In 1814, We took a little trip...

1st Inning.
Highlights of the Brew Crew...Halloween this year came and went with much celebration in the Brewer household.  Costumes this year--Kylie (Tween Werewolf), Dixie (Vampire), and Lucy (Minnie Mouse)...oh, and me (Hillbilly Werewolf).  The added bonus this year?  My wife's sister came to town.  Her sister brought her two children and they were able to do some heavy-duty trick-r-treating.  As soon as my kids arrived home from school it was a whirlwind of costumes as they all were in a frenzy to get dressed and start hitting the neighborhood, never mind that is was only 4pm and very early. 

 

We like to decorate and go all-out for Halloween (as the video below shows) and each year we try to add a little something new.  This year we bought a couple of more ghost/ghouls to hang up and a fog machine.  The best time to stock up on Halloween stuff is the day of or next day as the stores try to get rid of everything by marking the prices down.  The number of visits we had that night was just right as we were not left with much candy.  The compliments from kids about how 'cool' our house was brought a smile to this hillbilly werewolf's face.      

The weekend after Halloween was the Youth Hunting weekend.  Over the past few years my girls have started tagging along with me into the woods in search of deer and turkey.  I bought my oldest her first deer rifle (Rossi Matched Pair, .243/20GA) two years ago for her first youth hunting weekend.  I made a huge mistake by not understanding the antler-point restrictions for the youth hunt and made her pass on a small buck that did not have 4 antler points on one side when she could have shot it and had her first deer(there is no antler point restrictions during the youth hunt).  So, with the guilt hanging over me I have tried to get her into the woods to get another shot.  This year with a sister in tow, I decided to buy a nice ground blind so the three of us could sit together.  I ended up catching the Barronett Grounder 350 on sale at the local Orschelins.  It was plenty big enough for us and although we didn't see anything while sitting there all afternoon we all had a great time spending it together in the deer woods.

2nd Inning.

Music...Johnny Horton.  With the fall hunting season upon us and deer season coming up this weekend, I wanted to profile an artist that gets a bunch of airtime from our smartphone MP3 players while we sit around the campfire.  My first exposure to Johnny Horton was sitting by my Papa Brewer's record player while he or my dad would play 'The Battle of New Orleans', which was written by Jimmy Driftwood (who lived in Timbo, the same small north Arkansas town as my Papa Brewer).  Jump forward many years to my first apartment roommate after graduating high school-my cousin, David.  He grew up listening to Johnny Horton songs and through his influence expanded my knowledge of more and more songs.  Jump forward to 2007, and every year since, when my cousin, David, his dad, Randy, and me are sitting around our hunting campfire each fall.  There you will find us singing along to Johnny Horton hits that include, 'The Battle of New Orleans', 'When It's Springtime in Alaska', 'Sink the Bismark', 'Whispering Pines', 'All for the love of a girl', 'Jim Bridger', and 'Comanche(The Brave Horse)'. 

 

A little background on Johnny Horton...Johnny rose to fame singing honky tonk/rockabilly songs.  At one point he ended up in California (where he was born) doing a tv show/radio show before he headed to Louisiana for a job singing on the Louisiana Hayride.  There Hank Williams played the part of mentor until his death in 1952.  Horton ended up marrying Williams' widow, Billie Jean.  With his career going nowhere, he changed managers and record labels.  After signing with Columbia Records his career had new life with his new hit, 'Honky Tonk Man'.  As quick as his new hits peaked on the charts he found new ones drying up.  He then released 'Springtime in Alaska' and 'The Battle of New Orleans' which were instant hits.  With their success he concentrated on the folk-story type songs and recorded a number of hits prior to his death in a car wreck in 1960.

3rd Inning.

This Ole...Picture of me and Buck.  On November 13th, Buck O'Neill would have turned 102 years old.  I first mentioned how I learned about Buck in the 5th Inning of 'Top of the mornin' to ya!'.  Well, in 2003 (while in KC for Thanksgiving) my wife and I, along with our one year old daughter, went to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum so I could possibly meet Buck O'Neil and get his autograph. We walked through the museum pushing Kylie around in her stroller but no sign of Buck. After I loaded up on goodies from the gift shop we started to leave and noticed the long line of people headed into the museum and sure enough there is Buck taking pics with folks.   I panicked and headed over to the Jazz Museum's concession stand(the American Jazz Museum is in the same building) to buy an ink pen as quickly as possible so he could autograph his book I had just bought. As I watched him head into the museum, I felt the moment start to slip away, when my wife, Gina, out of nowhere swerved the stroller in front of him to stop him until I could catch up. We introduced ourselves and talked about us living in Memphis and he told us how he met his wife there (He always said the greatest day in his life was a day in Memphis when he hit for the cycle then met his wife that night). I got the autograph and Gina saved the day!

The following spring we moved to the Kansas City, Missouri area and one day I was listening to the local sports radio station, 810am, and they were advertising for Buck's 'Legends Luncheons' which were held downtown at the Madrid Theater.  I was able to attend several of these luncheons before he passed away.  My goal was to always get there early and try to get a conversation with Buck as he was always there early too.  Every time I arrived early you could catch him making his way around the room to greet folks as they arrived.  The picture above was taken at one of those luncheons and to this day it sits on my office desk.  I remember shaking his hand and it was like he had a baseball glove for a hand (his hands were that huge).  A great man that was ever so humble and could always bring a smile to your face.  To learn more about Buck check out his website here.  His speech at the Baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremonies is below and well worth watching.  He was snubbed by a committee put together to select Negro Leagues inductees and was already invited to speak by the HOF as they figured he was a shoo-in.  Well, even though he was not selected he still showed up to give a speech about the Negro Leagues and left everyone smiling.  We miss you, Buck!

4th Inning.

 What I'm Thankful For...I have a wife that will pluck my eyebrow and ear hair...To be born in the United States of America...Arkansas State University for introducing me to my wife...Daughters that like to pal around with their dad and go hunting...My employer of 11+ years giving me a chance when so many other companies and government agencies would not...

 

The first person who thought putting sugar in iced tea was a good idea...Having great in-laws...A bathroom exhaust fan in this house...A roof over my head and food in the pantry...

5th Inning.

Articles of the week...

• I like big boobs and I cannot lie..More of a PSA but nonetheless it is still an important topic and this article '23 Things Only Ladies With Big Boobs Will Understand' helps explain it all.
• When will the D.C. madness end?..."When more than 30 police officers in full tactical gear descended upon the house of a successful Washington, D.C., businessman with no criminal record last summer, they were looking for 'firearms and ammunition … gun cleaning equipment, holsters, bullet holders and ammunition receipts,' The Washington Times reported."  When did our capital city become so Nazi-esque??? The founders are rolling in their graves, people...rolling in their graves.
• We are surrounded!..."Americans who were recipients of means-tested government benefits in 2011 outnumbered year-round full-time workers, according to data released this month by the Census Bureau." There is no way a nation can last while sustaining a public dependence at those levels and ratios.
• An apple a day..."A government worker is 38 percent more likely to be absent from work for personal reasons or illnesses than a private-sector worker, and government workers miss 50 percent more of their usual work hours as a result of such absences than do private sector workers, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics."  And you wonder why government workers get a bad rap...
  
• 1st Amendment, 4th Amendment, 2nd Amendment, Raid!..."Audrey Hudson’s husband had just left for work on August 6 when suddenly, her dog began barking. The nationally-known journalist walked over to the curtains and peeked outside to discover her Chesapeake Bay home was surrounded by law enforcement officers wearing full body armor."  My fellow Americans, the Sedition Acts are back!
• The Purge..."Nine generals and flag officers have been relieved of duty under Obama just this year – widely viewed as an extraordinary number – and several sources put the total number of senior officers purged during the five years of the Obama administration as close to 200."  Eliminate the military leadership that does not adhere to your ideology...
• Travel here, travel there, travel everywhere..."10 incredible world landmarks you haven't seen (yet!)".  Need to expand my bucket list...oh, and an attraction in KC made the list!
  

  
• Health Insurance or Health Maintenance..." 'The product we have had since 1959 has been a hybrid of a service maintenance contract plus insurance. If you’re going to buy true insurance, you want to buy it for a catastrophic event, example, auto insurance. If I go to my auto insurer, I don’t want to be covered for oil changes and lube jobs. I want to be covered for a car crash and so when we went to first dollar coverage thats when it [health insurance] became a service maintenance contract.' "  This guy opened my eyes to a better way of understanding the health insurance debate.
• America's Pastime..."For many turning to page three of today’s post was a pleasant surprise. The Red Sox took out a full page ad to say,'Your region, its people and the entire Cardinal`s organization represent everything that’s great about baseball.' " Another reason I feel baseball is the greatest sport!

6th Inning.

President Harry Truman

American History Lesson...Truman saves Europe.  The world emerged from World War II with Europe on the brink of disaster after years of war and devastation and the influence of Communism from the Soviet Union.  President Truman had to act or watch a domino effect of communism take over Europe and spread throughout the world.  From the MarshallFoundation.Org, "Millions of people had been killed or wounded.  Industrial and residential centers in England, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Belgium and elsewhere lay in ruins.  Much of Europe was on the brink of famine as agricultural production had been disrupted by war.  Transportation infrastructure was in shambles.  The only major power in the world that was not significantly damaged was the United States."   

 

Secretary George Marshall

In January 1947, President Truman appointed General George Marshall to be his Secretary of State.  Through this role Marshall implemented what has been called the 'Marshall Plan' (the official title was the European Recovery Program).  The plan's intent was to revitalize and rebuild the economies of Western Europe while also lifting the morale of their citizens.  Both Truman and Marshall believed that bringing back the economies of those nations would provide political stability and keep the Soviet influence at bay.

Germany and sixteen other nations formed the group that received aid.  Initial items shipped to the nations included food, machinery, fuel, and other infrastructure staples.  Later on during the recovery effort, the aid turned into investments by the United States in the industrial infrastructure of the rebuilding nations. 

 

When the funding ended in 1951, the nations that received our aid saw unprecedented economic growth which ultimately fought off any opportunity for influence the Soviet Union might have devised.  These ties between our nation and Western Europe lead to many trade/economic alliances as well as military alliances that have lasted till today.  The Dick Morris video below gives more background information.  Enjoy!

   

 

7th Inning.

Firearms Corner...3D Printed Gun.  News this week in the firearms world revolved around the world's first 3D printed metal gun.  The company, Solid Concepts, used a laser sintering process that took metal powder and made it into a hardened solid object that was capable of being fired.  Their model of gun?  The 1911.  With a design that is open to the public domain they were able take a 3D computer model and create everything needed to build the gun outside of a few springs and a magazine.  What does this mean for the firearms world?  Well, the printer costs around $500,000 so I wouldn't expect to find one in anybody's garage anytime soon like you might find with the hobby printers used to make plastic objects.  But for many collectors that may be looking for a part that is hard to find, this may provide them the opportunity to once again put that priceless firearm together and take it to the range once more.  A video of the firearm is below.  Enjoy! 

8th Inning.

FFL Factoid...Finishing the 'Top 10 Frequently Asked Firearms Questions and Answers' per the ATF..

10. I was the subject of a NICS check when I attempted to purchase a firearm from an FFL, and I received a delayed response or a denial. Please tell me why I did not receive a "proceed" response.

ATF does not operate the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). It is administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Please contact the NICS Customer Service Center at (877) 444-6427 for further assistance. You can also find information about the NICS system by visiting the FBI’s website at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics.

9th Inning.

Baseball Video..."Don't shed any tears.  You think about this: Here I am the grandson of a slave and here the whole world was excited about whether I was going into the Hall of Fame or not.  We've come a long ways."-John Jordan 'Buck' O'Neil.