I am leaving tomorrow for San Diego. My sister is flying in from Georgia and I will drive down. Next week is my mom’s 86th birthday and my sister’s 58th. It will be fun; we are planning on going to Disneyland. I rent a wheelchair for mom and push her all over the place. With mom in the wheelchair I am pretty sure that we will be moved up to the front of the line on all the rides.

I am breaking the trip into two days both going and coming. With the blood clotting problems I have had I think it is the wise thing to do. I have been instructed to stop every two hours and get out and walk around. This will be my plan; I am in no big hurry. I have a room in Mesquite Nevada on the out bound portion. I should get there around 6:00 or 7:00 in the evening. Have a nice dinner lose some quarters in the slot machines and get good nights sleep. Depending on what time I take off from Mesquite I should be in San Diego early afternoon. My sister will not arrive until Saturday so it will give my plenty of time to convince mom that I have always been the best child and my sister was the one to cause all the trouble.

My daughter and her husband will drive down to San Diego late next week. The trips just seem to coincide. My sister will be able to see their daughter/my granddaughter. She has told me that she is looking forward to this. I’ll not be bloging for the next week. I should have some pictures to share and stories to tell when I get back.

Yesterday was a warm ,but somewhat windy day. This morning I woke up to snow almost belly deep to small dogs. It is still coming down

I drove out to the desert yesterday. I spent more time driving then I did in the desert. It is a three hour round trip and I spent at 2 ½ hours doing stuff. I spent most of the time shooting and a little bit exploring. It was good alone time. I find that I can connect with God a little better when I get off by myself from time to time.

I shot up a couple of pie pans. They just do not hold up to the .223 round, but it is great fun to make them jump all over the place.

I got home in time to take the bride out for dinner and tell her I was sorry about the pie pans.

It has snowed about five inches over night I am headed out to make a bunch of noise with the snow blower. Life is good

I am home alone with three dogs and one granddaughter. This in it’s self can be a dangerous combination.

Things were going well, Ava in her highchair just finishing the last course of her lunch before nap time. The dogs are outside running up and down the fence barking at the neighbor’s dog. Life is good, grandpa is in control. It had seemed like a long time since I had seen any of the dogs at the back door wanting to get in. I leave little Ava a in her highchair and step out back. NO dogs, I start to holler and one of the neighbors yells back that the dogs are in the front.

Chopper, my daughter’s dog is not a problem he will come when you call him. My two mutts will run and run until they are done playing with you. So I have three dogs out front and one granddaughter in the highchair. I am spinning around on the front porch figuring out which way I should go. Luckily most of the neighbors are chasing my dogs. Mrs. Rommer is standing by the door so I ask her to go in and watch Ava. That is taking care of. I call Chopper and he runs for the front door (good dog) I am down to two dogs on the loose. Both of my dogs run into the house across the street. They had left the front door open. Things are looking good. I see Mike coming towards me with Foxy in his arms. I get the leash on Foxy and Dusty makes a run for it. He is gone heading for yards that he has yet to explore. After a couple of laps around a house he gets trapped in a back yard of some people I don’t know. They are not home so I can be a little bolder going through their gate. Just because Dusty is in a backyard does not mean that he is caught. I try coaxing, chasing, pleading and bribing. He comes close and he is gone. I finally grab him. So I have a dog on the leash and I dog in my arms. Things should be good. Foxy is jumping at Dusty because I am holding him. Jealous little mutt, She manages to pull her head out of her collar. But she is following me to the house, and then Pico (neighbor’s dog) comes into her view. She is off. Mike manages to grab Foxy as she is chasing Pico around his legs. So now everybody is in the house and Mrs. Rommer can be relived of the Ava watch. I find out that Chopper pushed my gate open and started this affair. I get Ava laid down for a nap and keep the dogs in the house so I can go about boarding up the gate.

The gate is secure, Ava is sleeping and the dogs are too muddy to come in before I give them bath. I think I can relax now.

Tragedy in Utah

Trolley Square's winding hallways became a shooting gallery for an 18-year-old gunman in a trench coat who fired a shotgun randomly at customers, killing five and wounding four before being killed by police.

I am truly taken back by the brutality of this incident. It hits close to home for a number of reasons. Trolley Square is our favorite place to go in Salt Lake City. We wander down there at least once a month to have dinner at the Spaghetti Factory. We have been to or at least by all the stores mentioned in the news reports. As the bride and I sat and watched the story unfold on the TV we both could imagine being in the places mentioned. I have to believe that this murder will taint all of us in Utah for years to come. Like it or not Utah has always been perceived as a relatively innocent place to live and visit. That perception has changed, at least in my eyes. I know that going to Trolley Square will be different now. I thank God that there was an armed man to confront the gunman. He was an off duty police officer from Ogden. But being off duty he is no more then an armed citizen. I have to believe that he saved a number of lives last night. He is a hero in any sense of the word. To go up against a man with a shotgun armed only with a hand gun speaks loudly for his character.

I wonder how many of us would react if confronted in similar scenario. For those of you who don’t know Utah is a right to carry state. That means as long as you are a citizen with a clean record and have past all the back ground checks you will be given a permit to carry a concealed weapon (hand gun). There are many law abiding citizens of Utah that carry everyday. This is a good thing in my opinion, but I am surprised that there were not any other armed citizens at the mall. If there was I wonder why no one else confronted the killer. But again I don’t know how I would react if in the same situation.

My thoughts and prays go out to the families of the victims.

A lot of this stuff goes on in and around National parks on the border. Americans can not even safely enjoy our own country


TUCSON, Ariz. -- Gunmen confronted nine or 10 illegal immigrants in a vehicle along a known smuggling corridor northwest of Tucson, killing three men Thursday and injuring at least two other people, authorities said.

One man was found dead on a dirt road frequented by human smugglers near the Silverbell mine more than 20 miles northwest of Tucson.

Authorities later found two more men dead about 10 miles north in the cab of the pickup truck that had been carrying the migrants, said Rick Kastigar, the Pima County sheriff's criminal investigations chief.

Those two men were among six or seven people in the group who were taken against their will, officials said.

Investigators were not certain why the group was attacked. "Of course, there was human trafficking, and we're thinking it was possibly that they were attacked by bandits," sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jim Ogden said.

Gangs of armed bandits have been known to roam border areas and prey on illegal immigrants as they cross into the country. Feuding among smuggling organizations also is not uncommon, where one group will steal a load of migrants from another, essentially kidnapping them and demanding ransoms from their relatives to gain their freedom.

Kastigar said the migrants were in a white pickup truck heading north when four men armed with assault rifles in a second vehicle forced it to stop.

During a confrontation, one man was shot and killed. Two people were shot and wounded: a woman who sustained a neck wound and a man who suffered a hand injury that took off several fingers, Kastigar said.

Sheriff's Sgt. James Ogden said the two wounded migrants had "very, very serious injuries." Both were taken to an area hospital.

Two more men who were not injured were taken into custody as witnesses and were questioned by investigators, Ogden said.

Kastigar said the confrontation near Tucson occurred about 12 hours after an incident more than 70 miles south, near the border at Sasabe, in which 18 illegal immigrants were robbed at gunpoint by four heavily armed men wearing ski masks.

It wasn't clear whether the events were related.

The bride’s sister is at the airport and on her way back home. It was a very nice visit and the sisters had a grand time. I am pretty sure that I am broke but they had fun.

It is imperative that I buy some ¾ inch plywood this week. My friend Nate and I are building shooting benches. Nate picked up the legs and I will pick up the wood. Any way I think that is how it is working out.

The bride and I were discussing relocating after we retire and we keep coming back to staying here. Utah has been our home for the past 28 years and we like it. I will admit that it is not very retirement friendly with their tax structure but all our friends and most of our family is here.

I was looking at real estate on the internet this morning and I found a wonderful house in Georgia. 4 bed rooms and 3 full baths for maybe ¾’s of what we could get out of the place we live now. So we could cash out on the house back there and put money in the bank. My sister lives in Georgia not to many miles form where this house is so I would have family there. It is only 386 days until I can retire, but who is counting? .

The bride’s sister is here for a visit. This is a good thing, she is a very nice lady and we get along very well. The bride has taken the rest of the week off from work and they are headed down to Gardener Village. Gardener Village is the ultimate “chick” place. It is a collection of old homes from around Utah moved to an old grist mill and turned into boutiques. You know the places where girls can buy dead weeds stuck in Styrofoam and call it a wall hanging. Anyway they have a great restaurant (Archibale's) and enough shops to keep the sisters happy all day.

A little history on this place, The grist mill was established back in 1850’s I believe by Archibale Gardner. He was a polygamist with a bunch of wives. In the restaurant you will see a number of pictures of his brides of the month. There is one picture that has captured my interest. It was wife number 9 I believe and this drawing of Mrs. Gardener looks exactly like me. I am not kidding about this one. It is weird but good for some laughs. I have sat under this picture a few times and it is funny to watch the waitress do a double take. All I can say about Mrs. Gardener number 9, she was a handsome women.

Lunch is served

This is my buddy Rickey

This is my friend Leroy poking holes n the ice

I went ice fishing today. It was the first time in years and I forgot how cold you can get. No fish but had a great time on the ice with friends

Never mind the date on the picture it is wrong. The picture was taken today

An impromptu day off., I was joking with the bride this morning. I mentioned that we should go to Idaho and buy some lottery tickets so we could both retire. She took me at my word and we have both called into work. So when the sun comes up and we get dressed for the day we will be heading north.

I mentioned that I had bought my wife an MP3 player for her birthday and I had to take it back. Yesterday at lunch my buddy Nate and I went to Circuit city and bought her an Ipod. I figured I was home free. The Ipod did not have FM radio in it. So back it went and I ended up buying a different MP3 player, she is now happy, and that is what I live for. I guess the third time is a charm.

Time to go enjoy my coffee in front of the fire and wait for the sun to come over the mountains, have a great day

I bought my bride an MP3 player this afternoon for her birthday (Sunday). I specifically asked if I could down load songs from a CD, of course I was told yes. This MP3 was made exclusively for Best Buy. We were given a 2 month free subscription to BEST BUY MUSIC STORE MANAGER. It appears that this MP3 player made exclusively for Best Buy will not let you rip CD’s you can only down load music from BEST BUY MUSIC STORE MANAGER ( $14 a month). Which I am upset about, but what is even worse I can not get BEST BUY MUSIC STORE MANAGER to load on my computer. I spent minimum of 45 minutes on the phone with Ann from tech support. She had uninstall and reinstall the software 4 or 5 times. I paid $223 for this unit and I do believe it will be going back this weekend. I would take it back first thing in the morning but I am heading for the gun show in Salt Lake City. I sold a rifle last weekend at a small gun show up in Ogden. I need to replace with a different rifle. So between me exercising my second amendment rights and taking the bride to http://www.lacaille.com/ for her birthday my Saturday is pretty well shot. The return will have to wait until Sunday after church.

My San Diego Chargers just lost the playoff game. They are out of the playoffs. This was a heart breaker. It was ours to lose and we did. We got some really stupid penalties. But it is only a game. Win or lose they are still my Chargers.

My body aches everywhere, I have little to no energy, I did not go to work today, and tomorrow is not looking to good. I am supposed to go to birthday party tonight. That is not going to happen. I am glad I have snow in the yard that way I am not feeling guilty about not doing yard work.

U.S. Protests Mexican Decision To Give GPS Devices To Illegal ImmigrantsJanuary 4, 2007 8:01 p.m. EST
Matthew Borghese - All Headline News Staff Writer

Mexico City, Mexico (AHN) - U.S. officials are in an uproar after the Mexican government approved a bill which will issue global positioning satellite (GPS) tracking devices to emigrants crossing into America illegally. Mexico says it will issue an estimated 200,000 devices in 2007, in an effort to save hundreds of lives as the crossing North grows even deadlier in the hot summer months. The move is seen as a protest against Washington's efforts to build a fence along the U.S.-Mexico border to curb the growing problem of "undocumented workers."
Mexican officials say the crossing, which is usually led by a guide, called a "coyote," is dangerous and deadly. Often, a coyote will take the payment and simply leave the immigrants stranded in the desert, or even hold them for ransom.


If the Mexican wants to save hundreds of lives, maybe they should fix Mexico and provide jobs, Do away with the corruption, and keep their people home. I believe this should be considered an act of war by the Mexican government. They are aiding in the invasion of the United States.

The government has lost its mind and in doing so is stabbing honest tax paying citizens in the back. It seems that there is an agreement with the Mexican government to allow Mexican citizen to cross our border (legal or illegal) and work for 18 months and this allows them full social security benefits. We all know social security system is in trouble. Many Americans count on the money that they paid into the system to see them through till their dying day. Most Americans have worked their entire life paying their social security tax in the belief that the money would be there. But now in as little as 18 months you can receive social security , but only if you are not a citizen of the United States. All this time I was taught that our elected officials were to represent the citizens that sent them to Washington. I guess I was fooled.

New Years eve, it is funny how people tend to reflect at the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. I know I am guilty of pondering on my own life. I have a very good life, a wonderful bride of 34 years, good job, good kids, and two goofy dogs. The kids are all grown into upstanding adults and a couple of them have given me wonderful grandkids. I truly feel blessed from God. This is starting to sound syrupy. Sorry!!!

In late February I will reach the one year until I can retire date. This will be a mile stone, I can say 11 months, 10 months, and so on. If management asked if I am going to go I can smile and say “I don’t know “ and I really don’t. I told myself if I had one more medical incident I would go. Well I had the incident about two months ago, and I still don’t know.

My friend Nate would love to position himself to take my job when I do go. I think he is over qualified but I would never tell him that. It would just go to his head and he barely fits into his hats as it is.

This New Years celebration is consisting of getting into our pajamas sitting in front of the fire and watching TV. If we make to midnight I am sure there will be the New Years kiss and crawl of to bed for a good nights sleep. If we don’t make it to midnight I am sure the New Year will get here just the same. Life is good, thank you Jesus.

We listen constantly to pro illegal immigration that they are good people and they help the country. We have no idea who is in the country and what evil they plan to do. These two articles show what is happening and you have to know that the majority of crimes committed by illegal immigrates do not get reported.

Last week there was a large protest about the round up of immigrates at the Swift meat packing plants across the country, Not only where these folks here illegally they stole Americans Social security numbers. Identity theft is a very big deal unless you are illegal. Neither article is very long, please read

INVASION USADeported illegal who shot officers killedCalifornia patrolmen fired on as they sat in their cruiser

Posted: December 29, 20061:30 p.m. Eastern
© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com

An illegal immigrant who had been deported from the United States several times but returned each time and now was being sought for wounding two police officers in Long Beach, Calif., has died in a shooting with officers who tracked him to a taco stand in Santa Ana, authorities have confirmed. Santa Ana Police Chief Paul Walters said Oscar Gabriel Gallegos, wanted for the shooting of Long Beach officers Abram Yap and Roy Wade Jr. as they sat in their squad car Dec. 22, died while trying to shoot three of his officers with a .40-caliber Glock equipped with a laser sight. Walters told the Orange County Register that Gallegos carried two fully loaded magazines in his pocket during the confrontation. "He was either going to kill the officers or be killed," Walters said. "Fortunately, the right person got killed." The Long Beach officers, who had stopped Gallegos for running a red light, are recovering from their injuries in the hospital, officials said. At a news conference, Steve Cooley, the Los Angeles County district attorney, said Gallegos was an illegal immigrant who had been deported to Mexico several times, most recently in 1996, according to federal immigration records. Authorities in Long Beach said Gallegos also had faced weapons and drug charges over the years, and Police Chief Anthony Batts said Gallegos was "an evil man." Reports said Yap was shot once in the face and Wade, a rookie with less than a month on the force, was hit in the neck and chest. Neither officer had had an opportunity to get out of their car and they never shot back. After the shooting and Gallegos was identified as the sole suspect, federal authorities tracked him to Santa Ana, and undercover detectives from Long Beach reportedly found him at a strip mall. Authorities said Gallegos apparently saw a police car arrive and he began shooting before the officers could get out of the car. The arriving officers, members of a SWAT unit, returned fire and killed Gallegos, authorities said. After the first shooting, police said the officers had just stopped Gallegos when he got out of his vehicle and shot the two, firing through the windshield of their cruiser.
WND also has been reporting on a growing list of illegal immigrants who have not only ignored U.S. immigration laws, but state laws against drinking and driving as well, killing innocents on the highways in the process.





Closer to home


Charges Filed Against Drunk Driver of Fatal Crash
December 28th, 2006 @ 5:00pm
Sandra Yi Reporting

The three surviving member of the Ceran family are back home and now facing the slow rebuilding and recovery process. But they won't be doing it alone. Benefit efforts for the family have already exceeded expectations. Gary Ceran, his daughter Clarissa and son Caleb were all in "A Christmas Story" at the Hale Center Theater. The theatre community is very tight. When two benefit shows to raise money for the family sold out they didn't want it to stop there.
The man who hit the Ceran family has been charged. There were only smiles when Clarissa Ceran came home from the hospital yesterday. Her father and brother, who also survived the crash, welcomed her. Gary Ceran, Car Crash Victim: "They say that only those who know the deepest sorrow can know the deepest rapture, and the joy of having them here is just made that much greater by the losses that we had." Prosecutors today charged the man accused of hitting and killing Gary's wife, son Ian and daughter Julianna, on Christmas Eve. Charging documents say Prieto voluntarily told officers, he drank five beers. Preliminary blood tests showed his blood alcohol level was above the legal limit. Immigration officials believe Prieto is also in the country illegally. Gary Ceran has compassion, not anger, for the man. Friends say that's inspiring. Dave Petersen, Family Friend: "It only took watching those interviews with Gary to teach me that my attitude needed to change." Petersen, his daughter Ashley and friend JaNae Cottam acted with some of the Cerans at the Hale Center Theatre. Ashley Petersen, Family Friend: "I went in my room and cried when I found out that Julianna had died, because she was such a special child." Two benefit performances to raise money for the family sold out so quickly, the theatre added a third show for Saturday. JaNae Cottam, Family Friend: "It's been a boon to all of us to recognize that charity is there." Funeral services have been scheduled for Saturday. Prieto's first court appearance is on January 2nd.