Slopping hogs

I had a Great Uncle, Raymond, that lived in a small town in Kansas in the same house he was born in and on the same farm he grew up on.  He left once in his life when he was a medic in the 38th Infantry Division, the Liberators of Bataan, during WWII.  

Town in Kansas may be stretching the truth a bit.  Spot on map is a more apt description.  His house, the Catholic church, the Priests house, a Knights of Columbus Hall (burned down in 1973), and Kamplings General Store (complete with pot bellied store and pickle barrels) and the Kamplings house is the entire town.

Uncle Ray had a barn with a hay loft, a pigpen, an old Allis Chalmers tractor, and HUGE mulberry trees lining the property.  The place as close to heaven as all us great nephews and nieces that visited out there would ever get to here on earth. 

My dream, as a kid, was to be just like my Uncle Ray.  As far as I was concerned he was the strongest, kindest most gentle man that ever lived.  He was so strong, that when slopping the hogs, he carried TWO five gallon buckets full of slop to the trough twice.  7 year old me would struggle to help him carry one of those buckets!  He would chuckle a bit watching me struggle with that bucket but never helped, saying "You want to be a man, work like one" always with a kind smile.  That would make me struggle even harder to prove myself in his eyes.  

My Dad, a Marine fighter pilot, had just returned from his second tour in Vietnam and was given a "rest" tour to Hawaii.  I made a promise to Uncle Ray that when we returned, I would be older and stronger and would spend the entire summer there with him helping him on the farm.   

We got the phone call from my Grandmother that Uncle Ray, her brother, had passed away.  I remember hearing the news and running to my room burying my head in the pillow to stifle my tears.  My Dad, knowing how close I was to him came in and tried comforting me.  I had never felt hurt like that before.

He is buried in the Catholic churches cemetery, along with his mother and father, sisters and brothers, 200 yards from where he lived his entire life.  

 

A few of my collected links!

 https://comicbookplus.com/?cid=1507

All the comic books you grew up with and some you never heard of!  Hours and hours and hours of good old fashioned fun!  I first discovered this site I felt like I was back at Renick's Drug Store sitting on the floor reading comics!!  My boss, however, wasn't Mr. Renick!!!

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https://www.gutenberg.org/

https://archive.org/

Truly....darn near ANYTHING you ever wanted to read.  If it is digitized....it is probably available on one of these two sites!

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https://historicalcharts.noaa.gov/search.php

Need a map of a beach or inlet or bay or...(you get the picture).  Use the above!

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https://www.loc.gov/collections/railroad-maps-1828-to-1900/articles-and-essays/browse-maps-by-state/

Historic maps of the US via the Library of Congress

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https://www.fs.usda.gov/visit/maps

Need a topographical map?  Used this site many times in my land hunt!

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https://www.vintageprojects.com/

Cool old projects from Popular Mechanics and other sources.  A few of these are on my dream list to build!  

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http://seasonedcitizenprepper.com/preparedness-downloads/#medicine

http://www.ps-survival.com/PS/index.htm

http://www.survivorlibrary.com/library-download.html

https://www.reddit.com/r/Survival/comments/732c79/ive_collected_a_bunch_of_free_survival_pdf_links/

https://the-eye.eu/public/murdercube.com/

https://patriotrising.com/survival-pdf-files-manuals-guides/

Survival and Prepping links.  Seriously, if it is not in one of the links above...it hasn't been written down!

A couple of blogs

 http://gorges-smythe.blogspot.com/

As a certified country curmudgeon, it's been said that I have an opinion on everything and a story for every occasion. Other folks just say that I'm a windbag. I, on the other hand, consider myself a purveyor of nostalgia, humor and social commentary from the country perspective. I also occasionally link to posts dealing with current events, politics, religion, prepping, history and homesteading. Please be aware that all entries are copyrighted and may not be used without permission. COMMENTS from anyone are very WELCOME, pro or con, as long as they aren't needlessly disrespectful. Any comments deleted after posting have merely been removed for privacy reasons. Many names or place names used in stories will be changed to protect the privacy of myself and others.

I have a list of blogs I read every morning: Gorges Smythe and Chant du Depart (below) are two of my favorites.  Gorges because of his embrace of the past and Chant because....face it...the man can write one hell of a gripping story!  His ongoing saga of the war in Europe is gripping.

https://oldafsarge.blogspot.com/

The musings & rants of 3 retired military (2 USAF, 1 USN), 1 former WSO, and 1 AF brat. Old AF Sarge, Juvat, Tuna, LUSH, and Beans.

Thank you all gentlemen.  You help start my day everyday.  Of course, you two are some of the only ones who actually red my blog so......think of this as a fan letter!!!!

Warriors and Denim

 

The word is out and unless you live under a rock, you know that Eddie Van Halen has passed.  

I remember back in the mid 70's, I was a HUGE Kiss fan.  Then I heard something so different, so remarkable that I stopped dead in my tracks to listen.  One of the "cool" older teenagers down the street was playing an 8-track while working on his car.  I risked my very neck and asked him who it was playing.  Looking up from his engine with a look of total disdain he said "Van Halen Asshole" and went back to wrenching.  

I stood and listened some more to a sound that was so unbelievable that it was hard to imagine it came from a human being.   That sound?  "Eruption" from the first Van Halen album leading into a supercharged rip roaring version of "You Really Got Me."  

I had a paper route and, after collecting the receipts for that month and paying the paper bill, I took the profits and bought that album.  My Dad never knew what hit him the first time he heard that album playing at sonic levels from the old console stereo system we had in the basement.   

Rest In Peace Eddie.  Your legacy and legend are secure.