| I went to test finally. I had gotten my lerner's permit the day after I turned sixteen and was rarin' to go but Dad had some bad news. One of his customers was a registry cop and in passing dad had learned that it was best for a new licensee to wait at east a month or two before testing unless you had a previous license from another state. The cop told him the testers generally were over rigorious to young people that showed up the day after they got their permits. So we waited a couple of months. I still was Dad's chauffeur but now it included daylight hours so I generally drove him everywhere. The first time after I got my permit I drove Dad to the Harbor to the hardware/lumberyard to pick up some trim for a project. I don't think the ink had dried on my permit when I did that. A couple months later it was off to the testing place a couple of towns over. IIRC it was a first come, first served situation and we had to wait a while. Much to my consternation Dad jumped into the back seat and started to take a nap. What was that all about? A girl was walking out with the tester to their car. She was a giggly girl that looked as nervous as a whore in church. The two of them got into the car and left. They were gone about ahalf hour and she got out of the car excited. She had passed. Generally speaking, parents were not allowed to ride along. Probably because if a kid failed some of the parents would raise hell. The tester came over to me and when he saw dad sleeping in the back seat he said, "Oh, hell. Let him sleep." We got in and off we went. He gave directions and I drove. Shortly thereafter he started giving me a lecture about safe driving and yada yada yada. Every kid has heard the same thing hundreds of time and it's annoying as hell. What really made it suck was I was captive. I HAD to listen to it. When he got to the drinking and driving part a sleepy voice from the back seat said, "He quit doing that two years ago." The tester went into schock and indignantly and pompously snapped "In the Commonwealth of Massachusetts you have to be sixteen years of age to operate a motor vehicle and twenty one years of age to buy liquor!" I calmly answered "In Montana you can get a driver's license at fourteen and drive at any age so long as a licensed driver is sitting next to you. It's rural there so Montana permits it." "What were you doing in Montana?" he asked. "I have an uncle that raises horses and I spend time with him," I replied. I did have an uncle that raised horses but he lived in Michigan. I never said my uncle lived in Montana. I just let him add 1+1 and get 3. "He said drinking and driving?" said the tester. "Oh, that. They don't have an open container law there. One time the licensed driver handed me an almost empty beer and told me to finish it because he wanted to watch me embark on a life of crime. I did. Later in a discussion Dad told me that if I never did it again I could tell people I quit drinking and driving when I was fourteen. I think it would be pretty cool to be able to tell people that when I'm forty so I never did it again and I won't. It's too good of a story." He shook his head. "Well it's illegal here." I bit my tongue. What I wanted to say was 'So is cutting the little tags off of a pillow' but why pick a fight? I relaxed a bit and figured the lecture was over. It wasn't. He continued telling me about the importance of following all the traffic signs. A sleepy voice was heard from the back seat. Dad went in for a headshot. "That boy has been trained very well and be more than careful to obey the rules and regulations because I pointed out that most felony arrests are initialted with a simple traffic stop." He didn't know what to say for a few seconds and then turned to me and simply said, "Listen to your father. He's right. Take us back to the office." I made a turn and started back. Dad was now seated upright. I spoke to the tester. "There's one thing. This car has an automatic transmission. The other car at home has a manual and I usually drive that one with Dad. I don't want to get a restricted license," I said. He asked why we had not taken the Falcon. dad responded. "Because his kid brother left a striper on the back seat floor and the car stayed sealed up all weekend," Dad said. "I'll drive it back and forth with the windows open for a few days and then we can retest if we have to." Actually my brother had left a striper on the floor whe he was bringing his fishing tackle back inside the house but had pickked it up a few minutes later. The car went unused all weekend. "It won't be necessary," he said. He turned to my father. "I'll take you at your word." I'm sure he had visions of being stuck in a car that smelled of rotting fish and that by just not checking a box he would dodge a bullet. The real reason we didn't take the Falcon was that it was a rat. A crap can, a clunker, a shitbox, a real puss bucket. The only thing on it that was reliable was the cigarette lighter. It has a manual choke and a prescribed litany to get it started. The shifter was sticky, so was the clutch and it rattled. It should have been sent to the boneyard long beforehand. It served only two legitimate purposes. It took Dad back and forth to work and it was perfect for teaching me to drive on. That was it. As we drove back to the office he was filling out my paperwork. dad and the tester found a connection. The tester had served as an airplane mechanic and dad had been a bombardier during the war. They chatted as I drove. When we got back the tester handed me my paperwork. The dreaded 'Automatic transmission only' box was unchecked. I was good to go. Ten years later. I had gotten out of the Army and was home. Dad and I were having a beer and out of nowhere he asked me about drinking and driving. I said I had quit when I was fourteen. "Really?" "Yeah, really," I said. "It's too good of a tale to ruin it over a lousy beer." He laughed like hell. "Remember the fliver?" I asked. More laughter. He almost snarfed. "There were a couple of times I could have gotten rid of that and replaced it for free but I decided to keep it," he said. "It was such a shitbox that it was the perfect car to teach you to drive on. I figured if you could drive it then you would be able to drive anything. Besides..." "Besides what?" "Besides I never saw anyone have so much just plain fun as you when you were driving the damned thing! It showed on your face. I don't think I ever saw anyone as happy as you behind the wheel of that of crapcan. " Five year later he was gone. He left us too soon. |
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Further proof Muslims don't assimilate.
Recently I saw a couple of Muslims saying that MacDonald's should be shut down because it doesn't sell halal meat.
That in itself tells me they would not assimilate very well. They want the rest of us to change to suit them.
WRONG! Ain't happening. Go away.
If they really understood how things work they would have said. "JOB OPPORTUNITY!" and looked into opening a halal restaurant or maybe a Halal burger joint.
One thing about non Muslims, most don't care if they eat halal meat or not. They would probably find non Muslim customers on top of Muslims and it's likely they would do pretty well, depending on the location of their business.
--------------------------------------------
A while ago a Swiss butcher got popped for selling pork that was marked as halal veal to Muslims. He'd sold over 3.1 tons over a 3 year period in Zurich. None of his customers were the wiser.
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
An open letter to Chris DeLuzio.
Who is my congresscritter. I'm calling this one the way I see it.
Apparently he's a USNA graduate that pulled a five and dive. He graduated, served his time in the Navy and once his minimum payback requirement of five years was up he left the Navy where he had kept his nose clean and was promoted pretty much on schedule. He then went to law school focusing on voting rights, election security and technology. That sounds to me like a pretty good education for someone that wants secure elections. It also sounds like a good education for someone that wants to steal elections. Hmmm.
The USNA was established as a school for career officers however DeLuzio decided to bag it when his obligatory time was up. In effect this means he took up a slot that probably should have gone to someone planning on making the Navy/Marine Corps a career.I'm sure many of his classmates still serve the Navy/Marines proudly as senior officers. Whatever.
One of the things they study at Annapolis is the 1954 classic movie The Caine Mutiny, based on the novel by Herman Wouk. Captain Queeg is played by Humphrey Bogart. It's a study into duty, morality and leadership. Most of the movie is about the things leading up to the mutiny and the ensuing courts-martial.
Queeg came aboard the Caine as a worn out, tired, nervous by the book officer that was assigned to captain the Caine and the officers start trying to undermine him pretty much at every turn. Queeg came to the officers asking for help and they turn their backs on him. Rather than try and help Queeg be successful they undermine him at every turn. The officers took the cowardly route. They laughed at him behind his back and ignored many of his orders. They felt he was not good enough to be their captain.
We have a duly elected president that won 77.4 million votes but it seems he's not good enough to DeLuzio's president. Who asked him if he was good enough? 77.4 million voters thought he was when they elected him and immediately he and others decided that what may be good enough for 77.4 million Americans isn't good enough for you and your party. So you act like one of the officers on the Caine, Tom Keefer.
When you went to Washington you instantly forgot about who put you into office and immediately started to march in lockstep with whatever the party wanted you to do.
You have been an embarrassment to Pennsylvania. At presidential speeches Pennsylvanians stand for young men fighting brain cancer. We stand for the parents of a murdered daughter. We stand for a young person selected for the USMA at West Point that is following his father's footsteps. We stand to put citizens over illegal immigrants. Instead you chose to sit on your sorry ass. I am embarrassed to have such a party ass kisser person as my congressman.
I may disagree with the way John Fetterman votes sometimes but I'm proud to have a man like him as my senator because he puts the country first. Unlike the officers of the Caine (and the rest of the congress Democrats) he wants the current president to be successful because he wants the country to be successful. He has integrity. Fetterman want's the current president to be successful because he wants the country successful.
The pimplebrain seditious stunt you any your buddy-pals pulled as an effort to demoralize our servicemen should have had you jailed. When I served we attended classes on the UCMJ once or twice annually and current servicemen have told me that the services still do. As a junior officer you probably gave UCMJ classes.
Personally I think the six of you were testing the waters to see if you could pull off a mutiny or even a coup to have the president removed but that's just my opinion. Prove me wrong, Mister Keefer.
The grand jury gave you a no bill because you feigned innocence. Much like the charge of malicious compliance it's a pretty hard to prove. You squirmed out of those charges rather nicely. I expected no less. Just like Lieutenant Tom Keefer out of the movie.
I see where you want us to pack up, come home and leave the Iranian situation unfinished. Truth is the war has been in the making for 47 years, long before you were born. Seven presidents have kicked that can further down the road and the current president decided to pick it up and deal with it once and for all based on the ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure rule. Letting Iran get nuclear weapons and a delivery system means an almost instant attack on Israel and probably the United States. If we leave now we will eventually have to return to finish the job and that means more casualties and expense.
So far casualties have been exceptionally light. As of this writing we have lost 15 servicepeople. To put it in perspective, during the length of the war Chicago has suffered 99 murders. President Trump and Secretary Hegseth are doing an incredible job of taking care of something that should have been dealt with decades ago.
Yet I have the feeling that you would rather have our services lose two aircraft carriers and three divisions of out troops just to be able to embarrass a sitting president. In fact I have the feeling you have turned your back on your alma mater and your former classmates, some of which are currently serving. You have just bitten the hand that gave you a start in your career. I see how you are.
You belong to a political party that has a simple one plank platform, hate Trump.
You ought to take a lesson from John Fetterman.
I can't speak for him but it would probably be a safe bet that he voted for Kamala Harris and realized that his girl lost and accepted it. He realized he was representing a state that voted for Trump, accepted it and just decided to carry on and do what he could for the Commonwealth and the Country. He appears to have rejected the Democratic party's one plank platform and is voting for the betterment of all as he sees it.
I may disagree with many of Fetterman's ideas but I respect him.
I am one man. Still, I see what you did. You're just like one of the officers that stuck it to Captain Queeg.
Needless to say, Trump isn't a Queeg. He's a competent president.
Treat him like one. Stop trying to make him fail. By doing so you're trying to make the country fail. Listen to John Fetterman and start trying to make the country better instead of dragging it down.
To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this:
http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY
Sunday, May 10, 2026
One of the things I said that got me booted from Nextdoor.
was to some leftist that was defending inner city shoplifters. He was pointing out that cosmetics were expensive and that the women needed them to attract men.
My reply was
NEEDED? No they don't need cosmetics to attract men. Just wait until the fleet is in and go to the club about 45 minutes before closing time and they can get all the men they want. Just bring a paper bag with you.
That one stirred up a pretty good $hitstorm. The female screeching was epic.
Learning experiences
The price of rolling stock has gone through the roof and pickups are insanely expensive now. Maybe it's fallout fromt Obama's cash for clunkers. Who knows?
My current ride I was trying to get a full 20 years out of but it needs some pretty expensive work done to it. I was curious if it was time to repair or replace. I started looking around in the used department because the last thing I want is a brand new vehicle. If you have read this for any amount of time you will know that I like my machinery simple.
My pickup is a 2009 and I have found two low mileage clones about the same age as mine and they want $2000 less than I paid for mine in 2009!
I'm just going to patch the current ride up and keep it for a while longer. My original goal was for it to last for 20 years and we shall see what we shall see.
Saturday, May 9, 2026
OMG! This goes back to 2009!
I bought a Y2K (2000) pickup brand new. $11K pretty much out the door.
By 2009 it had rusted out and Toyota more than honored their word regarding rust issues. They bought it back for IIRC a little over $7500. I was amazed.
Kudos to the woman that was responsible for handing me the check! She chose NOT to hand it to me at the dealership. She called me and asked me if I wanted to pick up the check at a nearby fast food joint to keep the wolves at bay.
When we were sitting down doing the paperwork she mentioned that she did this to keep the vultures (salesman) from trying to prey on people with a check in their hand.
I asked her if she would have been uncomfortable if I had put a .45 automatic on the table at the dealership to keep the vultures away.
She burst into laughter and told me "Not at all! I would have loved to see those salesmen take a look at a handgun on the table and run off!"
Every now and then you meet the right woman.
Thursday, May 7, 2026
Gas grilles are a joke.
They rust out unless you keep them inside and if you do it takes up precious garage space.
I bought one years ago and it only lasted a few seasons before it rusted out. Fire and steel cause oxydation. Of course I disposed of it when it wore out.
About a week or two after the grill got hauled off by the scrap guy I was driving through a neighborhood and saw a gas grille in a front yard with a sign that said, "Free. Still works" on it.
I snagged it and took it home and it lasted me three years.
When it died it was in mid spring and lo and behold I found another one that worked that the owner was trying to get rid of.
This became my cycle. When early to mid spring came around I simply kept my eyes open and managed to keep myself in decent working grilles ever since.
There's a new one in the grille spot and the old one is on the curb awaiting one of the friendly local neighborhood scrappers to cart it off.
Why bother buying new when used is so cheap.
I remember several years ago in a Starbucks after a Pacific earthquake.
Some idiot said aloud that the French had sent a team of thirty doctors to the Pacific and that Bush sent three aircraft carriers and asked what good that would do. "What are they going to do? Blow them up?"
I shot back, "Thirty sad worn out gynocologists from the whorehouses of Paris. Big deal. School time. Each of those aircraft carriers carris about 5500 men and every single one of them has been trained in first aid, damage control, rescue operations, riot control. and a lot of other things otherwise they would not have even graduated from boot camp. The carriers themselves are nuclear which means they can stay on station indefinitely. They create enough excess power to be able to light a small city that can be piped ashore. They have aircraft that can be used for resupply and moving patients. They have a comprehensive hospital on board with a number of MDs and many trained corpsmen. We have eleven of these ships. Your beloved France has none. President Bush wanted to send some of the best we have to help out so he gave the job to the United States Navy."
You could have heard a pin drop and a woman pushing fifty approached me. "Thank you," she said. "I thought my son was a disappointment because he didn't want to go to college and joined the Navy. You have made me proud of him."
Sometimes you just have to speak out.
Wednesday, May 6, 2026
I see where a Walgreens in Chicago is closing and an Alderman wants to blame corporate.
I read the alderman wants Walgreen's charged with 'corporate abandonment'. That's a new one.
Actually Walgreens should counter charge Chigago with neighborhood abandonment. The store doesn't have the support of the neighborhood it is in. If it did have support it wouldn't be shoplifted, robbed, and vandalized to death. Walgreens is looking out for employee safety and a profit.
It's really that simple. If a store can't make money it folds up.
Of course the alderman was playing his constituents like a virtuoso and telling them how it wasn't fair.
Fact is the alderman should be visiting his district and telling them why Walgreens was leaving and make an effort to organize the locals to run the forces of evil out of their neighborhood.
All it would take (and this requires some doing) is get a couple neighborhoods to clean themselves up and turn itself into a decent place to live and it would probably become contageous.
It would certainly beat the current hopeeless way some of those neighborhoods live.
Tuesday, May 5, 2026
I was doing some digging and found out that
a PA candidate for the US Senate dropped out amid accusations of domestic violence froom his estranged wife.
I don't know if he was guilty of that or not but I wouldn't be surprised to find out that he looked her up and REALLY beat the $hit out of her after he was forced to withdraw!
He probably used a cattle prod because it doesn't leave a mark.
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