Retirement......sort of....is finally here.

 Retirement has finally happened.   I am no longer driving truck for Stevens Transport.  I may have to find a job to make about $2000.00 a month, but that won't be forever.   I am looking for work from home work, and since I write and type really well that may happen.   

I have been off work for about a month now, I still have my CDLA and am adding doubles and triples to it.  That is needed if I get the drive away job I have applied for.   But for the most part I am just retired.   I have plans to go fishing and have gone deer hunting twice now.  I will probably get a deer this week.  My brother Bob, aka shoreparty got me a 8 mm mauser rifle to hunt with.   It is really very pretty and very accurate to about 200 yards on open sights.   If I make it a serious deer rifle I will have to get a scope for it.   That may happen for next year, or I may get a modern .308, or a 30/30 to hunt with.  The Mauser is nice, but ammo is about $2 a round, so that sort of cuts down on how fun and accurate it is to shoot.

Jessica is growing fast and is pretty much completely house broken.   She has accidents, but usually at the doorway and because I didn't pick up on her wanting to go out.  She is getting pretty good at telling me that she needs to go.   She sleeps through the night and goes in the morning.  After her breakfast she usually sleeps another hour or so and then we go for a walk.  I have been walking her at least a mile a day, and when I can we do two.   Her legs are getting longer, and she is starting to learn that the leash is for her protection.  She tolerates it most of the time. But without is she stays right with me when we walk, unless she is in explore mode.   She comes when called though and sits when told to.  She also drops anything when told to leave it.   

This week she started bringing toys and  balls back to be thrown again.  Not 100% of the time but most of the time.  She also sits and waits to eat until told it is OK to do so.   All in all she is a smart little girl and pretty loyal.   Still growing daily and she is about 15 pounds and about 12 to 14 inches tall.  Her legs are growing fast.   I have had many dogs, lots of rescues and fosters that were older, but Jessica is the first puppy I have had in a long long time.   She is a challenge and a joy at the same time.

Clyde is retireing soon. His replacement is known as Big Red

 When I started this blog it had no title.  I think I started it in 2006.  It was started because of another blog.  Breaker 19 was its name.  The writer of that blog said something about trucker that I seriouly disagreed with.  I naturally wanted to comment, and the writer of that blog had it set up that in order to to comment people had to start a blog.  initially I refused to do that, but I had to repond to the outrageous comment and there was no cost.  So I started a blog, no title, no theme, and no entries or posts.  But I made my comment on the other blog.  I do not even know if anyone read or responded to my comment, because right after I made it that blog disappeared, or maybe the writer decided to block me.  But I now had a blog.   I bought and named Clyde in 2005 for the first of 16  Runs for the Wall that I did.   I still have Clyde, he has new paint, new tires, new brakes and a new clutch.  I wanted to pass him on to my son Luke, and he is willing to take him but logistically that has not happpened yet.

The title of the blog is going to stay the same, at least for  a while.  In January I will be titling and registering Clyde in Texas.  Maybe sooner..  Big Red has a Wisconsin Registration that is valid until April, so I am going to save some cash and wait until then to register it.  Clyde's plate "FNG05" is on Big Red. If Texas allows for it I will keep that plate.  I was after all an "FNG"  which translates to "Fun New Guy (or Gal)" on Run for the Wall in 2005.   For my military friends it translates to something else but that is okay too. If Luke doesn't take Clyde I will keep him.  I do not know what the new title will be, the only decision is that it won't be Bounce and Big Red.  I want to broaden the range of the blog.  The trailer needs a name too.  I might name the blog after the trailer.  Also I plan to retire so the thought of driving truck and riding motorcyles won't work anymore.

Okay house keeping done.  I have a new place to live.  A 42 foot long toy hauler trailer.  It is nice but can and will be nicer.  I need to organize it and to get some storage issue taken care of.  I want to make sure that when moving it nothing shifts or falls down.  I have one wheel dock for big Red and I plan to get another one for Clyde.  The one I have for Big Red is very nice, but pricey.  I will probably get another one for Clyde. very secure system. It is called a Wheel Dock and can be found at Wheel dock motorcycle products.  I just Google Wheel dock.  they cost $325.00 but are very well made and sized for individual front wheels.  If you get it too big they sell spacers to tighten it up but they will hold a bike upright and require very limited tie downs.

Now for me. I like Clyde, am retiring.  It is more than past time for me to go fishing. I will have to work some, but  over the road truck driving was slowly killing me both physically and mentally.

I plan to blog here, and I have a new past time, or hobby, or challenge.  About three weeks ago a friend of my friend Dean showed up at the Goldthwaite farm market with 9 puppies born on September ninth.  He was giving them away trying to just find homes for them.   Well we picked one up.   Jessica is now the queen of our toy hauler.  Good news is she is very smart.  She is a mix of Boston Terrier, English Bull dog and Border Collie.  She is great and has already decided potty is outside not inside.   She has grown some, but not the way the rest of her litter has.  They are still getting mothers milk so they are fatter.  She walks with me every day (I try to walk at least a mile, sometimes two and she stays right with me)  We experimented with a leash last week.  Jess does not approve but tolerates it.

So now that I am retired I plan to blog every day.  I may even open up a YouTube channel for Jessica, she is cute smart and fun to watch.   

I will be riding Big Red, and probably Clyde too, as soon as I sort out the space issue.  I up sized my living space from 60 inches to 41 feet, but I have to down size my possessions.  Life in its self is a work in progress.  Hopefully I can do this.   

Pictures and even videos of Jessica are coming, they are on my face book and Instagram feeds.

Honor and Friendship

 This post is about a trip that I am making with my brother, Bob Shoreparty Talley.

A while ago he called me and told me that he had a friend that was dying of Cancer as a result of either being stationed at Camp Lejune, NC or Agent Orange.  They were going to come to Camp Lejune together after the last Run For the Wall that Bob's freind did, and events overcame that plan.  They promised each other they would do this together someday.  Bob is taking a flag and the Memory of his friend here.

There is a memorial here for the Marines that were killed in the Lebanon Barracks bombing.  They were both in the unit that this happened to.  Bob did me the honor of asking me to accompany him on this trip.  I promised him almost two years ago I would do this.  LeAnn Larson is working so I can keep the job I need and I am doing it.

The trip has been tough, and fun.  Bob and I are brothers but we had some bad years.  When we were kids we spent a lot of time trying to kill each other, and as adults we did not always communicate well.  But we are brothers, and I am proud that he is also my friend.

This is the first of a few posts about this trip.  Bob left Colorado Springs Colorado and met me in Oklahoma City.  I left Lometa TX so my first day was shorter than his.  But he rides a lot more than I do.  I have about 70k miles on touring bikes, but only now about 40000 on my Big Red Yamaha.  It is a nice bike but I am getting old.

Our first night we stayed in a "Bunk a Biker" home in Harrah Oklahoma.  They were great people. The Thompsons welcomed us, fed us and garaged our bikes.  They are a GOLD STAR family.  They lost their son CPL Michael Eyre Thompson on 9/18/2008.  When we pulled into the garage I saw Roger's  Harley which is dedicated to Mikey.  A thought here, I enlisted in 1977 because my then Wife was pregnant with our first child and the Air Force was the only job I could find that would cover that.  Yes I made  a career out of it, yes I deployed to some silly places and some bad places, but there was no war going on when I enlisted. It was simply a job that I grew to love.  I was in a combat zone but there were dependents there so it was not really that dangerous.   The people that are enlisting today in all branches of the service are doing so at a time when our country is at war and I truly respect and admire every one of them.

The Thompsons have a great home and we plan to stop back there on the way home.  

The above photos are of Bob Shore Party Talley and a couple of Marines we met at a gas stop in Tennesse and a young sailor he met this morning.  Funny little thing about the two guys at the gas stop.  Bob said hi to them and greeted them like any biker would, the tall guy was like "yeah whatever".  Then Bob turned to get on his bike and the tall guy said "I am sorry sir I did not see your patch.  We are both Marines too."  The conversation went very friendly at that.  Bob asked the Sailor if he was a plumber, he replied yes (for those of us that do not speak Marine a plumber is a Corpsman).  They had a pleasant conversation, and I enjoyed it.

The above photos are of Bob and Bill's Memory and Flag at the Memorial.  That    place is very Hallowed Ground.  There is pain there, not at much as at the Wall in D.C., but I could feel it.  A lot of pain has been left there.                                              

That is it for today, Revelry is at 0500 and that is sharp, since I am traveling with a Marine and a Memory of a Marine I will be ready to go.

Okay a lot has happened int the last four monthd.

I am now owner and partner in Reluctant Dragonfly LLC.  My things are now in Texas. I have a trailer to live in and park the bikes in,  Dean and Tish Hopkins going to help me set it up to live in it.  LeAnn is a partner and a driver. We are going to pay the trailer off in about a year, and once its paid for we are going fishing. Or I am. She is a published author and is planning on promoting her books, and working with veterans too.   The rodeo pictures and the video are from a youth rodeo at the Goldthwaite Cowboy chruch.  That was fun to watch.  I had to ask what the "Goat Slapping" competition was about, but it was fun.   In the goat slapping the younger kids ride up to a goat while someone holds it.  Once within about twenty feet of the goat the kids jump off their horse run up and slap the goat.  The timer stops when they slap the goat.  The older kids don't have anyone to hold the goat, it is tethered with a long lead and can run from them. They have to tie three legs together for time, and the tie has to hold for a while. not sure how long, but if the goat gets free there is no time.

Above are pictures of the bikes loaded on my utility trailer in Wisconsin, and of our toy Hauler travel trailer

     I am here to participate in a Green Knights event.  Not sure what it is for but I am going to enjoy it if I can.

 Two more years and I will retire.  There are several things I must do to acheive that.  I have changed from being a trainer to being a team driver.  Hopefully there will be enough revenue generated by that to pay everything off and get the trailer I want.  I also hope that I do not age much more.  Getting older is okay, but aging hurts a lot.

I have a good chance to buy a small piece of land, and if that happens then I may just buy a nice single wide and use my pick up to pull the utility trailer and camp in a tent and go see places on the bike.  That is a possibility.   

My diabetes is well under control, I am still losing weight, not as fast but still losing weight.  The 38 inch pants that I was gifted by the great and mighty Gallupe are loose on me.  He did send three pairs of 36 inch pants too, but I have about 30 more pounds before I get into those.  Thinking I will need my suspenders for the 38's soon though.  

The folks renting to buy my house may be actually buying it soon.  That will give me an additional $250 or so a month to apply to bills that need paying off before I retire.   

I visited with my friends at the Goldthwaite TX senior center at the end of Febuary.  I played bingo one week and had lunch the next week.  I really miss working there, and when I retire I will be there a lot.  Texas is not a bad place to spend the winter, it gets cold but not for long.  Those folks are a great bunch and they are growing in size every month.  Billie is doing a great job there.

Well that is about it for this post.  There may be some interesting videos coming. Working on doing an interview with a new driver and me (the old driver).  That should be a lot of fun.  I am also going to work at finishing my book on truck driving.  It started as a how to do it and became a comic way of looking at the expierences that I have had over 23 years.   In April I will have been driving truck for four years longer than I was in the Air Force.

Thanks for reading

Bounce

Last thought I am going to reunite with good old Clyde in about a month or so.  He may or may not be pissed at me, I have been enjoying warm weather and he has been stuck in a barn in Wisconsin for three years.

 This post is the first in a long time.  I have to apologize to folks that follow this blog.  I have been working pretty hard.  I have driven over 20,000 miles since November.  I have trained three students. So I haven't driven all those miles, but I did get paid for them.  So that is my excuse for not posting in a while. 

Going forward I am going to try to post a couple of times a week.  

Last week I visited with my friends at the Mills County Senior Center.  That group is growing, not by leaps and bounds, but it is growing.  They feed almost eighty folks a day now.  When I was there it was about sixty a day.   I played Bingo and won twice.   Picked a set of colored pens, and a daily pill box.

Then Saturday I did evening chores for Dean and Tish.  That was fun, Fed all three cats, a baby sheep that is on a bottle feeding routine, two dogs, and four cows a Llama and a Donkey.  takes less than an hour and it is fun to do.  I walk up to feed the cows so it is also good exeercise ffor me too.

On Sunday I went to the Mother Earth Fair in Belton TX.  That was fun too.  Saw a lady from the organ donors organizatoin.  There is an interview with her in an earlier post.  She is doing well and is always looking for events to present information about organ donations.

Then I met some folks from  "All about Exotic Wildlife.  Their web page is allaboutexoticwildlife.com.  They actually rescue deer and other wildlife that have been hurt.  I have some pictures from  them.

It is a little hard too see in the bottom picture but that is a South African version of a Raccoon.  They had two there.  The middle picture is supposed to be the goat that they are raising to nurse deer fawns that have lost their mothers.  She moved when I took the picture.   i got to speak a little german with the lady holding the raccoon.   It was an interesting display.  They are a 501C3 and if you are interested in donations they are at:

PAYPAL.ME/AAEWILDLIFE

Then I got to use a machine to cleanse toxins out of the body.   Well I paid $20 for thirty minutes.   It was fun and sort of interesting.  I have a picture of my feet from that.  The water was clean even after I put my feet into it, but the electrode in the water pulled a lot of gunk out of me.   I am going to get one of those machines.  It actually lowered my blood sugar.  I tested myself in the morning at 150 and before taking my nightly pills I was at 90.

This is what the water looked like after.  The lady next to me actually had parasites floating in hers.  I didn't but there was a lot of gunk there.  Machine costs $1200 but I think it works so I am going to get one as soon as I have the money..

Then I got a video of a lady that treats cloth with bees wax to make covers for storing leftovers.  The takes cloth and treats it with bees wax so that it will seal jars and bowls.

I can't figure out how to get the video to work but here is a picture of the cloths and the lady that was making and selling them.

I also sat through a few seminars on bees and raising bees.  I have always thoght bees we just stingers with wings.  Turns out they sort of make the world go round.  Without bees nothing grows.   They do not live long, and they do not fly far either, but they are responsible for all of our fruits and vegitables growing.  No bees no gardens or crops.  They do swarm from time to time.   If you see a swarm, or have a bee problem in your house, do not kill them.  Call a bee keeper, they will probably help you out.  You may have to pay a fee but most likely not.

The first three pictures are of some new born lambs at the ranch, then there are the cows and my buddy Eeyore and the sheep herd, or part of it.  All in all I had a fun weekend.  Thanks for reading