Moonage Webdream

Sherman Hansford was one of those people that just sort of came and went without making any major headlines.  He affected a lot of people in my community, and a lot of people outside of my community, but isn’t mentioned anywhere on the ‘net that I can find.  It’s a shame too, he was a great personality.  I knew him through all my childhood and a good part of my adult life until his death a few years ago.

Although he served in various capacities, his exploits as a US Marshall are what I remember best.  I don’t know really know what his career dates are, he could have been a Marshall my entire life for all I know, but I do know he was the sheriff at one point as well.

He was particularly fond of my mom.  He was like a big protective brother to her.  If there was any question of our safety, we didn’t feel the least bit concerned, Sherman would do whatever it took, and we knew it.  After my mom’s death, the house I grew up in burned a few years ago.  While the house was still ablaze, I was called and rushed to help my dad with the fire.  The fire department was there and kept hearing a popping sound.  They asked my dad if he had any guns, he assured them he didn’t.  I had to butt in and tell dad that he did indeed have several guns, and that popping was indeed bullets going off.  We just had to wait them out.  It didn’t really matter.  After the fire dad wanted to know where all the guns came from.  Sherman had given my mom several guns to protect herself when dad was away.  He had given her shooting lessons as well.  My dad was totally unaware of any of this.  I enjoyed informing dad he was married to a gunslinger.

When I was a SMALL kid, my dad and I used to go out to Sherman’s farm.  When he confiscated artillery, he had to hang on to them until they knew where to send them.  So, needless to say, Sherman’s collection of guns varied every trip, and were always interesting.  Sherman didn’t really have a natural fear of death, so he would let me shoot them.  One particular time he handed me this rifle ( don’t ask me, I don’t remember ). I aimed, pulled the trigger, and it shot, and kept shooting.  By the time it finished I had shot the river bank, the trees behind it, the leaves above, and quite a few straight into the air.  The recoil knocked me flat on my back and I naturally gripped tightly when flying to the ground.  Bullets went everywhere.  When everyone got off the ground, no one was hurt.  He never let me shoot a fully automatic rifle again.  For that matter, I don’t think I ever wanted to.  I also got to shoot sawed-off shotguns, gats, wooden pistols, about everything.

Another time I was in the courthouse and Sherman was escorting  a couple of deputies carrying this fairly small man who had obviously been beat to a pulp.  I asked another guy who knew the police force very well what had happened.  It went like this: the guy was witness to a murder, but was in fear that the guy who did the killing would kill him too if he ratted on him.  So, Sherman "beat it out of him".  The reality of the situation was the guy calmly told Sherman what he needed to know.  While they were sitting there having drinks, Sherman punched him a couple of times.  Now, you have to understand, Sherman was a BIG man.  I couldn’t imagine suffering a shot to the face from Sherman.  According to the tale, it only took a couple of punches between drinks to get the little guy looking like he had been roughed up pretty bad.  They then proceeded to carry him around the courthouse in a public display of how badly Sherman "had to beat him" in order to get the truth out of him.  We had a seperate detention center, there was no reason for the guy to be at the courthouse.  By bruising him up and displaying him in public, Sherman was saving his life.

Sherman was the man who taught me how to ride a dirt bike.  Just to give an example of how he thought, he taught me how to start it, how to accelerate it, and how to shift gears up.  What he didn’t teach me was how to slow it down other than by brakes, or how to stop it.  His instructions resulted in me hitting our family car head-on at a pretty rapid speed.  It flung me over the hood of the car.  As I lay in gravel worried about the car and the bike, these two hands appeared from the heavens and lifted me up.  It was Sherman, he was smiling the biggest grin I ever saw on that man.  Even though I had done probably $2,000 worth of damage to the bike and car, and nearly run my baby brother over in the process, he had another motorcycle ready for me to get on.  My mom didn’t like the idea, my dad hated the idea.  So, he suggested they move their cars.  This time I hit the house.  It was brick, no harm was done.  I never really got the hang of dirtbiking.  I like having four wheels on the ground.  However, the only story I have of dirtbiking is a pleasant one because of him.

A few years ago Sherman finally fully retired.  Within a few months he died in a car accident.  I never really felt it was an accident.  In a lot of ways, because of my memories of Sherman, I plan to never fully retire.

Technorati Tags: Heroes, Tales

At first I thought this idea was funny to start with.  Allow people to operate your Christmas lights over the internet.  So silly it would be fun.

However, it turned out to be a hoax.

However again, the story itself has turned out to be even funnier.  It is definitely worth the read.

Technorati Tags: Humor

The issue of stem cell research has been horribly abused politically of late.  The resulting victim of it all is the actual stem cell research.  Kerry and the dems ran a campaign that implied stem cell research is legally limited.  Millions of people bought into that argument.  The fact is, it’s not.  In the private sector, any stem cell line can be explored.

Now, here’s the chance for all the Bush bashers to take their wrath out on me.  This is how you do it, OK?  It’s pretty simple:

Start off by going to this site, all you have to do is click on the banner below:

Make a donation, any donation.  I don’t care if it’s $1.  They might, but I don’t.  It’s all tax deductible, so you’re not even out the $1.  Now, when you make that donation, if by phone or by email, make a special request that this money be earmarked for projects not covered by federal spending restrictions.

See what they say.

Technorati Tags: Science, Shameless Plugs

Minnelli Hospitalized After Fall From Bed

Actress Liza Minnelli was hospitalized early Monday after falling out of bed at her residence, police said.

Minnelli was taken to a Manhattan hospital, according to Sgt. Gerry Falcon, a police department spokesman. A message left for Minnelli’s publicist was not immediately returned. Her lawyer could not be reached for comment.

OK, so this story does not feature a semi-naked Tara Reid, Janet jackson’s semi-nakedness, or even the temptation of Miss America’s wearing speedos.  However, for some perverse reason, the thought of Liza Minelli suffering just a little bit seems to appeal to me.  Falling out of her bed doesn’t quite demand the headline Fox et al are giving her though.  This is wasted space.  The only reason I can think of for even wanting to scour the story for five seconds is a Pavlov reaction in a dark, perverse way.  Not everything enticing or appealing has to be beautiful.

Technorati Tags: Pavlov's Dog

I did an article on the tsunami that struck over the weekend.

The death toll has been raised to about 23,000 and counting as I write this.

This will definetly go down as one of the great disasters of all  time.  Used to be a time when a hurricane would cause a thousand deaths.  But, in this day and age, you just don’t see numbers like this very often.  23,000 people.  That’s a lot.  Even more amazing is how big an area this disaster occurred over.   I plan to look more closely at this event on the space page, as I don’t particularly believe in commenting too much on the personal losses people have suffered.  However, the science aspects of this are many fold.

As bad as things sound now, things will only get worse for a while.   My heart goes out to the people affected.

Technorati Tags: Current Affairs

Reggie White, a fearsome defensive end for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers and Carolina Panthers who was one of the great players in NFL history, died Sunday, his wife said. He turned 43 last Sunday.

Reggie dominated people.  He was the first example I knew of that was ferocious on the field, and soft-spoken ( and outspoken as well ) and kind off the field. 

From an interview with Phil Simms:

Q: Which player did you fear most?

Simms: Fear is a strong word. But Reggie White. That was the man — he hit me many, many times in my career and he was a tremendous player.

I have a feeling a LOT of players felt that way.  I loved watching Reggie play.  I can remember several times where he literally would just manhandle the guy(s) assigned to stop him.  It was a display of human strength and ferocity that I really can’t recall seeing since.

His personal views were just as blunt as his football playing style was.  In your face with enough force to knock you down.  Granted, it was controversial, especially for a preacher.  I can’t say I agreed with any of Reggie’s political views, but I loved the fact this brute of a man that could be the idol of any young kid both displayed his politics, and his faith, very, proudly and very loudly.

Reggie contributed to the world outside of his profession.  That’s a lot more than can be said about MOST athletes.  They need to step back and look at Reggie’s life.  Reggie will be missed in places I doubt he ever expected.

Technorati Tags: People

This is such an incredibly good idea.  I can’t believe I didn’t think of it myself.  I hate hearing the incessant cell phone ringing in restaurants.  I hate even more people talking on their cells in restaurants.  As loud as people talk, they may as well just yell to whoever they are talking to.  I don’t want to hear about strangers’ personal issues.  I really don’t.  Now, those rude cell users can just hop up and run to the phone.  Being as their guest is totally ignored when they’re on a cell call, it wouldn’t be any worse to just hop up and leave entirely.  Then at least the ignored guest won’t feel so bad talking to someone else.  I only take my cell in a restaurant when I’m alone and working or if we’re out and the baby is with a babysitter.  That’s it.  Other than that, when I eat, I don’t want to be disturbed.  I don’t even want to chance leaving my food and running to a phone booth.  But, for those that don’t mind talking with their mouth full, I LOVE the idea of these phone booths.

Technorati Tags: Opinions

That is not strictly a European practice at all.  I used to own some hotels.  I live next to a large lake that was impounded about 50 years ago.  When they flooded it, they just closed the dam and let the waters rise.  The roads that were there, still are.  Now, the result of that is we have several roads that run right into the lake.  The locals call those "loading ramps".  Tourists call them "WTF!".  As a hotelier, on more than one occasion, I had to board people that drove their cars into the incredibly large lake.  Now, I can see the issue of a road going into water.  But, I have a hard time with the part of people NOT SEEING A LARGE LAKE.

Someone clue me in here.  I made some good money from it in the past, but I still don’t get it.

Technorati Tags: Tales

Two years ago to this day my son was born.  As a new parent I often wonder if he’s going to be like me, with all my flaws and issues.  I’ve had a pretty carefree life and enjoyed most of it probably moreso than I should have.  You just hope and pray that your kid enjoys it as much as you did, and more.

And, whenever I start to think he might not enjoy it as much, or not be like me in the ways that I want, he does something like this:

And it makes me feel just fine.

God I love this kid!

Technorati Tags: Parenting

The Associated Press has told the Bowl Championship Series to stop using its college football poll to determine which teams play for the national title and in the most prestigious bowl games.

Good.

Auburn went undefeated in the hardest football conference in the country.  They had to top perennial powers Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and sometimes Alabama.  They did it with ease.  USC defeated one or two decent teams.  Oklahoma beat on the usual weak conference they exist in.  Net result?  The team that proved they were the best doesn’t even get a shot at proving they’re the best.  They’ll get #2 by default.

That’s garbage.  AP realizes that, along with the harm BCS is doing to college football.  A playoff series would mean billions in revenue to tv and the schools that play it.  A semi-final game between USC, Oklahoma, or Auburn would have sold out any stadium you could put it in.  THEN, the championship would be the premier sporting event of the year.  As it is, no one from the southeast or northeast is even going to care.  Auburn fighting for #2 when we know they were truly #1 is not the stuff to make me forego family and friends to watch a football game.

The BCS must go.  When the NCAA finally realizes that no tinkering and assigning champions formula will work that they can manipulate, then maybe they finally do what every other sport on the planet does and have a playoff.  Hopefully AP visibly distancing itself from BCS is a step in the right direction.

Technorati Tags: Opinions