a law were passed to allow police to search anyone’s house at any time, they could catch a lot more criminals, find a lot of drugs and stolen items for sure! And believe it or not… there are many who would lie down and let that happen… without a fight. While thousands of our men and women are in other countries fighting for freedom…we slowly lose freedoms here at home.

Cop Town 5/16/2008

Back in August 1976, as Assistant Chief of Police in Dilworth, I mentioned to the Chief that we should start a reserve police unit. He was opposed, but after I told him about all the ways it helped me when I was Chief of Police in Kenyon, Minnesota, he agreed to permit it. Rather than call it a reserve police unit, it was called the “E.S.T.” (Emergency Services Team). It functioned the same but sounded a little less threatening.

Over the time, we had some good young men from Dilworth serve in the unit. Let’s see, there was Greg and Gregg, Brian, Scott, Stan, Tim, and Alan. There was a guy named Billy, who I found out later wanted to be a police officer, but he was too busy working at the time to get involved with the unit. We had some good times, served Dilworth and fought some crime and evil.

Recently, I attended the retirement party for Greg Anderson, who was one of our Reserve Unit’s first members. He retired after over 20 years of police service and retired as Deputy Chief of the Moorhead PD. Surprisingly, ALL of the original members of the team went into law enforcement at some level.

But there is more to the story: Gregg Enger worked part time for a year or so after I left; Brian Norberg is currently a Deputy with the Clay County Sheriff’s Department; Scott Thorstenson is Chief of Police in Wahpeton; Stan Gordon went from the Dilworth PD to Clay County and then to Washington State as a cop; Tim Gordon is the Sheriff of Becker County; Alan Gordon has retired from police work; and the kid named Billy is none other than the current sheriff of Clay County… Bill Bergquist. It makes me feel like a proud Grandpa, seeing that I had a hand (in some small way) influencing the course of history.

NOW, as Paul Harvey says, there is a “Rest of the Story.” Did I have any influence or could it be the water in Dilworth? There is an extremely high percentage of law enforcement officers that have come out of Dilworth.

Dave Brager, my fishing/motorcycling buddy, retired last year from the Clay County Sheriff’s Department and was from Dilworth. So is Gene Anderson, brother of Greg Anderson, who is a ranking officer with the Fargo PD. But there are many MORE who were from Dilworth and went into law enforcement; former sheriff Larry Costello, Gary Landsem (retired Moorhead Chief), Mike Tarks, Jerry Terrill, Ed Bedore, Steven Anderson, John Shorey, Barry Chrissis, Darrel Brown, Jeff Brown, Brad Browning, Danny Cummings, Mike Parks, Leroy Lamb, Maurice Forsgren, plus… Stephen Landsem and Mark Empting, who are with the Clay County Sheriff’s Department. More? Yes: Randy Flint (federal cop), Justin Vogel (K-9 officer with the Moorhead PD), AND… one woman I know of, Linda Heller (from Dilworth) has been with the Clay County Sheriff’s Department over 35 years.

Maybe it was the upbringing in Dilworth… I’m not sure, but a few of them would have made great outlaws but instead…. chose the lawful path. But either way, Dilworth has some real bragging rights on most of these people!

 

People and Pets - 5/9/2008

Since spring is here, that brings out all the little animals… and pets. This is good news and bad news, for some.

Where are all my squirrels? Where are my neighbor’s rabbits? What happened to all the little birds? I have heard a number of people ask questions like that recently, and think I have the answer: In a cat’s stomach somewhere.

We have had dogs, hamsters, gold fish and a favorite “mouser cat” named Sammy, who helped us do a little animal control at our country home and it didn’t seem to be a real problem. Feeding him was a problem, as it seems that EVERY night there were several other cats coming to our place to eat Sammy’s food! We saw them on our security cameras all the time, so… we had to take the cat food in every night.

We had several dogs come over for dinner too. I am supposed to be careful here, because many people who don’t even take care of their kids scream bloody murder if you pick on their pets. I like dogs, cats, squirrels, rabbits and birds… my own that is. Why don’t people keep their own animals under control and at their OWN home? Simple answer: because they are inconsiderate of other people! Teach your pet to stay home, eat their own food, crap in their own yard and not bother other people or animals. (Doesn’t that make sense?)

Awhile back in the news, a bunch of people got hostile because people were shooting stray cats. It seems that the wildlife population was going to the dogs (and cats). So what’s wrong with that? Animals carry and contract rabies and other diseases that can be spread when they run wild. Kids and adults get mauled, pet animals get killed, and property damage results also. Not to mention the piles of doo-doo dropped on other people’s property. It seems that the ones who are offended the most are usually the ones who are the biggest offenders.

Inconsiderate? Darn right! And having two or three dogs in town, in a pen or tied up… barking at everything that moves (night or day) is inconsiderate. Sure, most neighbors just put up with it, not wanting to start any trouble, but it is sad when a law-abiding Mr. Nice Citizen turns into a dog or cat killer because they have reached their limit and succumbed to “pet rage.”

Those who take good care of their pets, keep them on their own property, and care for them are to be respected and praised. Those who don’t… GET RID OF THEM!

Are Conspiracy nuts.. NUTS? 4/25/2008

You know what I mean. People who think everything is a conspiracy and everyone is watching them. What if they are right? If you set your computer to make a sound for every function it makes, then just sit there in your idle hours and listen to it “Cook” (especially if you are on high speed or cable modem) It can go on the net, load up things, send out messages & reports to its leaders, (who-ever and what ever they are) and make changes in your computer. That’s right… make changes to your registry and how your computer works.

I have a program that will not allow registry changes without my approval, but sometimes I am in my shop at night working on cleaning the bench, my computer starts making different “Function sounds” and it will ask me if I will accept a register change from some program. (And I am not even on the computer at the time, and don’t have the Internet up)

Now, if all those tracking cookies in my computer can report stuff to other companies, don’t you think the FBI and CIA can do the same thing? They want to “Profile” people, so they drop in a cookie that reports to them what sites you visit. Let’s say you are an NRA member, you look at the sex offender sites, (so you can see if they live near your family) Soldier of Fortune site, gun permit sites. Maybe you look up a prescription online and type in “Drugs” in the search engine. If an organization has a “Net” or filter that pops out key words… YOU just hit several that might get you into a “Profile” file.

Type in words like gun, soldier, sex and drugs and you just entered the worlds of the FBI & CIA. It wouldn’t surprise me that the feds are peeking…. would it surprise you?

I have a couple things I use that are free tools to help get tracking cookies out and clean things after each web surf. (Probably doesn’t stop the Feds, but it does stop the computer squirrels) Go to this address on my site http://tomroadblair.com/Interestingsites.htm

And load up that Ad-Aware and C-Cleaner that I recommend. (FREE) It will help keep a LOT of garbage out of your computer. I’ll bet that the first time you run it… you will not believe how many “Critical” tracking cookies are spying on you.

Actually I think the real conspiracy is: All of the computer companies and computer software companies are the ones who think up all these spy programs and viruses to keep selling us more junk to put on our computers. (The FBI & CIA probably let them…for a piece of the spy action)

War Cost 101 for Dummies - 4/17/2008

I read an article by Tom Heuerman (some Ph.D. guy with a lot of other impressive credentials). The article was pretty good, but I can’t get his one line that he wrote out of my head: “Our recession is impacted directly by the $400 million a day spent in Iraq.” Being a dummy, I can’t really comprehend how much money that is. I see other figures on the war like, “The CBO estimated $440 billion had been spent on the Iraq war” and “A long-term U.S. military presence in Iraq would cost around $10 billion to $25 billion a year,” but these figures just don’t draw a picture for me.

No one breaks it down to a level we can grasp. I tried to do it on a calculator, but my calculator won’t go that far. Besides, I don’t know how many zeros to add. So I started my research and found some interesting facts: A million dollars would weigh in at roughly 1.1 U.S. tons, so 400 million one-dollar bills would weigh around 440 tons. That’s how much we spend in Iraq EVERY DAY? (Wow!) Of course, one million dollars is only 10,000 one-hundred dollar bills. (Chicken feed, huh?)

Nine million dollars would be a stack of dollar bills piled 5 feet tall, 10 feet long, and 6¼ feet wide. A single stack of dollar bills in this amount would be 3,000 feet high. (Now add 391 more piles just like that to make 400 million dollars.)

What the interest would make would blow your mind. A million dollars could make you about a thousand dollars a week, so I think 400 million dollars would make you $400,000 a week. (This is getting complicated; my calculator keeps giving me errors.) So if we spent $400 million ONE time on a war, that would only be $7,692,307.69 a day… for a year. (A real bargain.)

Then… they throw around the “billion” dollar costs of things. A BILLION dollars? How much is that? It takes 10 million one-hundred dollar bills to make a billion dollars.

I sure wish they could convince me that this Iraq war is worth it. I think our war money could buy a nice fence around our country, and our troops could sit along the fence with binoculars and a cool drink while watching for bad guys. They could have tons of guns and plenty of bullets too. All the fuel to fly those military planes, ships, tanks, and things could be used for us to drive our kids to school and us to work. Some leftover money could be used to fix towns, provide tax relief, education stuff, and more jails for criminals.

But then again… I am just a war dummy

Tom “RoadRunner” Blair road742@aol.com Website: www.tomroadblair.com

We don't need tickling, just common sense. - 4/11/08

When a politician is running for office, they tickle our ears with how the world should be and how they will make it the way WE WANT it to be, right? They rarely tell us how they are going to do it or what it will cost… but they promise anyway. We used to believe them, but now we get more skeptical, and for good reason… there are too many liars becoming politicians… or too many politicians becoming liars.

Then there are the “Leaders” who listen to whichever wheel squeaks the loudest and jump on the bandwagon to rescue the noisy minority. They divide us over every little issue they can. That’s to keep us busy fighting one another so we don’t spend so much time looking at what they do… or don’t do!

In reality, MOST of us (the majority) want fewer taxes, safer streets, reasonable health care at a fair price, less foreign aid, peace and less government intervention in our lives.

If you’re a normal American, how can you argue that, huh?

Let’s look at it: Fewer taxes? Quit spending our money like a drunken sailor.

Safer streets? Lock the perverts and violent criminals up for a LOOOOOONG time.

Reasonable health care? Get the corruption out of the Medicare and welfare system, and those who are “freeloaders” and illegal aliens don’t get FREE care.

Less foreign aid? Help us (US) first; after all, when you’re broke… you can’t “give.”

Less government intervention? Stay the hell out of things that have nothing to do with running the government. What we eat, drink, smoke, chew, or do is none of your business… just run the country!

And finally, WAR! When someone attacks us… make a parking lot out of his or her country. We shouldn’t make war because some politician “thinks” some country may be trouble some day. We shouldn’t be the policemen of the world; every country does not want a democracy and I love what Jesse Ventura said about politicians: If it isn’t worth sending YOUR son or daughter into battle, then it isn’t worth sending everyone else’s sons or daughters into war. And finally, you don’t go to war without a plan and never start one you can’t win.

When political leaders want to build things, like libraries, homeless shelters, performing art centers and blah, blah, blah, you can count on it costing a hell of a lot more than they say it will cost: They are tickling our ears! It’s “pet” projects. Most people don’t use libraries; they have the Internet or don’t have time for either. Homeless shelters? “Build them and the homeless WILL come.” Build a thousand homeless shelters and they will come from all over the country to stay free. These kinds of projects are NOT for the majority. (Build MORE jails to lock up criminals, cheap ones like Sheriff Joe, you know… tent cities.)

Meanwhile, we’ll continue letting these politicians tickle our ears about how wonderful it will be when they are elected.

I'm not crazy.. Really! - 4/4/08

Those who have read my book know, but now the secret’s out! It was in my rock-and-roll nightclub days in Kansas City. Lots of drinking, love affairs by the wayside, plenty of money in my pocket, and not much planning for the future. I was driving down a back street of Kansas City, about 70 miles per hour in a 30-mph zone with a couple belts in the belly… when the red lights appeared in my rearview mirror. "Damn." I couldn't afford to get another ticket; I'd lose my license for sure. I slammed on the brakes, pulled to the side, and sank my head onto the steering wheel. What was going to happen now? Jail? Lose my license? Big fine?

When the officer approached my rolled-down window, he kindly asked me in a soft voice, "Do you feel violent or depressed, sir?" I mumbled, "Yes." As I wondered why I hadn't been jerked from the car, spread-eagled and handcuffed, the officer asked me if I would like to get some help for my problem. I'm thinking, maybe if I go along with whatever he’s talking about, I'd get out of a ticket. I played the game. He gently handcuffed me, placed me into his patrol car and away we went. I found myself being admitted to the psychiatric receiving center (funny farm) on 3rd floor. That's where they weed out the real "dingbats" from the ones who might have a chance. (But everyone starts out on the 3rd floor.)

I could look around and see that I really didn't belong here, but it beat the hell out of jail. I couldn't even find anyone I felt comfortable talking to, but after a couple of days, managed to get to drop down to the 2nd floor. There I at least got to talk to the doctors and to begin my recovery period, whatever that meant. I could see 2-way mirrors all over the place, and I knew that we were being watched. There were mirrors in the room where I slept, in the shower and in the halls. When are they watching? What are they looking for? And most important, HOW do I act normal?

Take a minute and put yourself in that position. It's like a movie, you are trapped, and the only way out is to convince the doctors and nurses that you are "normal." The only way to do it is to "ACT" normal. Try acting normal in front of a bunch of peeping-tom doctors and nurses, and you'll soon become paranoid if you aren't already. I did manage to get down to the main floor, where there was a pool table. Now I didn't have to act normal, just shoot pool and talk to the doctors and tell them how I wanted to turn my life around, quit drinking and start making some plans for the future. I was soon free. (All I had to do was come back for some follow-up out-patient treatment.) No reckless-driving ticket, and I didn't lose my driver's license.

It WAS a REAL experience… I still get goose bumps watching “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

Dealing with BIG 3/28/2008

How in God’s name do some of these big companies keep customers? Dealing with gas companies, phone companies, Internet providers, tech support for products, Dish TV, Cable TV, electric companies and others like them… IT’S A NIGHTMARE!!!

If you are making a move, changing billing information, setting up or canceling service, ya best figure on spending a looooooong, looooooong time on the phone. And be prepared to wear a hearing aid and have an English interpreter handy when you call.

Also be prepared for anything to happen when you get done because whatever you do… something is going to change. (You can be assured it won’t be favorable either.)

It can be as simple as wanting to ask a question about a product or service. First you get an automated voice with 37 different options or numbers to choose (which will not have YOUR option), then several sales pitches for something you already have or don’t want.

Then some pathetic, wimpy voice will greet you with: “Hi, Mr. Blair, I am sorry you had to be on hold for an hour, I understand your problem, I am going to do everything I can to help you with your problem, I love you, and what’s your social security number?” “Huh? That’s supposed to be a secret!” (The only other voice you might hear would be some person who speaks squeaky broken English from who-knows-where… and doesn’t care.)

My only hope is that the presidents of some of these companies are standing in line with the fires of hell burning their butts, while they’re standing at the pearly gates with a cell phone trying to figure out which option number to pick to talk to St. Peter.

I guess it’s really simple why they stay in business… no competition! The power company wants to charge me $26 to hook up the electricity… even though the power is on and working, what can I do? The gas company wants to charge me $17 a month delivery charge to deliver what’s in the gas pipe… what can I do? Same thing for all these phone and utility companies that add a stack of extra charges on your bill that no one understands. You don’t know what all the charges are, they don’t want you to know and THEY DON’T care either. You’re gonna mumble and groan under your breath and pay them.

You want to call them and bitch, but you know they will make it nearly impossible to reach the right person… and by the time you get through to them, you’ll be worn out. (And you lose.) They’ll tell you to go to their web site for simple instructions… you know that’s a joke. Face it, no one wants to deal with customers any more. They don’t have to… It’s too easy to let computers answer questions and who cares if you have to wander aimlessly around some complicated web site for hours.

Is there anything we can do? Maybe it’s just like politics: when you deal with big organizations… you get little choices!

Last Letter from Arizona - 3/21/2008

I’m not sure when you’ll be reading this, but somewhere around the 1st of April we’ll be returning to North Dakota. I do miss the kids and grandkids, but I don’t miss the flat land, mosquitoes, unpredictable weather, wind, and long boring winters.

I know they talk a lot about the rattlesnakes, scorpions, tarantulas, and lizards in Arizona, but you see more of them running for office this time of the year than you see here in the desert and mountains.

Government in Arizona is really more into the social and tourist thing… kind of laid back and enjoying life. Want to ride your ATV on the streets?… cool! “License it, insure it, we’ll make tax money on it, and it will bring more tourists!” Want trails to ride ’em? “No problem, we’ll make trails and charge you a little and make still more revenue!” Horse back riding? “We’ll make more trails and charge you a little fee to get on the trails and take in bucks on that too!”

Any land that is owned by the state or county is turned into recreational use… now THAT makes money and good sense! (Brings more people into an area to stay at motels, eat, and do other things.)

In the winter when it’s cold up north, people in Arizona are hiking in the desert or mountains, going to flea markets, having music jam sessions, playing shuffleboard or other games, and doing all kinds of activity. I guess where I am going with this is… people say the Red River Valley has so much going for it, but does it?

Let me throw a couple thoughts out for you to ponder. All week long in Arizona, there are music jam sessions going on, sometimes three or four a day. All the musicians in the area play for nothing, and the people come to enjoy them for nothing. (Country jams, Big Band jams, and so on.) Now, I think that would be something fun for winter recreation in the FM area. “Ask them and they will come” (the musicians and the audience).

I’ll bet if you had a building up north and put a carnival in it for the winter, people would bring their kids or grandkids regularly. Every night here in the Mesa/Apache Junction area, community centers are full of people playing bingo, card games, having talent shows, pot luck dinners, sing-a-longs, pinochle tournaments or something. (That could be done up North in the winter.)

There are some up North who try to get something going, but most say, “Naw, we can’t do that because of this or that,” or a million negative reasons why it won’t work… but that’s what I am getting at: it can work. The FM area could be known as the area where folks let their hair down, have fun, and let others do the same, instead of spending time fighting over smoking in someone’s bar.

Come on down to Arizona! Ya wanna smoke in the VFW? Ya wanna work in a smoky bar? “Great…you’re welcome!” Wanna ride that ATV, horse or dune buggy? “Climb them mountains and visit our parks and have a good time.” Ya don’t want to wear a helmet on the bike? “That’s fine, we want our funeral homes to make money on ya too!” There’s fun and room for everyone here, and we want you to enjoy life. “Y’all come back again… hear?” (And they do.)

Monster Invasion - 3/7/2008

We all remember the various science fiction alien monster shows we used to see at the movies and on TV, but who would know it would become reality? Yes, there are aliens invading the United States as I write this article. And they are just like in the movies: you can't tell who is and who isn't an alien.

Some are not hostile, work hard, raise families and live normal lives among us, but many are out sucking the money out of our government, committing crimes and distributing a white powder that some people suck up their nose and become violent. Some sell pills and weeds that are consumed by some of us humans. (Many bring these various products from their homeland.)

Another thing these invader aliens do is that they deplete our financial base by sucking up money from the welfare, health care and educational systems that we American humans need to survive. We catch many and put them behind bars, but it then costs us fortunes to keep them there. More and more of these illegal aliens are invading and forming “gangs” to commit murders, drive-by shootings and other violent crimes.

These illegal alien creatures are coming to the United States and multiplying at an alarming rate. Once these aliens reproduce, their offspring become one of us. Multiplying helps them achieve their goal of outnumbering us and thereby taking over our political system. Once this is accomplished, they can vote to totally open the doors on their home craft and have free access to our homeland.

It's just like in the movies... some of us realize how serious this is, but people won't listen to us. I wonder if many of our leaders have been bought off by the aliens, as that white powder they bring into our land to sell makes millions of dollars. Some of our leaders pretend they care, make a little noise to humor us and even make a pretend barrier along the southern border, but they just don't understand that we ARE GETTING INVADED!

We do have other invaders coming in from the North, but most of them are harmless creatures with legal permits. They go to Wal-Marts, flea marts, shop for doo-dads to take back to their people. They are called legal aliens, as opposed to “illegal” aliens. Most of the legal aliens learn to love us, get jobs, contribute and become one of us. Help us who know and let our leaders know... they are coming!

Tom “RoadRunner” Blair road742@aol.com

Website: www.tomroadblair.com

Social Insecurity - 2/29/2008

As I look around me at people my age, older, and less fortunate, I see people who are really having a hard time surviving. (I can’t call it “living.”)

I know people who are making around $700 a month on Social Security. Now, if you just eat and do nothing else, ya might make it, but if you have a car, home (and insurance for both), medical care, buy groceries, medicine, toilet paper, pay for the phone, heat and lights… you’ll have less than nothing left at the end of the month. (And you have to declare your Social security as taxable income.)

Social Security was started by Franklin Roosevelt, and here are a few facts about how it was set up:

1. That participation in the Program would be completely voluntary.

2. That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual incomes into the program.

3. That the money the participants elected to put into the program would be deductible from their income for tax purposes each year.

4. That the money the participants put into the independent “Trust Fund,” rather than into the general Operating Fund, would only be used to fund the Social Security Retirement Program, and no other government program.

5. That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.

Sounds like we got sold out somewhere, huh? Of course, I remember when I was going to get Social Security when I reached 65… then “Slick Willy” and some of those politicians made me add 10 months to my life and I had to wait almost another year to get it. Some of you younger people will be waiting longer… if there’s anything left in the fund.

Of course, the American Indians can tell you how good the white leaders keep their promises. Sometimes you wake up to read the paper and see laws and policies changed before you even knew there was a change planned.

Sometimes politicians throw a bunch of bills together to get each other’s support to pass something that will benefit them. That old saying about our government being “FOR the people and BY the people” … that’s “BUY the people”!

And the real crime is when big corporations manage to screw folks out of their retirement and benefits… after they have worked all their lives for the company. These people ruin lives and should be sent to prison for life.

If you believe that politicians are really looking out for you and you think your Social Security and retirement is solid as a rock… would you let me show you some ocean-front property here in Arizona?

Home on the Range - 2/15/2008

Just a few miles from Mesa, Arizona, there is a super-nice shooting range, and it’s open to the public. Covered shooting benches (36 stations) with target holders from 25 to 300 yards, a Practical Pistol range with 4 bays from 25 to 50 yards, a covered 40-position Small Bore Range to 100 meters, covered long-range rifle and pistol silhouette ranges to 500 meters, a high-power rifle range to 500 yards, shotgun – three clay bird throwers, Sporting Clays Range – 16 stations, restrooms, activity center, and even a gunsmith and ammo sales. (Range Safety Officers are always on duty and available to assist you.)

Strange, isn’t it? With all the sportsmen there are in North Dakota and Minnesota, there’s not even one simple (open to the public) range near Fargo-Moorhead. Not even a little pistol range… I guess guns are not really considered politically correct in the heartland. Well, down here in Arizona … guns are a survival tool. Sure, there’s plenty of crime, but there would be a lot more if people weren’t “packing.”

The range is open 7 a.m. to 5p.m., 7 (SEVEN) days a week, and it is busy. Men and women, shooting .22s, .38s, .45s, and even machine guns, .50 caliber rifles, and collectable military firearms.

The facility is leased from the game and fish department and it’s operated by the Rio Salado Sportsman club. The Rio Salado Sportsman’s Club is affiliated with the National Rifle Association, the Arizona Rifle and Pistol Association, the Arizona Wildlife Federation, the Civilian Marksmanship Program, and the Arizona Sporting Clays Association.

They have about a dozen employees (plus some volunteers) and very well trained range masters. It is a “NON-PROFIT” range, but manages to be selfsupporting. The fee for shooting for the day… $6. Various memberships are available… the entire family membership is only $95 a year. (Training of all kinds is available to the public.)

This place is clean, well run and well used. (Big too, 140 acres.) Fargo-Moorhead should be able to have an acre or two somewhere for a range. Indoors would be nice?

I can about imagine all the fighting and feuding there would be if someone wanted to have a GUN range in our area. Down here there are even ATV trails all over the country and you’ll even see many ATVs driving down the street… licensed and street-equipped. Many states are doing that now… it’s really a financial boost and helps the tourism industry. GUNS? ATVs? Not in my neighborhood, huh?

http://www.riosaladosportsmans.com/

One for the "Little" Guy - 2/8/2008

This presidential election thing has me down. I don’t know who to vote for. Last time I voted for Bush, only because he wasn’t going to take away my guns, but since he’s been in there… I think the need for guns has increased. My taxes ain’t any less, crime isn’t any better, the illegals are still pouring in, we are at war and I don’t think any of us are any better off now than before the last presidential election.

So, I am going to talk a little about the “little” guy, Ron Paul – since you never get to see anything about Ron Paul in the paper or on TV. It’s really true… the press doesn’t even acknowledge he exists, and he has some good ideas. Texas Congressman Ron Paul is the only remaining presidential candidate who proposes net spending cuts; well, what’s wrong with that?

Here are just a FEW of Ron Paul’s views which I found on his web site:

1. “We must secure our borders now. A nation without secure borders is no nation at all. It makes no sense to fight terrorists abroad when our own front door is left unlocked.”

2. “We must drastically limit the ability of govern ment to collect and store data regarding citi zens’ personal matters.”

3. “We must stop special interests from violating property rights and literally driving families from their homes, farms and ranches.”

4. “Our nation’s promise to its seniors, once consid ered a sacred trust, has become little more than a tool for politicians to scare retirees while rob bing them of their promised benefits. Today, the Social Security system is broke and broken.”

5. “I share our Founders’ belief that in a free society each citizen must have the right to keep and bear arms.”

6. “So called free trade deals and world govern mental organizations like the International Criminal Court (ICC), NAFTA, GATT, WTO, and CAFTA are a threat to our independence as a nation.”

7. “It is an outrage that waiters, waitresses, and other service-sector employees have to pay taxes on the tips they earn.”

8. “Americans are justifiably concerned over the government’s escalating intervention into their freedom to choose what they eat and how they take care of their health.”

9. “Any nation willing to ask its men and women to risk their lives serving overseas must also be willing to fulfill the promises that were made to them when they enlisted in our country’s serv ice. We cannot provide adequate care with a VA that is run like the IRS.”

10. “Congress is to blame for its craven failure to seriously debate, much less declare, war in Iraq. The Constitution squarely charges Congress with the duty to declare war, a weighty respon sibility that our founders thought should rest with the body most directly responsible to the people. The president’s status as commander-inchief grants him the power only to execute war, not to decide whether war is justified.”

For more information: www.ronpaul2008.com

The chances of Ron Paul winning are slim to none, because people just don’t seem to vote for someone that the press doesn’t talk about. Too bad! P.S. I don’t support or belong to any political party, but I feel you should know there is something out there besides (Ho-Hum) Democrats and Republicans. Tom “RoadRunner” Blair Website: www.tomroadblair.com

Really Helping a Smoker - 2/1/2008

If you really care about a smoker in your life, here are a few things that WILL help. DON’T gripe about it, don’t tell them it’s bad for their health and that they should quit; that’s just plain stupid… smokers know all that. Don’t treat them like they are the scum of the earth; smoking is an addiction… sponsored by, subsidized by and profited from by our local, state and federal governments.

Now, how do you help a smoker? Show concern and compassion; offer some understanding about their addiction. (Some are more chemically addicted because of individual body chemistry.)

If you smoke and you feel hopelessly addicted and are not quitting… you can help your body somewhat by cutting back, taking vitamins, and spit in your filter. WHAT did he say… spit in your filter? Yes, next time before you light up, place the cigarette in your mouth, force a little saliva into the filter, THEN light up. It will not make it taste any better or worse, but it will filter out a ton of junk. After a few drags… you will see start seeing some real “icky” stuff in the filter. And when you finish the cigarette, look at the filter before you throw it away. It will be almost black – stuff that didn’t get into your lungs…you have just increased your odds of living a little longer.

Get some vitamins! There are measures you can take nutritionally to block smoking's path of destruction while you work on “butting out.” Here are a couple things to help.

Vitamin E: One of vitamin E's most important functions for smokers is slowing the progression of arteriosclerosis, a condition in which the coronary arteries harden from deposits of cholesterol, calcium and scar tissue.

Vitamin C: Smokers must ingest two to three times the daily intake of vitamin C recommended for nonsmokers, or about 180 milligrams, just to maintain comparable levels of ascorbic acid. (Use time release Vitamin C.)

Eat beta-carotene-rich foods such as spinach and other dark green, leafy vegetables as well as cantaloupe, carrots and other orange and yellow fruits and vegetables. Why? Because studies show that beta-carotene is good for smokers.

Calcium: Research shows that people, especially women, who smoke accelerate the bone loss that occurs naturally with age, putting them at greater risk for osteoporosis (a condition of brittle, easily fractured bones).

B vitamins are essential for maintaining physical and mental fitness and healthy skin, eyes, nerves and tissues – things that are deteriorated by smoking. Many experts also recommend taking supplements of the B-complex vitamins. (Please throw in EPA, fish oil, or Atlantic salmon oil. This stuff is really helpful for that cholesterol reduction.)

Here’s a site that will be of help to you: http://www.swansonvitamins.com/. Their prices are about the best, and they will offer you help on various products.

Quitting is best, but if you are going to continue puffing… help your body while you are hurting it!

Tom “RoadRunner” Blair Website: www.tomroadblair.com

Pray or Pay - 1/4/08

I never much questioned the fact that churches don’t have to pay taxes on their buildings and land, but the more taxes I have to pay, the more I wonder who isn’t paying their share. We all have noticed those beautiful, landscaped churches… sitting on that prime non-taxed land. I mean, some of these churches are really palaces… and in many cases, on beautiful and valuable land.

I really get angry when I see ministers and church people protesting at funerals, getting involved in politics and, of course… smoking and alcohol issues. (where our country really rakes in the tax dollars).

I am not talking about all churches, and I am not talking about them paying all the different taxes we have to pay. I’m just talking about paying SOME tax.

Federal records shows that an increasing number of religious organizations are hiring professional lobbyists to pursue earmarks – you know… pet projects. From 1989 to January 2007, Congress approved almost 900 earmarks for religious groups, totaling more than $318 million. (according to the New York Times).

Statistics show that only around 40% of people in the U.S. go to a church, and how many religions are there? Over 450,000 churches in the United States, according to Premier Tourism Marketing's website and a few others.

Now, if your local church paid only 10% of collections and you normally only threw a $10 bill in the collection plate each week… you’d only have to come up with one dollar a week ($52 a year). That’s nothing!

If your church had only a couple hundred members (and that’s not a very big church), that would be $10,400 times 450,000 churches…WOW! My calculator won’t go that far. That could certainly help relieve some taxes somewhere.

Of course, it won’t happen and it wouldn’t work anyway… the politicians would only take that extra church-tax money, throw it into the general fund, and go buy some more $500 toilet lids and $100 hammers.

I take it all back, God, I was just kidding… I didn’t mean it!

Who Cares? - 12/21/07

Have you noticed that so many businesses appear to want our business, but give LESS service the bigger they are? I recently bought a new laptop computer. I didn’t want Windows Vista because I like XP. But the store said I couldn’t have Windows XP. “I’ll just remove Vista and put XP on it.” “You can’t do that. Vista is permanent on your new computer,” the clerk said. “I bought a computer that I can’t do what I want to with?”

The clerk basically told me to suck it up, go home and learn how to use Vista! Like it or not... and I don’t. It came with a trial edition of Norton Anti-virus, which I didn’t want. I have a paid subscription for McAfee, but, again, I had no choice. It was a nightmare getting Norton off my computer, but NOTHING compared to getting McAfee installed. It took two days (at around 4 hours each day), several attempts to get online support, one wasted $3.99-per-minute call at 27 minutes... all because I had Windows Vista!!!!

I selected ENGLISH for the $3.99-per-minute phone call to McAfee, but it seems that no one in support for anyone speaks understandable English anymore.

You can’t even buy a night-stand or table without having to put it together yourself, no one checks your oil unless you pay more, and you get a whineynasal- voiced computer giving a commercial for the bank, take a survey and get a half dozen options and STILL don’t get a human to talk to. Then… if you don’t make the right decision (or give a quick enough answer), the damn automated voice says, “GOOD-BYE” and hangs up.

No one takes our credit cards any more… WE have to swipe it now! (Too much work for them, I guess.) A couple weeks ago I spent over $2,600 at 4 businesses… NO ONE even checked to see if the card was mine, didn’t even check the signature or ask for ID. My card says C.I.D. (which means “see I.D.”). Are ya ready for this???? I signed the receipts with two words: “B-U-L-L _ _ _ _ .“ No one noticed—not the clerk, the bank, or the credit card company!

Try to complain to someone about it??? (What a joke.) They make it as difficult as they can to contact someone. I have decided to “DUMP” every company I currently do business with who doesn’t want to talk to me. If we all did that… we’d start getting service once again! Except Social Security. (You haven’t LIVED until you try to deal with the automated phone system at Social security.)

Arizona Update - 12/14/2007

When you hear that expression, “Nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there,” that’s the Phoenix, Mesa, and surrounding area! You like watching cop shows? Well, the nightly news will contain enough crime and violence to satisfy any adrenaline junkie. High-speed chases, crashes, helicopters zipping across the skies, armed robberies, rapes and shootings are just a part of daily life here.

If you can afford it, you have a fence around your home or you live in a gated community. Even many of the police stations and properties have walls, fences AND razor wire across the top of them.

How many bad guys (and gals) are there? According to the East Mesa Times, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio (the Tent City crime fighter) is spending so much of his time chasing illegals that there are now 78,000 (that's seventy-eight-THOUSAND) outstanding warrants in Maricopa County. 41,000 are felony warrants!

Can you imagine having 41,000 bad people with felony warrants living in your community? That does NOT count countless illegal aliens who are involved in drugs, gang violence and crime.

Arizona is now working on passing an interesting law: If you have a driver’s license from a state that issues licenses to illegal aliens…. your driver’s license will be NO GOOD in Arizona

. They are calling this area "Fugitives’ Paradise." Sheriff Joe is just trying to keep MORE crime from coming in and hoping the bad guys are on the run… to somewhere else. We are talking about one BIG sheriff’s office. The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office has nearly 4,000 employees, 3,000 volunteer posse members and 10,000 inmates. Can you imagine a sheriff’s office with 9 MILLION DOLLARS in overtime for a year? (But they DO fight some serious crime.)

In the winter you’ll see thousands of us Minnesota and North Dakota snow-birds here, but we feel reasonably safe… we circle the trailers. Just like in the Old West days. Many ride together in busses to casinos; people that take cars lock the doors and stay out of bad areas and off the freeways as much as possible. The traffic in the Phoenix area is unreal. I talked to one lady who has to be at work at 8 A.M. She leaves at 6 A.M. for the 24-mile journey on the 5- to 6-lane freeway.

There are thousands of concealed-weapon permits issued to law-abiding citizens in Arizona… and they ARE “packing.” But, likewise, there are thousands of bad guys packing guns too. (Bigger guns with serious firepower.) Lawmen here just made a raid the other day that netted MANY guns (including AK47’s). But we’re having a great time… “It’s such a dry heat!”

YOU Are Smart & Talented! - 12/07/2007

When you are talking to people in person, on the phone, on radio, or before a group, you must remember, the listeners can sense if you are not enthusiastic or sincere… and they THINK they can tell if you’re talented or smart. You cannot sell others, until you sell yourself… and to sell yourself, you must have confidence in your abilities. (Or APPEAR confident.)

Most people feel insecure at times, and even feel inferior in areas. You have a talent… everyone has one or more areas of talent that haven't been tapped. You must learn to develop these talents. You just have to give your body and mind a chance to see what it can do. Take your mind and body where it can explore!

I remember watching a nice little guy named Bob painting beautiful pictures on TV every week. I was glued to the tube, fascinated by what he could do (and wishing I could do it). I finally made a move. I bought some paint and brushes, recorded his program, and played it back, stopping many times, and doing exactly what he was doing. I painted a mountain scene, and my picture turned out beautiful! Some people looked at my painting and said they thought I had some real talent at painting. I don't have art talent, but that's not important; it is ONLY IMPORTANT that someone else thought I had real talent. GET IT? How talented or smart you are isn't really what counts in life. It is how talented and smart you can make others believe you are.

If you were a genius and no one knew it, it would get you NOTHING! See what I mean? Work on learning a little about everything, then when you are with people and they are talking about things, you will be able to slip into any conversation. You don’t have to say a lot… just one or two, well thought out comments. They will THINK you are smart or educated. How smart you are isn’t as important; it’s how smart others THINK you are that counts.

People like to be with smart and talented people, and they like to hire smart people, so if you aren’t smart or talented, remember: It’s easier to learn to APPEAR to be smart than to become smart. (Once you start trying to appear smarter…you will just automatically BECOME smarter.)

www.walmartfacts.com - 11/30/07

I know a few people who won’t shop at Wal- Mart. They base it on all that press about how Wal-Mart is bad for the country and things like that. They say they don’t pay their people, but I talked to a woman I know who works at Wal-Mart and she makes very good money, and bigger bonuses than I ever got at a place of employment.

When the government was trying to get Wal-Mart to pay hospitalization and other benefits to part-time workers, I couldn’t figure that one out. That’s why many companies hire part-time workers: to avoid the benefits. And, as expensive as medical insurance is, I understand.

Of course, Wal-Mart sells a lot of products from China, and people don’t like that; we want to buy American products, right? But there really aren’t very many American-made products anymore. I think our government sold us out to China… not Wal-Mart.

As I walked through Wal-Mart in South Fargo recently, most of the employees appeared to be pretty happy, friendly, and helpful. I saw a mixed race of employees, a couple in wheelchairs, men and women, and every age group seemed to be represented (including physically and mentally challenged). I really don’t know any company that has such a diverse bunch of people as Wal-Mart.

I have seen tons of websites blasting Wal-Mart for their wages, part-time work hiring, and a million other things, but there are people who WANT to work part-time, and many companies pay similar wages to Wal-Mart.

There are organized drives in parts of the country to keep Wal-Mart stores out of their towns and neighborhoods. (They are pretty hard to compete with.)

Wal-Mart has provided financial and volunteer support to more than 100,000 charitable and community- focused organizations. In October they gave a million bucks to the Red Cross to help in the California wildfires. I know Wal-Mart always seems to help out on many local charitable events, and they are active in missing-children programs… I like that kind of stuff.

I understand Wal-Mart intends to contract with local hospitals and other organizations to open as many as 400 in-store health clinics over the next two to three years, and if current market forces continue, up to 2,000 clinics could be in Wal-Mart stores over the next five to seven years. (That $4 prescription thing they have been doing has already saved Americans more than $610 million in its first year – and they are planning to expand it.)

Wal-Mart averages 127 million customers a week, employs over 1.3 million people, and sales for the third quarter of fiscal year 2007 were approximately $90.9 billion dollars (an increase of 8.8%… they must be doing something right). It appears that I am not the only person who likes shopping at Wal-Mart.

Is There a "True" Religion? - 11/23/07

I have always believed in a God, but what religious organization has the corner on the real one? (The Bible says there are many gods, and it does appear to be so.) But there are so many good people in so many various religions, and greedy, phony people, too. How do you tell which one is right? (And most religions do claim to be the right one.) Yet the Bible states (Acts 17:24), “God does not dwell in ‘man-made’ buildings.” I guess that means fancy churches don't have a corner on the God market.

My mom was a Methodist. Dad was a Baptist. When I was a kid I went to a Presbyterian Church, Four Square Gospel Church, and anything else that was in the neighborhood. Then my folks sent me to a private Catholic school. If that isn't enough, I married an Atheist, got a divorce, married a Lutheran, and she became a Jehovah's Witness. (I even became one and went door to door a few times… then I got kicked out for smoking.)

I have always been pretty open to discussion on the subject (although most people can't stand to talk about religion), but if someone came up to me and said they had a religious belief they wanted to tell me about… I'd listen to what they had to say. Then I would go home, look it up in the Bible, and decide for myself. Let me share some of what I have learned.

If you are Baptist, what do you know about Catholics? Most of what you learn is from other Baptists. If you are a Catholic and you hate Jehovah's Witnesses, it is probably because of what other Catholics have told you about them. (Get what I am saying?)

One time I had a buddy, who was Jewish. Another friend of mine wanted to know why I would spend ANY time with a Jew. After, all he said, “They don't even believe in God” – which is wrong; Jews DO believe in God, and the guy who was saying it… was an Atheist himself!

Don't take to be fact what ANY person tells you about a certain religious organization's belief. Go to their elder, priest, pastor, minister, high commander, (whatever) and inquire on your own. THEN go look it up yourself, in whatever Bible you choose.

Here's something to remember! In the New Testament (Mark 9:38), Jesus was walking along, and some of His disciples came to Him, and said: There is some guy down the road casting out demons in your name. We tried to get him to GO WITH US, but he wouldn't. (The man was casting out demons in Jesus' name… doing some good on his own.) Jesus told his disciples to leave the guy alone, and to not stop that person, or you'll be in trouble. In other words: The man casting out demons wasn't doing anything wrong and didn't have to belong to their organization to be religious and do well. You look that one up (any Christian Bible) and see if you get the same message I did. Many people have this definition of a cult: Any religion you don't understand! Amen, Bro!

I Found Dad - 11/16/07

In 1965, when Darlene and I were living in Portland, I met a guy named Kesterson. (We were both on the Portland police reserve.) Since I was adopted and knew my birth name was Kesterson… I just had to talk to him.

After a brief conversation, I found out he was indeed my dad's brother. He didn't know how to get in touch with my dad, but had heard that he owned a commercial salmon fishing boat, and worked somewhere around Coos Bay, Oregon. It didn't take long for Darlene and me to head down to that area to find him.

After asking fishermen around the Coos Bay area about Kesterson, it was determined that he had a CB radio in his boat and home, and this was the only way he could be contacted. After several attempts, I finally made contract with my biological dad (whose name was also Tom). I didn't tell him who I was, but asked him if he would meet me to discuss some business. He was very reluctant, but after some assurance from me that I wasn't a bill collector, cop, or IRS agent, he agreed to meet at noon, by the bank, in downtown Coos Bay. (Sounds like a western movie gunfight meeting.)

Strange, but the more I thought about this meeting, the more nervous I got. This guy could be a nut. Maybe he doesn't want to meet the son he abandoned, and what if he goes “wacko” and tries to kill me? I decided to stick my .38 pistol in my back pocket. (Just in case!)

It was noon. Darlene and I were standing by the bank, and a man walked up to where we were standing (obviously looking around as if he was looking for someone). I asked him if his name was Tom Kesterson. He said yes and wanted to know who I was and what I wanted. I said, “I think you're my dad.” He had a puzzled look on his face and asked my name. I told him it was Tom Blair, but mentioned I was adopted, and my real name had been Kesterson. He asked me when I was born, and I gave him the date. There was a “melted” look on his face, followed by, “Well, I'll be damned.”

He took us to his little house, where we met Anna, his second wife. When we got to their house, Tom Kesterson took a gun out of his pocket and put it away, and commented, “You never know what kind of a NUT you're gonna meet out there in the world.”

We talked at length: He wanted to know all about me, what I was doing, what I had done, and a million other things. (And I wanted information about him too.) That afternoon he took us out in his salmon fishing boat for the afternoon. I gave him my business card, and told him I lived in Portland, and to come up for a visit or call, and we'd get together again.

We both had similar interests and life experiences: playing the guitar, singing, had bands, worked on radio, spent time in the woods as loggers, loved fishing, he had been a dance hall cop and I was a reserve officer. Both of us were on our second marriage, and both of us married girls who had quit high school to work, and we met them in a café. (Both were waitresses and neither had been married before.)

After that long day… we would never see each other again. I thought he didn’t want to see me, but we had moved and he could not find us. I found out he died a few years later.

Evolution vs. God - 11/09/2007

Just because I wrote “one little column” on religion doesn’t mean I am some kind of a religious “nut” pushing my views on you. I just think there is a God.

Some scientists say we came from some kind of “amoeba slime” that slithered out of the water and, over a period of several million years, “evolved” into what we are today. What are the odds of that, and why didn't all the creatures evolve into man? (Some creatures probably look at man and say, “No thank you,” huh?)

When they talk about the “Big Bang” theory, I have to wonder how these complex bodies of ours can function so well by “chance.” Whether you believe in the Bible or not, you will have to agree on one thing (as most scientists do): It was written a few thousand years ago.

The Bible says that man was formed from the dust of the earth. How could anyone look at their body and believe that it is made of dirt? Yet people had faith that we are made of the dust of the earth. Of course, not that many years ago, scientists analyzed the components of our body and "discovered" that WE ARE made out of… dirt. There isn't any ingredient in our bodies that isn't found in the earth's soil.

The Bible says (Ecclesiastes 8:17) that man will always be trying to find the secret of life; sometimes he will say he has it… but he never will. Man can't even duplicate a 1-inch-square piece of skin, let alone any part of the body or “life.”

Man “discovered” electricity? The electric eel had been generating 600 volts for many years before man claimed to discover it. But man did invent jet propulsion, right? The octopus has been using jet propulsion for thousands of years. Then, of course, there is radar, man's invention? God designed the bat, with MUCH more sophisticated sonar than we will ever be able to make.

If you think that all this life came about by “chance,” put a piece of carbon (like in a lead pencil), a piece of wood, a half-ounce of yellow paint, and a piece of eraser on the ground. Put it where there will be tornadoes and explosions hitting that little pile of stuff every day. See how long it will take to make one pencil, then compare the complexity of a human body to a pencil.

Read scripture yourself, and don't try to start at the beginning and read the whole thing at once, do what the Bible says, hop around (go to and fro), look at whatever interests you. By the way, those pictures of Jesus with long hair that our kids always

Guns & Huntin' - 11/02/2007

Idon’t hunt much any more -- too many Rambos out there who like to shoot anything that moves. People need to be more careful; it only takes one second to ruin the day… and maybe some lives. I am not saying to lock up all the guns either!

Those who say we should have gun control for “safety” reasons? Remember this: “They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” Benjamin Franklin said that!

I have seen my share of blood from firearm misuse, starting when I was a young boy hunting with my dad. We were on one side of the hedgerow (everyone with shotguns), with the other hunters on the opposite side; the quail jump up and the shooting begins. Since I was little, most of the shot went over my head. My dad had several pellets hit his face and neck, one pellet lodged right between his eyes, and I got one in my thumb. I thought it was funny, but the doctors never removed any of the lead. I still have one in my thumb, and my dad carried several pellets under the skin of his face and neck for the rest of his life.

Years ago my uncle R.C. and I were doing “quick draw” shooting, and his revolver discharged into his leg when he holstered it. Another time, I was the first officer at a scene where a young man accidentally blew his brains out with a .357 revolver. He was playing with it while showing off in front of a couple friends. And when the term “blow out brains” is used, it really happens; we found brains on the barbecue grill, in the trees, and on a car parked nearby.

Once, while on the road with my band, my keyboard player placed several rounds through the motel wall, shattering a mirror on a dresser. His mother had been sitting at that dresser minutes earlier. It was my handgun, and he came into my room, picked it up, and I yelled, “It's loaded,” but he had already pulled the slide back to check it. When he let the slide go, the hammer fell, and it rapped off several rounds in a heartbeat. (Faulty gun.)

I was standing by a girl who was shooting a handgun; she wanted no part of shooting, but her boyfriend insisted she try it. Just as she pulled the trigger, she pulled the gun down and shot herself in the leg. Funny thing: when you get shot, most of the time you don't feel it right away. As a matter of fact, sometimes you see the blood flowing before you realize you are hit. The real pain comes at the hospital, when they have to clean out the wound… that's pain. Needless to say, I am very fussy about who I shoot with these days!

I have been around guns all my life and I know them well, but there’s probably still a hole in the police station wall in Kenyon, Minn., from me showing some of my reserve officers about gun safety. (I just can’t get into telling you how stupid that was.) But the point I am getting at is this: No matter how much of a self-claimed expertyou are on guns… Be
careful out there, huh?

Buying a handgun? - 10/12/2007

Buying a handgun for self-protection is a major decision and you need to think it over very carefully before you make that purchase. The actual purchase should be done only AFTER you consider some things: 1. Do you know how to use a handgun? 2. What caliber to purchase? 3. Should you buy a semi-automatic or a revolver? 4. What safety features are available? 5. Do you have children in the house? 6. What are the laws on owning, transporting, and purchasing? 7. What kind of ammo is best? 8. What are the laws on use of a firearm for selfdefense? 9. Could you take a life if it was necessary? 10. What are the enormous responsibilities that go with the ownership and use of a handgun? (This list could go on and on.)

If you know very little about handguns… don’t get one (yet). First, find a certified instructor who can train you in on all of the above… THEN make the decision of whether owning a handgun is right for you. After your training, a good instructor will answer all of your questions, and most will be able to ascertain if you are “right” for owning a handgun. Yes, it’s your right to own a firearm, but there are some people that should not have one: convicted felons, people with hot tempers, drug and alcohol abusers, irresponsible, over-aggressive people, and law-breakers in general. (Now remember, we are not talking about carrying a concealed weapon; we’re just talking about owning a handgun…if you don’t have one.)

Law-abiding citizens use guns to defend themselves against criminals as many as 2.5 million times every year -- or about 6,850 times a day. This means that, each year, firearms are used more than 80 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than to take lives. Handguns are the weapon of choice for self-defense. Citizens use handguns to protect themselves over 1.9 million times a year. According to www.gunowners.org, as many as 200,000 women use a gun every year to defend themselves against sexual abuse.

To sum it up… a handgun may save your life, but it can also cost your life; you must know when and how to use a firearm and know the responsibility that a gun requires. A good instructor is a good start.

Paul Horvick (you may remember I interviewed him on KFGO) is a full-time, certified instructor from Detroit Lakes and does classes all over this area. Here is his website and contact information: Paul Horvick, Chief NRA Instructor, http://shootingsafely. com, 218-234-6001.

You may also find this information on my web site (www.tomroadblair.com) on the "Favorite Links" page.

P.S. My best suggestion for safety, versatility, dependability, and knock-down power? Smith & Wesson 38 (2" or 3") special, stainless revolver...loaded with Plus P Gold Dot ammo)

Hire the handicapped? - 10/12/2007

When I was Chief of Police in Kenyon, Minnesota, there was a federal program which allowed me to hire someone "unemployable" for minor jobs and extra help. In a small police department, there are always little things that take time away from patrol and investigations, and the jobs are aggravating: Dog catching, dead animals on the streets, washing the squad car, cleaning, and organizing files are just some of the things that a part-timer could help with.

I had an Assistant Chief, a part-time patrolman, and a reserve force, but no one to do those "dirty little jobs" that had to be done. One afternoon, someone from Social Services brought in a young "handicapped" man named Marv to help work in the police department. Wait a minute… this guy didn't have ANY fingers on either hand; "What could he do?" I thought to myself as he sat in the chair in front of my desk. Well, I had him; I guess I better think of something for him to do. I have never had to deal with a handicapped person before. Do I talk about his problem? Do I ask how it happened? Well, I decided to just use the "honest approach" (believe me, this turned out to be the way to do it). I said, "What happened to your fingers?" He told me that, when he was little, his family got caught in a freezing snowstorm, and his dad left the car to get to a farm home and was carrying Marv. By the time they reached the farmhouse, Marv's hands were frozen beyond repair.

I told him I didn't know what he was capable of doing, but rather than ask him if he could do certain things every time I assigned a task … I would just assume he could do it till I found out different. I didn't even know if he could unzip his pants without help; after all, all he had was a thumb on each hand. It was at that point that he reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out a pack of cigarettes, whipped off the cellophane, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it up with a Zippo lighter.

I gave him tasks as if he were "normal." Well, he was more than normal; there was NOTHING he couldn't do, INCLUDING qualify with a pistol. He held the revolver handle between his left thumb and part of that hand, and pulled the trigger with the thumb of his opposite hand. He would shoot till his hand was bleeding to get good enough to qualify. And he did. I never viewed him as handicapped again; he was a person, just like anybody else. (I don't have to tell you the lesson here.)

To Sell or Not to Sell? - 10/05/2007 

My wife has called me a “packrat” for nearly all of the 40-some years we have been married, and now I discover… SHE a has dark side. Yes, as we were packing up for our BIG retirement auction, I discovered SHE is the packrat!

Somewhere in the inventory of “What to keep,” she has a box of matchbooks from everywhere we’ve been, dishes I have never seen, flattened balloons from every occasion, our old love letters, purses of every description, every card that’s been mailed to us, and enough shoes to outfit the entire Zulu tribe.

Maybe it’s not harmful, but if those old love letters of mine end up in one of the sale boxes, I’ll never be able to face the world again. Did I really say some of that stuff? I can’t imagine her leaving those to our kids to read after we’re gone.

At least us men hang on to important valuable things, like tools, guns, radios, fishing poles, and toys (things that can be of use during Armageddon). Hard to believe how much we accumulate over the years…I mean, if you don’t sell it or give it away, it just keeps getting packed away, you know—stuffed in every crack of the house.

People ask, “Why are you getting rid of everything?” Well, it’s either sell it now, or the kids are going to be stuck with it, and you know they would rather be stuck with some old money that old toys. “Then whad-a-ya-gonna do?” they ask. It’s time to rock and roll… it’s time to scale down: No more mowing, house maintenance, yard work, vehicle and equipment repair…. Join the health club, visit the casinos of the world, travel, play in the South during winter, and just LIVE!

Retirement doesn’t always mean sitting around eating oatmeal and reading the paper. It can be a new beginning; at least that’s what we feel like. We have a cheap trailer in Arizona, we’re gonna buy a cheap trailer in Fargo, and when we get back from Arizona, we’ll buy a cheap trailer at the lakes. Three places to live, and all three put together will be cheaper than owning property in one place in Minnesota.

We’ll still be around (in the summer). I’ll still fill in on KFGO when they call. I’ll continue writing for The Extra. If they keep moving me further back in the publication… I’ll be in Emily’s Outhouse and we’ll write together.

So for us… it’s a new beginning. Life is good and I hope to see you at the big auction… we’ll have some
fun on the 13th. Thanks,

Tom & Darlene

Our Original Founding Fathers

A few years ago, my wife and I were motorcycling around the country, and we saw many towns, roads, businesses, and recreational areas with Indian names. (But we didn't see any Indians.) As I looked around the beautiful Black Hills area, the Colorado Mountains, and beautiful areas of Montana and Wyoming, I couldn't help but wonder, “What was it like being an Indian, years before the ‘white man’ came?” Plenty of wild game, hunting, and fishing in beautiful bountiful areas, no enemies, unless you infringed upon another tribe's territory. Just raise your kids and work hard to survive a long winter.

I will not go in to the who did what to whom first when the white man came along, but two things you MUST do before you live out your life: See the PBS series called “How the West was Lost” or “I Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee,” and read a book called “Chief Joseph.” Chief Joseph was one tremendous person, well respected and famous. Although never known for any battles or massacres. Chief Joseph and his tribe were able to outrun hundreds of Cavalrymen across Utah and Montana for weeks on end. The Nez Perce tribe consisted of women, children, dogs, the elderly people, a few horses, and their personal belongings. They were a peaceful people, but the death of a soldier (who had raped one of their women) at the hands of one of Chief Joseph's braves later led to the death of many of his people. (That incident also started one of the most famous pursuits in history.)

When I was a young boy, the kids in the neighborhood played cowboys and Indians; most of our generation did. I never grew up with or around Indians and really knew nothing about them (except that they would ride straight at the cowboys, cavalry, and settlers and get shot all to hell… and lose). When I became a Deputy Sheriff in Pine County Minnesota, I knew very little about the Native Americans. Some of the residents informed me that Pine County had “Indian problems.” “What kind of Indian problems?” I asked. “They go to the bars get drunk and fight.” (Of course the white man doesn't do that.) That was pretty much my law enforcement sensitivity training on Indians before I came to that area.

I certainly did my share of going to bar fights involving Indians in Sandstone, Minnesota. I can remember Deputies Leroy and Tork and I being knee deep in Native Americans, fighting, cussing, and cuffing. No one got hurt much. But one week, an Indian was alleged to have raped and assaulted a couple of well-respected elderly ladies in the community (one of which was a well-liked retired schoolteacher). Then a young kid was shot in the neck by an Indian. Things around Pine County got pretty tense. The truth of the matter was that we didn't have an “Indian problem”; we had one family of hell-raising people getting involved in a considerable amount of crime, and this particular group happened to be Indians.

Not that I am free of prejudice in my life, nor do I believe that anyone is totally free. But what you teach your children WILL carry on. A couple of years ago, as my wife and I stood on the very battlefield of Custer's Last Stand, I couldn't help but ponder the thought, “Wasn't it also the Indians’ last stand”?

Tom “RoadRunner” Blair Road742@aol.com www.tomroadblair.com

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