Speaking with the mentally ill

Yesterday started with Kadizzle taking the long ride to the top of the Four Peaks. Winky, and Cliff got out of the Forest Service Truck to head across the Arizona trail. Kadizzle made a second trip up the mountain to leave the truck at the end of the trail for them.  At a perfect temperature with sunshine and clear skies Kadizzle drifted the six miles down the mountain on his ebike.  

On the way back to camp Kadizzle stopped at the shack the Arizona Trail hikers use to resupply.  At the shack Kadizzle had a long discussion with a Republican.  Kadizzle explained to the delusional man that he like to probe the minds of Republicans to see how those minds put a view of the world together.  This man said Obama is running the goverment and Biden is just a front.  Kadizzle has found this it the latest mythology promoted by the right wing.  Republicans for some reason cannot admit they are afraid of black people. Being scared is a thrill for them so they cook up conspiracy theories.  We all live in our own world.  Mr. Republican said climate change is the result of the sun wobbling. He is not sure, but he read it somewhere.  These people vote, and of course try to make sure no one else does. 

The drive down from the Four Peaks is spectacular on a road many are afraid to drive. On the way down Kadizzle listened on the radio to anther kind of insanity.  An FM radio preacher was explaining the Bible.  The man sounded very scholarly, and kept throwing out the names of all the Biblical kings and kingdoms. The sermon was such an entanglement of nonsense.  If God wanted to send a message, why did he have to do it with dreams, prophets, and the most obscure scripture imaginable. Fundamentally it makes no sense. It was a great prelude to talking to the Republican.  People seem to love ridiculous simple explanations. Back to the God stuff.  IF God wanted us to know something he now could go on TV, the internet, or appear in the sky and let us know first hand.  However, God seems to prefer crooked preachers, Fox News, and Donald Trump. 

The Mother of all bad roads

Al told Kadizzle we would take a motorcycle ride on the west side of the Catalina Mountains near Tucson. As we approached the start of the ride Al said we would turn around if it got too bad.  The road immediately became terrible. After a mile and a half we surrendered. The road was strew with watermelon sized boulders and ever conceivable rock mess. Before it was over Al crashed five times and to his absolute amazement Kadizzle did not crash. The road was so bad Kadizzle did not think making the journey without a crash was an option. Al is a much better rider and has a much more aggressive cycle than Kadizzle.  That may have be the salvation. 

We are in Tucson, AZ. We came to borrow a huge utility trailer from Al. Ultimately we will use it to get out worldly possessions from North Dakota.  

Little Chicago

The home town of Kadizzle, Wheeling, WVa. was known as little Chicago. Kadizzle has been reading the history of Wheeling crime. The extent of mafia influence is amazing. Seeing the names of people Kadizzle knew and went to school with is fascinating. One name popped out. Bob Dorn went to grade school with Kadizzle. One morning in about the sixth grade Kadizzle was on the porch of the school. Bob Dorn was wearing a sweat shirt.  Bobby kept scratching here and there and it seemed like he had fleas or something. He held out his right arm and a hamster crawled out of his shirt.  Bob went on to become a drug runner, professional high end shop lifter, and served half his life in prison.  Kadizzle found out the lawyer down the street in the fancy house represented the mob.  Kadizzle went to school with his son. Seeing all the names Kadizzle realized how many children of the crime people we knew and went to school with. Strangely many of the crime bosses sent their kids to private schools.  Bill Lias who was the crime boss was purported to be the richest criminal in the U.S.  On Wheeling Island Lias built an elaborate racetrack.  The government went after him for taxes and took the race track. Then they hired Lias to run it.  The audacity of the crime was unbelievable.  One good story was about a man thrown out of a whore house into the alley. The police arrested him.  He said to the police " You arrest me and allow prostitution in there".  The police said " If you want to prove it, you need a recite. "

Repair the Plumbing

Off to Payson today to do some doctoring as they say. Poor old Kadizzle will get a CAT scan in preparation for having a camera inserted into his bladder.  Have had this done before. Interesting procedure. You get to see on television inside your bladder. The last time is was like being in a Gold fish bowl with little bits of stuff floating around. Not real enthused about it all. 

Weather has been great, and the Kadizzles will pick up a huge utility trailer this weekend. A friend has agreed to lend it to us to bring our worldly belongings from ND.  

At the soiree yesterday we has some nice guest from Washington. Kadizzle met them in the morning and invited them to the meeting held every day at 3:30.  You show up with your own drink and tell your stories.  Meeting so many new people is always a main pleasure of being on the road. 

Will be interesting to see if the Republicans can keep the country from going forward.  As usual they see progress as a threat to the rich. 

Ode To The Little Brown Shack Out Back

Morning at the Long Drop

Years ago Kadizzle met a young guy from South Africa. He told the tale of camping with his family.  The young man explained how the servants dug a long drop and set up the tents. Kadizzle inquired what a long drop was.  You can guess. Here we call the long drop the Executive Suite. Our long drop is deluxe. It has flush toilets, a nice porcelain sink, and the best solar lightning. Once Kadizzle takes the little walk down to the long drop in the morning he can sit on the throne with the door open and look into the desert sunshine. The walk is a step from the Earth module into reality. At the long drop the Forestry Supply catalog is there for reading pleasure. Everything a man could ever want is listed.  The grand finally at headquarters is checking for dead mice. Three traps are set in the plumbing chase.  If a mouse is caught the poor soul's carcass is put out where maybe some bird will swoop down and take it to mouse heaven. The old outhouse life must have had some good to it. There is a song written by someone back home in West Virginia about the little shack out back. 

They passed an ordinance in the town they said we'd have to tear it down
That little old shack out back so dear to me
Though the health department said its day was over and dead
It will stand forever in my memory
Don't let them tear that little brown building down
Don't let them tear that precious building down
Don't let them tear that dear old building down
There's not another like it in the country or the town

It was not so long ago that I went tripping through the snow
Out to that house behind my old hound dog
Where I would sit me down to rest like a snowbird on his nest
And I'd read that Sears and Roebuck catalog
Oh I would hum a happy tune peeping through the quarter moon
As my daddy's kin had done so much before
It was in that quiet spot daily cares could be forgot
And it gave the same relief to rich and poor
Don't let them tear...

Now it was not a castle fair but I could dream of future there
Build my castle to the yellow jackets drone
I could orbit round the sun fight with General Washington
Or be a king upon a golden throne
It wasn't fancy built at all we had newspapers on the wall
It was air-conditioned in the wintertime
Oh it was just an humble hut but its door was never shut
And a man could get inside without a dime
Don't let them tear...

There is a lot of truth in that song. 

Murder Never Dies

 Kadizzle was hopping around on his laptop when he found a book he must have purchased some time ago. Murder Never Dies was the book. On the first page that happened to show was the name Bob Dorn. Kadizzle went to school with Bob Dorn.  He was a fat kid and had fat brother. Also Dorn had a wild sister named Lorretta who wore skin tight leather pants.  Bob Dorn lived near my Uncle and shot at my Uncles house on one occasion. This got me interested in the book which maybe Kadizzle had read before. The book was about a famous gangster in the home Town ow Wheeling, West Virginia, which was known as "little Chicago".  Kadizzle remembers going to school one day and Bob Dorn showed up with a sweatshirt on.  Bobby as he was called kept scratching and moving his hand all over the sweat shirt until a hamster crawled out the sleeve.  The hamster was living in his T shirt.  Kadizzle remembes hearing Dorn went to prison so Kadizzle wanted to see what role Dorn played in the book. Dorn's father no doubt was connected to the crime gangs in the area. Dorn's father ran a strange business out on the interstate that sold to tourist.  More than likely it was a front for something else.  As Kadizzle may have mentioned in the past he had a boyhood friend who's father ran the illegal gambling in town.  Kadizzle rode in a car with a major crime figure in the book. Paul Hankish picked up Kadizzle and his friend Ben on the Suspension Bridge and took us for a speedboat ride on the Ohio River.  A few weeks later Hankish had his legs blown off when he started his car.  

Anyway the book goes into how Bill Lias became one of the richest crime figures in the United States at the time. Lias based his criminal activities in Wheeling, Kadizzle's home town.  Hankish took over for Lias when Lias went to prison.  Reading about these people is fun, because it traces the history of crime in Wheeling.  It is obvious the respectable people were in on the game. Kadizzle has read all he can about Wheeling mafia activity since his friends father was tied into it. Kadizzle has always been curious about how the Dobkins got involved in organized crime. Most of the people who made illegal money converted the winnings into real estate.  The book is well written and has drawn Kadazzle in.  Maybe an update tomorrow. 

Attack of the Javelinas

Rumbling outside last night turned out to be what Winky said was about 15 Javelinas.  She chased them off.  Walking back from the executive suite Kadizzle realized it is going to be another perfect day. 

A thought went through Kadizzle's head as he passed his marvelous street light.  Kadizzle set up a solar powered light that comes on at dark and goes off at daylight.  The system harvest the sun power automatically. What does this mean? It means we waste an incredible amount of energy on lighting with traditional power plants.  The little Kadizzle system could probably run three days with no sun. 

Now for the next revelation.  Poverty is just something we chose to have.  There is no poverty, there are just people taking way more than their share.  There is plenty of everything, houses, cars, food, clothing, you name it.   Some people have no where to live because other people have used all the lumber and bricks to build more homes than they need. Some people take the  bus because someone else decided they needed six cars. We live in a world of illusion. Kadizzle is a Democratic socialist. What does that mean? It means we should vote on who gets to take what.  The current system of government that allows the 1% to buy the goverment is simply evil incarnate.  The big problem is people walking around in a daze.  The other day Kadizzle was talking with Bill.  Bill is intelligent, but, but, there is a problem. Kadizzle was discussing with Bill how things stay in orbit.  Bill did not understand the principle.  What is the problem? The problem is Bill never thought about what keeps the moon circling the Earth.  Well, so what? Well people need to ask basic questions about the world they live in.  One question might be asked about the amount of perfectly good food we threw out the other day while people elsewhere were starving.  One question no one ask is just how does the government work?  Who cares? That is the problem as long as you have a warm place to sit at the executive suite, and a decent pair of shoes, who cares where all that stuff goes? Put simply people are distracted. Sports is a major distraction.  People watching football have no clue the wealthy cheat all day long on their taxes. If the wealthy only paid what they owed, not talking about cheating the government would have an additional 1.9 trillion dollars.  Then of course there is the cheating, just add at least another trillion or two.  Ok, take those trillions and build some homes, schools, interstate, mass transit and people have jobs.  Now make those same tax cheats pay their share and another trillion pops out of nowhere, but who cares I am watching football and my team is winning. 

Landing on a different Planet

From the lap of luxury back to the Earth Module, our version of Nomad Land.  From the jungle to the desert.  From high density people to low density people.  From the flattest lowest land on Earth to the 7,000 ft mountains of Arizona.  The silence and isolation are golden. Kadizzle has never had a desire to live in or near a large population.  Often Kadizzle reflects on the fact he never had an office job. Sitting in one place for more than an hour or two drives one crazy. Looking back on life Kadizzle is forever grateful that he was always his own boss. Most of his life Kadizzle set his own schedule for what and where he would do what.  Today people glued to a computer all day seems like a kind of torture one would never want. So today it will be a nice ebike ride and perhaps a sail on the little Rusty 1.  Who knows.  A life of mystery rather than a scheduled regime. 

The times they are a changing

 Sitting here with my grandchildren screeching and having a good time. What a different world these kids live in.  Now we have three.  They have no clue what the old world was like. Growing up as one of nine there was not much spoiling or delicate care. In their short lives they have lived a life of luxury Kadizzle could not imagine as a child. Toys, and gifts fall from heaven in a constant rain. Sylvie has had more luxury vacations by the age of 11 than Kadizzle has had in his entire life. Every desire is catered to. If they do not become spoiled it will be amazing. The real world teaches those who do not know reality. Kadizzle has been trying to pound this into Sylvie's head. Your  mom and dad may treat you like the King of Siam, but the real world thinks you are just one more kid. At home you don't have to work or do what you are asked, but what a surprise life will be. There is a word called no.  It is a word not heard much to modern children, but they will learn. 

The Transition

 Noise from screaming youngsters will cease, the tropical climate will give way to the desert.  Paths through jungle like terrian will be replaced with cactus and prickly plants.  The swarm of city life will be replaced with the solitude of the mountains. The plane will take us from people infected with acute prosperity and Trump to people living on the edge with brains infested with Trump.  Days by the pool will be replaced with days by the lake in the little Rusty 1 sailboat.  Evening drinks with be with the seniors in the campground. Youth will all but disappear from the game.  Evie, Sylvie, and little Quinn will go about growing up while granny and gramps get back to the trail work. The clock will tick and life will go on.  

Colorful water

Sam had a great idea for the pool party last night.  Into the pool went various round globes lit from the inside. The color in the globes changed. The pool itself was equipped with underwater colored lights that would change. The net result was swimming in a pallet of color. 

 Gun control.  Republicans will let our children be shot to ribbons in order to maintain power.  Republicans know exactly how to get cheap Hooplehead votes. Passing out guns and ammunition is a sure vote getter. The simple minded love guns, noisy pickup trucks, and wearing their hats backwards.  Courting the ignorant vote has become the simplest way for Republicans to maintain power. Who cares if you have to invade the Capitol? Who cares if school children are shot? It all pays off with more tax breaks. 

The Ocean

The ocean has been a stranger to Kadizzle for a long time, but yesterday Kadizzle baked in the ocean and let the waves move his lard about. With the family we went to the beach. The water was warm and pleasant. According to Erin a six foot shark passed right behind me. How did that shark resist all the fat recently supplied with cake, steak, and the best seafood?

Here at the house Sylvie and Evie will play all day in the pool. From the desert to water everywhere.   

Brave men with guns

Old Kadizzle is 72.  In those 72 years Kadizzle has never needed a gun to protect himself from another human being, yet the gun nuts live in fear every day. Once upon a time Kadizzle asked the police chief in our little town how many times he had his gun drawn. The answer was twice in 25 years. Really what are the odds a gun will ever be needed?Scared little men feel safe with a gun. Winky and Kadizzle occasionally run into a gun nut while hiking.  We ask "What do you fear?" .  Mountain lions if a favorite answer. We have been hiking for over thirty years in the west and have only seen one or two.  They run from you. 

What if the government tries to take over our freedoms?  Look what happened with Trump. We almost lost our democracy, but our main weapon was a majority of intelligent people, not guns.  The gun nuts were the danger. The reality is the gun nuts themselves present the most danger from guns.  Now you fear being shot at the grocery store or school by gun nuts.  

Chaos

 Screeching Evie, and Sylvie running about. Now they are outside so the decibels have gone down. Kadizzle tried to clean his ear, and it backfired. Now deafness is a problem.  Might be a blessing. The high level of activity with three grandchildren running about is a different way to awaken. No stillness of the morning. Quinnie is an eating machine that matches grandpa for consumption.  He is a smiley guy, always happy.  The in laws have graciously allowed the clan to use their home in Florida for a get together. With a nice pool the home is ideal for keeping Sylvie, and Evie outside playing in the water. 

Old folks migrate to Florida or Arizona.  Florida is just too flat.  Arizona has such a variety of landscape.  Winky would go nuts in Florida with no mountains to conquer. Both states have a severe infestation of Republicans. However, there might be fewer guns in Florida.  

Awakening at 72

Awakening at 72 years old the crumbling goes on.  Kadizzle often feels like an old building out in field with a sagging roof.  Gravity has no mercy and works 24 hours a day. If only the government would turn the gravity down as you get older rather than up. The machinery strains, creeks, and squeaks. Monday morning has come and Evie is sitting like so many kids soaking up the rays of giant TV.  This TV must be five feet by four and a half feet. Cheech is playing with Quinnie, better known as curly boy. Sam and Winky are on kitchen duty, and of course Kadizzle is just a big lump in a chair.  Later today Sylvie, and Erin will arrive.  The entire tribe, except Fran will be enjoying the atmosphere Trump basks in.  That scoundrel is somewhere around here. Sadly covid has devastated Trump's compound.  

Life in Florida

The Kadizzles are in Florida living the life of ease with the grandchildren, and in laws.  Life in Florida is a vast difference from the Earth Module back in the desert. On the way we got to fly the 737 Max, which made the entire trip without a crash. From Houston to West Palm Beach we got a brand new smaller plane.  The airports seemed plenty busy. Mask enforcement was stick on the planes.  

Usually we spend the night before and early flight in a hotel in Phoenix. When we got to the Motel Six near the airport the place looked like a training ground for thieves and drug dealer.  Abandoning that reservation we could find no hotel that was not booked at any price.  Now we had to drive back to Ruth's who kindly put us up for the night in Gold Canyon. 

Tom and the kids.

As old Kadizzle coasted downhill towards the Earth module, there was Tom, an old man in shorts and muscle shirt.  It appeared he was trying to push a bright red soccer ball into the sky. Kadizzle stopped to find out what Tom was up to.  Tom explained he was stretching and staying in shape. Tom appeared old, he was dam near 8o, yet he looked fit and very muscular.  In no time we were deep into conversation. Tom lost his teeth for lack of care, but his father died from smoking. On his deathbed Tom's father told him to quit smoking and get in shape. Tom took those words to heart. So here is Tom doing his daily routine. 

Then Tom began to tell Kadizzle about the three kids he was raising.  One of his children became addicted to drugs and the father abandoned the kids as well as the mother went to jail.  The state asked Tom if he would take the kids in.  Of course he would Tom told the state.  So here was Tom with limited means 80 years old raising a family.  We spoke for awhile, and it was really uplifting to meet this old guy with such a good attitude.  80 years old and taking all this on.  Tom had a good reason to stay in shape.  The whole thing makes you think about people doing good, and people not doing much good. 

Off we go

Florida is the destination. The goal is to see the little people. Hop on the plane, put on the mask.  Kadizzle has been advocating loading planes from the rear.  It makes so much sense.  Now airlines are going to do it because of the virus. Instead of clogging the isles it will be done sensibly. 

Ken and Rita are going back home, their season of volunteering is over.  The campground is full.  The virus has driven people to the wilderness, may be a good thing. Sad the place is so underfunded. 

Winky is buzzing around more than usual since we must prepare for our trip.  Today her name is Active Warrior. She is barking out orders quicker than Kadizzle can fulfill her wishes.  

Kadizzle is proud of the new solar light system he installed on Broadway.  Broadway leads to the executive suite.  Now the computerized system turns on solar powered lights for night trips to the dropdown. With rattlers waking from their winter rest one cannot be too careful. Kadizzle repurposed a light controller form another part of the campground. The controller is hooked to the solar panel. If figures out by itself when the sun goes down and comes up and turns on the lights accordingly.  If this type of system were adopted by others the power savings would be substantial. Harvesting sunshine is fun. 

Hikers down from the Mountain

Kadizzle had the opportunity to be near the area where he hikers come down from the Arizona trail to resupply yesterday.  About six hikers were having lunch and resupplying.  Two days ago Kadizzle met two other hikers.  You have to give these people credit, it is a very strenous hike.  The trail goes from the Mexican border to Utah.  It is about an 800 mile hike. These mountains are rugged, often lack water, and it takes a tough person to make the trek.  A mom and her teenage daughter were making the trip and about three single guys, plus one couple. A good way to spend the pandemic.  The snow up in the mountains drove a lot of the hikers down for a respite. 

There is so much that could be done with the money flooding the country from the Capitol.  Why not start the CCC program all over. That program paid young people during the depression to do public works.  Wow, if young people could help us with so many projects on the trails, and the campgrounds, we could make America Great again. 

Shoot money out of the cannon

Opening the mailbox Kadizzle found the FFR newspaper from Honest Omar. Honest Omar is the Pope of the atheist. Freedom From Religion is the official name of the paper.  What caught Kadizzle's eye was the article about crooked preachers, soaking up stimulus money.  One of the crooks immediately bought a jet.  You tax money when to one church that paid out billions for pedophile priest. Why are non believers forced to give tax dollars to crooked preachers who pay no taxes on the money they steal?

So much of the money sent out went to the wrong people.  Kadizzle, check his bank account today and found $2,800.  Truthfully it should have gone to someone much more in need.  

This brings up the subject, what is money?  Money is just a made up concept.  Where is the government getting all this money? It is simply ink.  In the old day they were called promissory notes.  I will right you a note and when you give me the note back I promise to pay you so much gold, wheat, or whatever.  No, longer.  Who knows what the current promise is.  It seems to be " I promise not to tax the rich".  In the old days when the government spent money it had some plan to get money.  No longer is this plan in effect.  Uncle Same just prints the money and gives it to crooks.  

The real secret to this system is no one pays attention.  Yesterday Kadizzle picked up two hitch hikers that came down from the Arizona trail.  The first guy Kadizzle drove back up to a higher elevation to save him some hiking.  The second guy was sort of giving up because of the weather. Kadizzle asked hiker number 2 if he was a Republican.  Lucky for him he answered correctly.  Then he ask why Kadizzle asked.  Kadizzle explained he would be thrown out of the truck if he was a Republican.  Next, Kadizzle brought up his jihad on social security and asked the young guy if he knew about the cap on social security.  To Kadizzle's surprise he said yes. This was a rare young person that actually knew how social security is rigged for the rich. From Kadizzle's personal survey for over five years most people have no clue that if you earn over $138,000 you no longer pay social security.  This is just once example of the ignorance of the populace. The wealthy have rigged the system so they and the crooked preachers can prosper.  Religion is a key to manipulating voters. Trump knew the evangelicals could be easily fooled.  Back to the FFR.  A young person wrote a nice essay in the paper about how religion is used to fool the vulnerable into making poor choices during elections. Some people are born ignorant and it seems to be genetic, but most people have a choice about being uniformed.  You can chose to watch and believe Fox or you can read something real.

Rain and information fall on the Earth Module

Rain has fallen all night.  The desert changes dramatically with rain.  Watching the streams flow and waterfalls run is a pleasure.  Winky and the Trail Crew are debating if they should work today.  Hans and Ruth decided to move farther south to be warmer.  

Kadizzle awakes each morning and gets up to date. Getting up to date involves checking the Fargo Forum, The Bismarck Tribune, The New York Times, a little social media, and CNN.  The two North Dakota newspapers are pretty worthless, but the letters to the editor do show some insight into the mindset of the Trump cultist, and the normal people. Some of the right wing letters and the letters from fundamentalist are so full of conspiracy theories, and lies it is hard to believe.  On the other hand there are some good people that fire on the right wingers with reality.  Of course Kadizzle is biased, but such is life.  The Fargo Forum has a nice assortment of right and left.  The Bismarck Tribune is just too tame.  The Bismarck Tribune seems to be afraid of it's own shadow.  Newspapers fear losing readers and advertisers so too often they don't want to offend anyone.  Sucking in everyone is a necessity for a paper to survive so they do put the nut case letters in to appeal to the Trump crowd.  Gaging how deep the insanity is plays a crucial role in figuring out reality.  Each person creates their own reality.  

Go out, don't go out

Yesterday was not a perfect day for sailing.  For some strange reason the lake looked fairly doable, while the wind on land seemed strong. Add to that the temperature was a little on the cool side.  Kadizzle thought maybe yes, maybe no.  Finally he hooked up the Rusty 1 and drove down to the boat ramp.  When he got there he changed his mind and did not feel like overturning.  On the way back he saw Cliff out bucking the wind.  Kadizzle went to the other boat ramp and Cliff invited him out on his boat.  The wind seemed to settle and was just right.  Kadizzle told Cliff to take him to shore and Kadizzle launched the Rusty 1.  What a launch, it blew the Rusty one into the bushes, but the little motor saved the day.  Now, Kadizzle and Cliff were each on their own little ship putzing about.  Of course the wind came up and the Rusty 1 became a wild horse.  Kadizzle just wanted to get back to shore right side up.  The jib came loose and was of no use, but Kadizzle managed some beautiful boat handling and sailed up to the dock. A small boat and a big wind are two things Kadizzle has not done for many years.  It is a different ball game that does not tolerate mistakes well. 

Rattlesnake Season

A morning ritual is the walk to the executive suite. Now that the weather has warmed up we have to be on alert for our old friends the rattlesnakes.  They are like Republicans, you just can't trust them, and you don't know when they might cause a problem. Cliff and Winky have had close encounters, Kadizzle has not.  When you get to the throne, you don't just fling open the door and go sit on the thunder seat, no you peak in first to see if a rattlesnake went in to get warm or catch a mouse.  At night is when the snakes like to hunt.  Sort of like Republicans doing voter suppression, the snakes are sneaky.  If the temperature drops the snakes may try to warm up on the asphalt or the concrete.  Always check and know where you may step at night. Kadizzle has upped the game by putting more solar lights on the walkway.  In reality Kadizzle has seen as many rattlers in North Dakota as he has in Arizona.  Usually the Kadizzles leave AZ when the snake come out, but this year with no home in ND we may be dancing with the snakes.  The recent fires must have wiped out a lot of snakes, as well as many other animals.  The fires also drove many animals down near the lake. 

We got some good rain last night, but today may be sunny enough to launch the Rusty 1.  It has been a little cold and you can see the snow up on the mountains.  A dump in the lake may be unpleasant.  Stuck in the Earth module Winky and Kadizzle watched some America's Cup racing.  The current boats they are racing are insane.  Now the boat will go up to sixty miles per hour.  Kadizzle is an old sailor and cannot figure out how these boats are going downwind.  The complexity of sailing these boats is much more difficult than flying a plane.  Since the boats rise out of the water that is one major problem.  Once out of the water the boat is held up by a hydrofoil on the rudder, and one on the side of the boat.  So the boat is sailing on a tripod, a rudder, a sail, and a foil in the middle of the boat.  The boat actually has two foils in the middle of the boat, one port, and one starboard.  Rather than try to explain all this it would be easier if you are interested to go on youtube and watch the racing.  Perhaps Kadizzle will put a video on here.  Think about it, the boat Columbus came over here on might do five miles an hour.  Now these sailboats are going sixty.  The referees follow the boats with fast small inflatable boats.  They can hardly keep up.  If one of these boats is steered incorrectly it could nose into the water at fifty or sixty.  Imagine what will happen to the crew.  They do not wear seat belts.  It appeared the Italian crew was wearing a small scuba tank in case they got trapped underwater.  The sport has changed completely.  Last winter Kadizzle was in New Zealand and it is fun to see the races right where Kadizzle was in Auckland.  The money spent on these boats is insane.  It must be thirty or forty million dollars to build and race one.  All of this while people are homeless. Well the rich do need to be entertained. 

Education Just Confusers People

A favorite quote was from my old Republican neighbor up the street "Education Just confuses People".  Simple minded people like simple minded explanations.  Complex thoughts don't sit well with the Trump cult.  Most problems can be simply solved with a gun.  If you don't understand it, shoot it. 

Found the video below last night.  It was fun to see the video.  It was just a week or two ago that plane was constantly flying over and beside us for training on the lake.  Seeing what they were doing from a different perspective was entertaining. 

The Hoopleheads are still out there.  Trump is gone, and they are looking for leadership.  Someone will exploit them.  Trump showed the way.  Ted Cruz is a likely new preacher to the deplorables. Cruz has the lying down, and his father was a crooked preacher so he has the background. 

Got some rain last night, and the day looks gloomy.  Winky wants to clean and wash.  Snow landed on the mountains. 

How Aerial Firefighter Pilots Are Trained | What It Takes (Fire training on our lake this winter )

Gun Insanity

First a disclaimer.  Kadizzle and Winky hunt pheasants, and have shot guns.  We do not own a handgun.  Yesterday the trail crew went up to the Four Peaks to put up a Wilderness sign.  The sign is wooden, hand made, and expensive.  To think a gun nut might decide to shoot a hole through the sign is very disturbing.  After we installed the sign the sign the crew took a tire ride and went down the backside of the mountain. It is an amazing wilderness.  On the way the damage by gun nuts could be seen.  Gun nuts shoot up expensive signs to the point they cannot be read.  One favorite tactic of the gun culture is to drag propane tanks, and televisions out into the forest and murder them.  Of course they just leave the trash there. 

Kadizzle wrote to three newspapers with this proposal, a 10% tax be put on guns and ammunition to pay for the damage and cleanup.  We tax the drunks, the cigarette smokers, and why not the gun nuts?

Two old Men

Two old men buzzing about in tiny boats. Hans 80 years old and the ex captain of a 50 ft boat in the Caribbean.  Old Kadizzle whose last boat was 34 ft. Hans with a single sail on a boat a little bigger than a slice of bread. Kadizzle on the 14ft Rusty 1.  Two old men having a good time trying to stay upright.  It is an entirely different game. One mistake and you are upside down.  It seemed the wind was getting stronger so in a stroke of wisdom we went back to land. 

A little cool today

One of the great pleasures of the RV lifestyle are the friends we meet.  Yesterday Hans, Ruth, Marty and his wife Annette stopped by for the afternoon meeting.  Swapping stories and adventures is the routine.  An amazing aspect of these get together s are the places we have all been at one time or another.  Marty and Annette had done turtle research at the Dry Tortugas.  It seems travelers have a lot in common.  Most are good liberals, many are sailors, and all have the need to explore.  Traveling opens up the mind. 

Today Winky and the crew are going back up in the Serra Ancha mountains.  Kadizzle is worn out from the last hike, and may do a little sailing today. 

Re-purposing things can save a lot of money.  The Forest Service wants to put up new big sign boards at the trail heads.  This could be expensive.  Kadizzle suggested the signs be constructed from the little Ramadas they are tearing down.  This would save thousands of dollars.  Will have to see what happens, but Kadizzle's guess is they will buy new and spend a lot of money. 

Yesterday Kadizzle had Marty try out the ebike.  Like so many he loved it.  Kadizzle predicts ebikes will be everywhere as more people try them.  Hans, and Ruth have ebikes and love them.  For older people the ebike is a good way to keep active.  You meet more people walking, biking and hiking.  

Now just a side note.  As volunteers we are allowed to have guest stay in our campground free.  A couple of friends have visited us this year. If you are reading this you are invited to visit.  We can hook you up to electricity, and provide you with water.  Your sewage will have to be self contained, but we do have a bathroom with flush toilets and a sink provided by the Forest Service.  It is for our use only and it serves us well, but we can let friends use the facilities.  We are located on Lake Roosevelt in Arizona.  The outdoor life here has everything. 

Taking on the Cult

An email came to Kadizzle from a Trump cult member. It had the usual right wing nonsense.  Kadizzle has been going back and forth a little with this cultist. Today Kadizzle wrote Mr. Trump cult a long email explaining the mind of a cult member and a Republican.  Honest Omar if you are reading this you would no the man, his initials Are D.V.   D.V.  is the classic Trump cult member.  I got mine, the hell with you.  You were just too lazy to be rich.  This reminds Kadizzle of the UPS driver in Bismarck who married a rich woman. The driver took on the mannerisms and attitudes of the rich. No doubt he became a Republican. It is always " Pull yourself up by your bootstraps".  However, a lot of people don't even have boots. Republicans love to blame the poor for everything.  The bottom 20% of our population only recieves 2% of the GDP.  If you think of the poor like a car they would get 100 miles per gallon.  On the other hand the rich are gas guzzlers.  The rich soak up way more than their share of everything.  So when gas is in short supply who do the rich blame, of course the poor.  Logic goes out the window once you accept the ideas of the Republican Party.  Logic, science, and good old reality are not going to get in the way of a good Trump cult member.  Anyway Kadizzle gave it a try.  Lets see what happens. 

Afternoon prayer meeting.

 Marty was riding by on his bike when he asked us for some trail information. In no time he was sitting with us having a cackle session.  Not too long afterwards Reta and Ken showed up along with Bill, then Hans sat down. So the session was on with laughter, lying, story telling, and some beer drinking.  That is life in the desert.  So many people with so many life experiences.  Outdoor people always compare hikes and adventures.  Hans it turns out was down at Patagonia state park and turned his little sailboat over. So now we have two old experienced sailors turning over boats.  The weather has been warming up and it is about time for our friends the rattlers to come out.  Soon they will be warming themselves at night and one must be careful not to step on them.  Kadizzle filled the coolers with ice today.  The Forest Service has a big ice machine and we usually get about fifty pounds at a time to keep the beverages cold.  Kadizzle and Hans may sail tomorrow if the wind is not too strong.  At 72, and 79 on a small boat we may never return. 

Marty lives in Payson and he gave Winky and Kadizzle the lowdown on the Trump gang there.  The Trump strain runs strong here and they have not yet developed a vaccine. The variants are numerous.  You have the paranoid bunch, the Q Anon goofs, and of course the good Christians who hate everyone. 

Sailing the Rusty 1

Winky set sail with Kadizzle on the Rusty 1.  There is no sailing crew like Winky and Kadizzle.  Hope Winky does not read this.  Kadizzle could take anyone with any mental condition and successfully sail with them, but not Winky.  The trick is pretty simple, just do what Kadizzle says.  Stroupini, Kadizzle, and the owner of the old boat we used to own the Xanadu were racing the boat. The mainsail blew to shreds.  Stroupini and the boat owner thought the game was over and we were out of the race.  In a very strong wind Kadizzle told the other two crew members if they would just follow his instructions we could replace the mainsail with a spare that happened to be onboard.  Under very difficult circumstances they did as asked. The extra mainsail was hoisted and we managed to take second place. 

This type of cooperation does not happen when Winky and Kadizzle sail. Yesterday the wind was light, thank ya Jeesus.  After an uneventful sail we decided to return to the dock.  Since we were out a ways the motor was engaged.  The motor had recently been entirely submerged and may have had a little water in the system.  The motor conked out.  The Rusty 1 is a very delicate boat and easy to overturn as readers may know.  Winky was very nervous about sailing this delicate craft, but we did have to get back to the dock.  To make the dock a tack of the boat was needed.  The wind was picking up.  The good Captain Kadizzle gave the command to reset the Jib.  The Captain would have done just as well telling a Cat to fetch the newspaper.  Winky said no way would she set the sail. To maneuver the boat Kadizzle needed the headsail.  Ultimately this led to Winky pulling the sail down while Kadizzle was trying to pull it up.  Kadizzle prevailed the sail was set and the boat was sailed right up to the dock.  Kadizzle often imagines flying a plane with Winky.  Kadizzle would say put the wheels down, Winky would shout no, you will get them all dirty. 

A Day off

Friday is a day off for the trail crew.  What should we do? Winky will decide.  Yesterday Roberto and Kadizzle secured the bridge so it cannot float away again.  It was absolutely amazing that the North Dakota legislature threw out a Trump rat.  Perhaps there is hope.  Looks like a great day weather wise.  The foundation for our new home in Payson is taking shape.  May go up there for a peak today.  Since the whole trail crew has been vaccinated we are letting up a little on the mask.  

Back to the bridge.  To secure the bridge we had to drive devices called "duck bills" into the bottom of the canal.  Roberto said we needed to drive the duck bills into the ground with a jack hammer.  This meant Roberto and Kadizzle had to lug an electric jack hammer and a generator about two hundred yards down some steep steps and on down the trail to the bridge.  Driving the duck bill in meant using a steel rod about six feet long.  This task was insane.  That meant we had to also have a step ladder to stand on top of with the jack hammer.  What a recipe for disaster.  Fortunately the brain kicked in and we found a better way to do it. 

This winter we have been doing a lot of bird feeding. It seems to be costing as much to feed the birds as it does to feed us.  We have three suet feeds. The birds take about two days to go through a suet cake.  Then there are the humming birds.  They drink sugar water at an amazing pace.  The Jila Woodpeckers get in on the action to help deplete the supply.  In the process of filling the feeders Winky spilled sugar water all over my bike. 

Since it is Friday we may get to order out. Perhaps ribs, maybe a good burger, or even pizza.  

Move the Bridge Day

 Had a great hike in the Sierra Ancha Mountains yesterday.  Today the crew will assemble and try to move the bridge that floated away.  It will be an engineering feat.  Kadizzle has a plan.  One end of the bride will be supported by a large set of wheels on a device used to move welding tanks.  The other end the bridge will be fitted with wheels from a dumpster.  If all goes well the bridge will be tugged along with a hand winch back to it's home.  Surely there will be a lot of discussion, and people saying " That will not work".  In the end failure is not an option.  Five old people have moved some big trees off the trail, so we should be able to do this. 

Up in the Mountains

Today the crew will drive many miles into the Sierra Ancha Mountains.  The hike will be in an entirely different biosphere.  High in the mountains we may see elk.  The last trip indicated a lot of bear were in the area.  Kadizzle is going along to see a wonderful spring camping area the crew reported. 

Move the bridge

 Roberto showed up yesterday and asked if the trail crew would move a little bridge that washed away.  When the lake came up the canal filled with water.  The foot bridge spanned the canal.  The bridge floated about sixty feet from the path it was used on.  Moving the bridge will mean it has to be pushed, pulled, or hauled about sixty feet. It will be a mini engineering feet.  Kadizzle may go to the work center today to see what we can use to move the bridge. 

Bill said no more sailing for him after the Rusty 1 turned turtle.  However, Matt say he would love to learn to sail.  Matt is like a giant version of Bill with a little meat on the bones.  With Kadizzle and Matt in the w boat it may be a lot more delicate.  The weather needs to warm up a bit so we can get on the lake.  

In the background public radio is playing.  The subject is voter suppression.  Amazing how blatant the Republicans are about their racist ways. 

Miss the Russians

 Just checked the stats.  Not a single Russian is shown as a blog reader.  What a change from 400 to 0.  I liked having the Russians participate, and would welcome them back.  Maybe they did leave, or maybe they are sneaking in some other way.  Always keep in mind they are the best hackers in the world.  Just to let me know you still love me Russians why don't you show up as a few guys from North Korea or something? It would be nice to have you back.  Just knowing Russia thinks Kadizzle is important make the ego thrive. 

Reno Pass

Two old people one within weeks of 72 and the other 71 with a need for exercise.  Winky decides on a bike ride up to Reno Pass. The settlers gave up on the road because it was too hard on the horses.  The road was also hard on the ebikes and the old bikers.  If someone could build a road by sprinkling softball sized rocks these people did, then the road builders hung the road on the side of a cliff.  It is about six miles to the top.  When we finally got within a quarter mile of the top the road was so bad we just walked.  Winky went to the very top, but Kadizzle sat on a rock and looked at the GPS.  The map indicated the top was about four hundred feet higher. Winky came back and reported it was just a short distance away.  On the way up Winky had a spectacular crash with no injuries, however she just about went off the edge.  Coming down Kadizzle had his crash and bloodied his knee.  The ebikes are amazing.  The ability of that little battery to push a lump ass up that mountain is some great technology.  The Reno Pass road get very near the top of Mount Ord.   Mount Ord is the highest peak around, and is used for every type of antenna, and other broadcast system.  The road was used to bury the cable up the mountain.  It must have been an engineering feat.  The mountains around Tonto Basin are extremely rugged.  Early roads were treacherous.  People must have been very determined in the early days.  Lazy people of todays time could never have built such paths through the wilderness. 

A Strange talent

 Kadizzle has a strange talent.  It started over fifty years ago.  Winky and Kadizzle were attending a wedding in North Carolina.  When we got there a bunch of people were standing on the end of the dock.  Apparently someone had dropped and expensive pair of glasses into the water.  They had been trying to retrieve the glasses for over an hour.  It was about 25 ft deep at the end of the dock.   Kadizzle volunteered to dive for the glasses.  He told someone to drop and anchor where they thought the glasses had fallen.  Kadizzle jumped in and pulled himself down on the anchor line.  As he went down it was so dark he could not see anything.  When he placed his hand on the bottom of the lake he felt the glasses and brought them up.  It was sheer dumb luck, but the crowd and Kadizzle were amazed.  Since then Kadizzle has recovered numerous items for people like keys, phones, VHF radios, and other things.  On the big lake Kadizzle had a reputation for his diving skills. 

When the Rusty 1 overturned the other day a GPS, and a lot of other stuff went in the water about 40 ft out and in about ten feet of water. Kadizzle was determined to find the stuff.  First he estimated where the boat overturned.  Now there was one big problem the water is cold.  A boater said it was 53 degrees.  Kadizzle jumped in and followed the ramp out. The first thing he found was a bottle of beer. That was a clue he had found the wreck site.  He had to get out shivering and warm up.  Next dive he found a bolt.  Kadizzle had a great idea.  Using a gatorade bottle he made a float by putting rocks in a grocery bag.  With the float he marked the wreck sit.  Yesterday afternoon he went in and found the plastic box with the tools in it.  Kadizzle was so happy that he was going to quit, but decided to go in once more.  On the final dive he found the GPS.  More amazing than getting rid of Trump the GPS still worked.  

It don't hurt to ask

 The second shot went in the arm yesterday, so freedom is not too far away.  Read the article on viruses in the NYT today, very interesting.  The incident with the boat meant Kadizzle had to get a new phone. The Verizon store invented extra charges faster than Kadizzle could breath.  When Kadizzle got home he called Verizon and told them to take $25 off his bill for poor service, they did.  Every winter Kadizzle ask Verizon to reduce his bill because of poor service.  Once he asked for $25 and they gave him $70.  Credit card companies will always forgive a late charge if you ask them.  Kadizzle told one yesterday he was not paying, they said fine.  When companinies hook a sucker they know they need to keep  them. 

A change of subject.  There is a guy we sort of work with sometimes.  For entertainment Kadizzle sometimes gets in a political discussion with him.  He is a right wing dinger.  The other day Kadizzle was in a discussion with him and began to remember what a pathological liar he is.  It occurred to Kadizzle what is the point of going back and forth with a liar.  Somehow when these guys lie you can smell it.  In this conversation we were talking about welfare cheats.  Willy, not his real name said his ex wife was a welfare cheat.  Willy said he saw an attorney give his ex wife a check for 2 million dollars.  Just doesn't seem real.  Last year Willy said he shot and killed a man in a tire dealership, when Kadizzle checked out the story it had some elements of truth, but the police shot the man not Willy.  In a polite way Kadizzle accused Willy of lying.  Willy did not understand the implication.  The number of people falling for the Willies in the world account for Trump's rise. 

Two things that tipped over yesterday

Yesterday was an adventure day of the first magnitude. Two things tipped over, a sailboat, and a fat lady.  Kadizzle was giving Bill his second sailing lesson in the Rusty 1.   We started with no wind, but it picked up nicely and we were having a blast.  The boat took off like a rocket and the excitement was uncontainable.  After a lot of fun it was time to head to the dock. With the wind still strong Kasdizzle was going to show Bill how we could sail the little 14ft Rusty one right up to the dock.  It did not work as planned. Kadizzle was having Bill steer, which may have been the root cause of the disaster.  Steering a boat with a tiller can be confusing.  As we were about to make the final maneuver a strong puff of wind hit the boat and Bill steered the wrong way.  With both of us on one side of the little boat it tipped over instantly throwing us in the water.  Bill is 76 and nothing but skin and bones.  The water was 53 degrees and Kadizzle was worried about Bill.  Bill has had heart surgery and who knows what the sudden shock might have done to him.  Kadizzle quickly shouted at Bill to see if he could swim.  Luckily the answer was yes.  Like to full grown idiots we had two life jackets, but were not wearing them.  The life jackets were floating away.  Bill made it to the boat ramp and now Kadizzle was on his own to save the boat.  A good stroke of luck was that Kadizzle had tied a nice long piece of rope to the front of Rusty 1.  Kadizzle could not touch the bottom of the lake, but managed to swim to the front of the boat and uncoil the rope.  The rope was long enough for Kadizzle to get to shallow water.  Slowly and tangled in fishing ling he pulled the Rusty 1 toward the dock.  At the same time this Chinese fire drill started a fisherman with his wife pulled up to the dock in a fishing boat.  Kadizzle thought surely the man would come to our rescue.  No such luck.  The poor man had a 400lb wife.  Kadizzle was so caught up in moving the Rusty 1 he did not see how the elephant size wife made it onto the deck, but apparently she collapsed there. Kadizzle surmised she had some sort of medical condition. Bill was with the fisherman and the two of them were trying to drag the woman off the dock in a sitting position with her feet aimed toward the shore.  Kadizzle manage to pull the bow rope to the dock and secure the turned over boat so the wind would not blow it away.  Next Kadizzle went to see if he could be of service in the rescue of the woman.  When Kadizzle got to Mrs. Fisherman she explained to him she could not stand up because of her enormous weight.  Bill and her husband did not have the strength to upright this mass of humanity by themselves.  Kadizzle acted as a pulling force and Bill and Fisherman lifter her arms.  Like the Titanic in revers she rose bow first and managed to sustain the upright position.  The escorted her off the dock and presumably she survived in reasonable condition.  They have not yet given out the awards for who was the stupidest yesterday. The Fisherman could win with his entry, or we may win with ours.  It was easy to see there were four stupid people gathered together doing a drill in survival.  Kadizzle had no clue how to upright the sailboat.  Experienced with catamarans and uprighting them Kadizzle had an idea.  He would go out and stand on the dagger board. The weight should pry the boat upright.  All of a sudden the brain came to life and Kadizzle realize this was impossible with a monohull.  The the Einstein moment hit.  If Kadizzle could use the mast for leverage the boat might upright.  Kadizzle was going to jump in the water with a line and hook it high on the mast with this plan.  As he pulled the boat to the dock he grabbed on of the stays.  The stays are the lines that hold the mast up.  Pulling on the stay Kadizzle miraculously up-righted the boat.  Both Bill and Kadizzle were amazed at the feat.  The boat popped up to it's rightful position so quickly both were startled.  The boat got back on the trailer with no harm.  Kadizzle had to go across the bay in water up to his neck to retrieve the beer cooler, and the floating beer, along with the life jacket.  When Kadizzle got to the first life jacket caught on a tree sticking out of the water he put it on.  About two hours late, but as the say better late than never.  Today the goal is to find goggles or make googles to recover a few items still cooling on the bottom of the lake.  The moral of the story is don't let anything top heavy tip over on a windy day. 

The Russian mystery.

 Kadizzle just checked to see what countries were checking out the blog.  Very strange the way things changed. The Russians disappeared.  Now,  Americans are the big viewers.  What happened? The Russians are getting real good grades for their hacking.  Maybe they are now coming in disguised as Americans.  Why in the hell they would have the least interest in this crap is puzzling.  Maybe they actually don't and left.  Sure is strange to see such a flip.  Well Russians if you are still reading this tell your friends Kadizzle admires the protest against Putin.  If you Russians decide to poison me it can be done very easily.  Just put Ice cream by my door in large quantities. Within a week or two Kadizzle will explode.  Coffee ice cream will work the best.  

A sprawling mess

 Kadizzle had the assignment yesterday to drive over 200 miles to pick up some stuff for the Forest Service in Phoenix.  Phoenix is a sprawling mess.  The cancer of urban sprawl has eaten up the East coast, and the East side of the Rocky Mountains.  From Denver you can go north or south and drive from one shopping mall to the next.  Phoenix is like a checkerboard of shopping malls.  How did people build these cute little towns in Europe, and even in early America? Back in the old days people planned towns.  Is there anything better than a town square?  Now, fast food joints pop up like weeds.  Highways are like spider webs with on ramps, off ramps, and areas impossible to navigate on foot or bike.  Winky and Kadizzle used to talk about poorly laid out homes.  We called them Weneeda homes.  We need a kitchen, we need a bedroom, wee need a den.  Just put them anywhere with no relation to how one relates to the other.  When you drive through a town often it seems to have been laid out on the We Needa plan.  No though is given to what goes where.  One major thing that has been left out everywhere is the need for mass transit.  It is put in as an afterthought, so then it doesn't work.  We seem to fear planning.  The health care system in this country is just a patchwork mess.  The virus has proved that.  When the dust settles it is clear most of our infrastructure works for the wealthy, but is hard on the poor.  The rich get good health care, the poor are left to rot.  The rich get good water, the poor get all the lead they can drink.  The rich live in the castle and drop their waste in the mote.  The poor drink from the mote and pick up the crumbs from the castle. 

The Mind of a Hooplehead

 For entertainment Kadizzle has been going back and forth with a Hooplehead.  Unfortunately the country is plagued with the simple minded.  Hoopleheads did not go to college, or they went to some school that is made to resemble a college.  My old Republican neighbor summed it up best when he said " Education just confuses people".  Facts, research, and data are toxic to the Hoopleheads.  Most of their information comes from the coffee shop, right wing media, and hanging around with other Hoopleheads.  Hoopleheads are not to hard to spot.  A Trump flag or sticker is a sure sign.  Add to that maybe a concealed weapon or an NRA sticker.  Hoopleheads have a disdain for educated people.  If you went to college, you are confused. You don't understand poor people are welfare cheats, you don't understand the rich provide us with everything.  One amazing thing about the Hooples is they all hate Obama.  They cannot say why. The real reason is they are racist.  After all it is the black people who is after their money.  Most Hoopleheads buy lottery tickets.  This explains a lot.  Each Hooplehead believes they will soon be rich.  Since they are going to be rich they figure now is the time to make sure the rich don't get taxed.  Republicans know exactly how to manipulate a Hooplehead.  Scaring them works best.  You can feed the Hoopleheads conspiracy theories all day long.  Hoopleheads have no understanding of government, that is why you can turn socialism into a scare word.  BLM is a classic case.  Republicans turned it into a conspiracy theory.  Then there is the old Jesus routine.  Somehow the Hoopleheads think Jesus chose Trump.  Now how does that work? Religion is the bane of the Hoopleheads.  They can go to church and come home hating everyone.  How does that work?  They can go to church then vote for someone who breaks every commandment.  Hoopleheads never read anything of substance.  Reading was not their strong point.  It is far easier for a Hooplehead to watch Fox News, or tune into KFYR radio and get their minds filled with fantasy. 

The scammer and the rooster

A good laugh.  The scammer just called Kadizzle.  So far Kadizzle has won over 100 million from the scams.  Kadizzle like to draw out the scam conversation as long as possible just to waste the scammers time.  So along we go with the scam talk, and then on the scammers end of the phone Kadizzle hears the distinct crowing of a roosters. Kadizzle ask the scammer if they have chickens in the office.  The scammer says no.  Kadizzle tells the scammer he distinctly heard a rooster in the background cowing.  The scammer hung up.  That rooster will probably be dinner tonight for the scammer.  Imagine making a fake call pretending you are Readers Digest Sweepstakes headquarters and having a rooster crow in the background.  Got to go to the mailbox to pick up my check for five million.  

Everywhere

 The plan yesterday was to find a mountain road.  The plan mostly failed.  The dessert played it's tricks on Kadizzle and the road which he saw on a hike the other day was not where he thought it was.  First, Kadizzle and Winky headed up a dead end road that went the wrong way.  Next the two hikers took off following her GPS to an Indian site she had found the other day. On the way there we came across a large pottery shard in the middle of no place one should be. Usually these shards are found close to a dwelling.  Soon we got to Winky's recent find of a dwelling.  From there we found two or three other new sites. For the final hike out we went down a desert ridge.  All along the ridge we found pottery shards.  The sheer number of dwelling we found in the area is amazing.  The Tonto Basin had a lot of inhabitants six hundred years ago.  Figuring out what they were doing is a continuing mystery.  Winky saw something shiny and dug it out.  It turned out to be a very well made bird point.  What is a bird point?  Apparently the Indians used very small arrows to hunt birds.  A small arrow has a small point.  This arrowhead was about the size of a dime.  If the ambition gland kicks in maybe Kadizzle will post a picture later.  

We are up early to go to the grocery store in Globe. Winky has a notion that the virus can be avoided by shopping early in the day. 

Putting your friend in danger

 Kadizzle set out for a little motorcycle ride yesterday.  First a visit to the fishing tournament.  77 boats out chasing fish.  Next Kadizzle decided to ride around the gate and visit the other boat ramp that was under water.  Near the water Kadizzle spotted some garbage he thought he would dispose of. Nearing the garbage he realized it was some unopened bottles of flavored beer.  There were some people walking away and he thought it might be theirs.  Kadizzle drove up to the people and asked if it was their drinks.  Since Kadizzle had on a Forest Service Volunteer hat they must have thought he was accusing them of something.  Strangely they wanted to open the little hand held cooler and show Kadizzle what was in it.  Maybe they did leave the garbage and felt guilty.  The zinger was the gun.  Stuffed under the belt of one of the dingers was a hand gun.  It seemed a little odd to carry a gun that way.  The gun was pointed right at the guy's crotch.  Kadizzle thought it was not a good idea to point a gun at your best friend in your pants.  Now a lot of these gun nuts have their guns loaded and cocked. The only thing between them and disaster is the safety on the gun. Should this guy accidently fire his gun his best buddy would be splattered all over his underwear.  Gun nuts are not the brightest stars in the sky.  This is why they should not have guns in the first place. All of a sudden this story brings back a memory.  Long ago and far away when Kadizzle was young in the hills of West Virginia there was a hillbilly named Thermond Rollin Tanzy.  Tanzy as he was known was practicing his quick draw with an old fashioned six shooter.  Luck for him it was just 22 caliber.  Drawing the cocked gun it went off before he got it out of the holster.  The gun shot through his knee and the bullet came back out and went into his foot.  He had invented an excellent new way to shoot his foot off.  Maybe Trump could try this. 

Paid my Taxes

 Yesterday Kadizzle paid his taxes.  Sadly Kadizzle paid two or three times more than Trump.  The tax system is upside down the more money you have the lower tax rate you pay.  Of course Republicans think the rich should pay no taxes.  The rich provide us with air, water, God, and guns.  The rich trickle on us.  Ronald Reagan started the trickle down.  Now that we are all trickled on life is good, there is no poverty ,  the infrastructure is fine,  and we are free to attack the Capitol.  Best of all Republicans have done a lot to remove the inheritance tax so little rich kids can grow up to be big rich kids that never worked in their life.  It has always been the rich that took care of us. The rich used to pick the cotton, and mine the coal.  Just drive down the road and you will see the rich working everywhere.  That guy driving the bus is rich, the guy picking up your garbage can is rich. We owe the rich so much for doing so much for us. Without the rich nothing would get done.  Go to a poor country with few rich people. There you will find poor people working.   That could happen here if we do not protect the rich.  All of us poor people would have to work if we were not trickled on.  Thankya Jeeeesus for the rich. 

Cramer responds

 There it is the email from Cramer.  A form letter full of excuses for Donald Trump.  The same sorrowful excuses Cramer sells to the cult. Kadizzle is not in the cult, and would like some real answers.  Then you have his brother Hoeven, the " empty suite".  Two worthless lickspittles that represent North Dakota.  Kadizzle has been banned for three days from facebook because he suggested people eradicate Republicans.  Seems like a good idea.  Now if Trump suggest we eradicate Mike Pence that is fine. We live in a strange world.

Tony Bender wrote a good piece today, as he always does.  Bender is a bright light in North Dakota going right to the neck of the Hoopleheads.  On the other hand are all the hacks like Scott Hennen. Scott Hennen went to the Capitol and participated in the riots.  Scott fires out lies for two hours every day on KFYR.  The farmers and rednecks eat up the lies and here we are.  

What do the Europeans think

Traveling you get to sample the minds of people who do not live in the bubble of the United States.  Often Winky and Kadizzle get the foreign view from visitors to the U.S. Most are reluctant to insult our country, but if you give them an opening they will tell you they are amused and amazed that we are so ignorant we would let someone like Trump come to power.  Foreign people will point our out shortcomings we will not admit.  Ask a Canadian or a German what they think about our health care.  It is not all bad.  Europeans are amazed by out public lands.  People are amazed by out interstate, and the size of the country.  Sadly most people from Europe realize the sheer number of stupid people we have. Our education system has failed most Americans.  Sure we have some people who excel, but we have 74 million total idiots that voted for Trump and still believe him.  If you want to truly know what your house looks like you need to step out of it to the street and look back. You cannot see your house through the Fox News tube. 

Hateful

 Kadizzle has always been puzzled when he is accused of being hateful.  Many times in a heated exchange with hard core right wing people Kadizzle is accused of being hateful.  Apparently disagreeing with people is hateful.  Usually the right wing person get's backed into a corner and the usual comment is not a reply with logic, but the comment " why are you hateful".  Arguing over the speed of light Kadizzle points to information that it is 186,000 miles per second.  The right wing person responds " why are you so hateful?"  This comes up a lot with religion.  Some person makes some crazy assertion and you question it. Why are you so hateful.  The church considered Galileo hateful when he said the Earth orbited the sun. Apparently asking people to change their fundamental belief, and using facts is hateful.  On many occasions Kadizzle has asked the right wingers to explain how he is hateful.  Never has one answered.  Recently Kadizzle had one of these go arounds.  With an old friend Kadizzle was going through the Trump nonsense.  Kadizzle sent the man some straight forward factual information. The response was " You need to quit being hateful".   It occurred to Kadizzle how hateful Trump has been.  Trump actually inspired and condoned violence.  How is it these people cannot see the real thing. 

Turn on the black light

 Have you ever pointed an ultra violet light at something? You see things normal light does not show.  The light has been pointed at every Republican. Now you see what they are, people driven by tax cuts and greed at any price.  Any price means destroying our democracy, lying, allowing Trump to murder a policeman.  You can see every speck of human detritus with a black light.  Now you know who Republicans are. 

A different day

 Yesterday was a perfect day. The sky was crystal clear, no wind, and temperature was perfect.  Not today, looks like clouds, and maybe some rain, such is life.  Kadizzle has as usual lost his mind hoping Trump will be convicted.  Trump will get away with his final crime in office.  The level of stupidity in this country is far greater than anyone could imagine.  As a child Kadizzle thought doctors, and lawyers were actually intelligent moral people. Sorry, it is just not so.  The amazing thing about humans is they can possess some skill like painting, acting, or some other talent, yet be incredibly stupid when it comes to reality.  Some very successful people buy into insane ideas.  Religion is the best proof of this.  People believe total nonsense when it comes to religion. This primes them to believe Trump, Rush Limbaugh, and Fox News.  Maybe if the dead do indeed rise Fox News is right.  Reality is hard to deal with so why not just embrace fantasy.  

Scott Hennen calls to admit he lied.

 Early yesterday morning Scott Hennen called Kadizzle to admit basically he lied. This was amazing.  Hennen could not actually bring himself to admit outright that he just lied.  Instead he fabricated a story.  First, lets review.  The whole thing started when Kadizzle called Hennen's call in radio show.  Kadizzle said he was calling from Arizona.  After the call Scott Hennen said Kadizzle was lying and was not in Arizona, but in Hazen, North Dakota.  The point was to prove Kadizzle was a liar.  Kadizzle wrote several emails to KFYR radio management about the lie and also made several phone calls.  Scott Hennen said someone called him and said they saw Kadizzle in Hazen.  Which was a total fabrication.   It seems poor old Scott is a pathological liar.  On his show yesterday he was speaking to  and defending the My Pillow guy who is a famous liar.  Kadizzle and Hennen had a relatively long phone conversation.  Basically Hennen said lying to stupid people was a good business model and there was no reason to change it.  When you listen to the advertisments on KFYR you can tell who their audience is.  The sponsors are My Pillow, gold scams, credit card protections scams, and erection pills.  Cult members are hopeless they love the excitement of lies.  Trump is a pathological liar of the highest rank. 

Scott Hennen the Liar

 Yesterday I called KFYR radio and spoke to Scott Hennen on his radio show.  I was surprised he let me bombast his lying and his support for Trump. Of course he maintains Trump is innocent. I accused Scott Hennen of lying and being a propagandist for Trump. It was amazing how long Hennen let me speak, usually he cuts me off by going to a commercial or simply hanging up.  After the call was over Hennen said I lied about where I called from.  I am in Roosevelt, Arizona, and that is where I called from.  Hennen must have thought I was calling from North Dakota.  I emailed Hennen and asked him to retract his accusation.  I am sure he will not.  There are endless ways I can prove I called from Arizona.  Hennen has a habit of promoting untruths, conspiracy theories, and any distortion that will support Trump. The sad thing is Hennen has a group of simple minded Hoopleheads in North Dakota that believe him. 

A grueling ebike ride

 Winky cannot stand still and insisted on an adventure yesterday. Kadizzle cooked one up.  We drove the truck with the ebikes about five miles up towards Peter Bigfoots.  With the ebikes unloaded we headed up to an Indian site.   Winky once told Kadizzle ebikes provide no exercise.  Even with electric assist the heart was pounding and all the extra chicken meat around Kadizzles waist was being paid for.  The sandy road went up and down and finally turned into a very steep grade full of baby head cobbles.  When we got near the goal the road got even worse.  After inspecting the site where Kadizzle found a nice piece of pottery with very good markings.  It was a black on white which is rare.  Next we took off to hike on foot on up to the top of the mountain. It is six A. M. Cliff seems to have a kidney stone. Have to take off immediately to take him to the emergency room.  Over and out. 

The People You Meet

 At the soiree yesterday the former captain of a 50 ft Charter catamaran which he also owned swapped sailing stories with Kadizzle and the gang.  Riding through the campground Kadizzle encountered the older couple who originally hailed from Switzerland.  Hans actually did a Swiss yodel for us before he left.  Ken and Rita bought an old aluminum canoe with a place for a little electric motor on it. They had a little adventure exploring the lake. The Swiss were out bike riding when Kadizzle took Hans on a tour of the local trails. His wife Ruth did not want to do the gravel trails and she went back to their camp with Winky to cackle about adventures.  Bob and Liz took off early in the day.  Kadizzle tried to tell Bob he was making a mistake wanting to visit Quartzite.  Quartzite is the place you would give the planet an enema.  Bill did not show up at the soiree today, but Kadizzle had a good conversation with Bill. Bill used to be a machinist that did very precise work.  Among other things he built components for MRI and CAT scan machines.  Bill explained how he got over precision.  Looking at his campsite you could see it was a very successful cure. Junk was strew about everywhere.  One key to life is realizing when enough is enough and what really matters.  One of the great joys is meeting people when we travel.  Every person is a book. Some people are not such good books, but most are very interesting books.  Instead of reading Kadizzle would much rather hear a real person tell about their life and adventure, and there are plenty of travelers in the RV world with endless stories from all over the world. You learn so much interviewing these people. 

Bob Dylan has a song " Every grain of sand".  It is one of Kadizzles favorites. Yesterday Kadizzle hiked up a neat little canyon with Bob and Liz, who are visiting.  As usual we drove up a dry creek bed for miles, and then there was water. The water disappeared right in front of you, but it was flowing freely in the canyon.  What was amazing in the canyon was the flowing water moving the sand.  How did the Earth get carved? It was flowing water and millions and billions of years, but right under our feet you could see the massive amounts of material being moved.  May two or three percent of the moving water was made up of sand.  After a flash flood here you tons of sand moved by water.  There was a lot of material in the Grand Canyon, but the water moved it.  What water can do is truly amazing.  When we look at other planets we can see what water did to them. 

Lets pretend

This morning Kadizzle is going right at the throat of the Republican Party. Some friends are commenting on a talk given about the future of the Republican Party.  Republicans would like to pretend they are about something good. What is good about tax cuts for the rich? That is as simple as it gets. That is all the Republican Party is about. It is about protecting rich people from poor people. No trick is too dirty, too low, or too immoral too achieve their goal. Trump proved it in triplets. Kadizzle is not going to have people dance around sugar coating what Republins are. No decent person would still claim to be a Republican.  Kadizzle does his best to forgive those who do. 

The Rusty 1 is cursed

Kadizzle has had a lot of ornery sailboats, but none compare to the Rusty 1.  Yesterday Kadizzle decided to take Bill out for his first sail.  Of course there would be no wind, so after reaching a top speed of two miles an hour we gave up.  Kadizzle thought the wind might come up so he left the sails on the boat.  Sure enough a strong wind came up.  Kadizzle got Bill and off we went.  When we got to the dock and put the boat in there was no main sheet on the mast.  What could have happened to it?  It must have blown off on the way to the boat ramp. Quickly we got in the truck and retraced our path.  Before we left the boat ramp Kadizzle tied the Rusty 1 to the dock and left it to float alone until we got back.  Making the return trip we found pieces of rope on the road.  We thought we were finding parts of the main halyard on the road, but later it proved to be parts of the jib sheet.  Puzzled we returned to the boat ramp. As we approached the boat ramp we met Tony driving towards us.  We stopped Tony to see if he found the main sheet on the road.  Tony said no, but asked what we did with the Rusty 1.  We told him we left it tied to the boat dock.  Tony said there is no boat there.  Both Bill and Kadizzle thought he was joking.  Driving to the ramp we found there was no boat.  The strong wind blew the boat loose and it was over in the high weeds across the bay.  This meant Kadizzle had to wade out to the boat and try to get in.  Kadizzle managed to get to the boat start the motor and plow out of the weeds.  Finally we got the boat back on the trailer.  The main halyard turned out to be in the boat, but the jib sheet was the victim of the disaster. The whole thing turned out to be a Chinese fire drill.  Maybe it was a good thing in a way.  It was a strong wind to be out on that lake in a small boat.  Maybe one disaster prevented another.  Today the mast will have to come down to replace the main halyard.  This is the same little boat that came off the trailer and cost Kadizzle five hundred dollars. 

Show up and Shut up

 How to succeed,  Show up and shut up.  Kadizzle in his 71 years has been around a few managers, bosses, or whatever you want to call them.  To his amazement he saw one engineer move to the top.  How did he do it? He showed up and shut up.  He never had an original idea, never rocked the boat, and when Kadizzle talked to him he had a hard time staying awake, but he never made any problems.  Of course you can add to the formula a good dose of  lickspittle.  A good show up and shut up guy watches the people who really have some gumption and imagination.  If the people with a pulse do come up with a good idea, then steal it and put your brand on it.  Kadizzle also noticed in his career that fall guys could get ahead.  If you were willing to fall on the sword for the next guy up that was commendable. Kadizzle used to work with a very dishonest guy.  The question was did his superiors know what a crook he was? Of course.  He would do there dirty work, and take the blame if the scheme blew up.  Incompetence should never hold anyone back. That seems to be the case so many times.  Kadizzle thinks of Mick Gross.  Mick played some political games and became head of the phone company in Hazen.  Mick gets named because he is a scoundrel that particularly pisses Kadizzle off.  Mick knew nothing about running a phone coop, but he got himself on the board, then convinced the board to let him be CEO.  Mick had his assistant do all the work, and of course Mick took credit for it.  Mick had no answers for anything.  Kadizzle was going to run for a position on the board and went into Mick's office to get some questions answered.  Every time Kadizzle asked Mick a question he turned to his assistant and said " Answer that for him".  Mick did not have a clew, but he knew how to play the game.  Mick figured out one thing like most scoundrels do, pack the board with your lickspittles.   How do you do that?  Well if you get on the board and agree to just go along with Mick you get to take nice winter vacations at the expense of the coop, and you get some cash besides.  Only one condition, show  up and shut up.  Now, all this brings us to the present.  Nothing, happens, nothing gets done. If you don't do anything nothing can go wrong.  So just let the place crumble around you and you will get promoted. Don't draw attention to anything, don't have an opinion.  That gets us to another important point.  Never show your cards.  When asked about anything never give a straight forward answer.  Always say, " I will look into that" or " We need to think about that".   Remember the Civil War.  Who was that General that would never go into battle?  Was it McClellan?  He was winning as long as he did not get in any battles.  Kadizzle has always like the Bible quote " The meek shall inherit the Earth".   The Earth the meek will inherit is a mess.  It is a mess because of the meek.  The meek were the people who stood there with their thumb up their *** and did nothing, said nothing, and just watched.  The meek were the best supporters of Trump even if they did not vote for him.  Their doing nothing got Trump elected.  So here we are once more being robbed by the one percent.  They know how to play fools.  If you try to tax them just shout socialism.  It is as simple as that. 

The soiree

Community is an interesting concept. Communities develop.  Living the traveling life you see communities develop.  Down below us in the Coyote campground a bunch of identical campers pulled in.  Slowly these people came together and formed a traveling community.  The Forest Service volunteers have a little community.  On most days around three everyone meets at the Earth Module.  Social distancing we sit outside and shoot the breeze.  Yesterday Helen showed up. Helen works on the range.  The range is the vast holdings of the Forest Service which ranchers rent.  There is a group of people in the Forest Service that manage the range.  The usual group is Bill, Ken and Rita, Kadizzle, Cliff, and of course Winky.  We discuss a little of the days news, some Forest Service gossip, and the events of the days.  Helen has been working in California so she had to give a report on the California fires.  One of the greatest things about our life style is the people we meet.  We always get to know new people, and we are constantly keeping up with old traveling friends we have met.  The internet keeps everyone in touch.  The vast amount of information one can get from traveling people is amazing. You can find out all the secrets of any area. 

Impossible

 Kadizzle likes studying the sites of native Americans, but, and it is a big but.  You cannot get anything done simply on Forest Service land without an archaeology study.  Our old friend Dave died when he fell from a ladder a couple months ago. The trail crew wants to memorialize Dave with a bench overlooking the lake.  Seems real simple, but just to put a bench in the ground is a massive paperwork undertaking.  As a trail crew regulations become a real mess.  The most insane are the wilderness regulations. When we work on trails in the wilderness, we cannot use anything but ancient tools.  This means a tree that could be removed from the trail with a chainsaw in minutes will take an hour with an old fashioned buck saw.  To some extent this is a good regulation. Who wants to hear chain saws when they are in the " Wilderness"? Like all laws this could use some tuning.  If we were allowed for one or two months in the spring to use mechanized equipment, we could accomplish so much.  Of course when there is a forest fire all bets are off, chainsaws are fine, helicopters, four wheelers, you name it.  Common sense is not something well tolerated by the federal government.  

This all bring up an incident back in the days when Kadizzle was a surface coal miner.  Some brilliant bureaucrat came up with the idea mining companies should only be able to blast four hours a day.  This was to give some comfort to people living near large surface mines.  In the Eastern United States it is the overburden that has to be blasted.  The overburden may be one hundred feet thick solid rock.  To load the blast hole may take three days.  Once the holes are loaded one massive blast takes place.  However, in North Dakota the coal is blasted, not the overburden.  To keep the process moving you have to blast a couple times a day with small blast to break up the coal.  The Mine Health and Safety Administration would bring our operation to a halt if we cannot blast all day long.  The mine inspector told Kadizzle he had to publish a blast schedule saying which four hours we would blast.  Kadizzle came up with a plan so we could blast for eight hours.  Kadizzle published a schedule that said we would blast every other 15 minutes starting at 8 A.M.  That meant we would never be delayed more than 15 minutes.  It added up to four hours.  The inspected did not know what to do.  That is the nature of stupidity.  Sometimes there is a way to beat it.  One major problem with any law is it make make very good sense in one part of the world and be insane in another. 

Another nice Day.

Everyone awoke early and Kadizzle drove the trail crew up on the mountain.  After leaving the gang Kadizzle came back and put the ebike in the truck. This time Kadizzle drove to the west end of the Cottonwood trail and left the truck for the crew to drive back in the afternoon when they finished their hike from the East end.  Kadizzle had a nice ride back to the lake on the ebike.  Must have reached 80 degrees here today.  Could not imagine this place in summer heat.  Arizona is suffering from one of the worst droughts on record. 

Got some errands done including hauling ice.  The flat planes are going crazy today. Two of them are practicing.  Suppose the helicopters will be playing war games on the lake tonight. Always trying to promote the place Kadizzle just finished taking a couple on a tour of all our bike paths. Too many people in Arizona just don't know this place exist. 

A POST FOR HONEST OMAR ( Click on the Picture)

 

Who is the real cookie thief?

 This is as simple as it gets. Republicans convince working people the poor are after their cookies while the rich rob them blind.