Video of Saddam Hussein being executed

Originally posted as a link on the Something Awful forums, I saved and uploaded it to google video before the it died.

O.k. Today is Friday, the first day of our long break. Thank God it is finally here! I can't get the font set exactly right for this post. I don't know what the problem is, but it is NOT right!

I'm sure this break will fly by. Our long set of Day Shifts preceeding this break were brutal. It was like an endurance race to the end. On our last one, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2006 there was a reception held for Captain James Parrish at Dino's Resteraunt. He is leaving the Sheriff's Department for good and returning to the U.S. Army, as an adjutant to a 3 star Female General at the Pentagon. I, along with many others will sure miss him. I wish him all the luck in the world in his new assignment. By the way, his Army rank is Lt. Colonel. I salute you, LTC Parrish, and wish you the best.

I went by the 'reception' at Dino's. I only stayed about 30 minutes, due to the fact that I was on duty. I had my portable radio on, but I was afraid that the new Sheriff or Chief Deputy would take note of my presence, being on-duty, and all. No one else from my shift showed up. I have known LTC Parrish from about the 6th Grade at Happy Valley Elementary School, so I had to attend, if only for a few minutes. I also attended R.O.T.C. at East Tennessee State University with James. I got his email addresses, so maybe we can keep in touch.

I am sooooo glad to be off for a few days. I know that it will pass quickly, but at the front end it feels sooooo good. I wish that I never had to go back. More later.

- Get Your Own

- Get Your Own

Both of the above pics were taken when I was 19 years old. I was over at Mom's yesterday, and she gave me some old pictures to go through, and keep the one's that I wanted. Most of the pictures I had not seen in years. I wanted to include the above two. The first one, is me picking up Dad in a big ole bear hug in the kitchen. It was taken when I was on leave after Air Force Basic Training and Tech School, prior to going to Turkey, for 2 years +. To be exact, 2 years, 2 weeks and 1 day for a total of 745 days. The other is Dad & I just prior to my first wedding/marriage. I believe it's the only time that I ever saw him in a tuxedo. Anyway, I still can't believe he's actually gone. I guess the finality of it all will sink in, eventually.

Today is Thursday, the last day of my 7 day break. Back to work tommorrow night, and I sure do dread it. Sometimes, dealing with other people's problems just is too much. Like I have said before, I have problems of my own, and I don't pick up the phone and dial 9-1-1, and expect someone to solve my problems. But, oh well, I guess it's the nature of the beast. People just seem to call over the most trivial and stupid things. Sometimes I feel that they should be ashamed to waste Public Resources on the things that they call in about. If I actually get to help someone on a legitimate call, though, it can still be satisfying. All too many times, though, you help someone one night (as a victim), and they are in court with the suspect the next morning at the arraignment, begging for the judge to dismiss the criminal charges. Sometimes, I just can't wrap my mind around it.

It has been a very cold day, here. Snow has been falling sporadically, and they are calling for a big snow storm, sometime over the next 24 hours. Mom has still been doing so much better than I would have expected. She still has her 'down time', but overall, I am so proud of her.

I guess that this post is probably rambling. I just meant to post a quick update with a couple of pics. Rusti is still my rock, and I have heard from my cousins in Mississippi several times, which has been great. Today is the Anniversary of the Japaneese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. I have been watching shows on the Discovery Channel and the History Channel all day, depicting the event. My hat is off to all of the remaining survivors, as well as the victims of the attack.

http://www.discovery.com/

http://www.history.com/

Here's a picture from Thanksgiving 2006. This is Rusti, Me, and our new little nephew, Brody Ryan Miller. Brody is the son of Rusti's Brother, Curtis, and his Wife, Danna. Thanksgiving is the first day that we got to see him. He was 9 days old on Thanksgiving. He sure is a cute little fella.

Also, here is a picture of Brooke, Brody's Sister. She is such a cutie-pie, and sooo smart and well behaved. Brooke is a sheer joy to be around.

Today is Friday. We just finished up our Hellish set of 4 dayshifts, and finally made it to long break. This whole week we were short-handed, as our Sargeant, T Lowe was vacating. We had a very busy week, overall. Lots of calls, mostly 'junk calls'. I swear, people can no longer, apparently, run their own lives, and call 9-1-1 over the most minor things. They expect us to show up, and solve in minutes, a problem it took them years to create. People have gone off the deep end. Maybe I am burned out, but people cannot simply live and exist and solve problems any more, it seems.

Mom seems to be doing better than I ever expected since Dad's death. I am so proud of her. She still has her bad days, but she has been incredibally strong. I pray for her every day, and I see God's hand working in her life. Rusti, as usual, has been my rock. I don't know what I would've done without her. I have been in closer touch with my cousins in Mississippi than I have been in years. They have been so supportive, and I appreciate them. We have a small family, and I truly appreciate everything that they have done.

I started my long break today, and I already dread going back to work. I need to finish my degree and find a new line of work, I think. I plan to relax as much as possible, although I have a lot to do and take care of during my break. Anyway, I guess that's all for now. More later.

Just a quick post. Today is Thursday, meaning that I have to go back on day shift tommorrow. I absolutlely HATE day shifts.

I got to see my buddy JRAM the other night on the night that our shifts overlap. He was just finishing up with a 'difficult' prisoner. Trying to get the pepper spray out of his car.

I went up by to see Mom today. She was having a rough day. I wish that there was something I could do for her, but only time will moderate the pain.

Anyway, this blog has gotten totally boring, and I doubt that anyone even reads it, other than Rusti and JRAM. Wish that this entry was more upbeat. More later.

What a week it has been. I included this pic, cause I thought it came out looking like a post card. Anyway, the Vols lost to L.S.U., with some players arrested several hours after the game, and Phil doling out miniscule discipline. We're still on long break, but it's coming rapidly to an end. I still can't believe Dad's gone. If you've never lost a parent, believe me, it hits you like a ton of bricks at unexpected and seemingly random times. I know this is all very depressing posts, but, oh well.

Just wanted to add a few comments, relative to the post yesterday.

My lovely wife, Rusti, has been my rock through this ordeal. Not only has she been there for me, but she has been there for Mom as well. I don't know that I could've made it through this without her. I am so thankful to have her in my life. Dad would've been proud of her.

I need to formally thank a few more people. I hope that they don't mind me listing them her. They are (in no particular order):

Claude Couch - CSX
Kenny Deathridge - CSX
"Bull" (can't remember his last name) - CSX
All the CSX employees there, and the RFE from KY - I really enjoyed talking with you.
Keith Range - C.C.S.D.
Harvey Guess - C.C.S.D.
Tim Lowe - C.C.S.D.
Doug Combs - C.C.S.D.
Rebecka Bowers - C.C.S.D.
Shana Greenwell - C.C.S.D.
Matt Lunceford - C.C.S.D.
Wendi Workman - Carter Co. 911
Starr Lowe - Carter Co. 911
Cpt. Mike Peters - E.P.D.
Sgt. Jason Shaw - E.P.D.
Ptl. Tonya Range - E.P.D.
Ptl. Patrick White - E.P.D.
Ptl. Willard Johnson - E.P.D.
Rev. Harold Maines - E.P.D.
Benny Colbaugh - Carter Co. Coroner
Eric Hull - Johnson City Police Dept.
Paul Dailey - Hathaway-Percy Funeral Home

There are soo many people to thank. This is just a quick list. There will be more, as I know that I have left people out. Thank you all.

V. Wayne Cable, 63, 313 Amity Lane, Johnson City, passed away at his residence Friday, October 27, 2006, following a brief illness.
A native of Banner Elk, N.C., he was a son of the late Robert W. and Pansy Wyatt Cable. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by a sister, JoAnn Pickle.
Mr. Cable loved his job as a Road Foreman of Engines with CSX Transportation, previously known as Clinchfield Railroad, where he worked for 36 years. He was a U.S. Navy veteran.
Wayne loved his dog "Bridgette," who was his faithful companion.
Survivors include his wife, Elizabeth Cable, of the home; a son and daughter-in-law, Kevin and Rusti Cable of Elizabethton; two grandchildren, Elizabeth and husband Ed Nesmith of Johnson City and Kevin "Jake" Cable of Johnson City; a great-grandson, Hunter Nesmith of Johnson City; a cherished sister-in-law, Joyce Newman of Pearl, Miss.; and a brother and sister-in-law, Bob and Brenda Cable of Elizabethton. Several nieces and nephews also survive.
A graveside service for Mr. Cable will be conducted at 10 a.m. Monday, October 30, at Roselawn Memory Gardens with Rev. Harold Mains officiating. Military Honors will be provided by Captain Lynn H. Folsom V.F.W. Post #2166. Everyone will meet at the cemetery at 9:50 a.m. Monday. Honorary pallbearers will be employees of CSX Transportation. The family will receive friends at Hathaway-Percy Funeral Home from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday. Online condolences may be sent to the family through our Web site at www.hathawaypercy.com.
Arrangements for the Cable family have been entrusted to Hathaway-Percy Funeral Home, Elizabethton, (423) 543-5544.


This is the most serious post that I've ever had to post. I lost my dad on Friday. Oct. 27, 2006. I had come off of night shift on Friday morning. As soon as I got up, I called Mom and asked how Dad was doing. She told me that he was doing O.K., and that he was laying down, resting. About an hour and a half later, the phone rang, and Rusti got it. She told me to pick up the other phone. It was Mom, and she told me that Dad had died. I heard the Wash. Co. EMS crew in the background, but I couldn't believe that he was gone. Surely, I thought, she must be mistaken. Rusti and I went over there, and sure enough, he was gone. He had hemmoraged from his mouth and nose, and just died right there in the bedroom.

Most of the rest of that night was kinda blurred in my memory. The Coroner that came out out was Benny Colbaugh. Benny was great, and was sincerely helpful. The Johnson City Police Officer on the scene was Ofc. Eric Hull, and he was great. He was very compassionant, and definitely went 'above and beyond' what would have been expected of him. He was sooo comforting to Mom. It was close to his shift change, and it took the Funeral Home a long time to get there, and he offered to stay until they arrived. I hope that when I go on a death call, I can be half as nice and compassionant as he was. My hat is off to both Benny and Ofc. Hull, and I bet neither one will ever realize what kind of impact they made on us in our time of grief.

We had Dad taken to Hathaway-Percy Funeral Home, which took care of my beloved Granny years ago. We were so blessed to have gotten Paul as our coordinator. He was genuinely comforting. Mom hit it off with Paul right off the bat, and he made the funeral arranging so much easier for a greiving family. He also stood by us throughout the whole proscess, and I cannot say enough about how dear he was to us, especially my Mom. Anyone, no matter what their job, would be well off to emulate him. Thanks, buddy, I will always remember you, and how much you helped assuage Mom's grief. You are one of a kind.

We had Visitation, or receiving friends, or whatever you want to call it on Sunday Evening. My old buddy Ben Collins was one of the first ones there. I used to work with him years ago at Nuclear Fuel Services. I was blown away that he came. There was sooo many guys there from CSX. They were all sooo nice, and every one, to a man, talked about how much they LOVED Dad. I saw tears shed from his co-workers. They all talked about how much he would be missed at the Railroad. Dad loved the Railroad, and all the people that he worked with. It was his LIFE, and he worked seven days a week. I was proud to meet them, and so many of them talked about how Dad had talked about his family at work. I had several of them ask me why I had not come to work at the Railroad. I was wondering how Mom would do during the Wake, but I really believe that it helped her getting to talk with all of Dad's Co-workers, who so obviously loved him. The City shift (Shift 2) that had been on duty on day shift all came in together. If I'm rambling, I'm talking about the Elizabethton Police Dept. It meant alot to me. My shift at the County all came, and I was glad to see them. The Sheriff of Carter Co. came, as well as my old buddy, Keith, and M. Lunceford, and R. Bowers. My friend Wendy W. came, as well as Tim's wife, Starr, who are the 9-1-1 Dispatchers for our shift.

This morning we had the graveside service, which was conducted by my friend, the Reverand Harrold Maines. It was really nice. Rev. Maines did a terrific job. There was a Military Honor Guard, provided by the V.F.W. It was a beutiful morning, and the service was really nice. My whole shift, which is working Dayshift this week, was there, as was Keith. The Military Honors provided by the V.F.W. were awesome. I think Dad would've like it.

Anyway, I need to sign off for now. Maybe more later.

O.k., Today is the 23rd of October. Here are a couple of Autumn pics of the house and Tommie Girl. We are on our one day off, between Days and Nights, on hell week.

Dad is doing better, somewhat. At least he's home and not in the hospital. I hope that he continues to imporve. I also hope he starts maybe looking at retirement. I think that he has worked himself to death.

Rusti and I are both still killed with this 'crud' that's going around. We've both had it for over a week now. I worked dispatch on our day shifts, since our dispatcher was vacating. I swear, between the phone and the 'window' I believe that I talked with every nut in Carter Co. Sunday was very busy, from early in the morning till the end of the shift, both in dispatch and on the road. On Sunday, we overlapped with E.P.D. Shift 4, and I got to see my old buddy, S.P. I was hoping to make contact also with JRam, the Sargeant on that shift, but I didn't get to see him.

It's un-seasonably cold today. Feels like Winter-time. Won't be long before the white stuff starts flying. The leaves are at about their peak this week, and it is sure a beautiful sight. Tennessee scraped out a win in the Bama Game. 3rd Saturday in October is always a dog-fight, no matter what the rankings. Go Vols!!!!!!!!!!!!

More later.

Today is the 18th of October. This has been a really rough week! Rusti has been sick since about last Thursday with a cold, and that's only the beginning. On Monday, the 16th, I had to work my last of 4 night shifts. About 11:30 a.m., Sgt. J, came to our house and beat the door down, until I got up. He gave me an emergency message from Johnson City Medical Center Hospital, to contact the I.C.U. Family Advocate. I knew that my dad had gone in that morning for a biopsy on a spot on his lung. I called, and called, and only got an answereing machine.

Rusti got home around noon for lunch and called and called, to no avail. Answering machine. Well to make a long story short, I found out late in the afternoon, that while my Dad was undergoing the biopsy, he had an uncontrolled internal bleed, and 'coded' once but they got him back, although he was in I.C.U. on a ventilator. Our shift was short, (good ole Harv was vacating), so I went into work. I was not gonna leave my shift with only 2 Deputies on the road.

When I went in to work, Sgt. J. asked what was going on, so I told him. He asked why I had come in, and I told him that I wouldn't leave my shift that short. He said it was a problem for the 'back' and not me, and went in to see Cpt. P. Shortly after that, my Sgt., L. arrived and I told him what was going on. He immediately went to the 'back'. He returned a short time later, called good ole Harv in and told me to go to the hospital.

I went home to change outta my uniform, and Rusti went with me, although she was killed with a cold.

On Tuesday, I spent the day with Mom in the I.C.U. waiting room while we waited on them to do a bronchoscopy on Dad, to see if he was still bleeding. Everything went well, and they sedated him for the night. He was still on the ventilator, however.

On Wednesday, I woke up sick, with the cold or crud, or whatever that Rusti had had. Mom called about 10:30, and advised that they had pulled the intabation tube from Dad that that he was breathing on his own (thank God). She also said that the biopsy had come back 'negative', (again thank God). Since I was sick, I thought that I'd better not go down there, with Dad in his weakened state. He is stable today, though, and breathing on his own.

What a week it has been! I hope he continues to make good progress. Sorry for such a serious post, but that is what has been going on.

On a side-note. I have been very worried about my Dad. Rusti has so totally been there for me. I don't know what I have ever done to deserve her, but I want to publicly say "Thank You, Baby, for being there in such a large way for me!". I don't know what I would do without you!

Just a few pics of the Jeep. Couldn't resist posting them. This is Monday evening of our long break. I dread going back!

Here's a few pics of our new home. I had put the artist's rendering in a post a little while back. We were gonna make a photo journal of the building of our house, however, early in the process, Tommie Girl broke our digital camera (long story).

Anyway, Rusti recently ordered a new camera, so I thought I'd throw these pics out.

Yesterday was the last day of our long set of dayshifts (thank God). Today is the first day of my 7-day break. Yesterday at 16:00 (4:00 p.m., for you civilian-types), we were relieved by the power shift so that we could be inspected by the new Sheriff and Chief Deputy. They checked out our cruisers and equipment, then we had our individual interviews with the new Sheriff and Chief. I felt like everything went pretty good. I am sooo glad, tho, to be off for a few days. I was absolutely killed by the end of this cycle. In a blink of an eye, though, our break will be over.

Our dayshifts were kinda slow, for a change. The cooler weather and the onset of Autumn always seems to slow down the call volumn a little.

Tommorrow is the big Tennessee-Georgia game. I can't wait. I predict a Vol Victory by at least 10 points. Go Vols, spank the Dawgs!

More Later.

O.K., It's the 30th of September. This has been a busy week. It was our short turn-around week. On Monday (my only day off) I went down to Doe River Auto Sales with Larry and was able to trade in my HORRIBLE Durango on the sweet Jeep Wrangler, pictured above. It's a 2002 Jeep Wrangler Sport 4.0L, with a Sony Xplod detachable face stereo, cd, sound bar, air, 5 speed, and many other extras. I absolutely love it! This is my 3rd Jeep! I have always loved Jeeps, and I am tickled to death to have another one.

I had a 1982 Jeep CJ-7 Laredo Hard-top. That was my first Jeep. It was Navy Blue with tinted windows, an Olympic Defender grill guard, sunroof, 304 c.i.d., 4 Speed, high-back seats, 4 KC daylighter off-road lights, 2 KC driving lights, 2 KC fog lights, and an am/fm cassette stereo. My second Jeep was an old U.S. Postal Service Jeep, with the sliding hard doors, and the right-side drive. I had it while I was in Turkey, in the U.S.A.F.

I've always loved Jeeps and am happy to be back in the 'Jeeping' community. Today is Saturday, and the Vols won handilly over the University of Memphis. Go Vols!!!!!!!! Next week we face a real test with Georgia. Guess I'm gonna close for now. I'm gonna put a few links in.

http://www.allthingsjeep.com/jeapjetistst.html

http:///www.4wd.com/newsite/shop/default.asp?model=tj&stid=di

http://www.go-gear.net/

http://www.jeepworld.com/merchandise/merchandise.htm

http://www.4x4products.com/

http://www.jeepfan.com/

http://forums.vmag.com/jjwrangler0200/

http://www.dirtroadmagazine.com/mjl.htm

http://www.willysoverland.com/

I came across this image on the web and had to post it.


This is Islam at it's very basest form.

We finished up our night shifts this morning, and are off until Friday Morning.

We had a pretty busy set of nights. Not a lot of anything remarkable. Lotta junk calls, a lunatic transport to Lakeshore in Knoxville to start the set Friday night. Sgt. TLowe was off for the set, so we were short-handed, again, as usual. 3 Deputies to cover a county of 60,000+. What a good idea.

Good ole Harv really helped us out last night. I got a call almost as soon as I checked in at Unaka Elem. School. Fender-bender, but they needed a report. While I was enroute, they gave good ole Harv a call in Pinecrest in reference to a burglary. When I cleared my wreck, I went to the office to do the report. About two minutes after my arrival at the office, they told me that I needed to take good ole Harv's call, because he had to go home. Well, by now, this call has been holding for about half an hour. When I asked where good ole Harv was at, I found out that he had to go home to birth a f@#king calf. Un-f$%king believable, yet so believable. So me and Doug carried on until about 21:30. Two Deputies on the road for a population of 60,000+. Hope the calf came out o.k.! You know, at some point, it would seem, (maybe I'm just crazy), that you would have to decide...are you gonna be a farmer or a law enforcement officer?

Life in Carter County. Yee-hah!

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2006, (obviously, as evidenced by the header). It is the day after the 5th Anniversary of the terrible terrorist attacks of 9/11.

ABC ran a two part miniseries on the events leading up to 9/11. It was excellent, although a lot of controversy has surrounded it (go figure). Democrats again. They even attacked the President's 9/11 Speech. Man, I hate those guys. They are truly gonna be the downfall of our Great Nation.

I just wanted to post a quick message saluting the heroes of 9/11, and remembering the Victims. I hope that the American Public has not forgotten!

Oh, by the way, the American Embassy in Damscus, Syria was attacked this morning by Fascist Jihadists. 3 out of the 4 were killed, and the 4th captured. Syria is such a Police State that I find it hard to believe that the Syrian Government was not involved, at least complictly.

On a far removed note, this is FLORIDA WEEK! Although we have suffered two devestating injuries to key starters from the Air Force game, I feel like we are gonna feast on some Gator meat! Go Vols!!!!!!!!

Today is Friday. We just finished up night shifts, and go back Monday on Days. Last night was the night of Aug. 31/Sept. 1. The new Sheriff, along with his new Chief Deputy apparently came in last night about 18:00 (6:00 p.m.). They apparently looked around for a while and then left, telling the dispatcher that they would return around 08:00. Should be in for some interesting days ahead.

O.K., here's the deal. I haven't updated in a while, for several reasons. We have finally moved out of the "hotbox". We moved our stuff outta there on Aug. 14th. The new house wasn't completely ready yet, though, so we just moved our stuff into the new house in the garage, and stayed with Larry and Sandy for the week. On the 18th, we spent our first night in the new house.

Since the 18th, we have called Charter Communications numerous times, trying to get our Cable and Internet service established in the new house. It has been unbelievable, the run-around that we got from Charter. However, without going into great detail, they finally came today, the 28th, and gave us TV and Internet. You would not believe how much you miss TV and Internet access until you don't have it. Anyway, I am finally back online and will begin to update regularly again.

O.k. ... It's only 34 days until my beloved Vols take to the field to kick off their 2006 season. I think this one will be 'make-or-break' for Phil Fulmer. I hope we have a good season. The last few years have been very trying for Vol Fans. Phil's comments during the S.E.C. Media days this year have me scratching my head a little bit, but if you're the optimistic type, maybe there is hope for the season. Our first game, against Cal, will probably define our season. As usual, we have a very tough schedule.

Today is Saturday. The middle day in our set of day-shifts, on the the three day shift portion of our schedule. Yesterday wasn't too bad, except for the heat. Today was weird beyond words. I got involved in a felony theft situation, early in the day. It just kept recurring, and recurring. I ended up making a felony warrant-less arrest. It kept going even beyond that. People are just so weird anymore. I had a single vehicle wreck without injuries, that should have been a routine call, but even that had multiple complilcations. Glad today is over and we have only one more!

Larry and Sandy decided at the last minute to go to Florida for 4 to 6 weeks. My birthday was Thursday, and Larry had me a big fried chicken dinner for my birthday. They announced on Thursday that they were leaving Saturday (which they did). Just seems like bizarre timing. I guess they had their reasons.

I heard from my Brother-in-Law, Curtis on Friday. It was good talking with him. He was in San Antonio, TX, getting ready to fly back to his home in Knoxville. Curtis is really funny, and a blast to be around. Hope he had a good flight. I was telling him on the phone that I had taken a vandalism to a cornfield report earlier in the day, and he thought I was kidding. Unfortunately, I wasn't. It's BIG, Ange, as Barney might have exclaimed. Overall, just a really strange week.

More later, and GO VOLS!!!

It's still a million degrees in this temporary house. The 'landlord' still hasn't seen fit to fix the central heat and air unit. How in the hell does he think that he will sell this place with no heat and air, not to mention all of the other problems with this place?

I haven't updated in a few days. We had a very busy set of night shifts. We acturally had a 'full' shift, which was good, considering the volume of calls for service. We had several 'unusual' calls, but, sorry, I don't feel like fleshing them out here. Suffice it to say, it was a busy week.

As far as our new house goes, they have done alot this week. They got the kitchen cabinets installed, as well as the counter-tops. It looks really good. They also, finally, started installing the siding on the parts that are not bricked. The gas fireplace has arrived and is sitting currently in the garage. Also, they got a significant portion of the hardwood floors laid. The house is really looking good, and taking shape. I can't wait till we get to move in.

I got to talk to my old buddy, Shannon, last night on the one night that thier shift overlaps ours. Shannon works for the Elizabethton Police Department, which I used to work for, before coming back to the Carter Co. Sheriff's Dept. Shannon and I were on the same shift for the longest time, and he was great to work with. He has had some problems with his domestic life over the last year, but he seems to be working through them. Shannon is a survivor, and I'm sure he will do fine. It was good getting to talk to him, though.

Lastly, my Sargeant, and best friend, Tim, finally downloaded America's Army to his computer. We have got to play online together a couple of times on the same server. It has been a blast. He also (due to being a consumate gamer) got me through the final round of the Special Forces Qualification, which has been great. Thanks, Tim!

http://www.americasarmy.com

O.k., back to more of the local issues. As I have stated before, we are in the process of building a new house. Said new house won't be ready for at least another month. We sold our other place in January or Febuary, I don't remember which. That left us with trying to find somewhere to live in the interim, which we did. We got lucky, in some respects. We found a house, near where we are building (very convienient), where we could take our little dog, and it wasn't an apartment. Also, the owner of the house understood our predicament of only needing temporary housing and let us rent month-to-month without a lease. The house is not that great, and the rent is higher than what it should be, but, wtf, with all the other benefits, described above, it seemed tolerable in the short term. Now for the fun part.

The problems with the house are too numerous to mention, however, we have tolerated them. The owner has been in a prolonged campaign (for lack of a better word) to sell the house. The house will never, ever pass a house inspection, much less bring anywhere near the asking price. Anyway, during the hottest summer on record, (and I hate summer and heat, in general), the air conditioning system went out. It's about 1:00 a.m. as I type this and it is at least 90 degrees in this house. I, along with Rusti and Tommie, am totally miserable. I've been sitting around sweating this evening, trying not to move too much. It is hell on earth. The owner of the house seems to think that it is funny. Hmm.

Just venting a little because I am absolutely crazy from the heat. I am about afraid to even be on my computer due to the heat and humidity. God, I hope our house gets done soon.

So that is really accelerating my enjoyment of my days off. I dread going back to work and trying to sleep in this hotbox. As a sidenote, my Sargeant and his wife made it back from Barbados safely. He came by last night and we played some ultra-competitive golf (Tiger Woods 2005) on the Playstation. Sadly to say, he beat me more than I beat him. It was probably the heat that killed my game. Till next time.

I should probably stay away from politics in this blog, and leave analysis to the 'experts'. I will try, for the most part.

A couple of quick things, though. I support Israel, and it's inherent right to self-defense. Israel is surrounded by enemies, and I think that if they really threw off the shackles of restraint, they could wipe out all of their enemies in the region in about a day and a half. I think America has many historic and cultural ties to Israel, and I am glad we support them on the world stage. Of course that opens us up even more for the wrath of the 'mullahs', but they will always hate us, because, deep down, in their collective 7th century stone cold hearts, they are jealous of us. I have lived amongst them, and I think it really boils down, essentially, to something as petty as jealousy. I don't think that they want what we have, especially, but I don't think they want us to have it either. Anyway, it appears that God's Chosen People have opened up an industiral-sized can of whoop-ass, and I don't think they are gonna put the lid back on until the job is done. Just my humble opinion.


THE FACE OF MADNESS!

One other thing before I close this out for today. Who are all of these Americans 'trapped' in Lebanon? I know that there are Government employees there, both official and un-official. Who are these 'tourists'? Can anyone tell me. I mean, c'mon, who vacations in Beirut? What could you be thinking? I'm wondering, personally, if this is not Darwinism in action.

Anyway, end of rant for today. More later, hopefully I can keep it more on the local level.

A few links of interest:

http://www.iaf.org.il/Templates/HomePage/HomePage.aspx?lang=EN

The English version of the IDF Air Force Website!

http://www.iaf.org.il/Templates/HomePage/HomePage.aspx?lang=EN

The English version of the IDF Website!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli_Special_Forces

A Wikipedia article on Israeli Special Forces!

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Finally, the week is over. Just a quick update. We had a bunch of calls for service today, and the weather was unbearably hot.

Someone once said that on dayshifts, 'they' hit the crazy button at about 14:00 (2:00 p.m.). After that, it's call to call to call until quitting time. There's a lotta truth to that.

Anyway, about 16:20 (4:20 p.m.), during the height of the last afternoon, Good Ole Harv calls me on my cell phone and informs me that he has to go home, because his fence is breeched and his cattle might get out. That leaves 2 (me and Doug) on the road for the rest of the shift. Great! Sometimes it seems like you gotta decide if you're gonna be a farmer or a law enforcement officer. That's probably just crazy talk on my behalf. Life goes on in bizzaro world.

I'm just glad our 7-day break is finally upon us. More later.

Here is a little pic of Tommie Girl again, who is lying asleep in my lap as I type this. Today is Wednesday, meaning that we have only one more dreaded day shift to plod through before we go on our 7 day break. It's been a very busy week, and as I said before, we have been short-handed (what else is new?). This week, so far, has been pretty brutal. The temperature has hovered around 90 everyday, with extremely high humidity. Today is the first day out of the week that I have got home almost on time, without having to work over.

About 11:oo this morning, I was dispatched on a 10-58 (intoxicated) male, threatening 10-94 (suicide), weapons unknown. Pretty (potentially) volatile call. At the time of the call, I was coming through the lower end of a small municipality known as Watauga. There is a resteraunt there called 'Carol's Cafe'. As I passed it, I saw Good Ole Harv's car parked there and knew that it was lunch-time for him. While enroute to the call, Good Ole Harv Called the Watauga-dedicated unit on the radio (who should have been dispatched on the call originally, anyway) to meet him for lunch. The Watauga dedicated unit (9-1) advised Good Ole Harv that he was gonna back me up on the call, which he did. I'm really glad that Good Ole Harv got to eat his lunch in peace. Apparently there is no part of his concious that directs him to back up the men on his shift. It was really allegorical of how this whole week has gone. Luckily for me, the intoxicated drunk man agreed to go with the Rescue Squad for voluntary commital. Incidentaly, when 9-1 showed up, as the squad was loading said drunk suicidal man, he said to me: "can you believe him" (referring to Good Ole Harv).

Anyway, I guess that I am rambling a little bit. They worked on the new house a little more today, so that was good. I guess that's all the news that is news. As far as the rest of the day, it was junk call after junk call, but at least I got home just a little after quitting time. More later.

O.K., It's Sunday. We went to the new Lone Star Resteraunt in Elizabethton for lunch today. It was pretty good. They had a 'frosted' bar, which was coool. Rusti had a chopped steak and I had a Cheeseburger. I couldn't eat all of it. The only complaint I had, (which pisses me off immensely) is that we ordered an appetizer, which they brought out after our entre's arrived. I absolutely hate when that happens. I told Rusti that we should send it back, but she demurely just ordered a box for it. Oh, well.

Got to start the dreaded day shifts at 0-dark-thirty in the morning. I hope we have a good week, with no mental transports to Knoxville. Could we be so lucky?

We watched a couple of DVD's this weekend. "Annapolis" and "Syriana". "Annapolis" kinda sucked. I kinda liked it, but Rusti thought is was full of cliche's and was totally predictable. "Syriana" was kinda hard to follow, but, all in all, was a pretty good movie.

A couple of more links, and then I'm out,

http://www.imdb.com

http:///www.usna.edu///homepage.php

http://www.usma.edu/

http:///www.usafa.af.mil/

http://www.uscga.edu/

http://www.usmma.edu/

Here is a pic of my shift sargeant, T Lowe. He left for his summer vacation in Barbados today. I hope he has a good time. His vacating (is that a word?) has left us with a problem, however. We start back on day shifts Monday and work through Thursday. It will be me and Doug, along with our nefarious Lieutenant, Harvy. As I have stated before, Harv won't help us with anything. He is R.O.A.D. (retired on active duty). So it will be pretty much just me and Doug covering the whole county for essentially a week. I hope we have a good week, but 2 deputies, serving a population of nearly 60,000, is not a safe situation. Oh well. I dread it.

Today was Larry T's (my father-in-law) birthday. We spent the evening with Larry, Sandy (my mothe-in-law), and Hannah (their little Yorkie).
My brother-in-law Curtis was up, along with his wife, Dana, and their little daughter Brooke. We ate pizza and roasted marshmellows. It was a lotta fun. I'm glad Curtis got to come up. He's always a blast to be around. He's a Federal Agent, based out of Oak Ridge, TN, so we don't get to hang out near enough.

I'm trying to talk my wife, Rusti, into getting a second Boston Terrier, as a brother or sister to Tommie Girl. So far, not having much luck. Anyway, it's been a pretty fun day. I'll probably post a couple of more good links. Hope I don't repeat any posted earler!

http://www.cafepress.com/littlebeasts

http://www.bostonterriersrock.blogspot.com/

http://www.kateconnick.com/postcard.html

http://www.generalshale.com/content.php?page=home

http://www.elkcorp.com/

http://cagle.msnbc.com/main.asp

http://www.nbc.com/Deal_or_No_Deal/

http://www.cowboycomedian.com/

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=SPORTS0601

http://mb27.scout.com/fgridscapefrm1

http://www.airforcesecuritypolice.com/

Just a quick update. I just got off my first night shift back. It rained, and rained, and rained all night long. Man, I hate rainy nightshifts. You can't hardly see anything from the cruiser on a night like tonight. I was hoping the rain might keep our calls for service down, but no such luck. It was fairly steady all night long. Mainly, though, a lot of 'junk calls'. One bright note, though. An off-duty Deputy from another shift had been scoping out a local fugutive who had gotten away from him earlier, and the off-duty Deputy, along with my Sargeant, and a Drug Task Force Officer were able to creep in on him, and effect his arrest on numerous outstanding warrants, from our county as well as from an adjoining one.

That was probably the highlight of the night. I had to answer one call that was so weird, I can't think of a way to summarize it in any form on this blog that would convey what happened. That's pretty vague, isn't it! I honestly just can't think of a way to put it into words. But, in essence, it was another 'junk call'.

I guess that's about all for now. Let's all pray that Israel gets it's kidnapped soldier back alive. And God Bless all of our brave men and women in harm's way.

Here is an old scanned photo of me at Incirlik Air Base, Turkey in 1984. Just thought I'd throw it in.

As much as I disagree with the Democrats on every level, I'm beginning to think that Al Gore might be onto something with his warnings of Global Warming. Man, it was hot today. My lovely wife, Rusti, and I got out in it for a little while. We had to go to Lowe's to look at tile again. According to our builder, the tile that we had picked out was wall tile (6 x 6). He advised us that we needed to go with a 12 x 12 tile to withstand the weight of the appliances, as well as people walking on it. We found a suitable tile that we liked better than the original, with the exception of it being larger. We also got our bathroom sinks and counter-tops picked out.

Tommorrow, July 4, 2006, the 230th anniversary of our great nation, we are going to Rusti's family renuion in (ugh) Roan Mountain at the Cabins. Last year, at least, my brother-in-law Curtis, was in to attend and moderate the whole affair. He made it alot more fun. This year, he won't be here, so we won't have near as much fun. Happy 4th, Curtis..lol. Naw, all kidding aside, it should be o.k. We're gonna take our little Tommie Girl this year..should be interesting. I wish that I had a big, extended family like that.

I'm gonna post a few more links. I hope everyone has a great 4th!

http://www.cmt.com

http://supertalkwfhg.com/

http://www.wxbq.com

http://www.bobandtom.com

http://www.limewire.com

http://www.woofboard.com/forum/index.php

http://sandgram.blogspot.com/

O.k., another update. Here is an artistic rendering of the front elevation of the house we are building, although ours will look a little different. We went with Jefferson Wade Tudor brick from General Shale with black morter. I know that sounds tacky, but, trust me, it looks GOOD! The brick is already laid, and we are going with white siding to off-set it a little bit. I'm sure that it will look really good.

Well, Good Ole Harv really broke it off in me today. It was like somebody pushed a button at about 12:30 p.m. and the county went crazy! Alot of junk calls, and it seemed like we stayed a call or two behind for the rest of the afternoon. Not to mention the fact that it was, like, 9000 degrees today with about 2000% humidity. Maybe a little bit of an exaggeration, but it was HOT! I worked a burglary towards the end of the shift where a bunch of personal and business checks were stolen, along with approx. $20,000.00 worth of women's jewelry. I had to work over (which I hate, after 12 hours I'm ready to go home!). I got hold of the on-call investigator (who will remain nameless) and explained what I had. Descent crime scene, known probable suspect, etc. He said there was no use in him coming in, and to tell the victim that he would be out tommorrow to obtain prints. Oh well. Glad to put this shift to bed!

I'm gonna post a couple of good links below. Just in case I don't update again before the fact, I hope everyone has a good and safe 4th of July. God bless our founding fathers and our current leadership!

http://www.michaelsavage.com

http://www.drudgereport.com

http://www.cafepress.com/rightwingstuff

http://www.rantburg.com/

http://www.globalsecurity.org

http:///littlegreenfootballs.com/weblog/

http://cagle.msnbc.com/main.asp

O.K., another update....hey I'm doing good here! Today is Saturday, July 1, 2006. Today, we went up to the new house and did some weed-eating. Our builder had been up there since before 7:00 this morning, doing some grading. It's really looking good, and he thinks we will be in there around the 1st of August. I think that is overly optimistic, but, we'll see I guess. After that we came back home and are mowing here. Rusti is mowing the front, and I'll mow the back when she gets done. I call it "conquering Everest" because the back is soooooo steep.

My shift is on the Friday, Saturday, Sunday day shifts, which I had originally taken off. My shift commander, though, in a crafty and underhanded manner, attached a note to my paycheck (payday was Friday) saying he needed me to work Sunday, so it totally messed up my break. He doesn't care about anyone on the shift and had already approved my time off, so it was a real kick in the teeth. Thanks, Harv! Oh, well, guess I'll be working dayshift tommorrow.

Let's see: what else? Well, my father-in-law, Larry (who is just a great guy), bought a 4-wheeler today. I rode it a little bit. First time in my life that I've ever ridden a 4-wheeler! It was a lot of fun. It's almost time to conquer Everest, so I guess I'll sign off for now. It's getting closer to "Football Time in Tennessee". Let's hope that the Vols have a better year!

O.K. It's still Friday, June 3o, 2006. We got a lot of stuff done this evening. We picked out our counter-tops. Thanks Julie, from the Elizabethton Lowe's for all of your hard work! We also picked out our appliances while there. Whirlpool Gold series, that all match in stainless steel. We also found our ceramic tile that should come in 'under budget'! Woohoo!

The pic on this post is of the cover of the book that I am currently reading. Mark Bowden is probably most notable for writing 'Black Hawk Down'. I have read several of his books, including 'Black Hawk Down', 'Killing Pablo', and 'Doctor Dealer'. He is a fantastic author of Non-Fiction. All of his books read like Tom Clancy novels. I can't say enough good about his writing. Just do yourself a favor and check out one of his books!

"Guests of the Ayatollah" is about America's first battle with Islamo-facists. It deals with the take over of the American Embassy in Tehran by radical Islamic students. It is very detailed and a page-turner from the very start!

http://www.amazon.com

http://www.wilsonarts.com

http://www.lowes.com

Just a couple of more images to give this blog a little color. The first, obviously, is the badge of the Carter Co. Sheriff's Dept. The second, is an Air Force Security Forces basic qualification badge, and the third is the Shield of U.S.A.F. Security forces.

My roots in law enforcement started with the United States Air Force, and I am still proud of those guys.

http://www.af.mil