Random Thoughts

I feel a road trip comin’ on

I’m about due for a road trip.   It’s one of the reasons I moved to Arizona!   I’m not sure where I’ll go yet, but took some time off from work next week to point the bike somewhere.    I’m thinking Route 66 through the Texas panhandle and maybe hit Oklahoma.     The beauty of a good road trip is I’ll figure it out when I get there.

Can’t wait for Thursday.

 

I feel a road trip comin’ on Read More »

Falcon Field in Mesa Arizona

Yesterday was veterans day.   My father was a marine and a pilot, and just like I find my mojo on a motorcycle, he found his in the air.   To this day, I’m a sucker for an air Museum.   I’ve been driving by falcon field on the way to work for months now, and I’ve wanted to check it out.    Veterans day seemed like a good day to do it.

Falcon field had a short military history:  It was opened 4 months before Pearl Harbor was bombed, with the Intent to train British and American Pilots.  3 years after the war it was deeded to the city of Mesa as a municipal Airport.    Its a small, but pretty cool museum.

Falcon Fields P-51 Mustang
Maybe the most influential fighter of any era, the P-51 has always been my favorite. It had the horsepower, ceiling,range, firepower and everything else to turn the tide of air supremacy of WWII. It did just that.

 

Falcon Air Field F4 Falcon
F-4 Falcon…. I read somewhere once that the F-4 is proof that anything can fly if you put a big enough engine in it.

 

Cockpit of the F4 falcon at Falcon Field in Mesa.
Inside the cockpit of the F-4 Falcon. This is where you kicked some ass.

 

WWII Dog tag machine at falcon field.
WWII dog tag machine. I thought it was kinda interesting.

 

B-25 Mitchell Bomber Falcon Field Mesa
The B-25 Mitchell Bomber. Jimmy Doolittle figgered out how to launch these off an aircraft carrier in the wind to bomb Tokyo as a fuck you to Japan after bombing Pearl Harbor. America needed some morale.   Now, In the shop, getting some maintenance.

 

B-17G Flying fortress, Falcon Field Arizona.
As I drove in, I got to watch this beautiful old B-17G bomber fly over my head and land after flying over the veterans day parade.    I’m not going to lie:   I got a chubby.

A helluva good day.   I came home and watched P-51 dogfights.     I hope you had a happy veterans day!

 

Falcon Field in Mesa Arizona Read More »

Happy Sunday!

A casual Sunday is a great way to round out a fucking great weekend.    We’re having one around here today.    There’s not a whole lot of ambition around this house today.

Yesterday the wife and I went to an outdoor Punk Rock concert with some old favorites and enjoyed each others company.    One of the nice things about living in a larger city is you can pick out a good show or two.    We were the old guys in the back.     I had a blast.

Today, the wife is out looking for pokemon with the kids, the football game is set to record on the DVR (go Steelers), and I’m just sitting here checking out roads on google maps that I’d like to ride.    You gotta love a good Sunday.

 

 

Happy Sunday! Read More »

Shifting Gears…

Today was a helluva good day.     My son in law got sworn into the army and headed off to basic training.     We’ll see him around Christmas time and then off to Texas where my daughter will re-join him and go off on the crazy ride of life in the military.

At first, we weren’t all that excited about the  decision, but it wasn’t my decision to make.   They’ll go off on a whole other path thats going to lead to places Mrs Zip and I can’t even probably comprehend.    Shit like that, is a good thing.    He knows what he’s doing.

I don’t have a son, but I love my SIL like he was:   he’s a good man.  A principled man — honest and his priorities are right.    He’s doing this to take care of his family, get an education and I think there’s also a part of him that wants to know what he’s capable of.   I get that.   I think any man worth his salt can understand that.

My father was a marine, but other than his stories,  I’ve had very little exposure to the military.   I’m excited to hear his stories when he gets back.   I was completely proud when he got sworn in to defend the constitution of the united states, and I know he was too.    Effing cool.

It wasn’t a choice I’d ever make  (Even though I’ve always wished I could have gone through basic training).    I looked around the room and saw a bunch of scared kids who we’re going to become men over the next couple of years, and my son in law who is going to become even more of one.   Yeah, we were all pretty proud.

Kick some ass out there Jordan, we’ll hold down the fort and see you when you get back…

Shifting Gears… Read More »

Who are you

I’ve been wading through politics all year it seems.   The NFL and the national anthem.   Gender neutral bathrooms.    Trump tweets.   Racism.  Revolution.  That crazy fucker in North Korea who figured out how to make a nuke.   Earthquakes in mexico, hurricanes in Florida.    Someone will spin them all into politics, somehow.

I’ve had a gut full of all of it.

I’m not burying my head in the sand.   Truth is, I’m paying attention.  but there are more important things to concern yourself with.

The Question is, who are you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdLIerfXuZ4

Who are you Read More »