AMERICA FIRST

We live in the greatest country in the world. Bar Any. If you don't believe that, travel to other countries and find out. When I leave home, I feel reasonably safe that my home is going to be safe. If it catches on fire, the fire department will come, if it is broken into, the police will come and if I should have an accident and get hurt while I am gone, I know that wherever I am, I will have a good hospital to go to and qualified doctors and nurses to take care of me. When I get where I am going, I flip a light switch and I have light. When I take a shower, I have clean fresh water to bathe in and when I get hungry, I have hundreds of clean restaurants to chose from. I can travel from state to state and see the same American Flag and I know that where ever I am, I am at home. Not a bad country. is it?

1. I am a seventy one year old male, which qualifies me for one thing, being on this earth for seventy one years.



2. I believe that the government is responsible for one thing and this is according to the Constitution. To protect the people from all enemies, foreign and domestic.



3. Above that, the government owes us nothing.



4. I am a home owner which I worked and payed for. I pay my taxes every year on my home. I also own automobiles which I also pay taxes on. Every year just like clockwork.



5. I have two beautiful kids which I sent to College and payed for.



6. I do not receive any funds from the government except my SS check which I contributed to all of my working life.



7. I served my country in the Marine Corps.



8. I believe that leaving Iraq too early is "Planting the white flag of surrender". (From Sarah Palin's speech.)



9. We did that in Viet Nam and we do NOT want to do it again.



10. I also believe that most politicians are corrupt. In one way or another. Greed or Power!



11. I am a registered Republican.



12. Now I am hearing new terms like, "Wealth ReDistribution" and "Voter Fraud".



13. John McCain is not my favorite choice for President but I have one of two choices, him or Obama. I was raised to always choose the least of two evils. In this case, I have to vote for McCain. I am not ready for our ladies to go around in Burkas. I enjoy looking at them just the way they are.



14. Wealth ReDistribution means that Obama wants to take the 20% of the people that pay most of the tax now and raise them while over 40% of the people do not pay any taxes at all and he will send them a check. Something is not right about that logic. What happened to "WORK TO GET RICH"!!!!



15. Now this next one really pisses me off. VOTER FRAUD..........Which means "STEALING OUR FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY. These people need to be arrested and put in jail. If our young men and women can fight for our freedom over seas, then we can certainly fight for it in the United States. We should demand JUSTICE . Write your Senators and Congressmen. Where we have a problem is that most of them are involved in it.



16. Regardless of what anyone says, National Security is the most important issue on the table. Without it, nothing else matters....not Social Security, not the financial state of the country, not free housing or free medical, it is hard to use any of this if New York City or Los Angles are burning. There are people who want to hurt us even if there are people who believe different.



17. Why is Bill Ayers not in jail. He is a terrorist. I remember him.



18. Obama is outspending McCain four to one. Where is this money coming from?



19. Speaking of money, our country is in the worst financial condition that it has ever been in. Poor Bush, he is taking the blame for all of it, and had very little to do with it. The banking Reform Act of 1977 was the start of the downfall. Jimmy Carter was the President. Then in 1999, under Clinton, an organization call Acorn got involved along with the Democrats in Congress, went to the banks and FORCED them into making SUB-PRIME loans. Today, we have Congressmen that are up to their necks in corruption and stealing and ruining Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac. Barney Franks and Chris Dodd need to be investigated, and if convicted, go to prison. Chris to a Male prison and Barney to a Female Prison. There are more to add to this list than just Chris and Barney. The entire Congress needs to be looked at. Meantime, Bush is taking all the heat. Shame on us for allowing this to happen.


20. I am not the brightest light in the hall way, but I do not have "STUPID" tatooed on my forehead either.


21. Joe Biden says that paying taxes is patriotic. Well, I have a news flash for Mr. Biden. Get everyone to pay their fair share and our taxes would come down. DUDDDDDDDDD!


22. I must have been living in a box for the past few years. Who the hell is "Acorn"? All I know about them is that they get alot tax payers money. OUR MONEY!!!!!! We are going to spend our way to the sewer if we are not careful.


23. Would someone explain to me the difference between the lower class, middle class and upper class. Obama keeps saying that the middle class will not be taxed. We know that the lower class pays very little tax. I have always considered myself middle class and I have always had to pay alot of taxes. I always assume that the upper class paid more than I did. If people in my tax bracket will not have a increase, then where is all that money going to come from. Maybe the money will come from the same place that Obama is getting his campaign funds.

MY BUCKET LIST

I watched a movie the other night call "The Bucket List". If you have not seen it, do so. It is funny, enlightening and heart warming. Then my Daughter (Cindy) came over and she had also seen it. She said that she was going to put her bucket list on her blog which gave me the idea. So, I am plagiarizing on my daughters idea. Actually, I had not given any thought to a bucket list so this may take awhile. Since I am almost 70 years old, my bucket is about empty so I think that it would be a good idea to travel back in time and put down some of the things that would have been in my bucket that I accomplished. They will not be in any specific order so bear with me on this one as it will take some consideration. I will be adding to the list as I remember them.

Randy's Bucket List

Items

1. Marry a woman who loves me and will stay with me forever.

2. Learn to play a Banjo

3. Own a home

4. Have Children (1 Boy and 1 Girl)

5. Live long enough to see a cure for cancer

6. Make as many friends as humanly possible

7. Volunteer at the VA hospital

8. Call some of my old friends that I have not spoken to for a while

9. Become a U.S. Marine

10. Become as good a wood Carver as my friend,

"Sea Jay"

11. Beat my Son at Ping-Pong again

12. Own a Corvette

13. Own a vintage Thunderbird convertible

14. Go to Europe

15, Sky Dive

16. Try to understand Democrats

17. Catch a largemouth bass over ten pounds

18. Dance when ever I can

19. Shoot my age on the Golf Course

20. Get an excellent understanding of Windows Vista

21. Go back to Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon again

22. Read at least three good books a year

23. Be a good man in all respects

24. Drive a Bull Dozier and clear an area

25. Travel in a Motor Home

26. Always trust in God

Sea Jay and Willa

Sea Jay's Hiking Sticks

66 T-Bird Convertible

Enough for now. I will be back. Have a good week and be careful out there.

Friends in Mississippi

We are making a trip to Petal, Mississippi to see some very dear friends. Ed and Falba Walker, Carter and Bobbie Lewis and Richard Bagley. Ed had told me about a cemetery in a little town call Eastabuchie, Ms. The cemetery has the remains of a young man (20 years old) that had earned the Metal of Honor in Viet Nam. His name is Roy Mitchell Wheat. The more that I learned about L/Cpl. Wheat, the more that I wanted to visit the area in which he grew up. From what I understand, L/Cpl. Wheat threw himself on an enemy grenade saving several of his fellow Marines lives. God Bless Him.

Ed also was telling me about Camp Shelby, Ms. Most of the service men that are heading to Iraq go to Camp Shelby. Camp Shelby also has a great military museum. It is an excellent walking tour during each war complete with the equipment that was used. Very Impressive! I would like to thank Richard for escorting us in the Museum and explaining all of the details. Thanks Richard!

Richard is also a Marine so we have a great deal in common as all Marines do. One of the things that we have in common is our patriotism. I love this country and we are LUCKY to be Americans. The United States has to be protected both from inside and outside the country. In my travels, I try to take pictures of the American Flag when I can. It is a beautiful Flag and represents our freedom. Many men and women have given everything to preserve it and we should NEVER let them down. I fly one on the back of my motor home so it is with us everywhere we go.

Our home away from home

I have installed a video of our trip. You can enlarge the picture with the magnify glass in the control bar. It is usually in the right hand corner at the bottom.

Since we are on the subject of Country and Flag, my best friend, Tomas J. Brock and I went into the Marine Corps together. We grew up and went to High School together. Tom was killed by a tree. Yes, A tree. He was cutting it down and the tree hit another tree, knocked a big limb out of the other tree and it hit Tommy in the back of the head. I miss him so much because he was my arguing partner. We couldn't agree on much but it was always fun to argue with him. At any rate, I was looking at my pictures one day and came across some of Tommy. That is when I decided to put together a video. I hope that you enjoy it.

It is time to crank up the old diesel engine and go home for a while. I will keep you posted on our next trip. Be Safe!

Time to head East and Home

We have been in Cody almost three weeks and we are hitting the road. We have decided to swing down to Salt Lake City for a few days and then hit the Pony Express Trail back to St. Joe, Mo. I have always been interested in the Pony Express and they have a museum in St. Joe. Salt Lake is a beautiful place and we went to the see the Salt Flats and the Mormon Tabernacle. The Tabernacle is beautiful and it is a spiritual just to see it. Salt Lake was a very nice city but it was hot! One hundred and ten degrees and we had one of the three air conditioner go out. We went to a service center however they did not have the part that we needed. The company that made our coach (Monaco) shipped us a brand new Air Conditioner and the had it installed for us. We had to spend a week in Salt Lake and then we were on our way to St. Joe.

Salt Lake Flag

Salt Lake

Buffalo at the State Park

Union Pacific Station

Mormon Tabernacle

Molly waiting for a treat

Linda catching a Trolley

Organ

Wonderful and Beautiful

Keyboard for the Organ

Well, We have arrived in St. Joe and found a nice campground. We are all settled in and someone has already come over and invited us to a party. I am telling you, this is the way to retire. We are going to the museum and Jesse James home.

The Pony Express only lasted for two years, 1860-1861, during that time, they rode over 650,000 miles, only lost one rider to Indians, and failed to deliver the mail once. They rode from St. Joe, Mo. to Sacramento, Ca and back. One way distance of 2000 miles. Young, skinny, wiry boys were hired as young as eleven years old.

The trail was nearly 2000 miles with 160 relay stations. Each horse would go from 9 to 15 miles and each rider would ride from 75 to 100 miles per trip.

Talk about tough kids!!!!

Bill Cody(Buffalo Bill) was one of the riders.

Pony Express Monument

Pony Express Stables

Ready to Ride

Relay Station Bed

Pony Express Post Office

Jessie James

Grave Yard outside Jessie's house

The sign says "Jessie is not a hero"

The room and picture where Jessie was killed(Note: Bullet hole)

Jessie's Bed

OK, we are on our way home and this is the way that Molly and Willie travel. Will be back with more travel.

Molly going home

Willie going home

BIG WHEELS KEEP ON ROLLING....TO CODY

Before we get to Cody, I have to tell you that we have friends who live there. We have called them and they are expecting us. Their names are Al and Charlotte. They are good people and great host. No, I would say that they are "Perfect" host. They let us set our schedule and they agreed to show us around. They spent several days with us including two trips to Yellowstone National Park. They explained the area to us and showed us many things that the normal tourist never see. They even took us to look for wild horses on the prairie. It was on government land and miles and miles of it. Man, that is alot of country out there. Anyway, Al and Charlotte show us everything that there is to see around Cody including the Buffalo Bill Museum. We even went to the Cody Rodeo. This was exciting because I had never been to a rodeo.

Al and Charlotte (Great Host and tour Guides)

On the way to Cody

Silver Dollar Bar and Grill

Main Steet(Note the American Flags)

We are all settled in a very nice campground. We had reservations for a week and stayed three weeks because we were having so much fun. I could have spent a full week at the Buffalo Bill museum. I have never seen such a large gun collection in my life. Also, we spent the 4th of July in Cody. Now, that is the way to celebrate the fouth. These American are patriotic. American Flags everywhere. I have heard the old saying "Don't Mess With Texas", well I don't believe that I would want to mess with Wyoming either. It really makes you feel good to travel over 2000 miles and have the people feel the same way that you do about your country.

Absaroka Bay Campground

One of the many Buffalo

Dragon Mouth Springs

There are Hot Springs all over the Park

While we were in Yellowstone, we were very lucky. We saw Bears, Buffalo, Wolves, Elk, and Moose. That park is wonderful. I wish that everyone could go there and see it like we did.

By the way, the little Shih's(Wille and Molly) are fine when we are sightseeing. We have heat or Air Conditioning(which ever is needed at the time). The motor home has something that our home doesn't have. It has a generator that come on automatically if the power goes off. That way, we know that they will be comfortable.

Lunch at Yellowstone

Wolf

Elk

Yellowstone Waterfall

Moose

Now I have to ask, "Where would you like to spend the Fourth of July?" I can't think of any place better than Cody, Wy. Being a former Marine and very patriotic, Cody is the place during the Fourth. American Flags, Horses, Parades, Cowboys, Cowgirls, Rodeos, Bar-B-Q and those beautiful mountains. It was a Fourth that I will never forget. We went down to the gun fight at the Imra Hotel which was very interesting and lets not forget the Buffalo Bill Museum. Very cool place to be. Below is pictures of our Fourth of July adventure.

The beginning of the Parade

Riding a Longhorn

Mountain Man

One of many bands

Wildlife Float

Main Street

A huge Cowboy Boot Cookie

A young man with his pet Racoon

Stage Coach

Old Glory

High School Band

Free Candy

Mules with American Flags

Wildlife Float

Horse and Wagon

High School Band

Horses Every where

Plenty of Flags

and Classic Cars

Here are a few pictures from the Rodeo in Cody. Like I said, this is my first rodeo and I really enjoyed it. I promise that if the Lord is willing, I will go to another one.

Al and Charlotte

Linda and Randy

Beautiful Horses

Big, Mean Bulls

Pawing the Earth

God Bless America

From inside the Arena

Cowboys

and Cowgirls

What a way to make a living!

Getting Ready

Got you

and you

Missed

What a sight

That has to hurt

This young man was 12 years old

Ride em Cowboy

Ladies Barrel Racing

That is one mad bull

How much do they pay the Clowns?

That hurts

Look out fence

I going to get me a cowboy hat!