Drug problem

While the president is golfing, his wife and kids are off
on another vactation, and our Attorney General had a
“private” meeting with a former president, the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration released their 2016 National
Heroin Threat Assessment Summary.

This report outlines an expanding public health crisis
that doesn’t seem to bother anyone in Washington, D.C.,
and we think it should. Some of the numbers are thought
provoking to say the least. We’ll list a few.

The number of herion users has almost tripled between 2007
and 2014.

Deaths due to synthetic opoids, like fentanyl and other
simular drugs, increased 79% between 2013 and 2014.

Deaths involving heroin more than tripled between 2010 and
2014. In 2014 there were 10,574 deaths involving herion.

to quote the summary “The number of users, treatment
admissions, overdose deaths, and seizures from trafficers
all increased over those reported in last year’s summary.”

Of little comfort is the fact that heroin seizures are up
80% since 2011.

If you can open a PDF file the summary can be found online
here.

The DEA states many users of controlled prescription drugs
become addicted after a prescription for legitimate medical
purposes. Add to that the fact today herion is higher in
purity, easier to get than illegally obtained controlled drugs,
and less expensive.

We know the president is busy defending Muslims, when not
on the golf course, but we think information like this
should be available and solutions discussed. We didn’t
hear any outraged media,or politicians orating on the
subject. They must not have gotten the memo.
Comments are always welcome.

Never boring around here

Yesterday afternoon I was piddling on the side of the
house and went to the garage to get a pruner when I spied
a policeman in the alley looking through the neighbor’s
bushes. When he noticed me he said “good afternoon sir”.

So I wished him a good afternoon and retrieved my pruner
from the garage. After locking the garage door I turned
around and almost bumped into another policeman coming
around the side of our garage and he said “good afternoon
sir”! Back in the day it was more put your hands on the
wall and spread em.

Then I find out that here on east coast of Iowa we have a
weed that is attacking people. Well not attacking really,
but causing burns and blisters bad enough that some who
came into contact with the weed had to go to the doctor.

The guilty plant is the wild parsnip which looks similar
to the wild mustard plant and the reason it’s so nasty this
year has something to do with rain.

If you see said criminal plant and don’t want to end up
with burns, blisters, and possibly scars caused by the oil
in the plant, leave it alone. If you must remove it please
remember to gear up with gloves, long sleeves, and big boy
pants. If you wear you big boy pants at half-mast you may
get burns in areas that make it hard to sit down. You can
learn a little more about this here.

Used to be poison ivy and poison oak were peoples big
worry around here and for some odd reason I don’t seem to
be bothered by poison ivy. So if you live around here be
thankful only one plant has decided to attack, and if you
live elsewhere enjoy the day.
Comments are always welcome.

The old photograph

When we had lunch with my cousin this past weekend she
gave me some old photographs that she had. After the meal
we drove her over to another cousins house so she could
visit them and when we got home I ran the pictures through
our copier and made digital copies.

The picture of Mom is one I hadn’t seen before as all my
earliest memories of her are older than she is in the
photo. So when I went over to Dad’s Tuesday I showed him
the other pictures first then told him I had an older
one of Mom.

She has been gone six years now but I wasn’t sure how he
react. I was pleased when he looked at the old photograph
and his face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. He
claimed he had never seen the picture before either and
kept staring at her likeness.

So even though I believed I had a keepsake to cherish up
to that moment I decided to ask him if he wanted it. And
he replied that he would like to have it. After all, I
was the proud owner of said picture for four days, and
although I’d known her all my life he knew her longer.

Enjoy the picture Dad, I know I did while it was mine.
Hope you have a great day today, I know I’m grinning.
Comments are always welcome.

Fighting side

The rumor mills have been working overtime and some of the
things being said are a stretch, even for my imagination.
The latest we heard was Black Lives Matter is going to
cause mass chaos so Obama can declare Martial Law and
remain in office.

And the gun issue isn’t immune either. We’ve heard just
about everything from what some believe is the real reason
behind the armored U.N. vehicles on our soil, to there
being a conspiracy to ram gun control down our throats.

But I know in my heart that there are enough patriots that
won’t allow gun confiscation on our watch. It would seem
our government has turned into some kind of monster that
doesn’t believe it has to answer to anyone.

One can only guess what these legends in their own minds
are thinking and some of us don’t want to. When Democrats
held a sit-in while still in session, claim it is their
“job” to do so, and get away with it our country is in
decline.

Too many citizens are buying the bull they’re shipping and
before long the fecal matter is going to hit the rotating
cooling device. When that happens one can only assume that
somehow it will be our fault for not believing in global
warming.

We patriots need to stand up and let them know that we
have had enough of this nonsense, the media, and
politicians. Lower their wages, take away their perks, make
them enroll in Obamacare, and let them pay into Social
Security.

Obama promised change, we got it, and I don’t like it. We
want our country back, and God Bless America.
Comments are always welcome.

Weekend thoughts

The sun has set, the temperature has dropped, and it’s
about time to lay the body horizontal to prepare for the
new week. It was another great weekend here on the east
coast of Iowa and we actually checked everything off the
to-do list for a change.

We took a cruise out of town, walked along the river, and
met with my cousin I hadn’t seen for over 40 years. we
dined out more this weekend than we usually do in a month
and I grilled sirloin steaks for supper tonight. What’s not
to like?

And I even found out that I had most of the characteristics
our Attorney General claims makes me a domestic radical.
Lord love a duck. When it gets to the point we have thought
police listening to our every word while claiming some
words or beliefs make us dangerous, we need a change.

So I’ll make it clear, I don’t believe in global warming,
I do believe Islamic terrorism is alive and well in our
country, and I love God, my family, my country, and my
guns. I also think political correctness should be
abolished, and Black Lives Matter should be considered a
hate group. If things get destroyed, or set on fire,
during a “protest” it is a riot.

I also do not like our government in its current form. We
have too big of a government, it taxes us too much and puts
special interests above the citizens. There should be no
long list of perks for being a member of Congress and that
does include any retirement package.

What is wrong with lowering the amount of spending by our
government instead of continually raising taxes? There
should not be a deficit and all government entities should
be required to have balanced budgets.

If thoughts like that make me a threat, then they’re doing
something wrong.
Comments are always welcome.

Sunday snicker

Three men, a philosopher, a mathematician and an idiot, were out riding in the car when it crashed into a tree. Before anyone knows it, the three men found themselves standing before the pearly gates of Heaven, where St. Peter and the Devil were standing nearby.

“Gentlemen,” the Devil started, “Due to the fact that Heaven is now overcrowded, St. Peter has agreed to limit the number of people entering Heaven. If anyone of you can ask me a question which I don’t know or cannot answer, then you’re worthy enough to go to Heaven; if not, then you’ll come with me to Hell.”

The philosopher then stepped up, “OK, give me the most comprehensive report on Socrates’ teachings.”
With a snap of his finger, a stack of paper appeared next to the Devil. The philosopher read it and concluded it was correct. “Then, go to Hell!” With another snap of his finger, the philosopher disappeared.

The mathematician then asked,”Give me the most complicated formula ever theorized!” With a snap of his finger, another stack of paper appeared next to the Devil. The mathematician read it and reluctantly agreed it was correct. “Then, go to Hell!” With another snap of his finger, the mathematician disappeared too.

The idiot then stepped forward and said, “Bring me a chair!” The Devil brought forward a chair.

“Drill 7 holes on the seat.” The Devil did just that. The idiot then sat on the chair and let out a very loud fart.
Standing up, he asked, “Which hole did my fart come out from?”

The Devil inspected the seat and said,”The third hole from the right.”

“Wrong,” said the idiot, “it’s from my butt hole.” And the idiot went to heaven.

Time off

If anyone tried to call, email, or message me yesterday
they may have thought I was avoiding them, or mad. This is
not the case. I was kidnapped! The lady who has been
following me around for almost 30 years did it. She gets
these crazy ideas that every 5 years or so we need a break.

So we cruised up to the Port of Dubuque, enjoyed some fine
dining, walked on the elevated River Walk overlooking the
mighty Mississippi River, and watched the sun sink below
the horizon from the top of a hill. I only brought my
little pocket camera and took a few photos.

The wife has this rule in her car about taking pictures
while driving and I guess that makes sense when there is a
lot of traffic. If I like any of the few pictures I took,
I will share them.

We did have an interesting moment when the wife discovered
the ceiling was leaking over the very table we had placed
our laptops on. The weird thing is we were on the first
floor of a three story motel! The manager came, looked at
the leak, and promptly has us move to another room.

One would think that would be the end of our problems
right? Almost. We turned the air conditioner on in our new
room and when it started to get a little too chilly decided
to turn down the cold. Wrong. All the knobs to adjust said
air flow were missing!

My laptop dried out and appeared to work, we got used to
our frigid room, and turned in for the night. Imagine our
surprise when we woke up looking like Mama and Papa Smurf.
On top of a blue tinge my hair had ballooned out so that my
head looked as big as a basketball.

We left to cruise home around 6 am after a quick pit stop
for a quart infusion of hot coffee, and the traffic wasn’t
bad. So we’re home again, my laptop appears to be unharmed,
we did get the phone messages, and after another short
engagement today will get around to sorting them out.

Later today we’ll post a Sunday Snicker that some may
offensive and others inappropriate. Yes, back to business
as usual. Enjoy your Saturday, we won’t see another for a
week.
Comments are always welcome.

Something to do

The weekend is upon us and it should be an enjoyable,
but busy weekend for us. There are times when you have no
plans one minute and several options the next. Chances of
rain should make it interesting too, although we’ve always
believed that if there is a chance it will rain there is
also a chance it will not rain.

With that in mind, it is Friday so we’ll list some events
that are going on in and around the east coast of Iowa.

The 9th Annual Heartland Nova Reunion is being held today
and tomorrow in Bettendorf. We have heard the location is
changed from the Isle of Capri parking lot to the
Bettendorf Waterfront Convention Center parking lot due to
construction. It is located at 2012 State Street in
Bettendorf.

Saturday and Sunday, June 25, 26, is the Quad City Air
Show and the gates open at 8 am. This is the 30 annual show
and is still held at the Davenport Airpost. For more info,
go here.

Saturday, June 25 is the 21st Annual Colona Freedom
Celebration Car Show held on the Hennepin Canal Parkway in
Colona, Illinois.

Sunday, June 26 is the Galesburg Railroad Days Showcase
of Cars held in downtown Galesburg, Illinois. This show
runs from 7:30 to 3 pm and is free.

I was going to list some events that didn’t involve cars
and/or speed but didn’t know where to look. Perhaps in the
future I may care enough to look into that. Until then,
keep the shiny side up and enjoy the weekend.
Comments are always welcome.

How not to do it

Once again I made the mistake of watching a little bit of
TV news. Usually that is frowned on by the wife because she
feels the need to tell me the TV can’t hear me arguing with
the talking heads.

For a moment I almost thought we were back in 1969 when
talk of a sit-in by House Democrats was talked about. Here
were the Democrat legislaters of our fine country sitting
on the House floor having a tantrum while others were
trying to finish the session.

Yes, they are making $174,000 a year and the best minds
that money can buy come up with a sit-in. Some of us know
common sense had left the building a long time ago, and it
now looks like the art of debate has died as well.

Either they have no facts to back them up, no compassionate
speaker who could bend the iron will of their opposition,
or no desire to try and just wanted to make the news. We
can’t pretend to know the answer to that, but we do know
antics like this make us look like idiots to the rest
of the world.

This group has the lowest approval rating yet keep getting
elected. They make the aforementioned $174,000 a year for
a part time job and somehow making millions while in
office, yet claim to need a raise. All that while ignoring
the fact all they ever seem to do is act morally outraged
or are seen estactically patting their own backs if they
do get their way.

Some will want our votes before this year is done and will
spare no measure to extoll all the wonderful things they
have done for us and picking our pockets while shaking our
hands. We don’t need new laws and empty promises, we need
a new bunch of legislators.
Comments are always welcome.

Quite the day

Yesterday I was busier than a set of jumper cables at a
family reunion. I even forgot to eat supper until around
9:30. And it wore me out so I slept through the big storm
that raged here on the east coast of Iowa. From those who
didn’t sleep through it I’ve heard we got between 3-6
inches rain with a lot of thunder of lightening.

But the basement is dry this morning and I feel like I
slept 7 hours! Great nap, great day yesterday, and even
with the forecast storms today it’s going to be great. So
let it rain.

The reason is simple. The total in our bank account
insures we don’t have to worry about identity theft, we
have a great family and good friends, a roof over our
heads, and enough frozen pizza, Twinkies, and Snickers to
last a couple of weeks in case of an emergency.

At various times yesterday the clouds danced across the
sky in a synchronized movement, banded together to make
stripes against the blue of the sky, and turned darker than
the edge of night.

Even the critters were out enjoying it.

Because of all this, we’ve decided to take today at a
slower pace so we can enjoy all that we are blessed
to see and have. We hope you have a chance to do
the same.
Comments are always welcome.