PLACES I'VE BEEN LATELY

Some months ago, I added Slampo's Place and strongly encourage anyone who likes excellent funny writing to check out this post because I was rolling and laughing out loud when I read it. It might not be as funny if you're not from Houston but I think the great writing comes through no matter what... Shami Time! (Updated With the Latest). Slampo ultimately asks the ultimate question in his essay:

It's easy to chuckle at Mr. Shami, but before we indulge in an easy laugh at his expense we must all ask ourselves, "How many hairdressers did I comfort after 9/11?"

I don't know Slampo personally buy like my friend Texas Ghostrider, I really enjoy his writing. TG often posts about neckties of the day, sometimes hideous and sometimes cool. I've been meaning to send TG a box of neckties I haven't worn in about 4 years. There are some classics in there as well as lots of not-so-classic ties in that particular box, which was packed up about 5 years ago and has been ever since.

In any event, I will be sending TG a "necktie care package" for he and his fellow officers to have. I some some officers working plainclothes (or in uniform that need ties on occasion) are on real tight budgets, taking excellent care of their families and working very had to provide for them while putting their life on the line every day... so if it's between my ties going to the resale store or a women's shelter resale shop and some cops who work hard to protect me and mine every day, then guess who gets the free ties.

Slampo's post brings back old memories of the myriad political campaigns of "Texas Sam Houston Fayed. I'll give him points for trying, cause it seems like he's run for a lot of offices over the years.

Slampo is a funny mofo.

I've also been reading a newish blog called STEALTH by Black ink. I like it as well.

As any reader of this blog for any frequency has noticed, I've been talking a lot about firearms lately, particularly handguns. Like most Texas kids with families with rural roots, or at least kinfolk in the country, I did a fair amount of shooting and fishing from a very early age. I was BB gunning from age 5 or 6, and of course had a collection of toy guns.

My father wasn't a big hunter but he occasionally liked a good bird hunt, particularly for quail. It reminded him of his younger days growing up in depression-era rural East Texas, and how they put food on the table. Like fishing, I do love to go shooting, I'm just not a hunter for the most part, unless you're talking wolves or coyotes or hogs that are decimating the stock or crops of friends of mine who farm and ranch for a living. Otherwise, I leave the hogs and wolves and coyotes alone as long as they are leaving me and my friends alone.

So lately I've been reading about guns again and have had the itch to add at least several new firearms to the collection, such as it is right now. Once upon a time, before marriage, I had a wide and varied firearm collection, worthy of any Texas male who had been a law enforcement officer in his young twenties. That collection dwindled from it's finest, from this emergency or that, usually when several hard hitting emergencies came and were decimating the emergency savings fund

Two blogs I especially have enjoyed reading have also been added to my blogroll. I've been reading some of their old posts, and they write quite well and like me, have a diverse interest in a wide range of firearms.

Xavier Thoughts and his nice post on the Clark Custom Carry Piece. Read back through his postings to read about the gun he gave his son-in-law as a wedding present. What a hot rod .45 to get as a gift. Something that will surely be cherished forever as a family heirloom.

Read about the wedding gift here http://xavierthoughts.blogspot.com/2009/12/wedding-gun.html. Like me, Xavier is a fan of the 1911 and of revolvers and has a lot of interesting posts on handguns and concealed carry weapons and things of interest other than guns.

The other blog I stumbled upon was Gunner's Journal, and it too is writted by a man of my own heart, when it comes to 1911's and revolvers, as well as other guns. It's quite a comendium of information regarding the kinds of handguns that my circle of long term (20 to 30 years) Texas male friends have been interestetd in. Kick ass guns.

I'll note that both of these blogs have extensive links to other great sites and blogs.
I particularly liked this post on Gunner's Journal about the excellence that is the combat revolver, and why a good 5 or 6 shot revolver beats a jammed automatic any day of the week. http://gunner777.wordpress.com/category/sw-snub-nose-revolvers/

This fellow knows lots more about 1911s than I do, and I know quite a bit about them. He knows LOTS about firearms in general and I can say that I find his writing quite informative and interesting. And yet, like me, he often chooses to sport a revolver for his defense, in spite of the fine autos he owns.

One thing Gunner and Xavier and I enjoy is the K frame Smith revolvers. For many years, my concealed carry weapon of choice was a Model 67, which as I've mentioned before, I'm letting my mom use. That's how much I like that weapon.

It's downloaded with Federal Premium low recoil self defense JHP ammo so it's easy for Mom to shoot. Low recoil.

But like the two bloggers I mentioned above, I'd like to get a Model 65, or even better, the shrouded ejector rod Ladysmith version of the Model 65. But I'd be happy with even a nice Model 13, the blued version of the Model 65.

In any event, all of these blogs offer great reading. I've been hanging out at these blogs quite a bit lately.