Bored!
Without I doubt I have spent too much time at the key board this winter, to the point I now have a stiff neck. There was a program on TV on the issue of computer related aches and pains the other night. Part of the message is get away from the computer.
I must admit that as I started down the hallway early in the morning I fired up the computer to see what Graybeard has going. My next stop was the coffee pot and newspaper. Between the paper and Graybeard I am up to date with world events.
I went outside by way of the garage so that I could fire-up the tumbler and take care of those -06 cases.
Checked the time and headed down the road to trade cases with a member. I got some good 300 Savage cases and I gave him a few hundred 9MM cases. He and his wife bought breakfast this time around. I enjoy getting together with them every few months.
While I was in town I did a little running around looking for components and then head up the mountain to see if I could get off the state highway on to the logging roads. It was not long and I was headed for home. Too much snow on the logging roads, and suspect that will be the case into April.
When I came in the garage I gave my reloading bench a look but it is on the cold side and did not bundle up, instead I visited Graybeard.
When I read the post I realized I was suffering from winter boredom and need to change my ways. The computer has become a real pain in the neck, and I need to force myself to find another diversion.
I need to get the boat ready for spring fishing, that will have me moving around and not stooping over a key board.
I need to bring some of my reloading into the house. Forty years ago I made a portable stand for my reloading press and used it a lot. I later gave the stand to a friend. It might be time to build another.
The cases I received this morning should take up some time. I need to think a little about the final load.
As a member of the over 29 crowd I have my share of aches and pains. It is easy to slide into the chair in front of the keyboard and take on the world. I have to be critical of the time I spend at the key board, knowing I could be taking a productive nap, but I realize there is a value.
At my age Dad would fall asleep before the TV set during the day. He did a lot of reading but he was not a real social type. His best friend and wife head South with the snowbirds every winter. It would have been an interesting social experiment to set Dad up with a computer. He could have expanded on the lever action discussion with his experience with the Winchester 94 in 32-40, 32 Special, and the negative reaction the horse had when he fired a Model 95 in 30 Gov from the saddle.
Without a doubt he had the experience of many years of working in a factory, raising a family, and than seeing the boys grownup and moving out of the house.
The terror and fear he felt when the Marine Corp car pulled in front of the house and two marines in dress uniform came to the front door. Knowing he had a son in Vietnam and having a stack of muddy letters next to his chair. The relief and concern he felt when he was told his son had been wounded. Only to have it repeated later when his son was wounded a second time.( A brother) Graybeards outdoor would have been an outlet for him as it has been for other members with family serving the Nation.
I have to agree that reading some post reminds me of a bunch of dogs being protective of a fire hydrant. For years I presented training in conducting law enforcement contacts. When an officer makes a contact he knows that the contact can go many directions. Unfortunately what started out as an information contact can end in death.
I taught that when appropriate that the Honey is better than Vinegar approach has a lot of benefits and help prevents miss-understandings.
Here we are a bunch of folks from all over the country trying to communicate with each other. That is a tough chore because there are times that we have miscommunications in our native environment much less being an ambassador to the world. Many us of have our little local accent and do not recognized it. I have been asked about my accent, and I tell people that I speak Siskiyou, which is a cross of a spawning salmon in a mountain stream, and a deer with long legs on one side and short legs on the other. A city slicker might think I am a redneck, and if he does I will take it as a compliment.
But we speak a common language, we understand 45 ACP, 30-06, 270 Winchester, powder, primer, cases, and fishhooks.
In my boredom I have made one or two friends thanks to Graybeard. In a private e-mail I told one of the friends that after many years I was cleaning out a lot of brass and tumbling it. He responded back that he would buy the 45 brass and we made a deal. That little deal kick started me and removed me from the boring key board to pulling out accumulated brass. My friend now has 1400 hundred pieces of 45 ACP brass. It was a worthwhile project, and stimulated the economy. I stopped by the feed store and bought a 50 pound bag of fine ground walnut shell for eleven dollars. I knew that was the place to go from reading post on this site.
I did a little checking and that Tumbler that I bought years ago for less than fifty dollars now sells for two hundred dollars. Made me feel better.
I am sure the President would want me to put my proceeds back into economy and I have done that. I have ordered and received a Carbide 4-die set for the 9MM, and one can of orange spray paint for the repaired Lyman 55 powder measure that I broke last spring.
The neck is starting to ache so I am going down to the bench and see if I can get a couple of thing done before it gets to cool this evening. Hopefully I have not insulted anybody, none meant.