Party Like It's 1985!

1st Inning.

Sports...Royals and the Playoffs.  So, I've been wanting to write about the Kansas City Royals success this postseason.  If you hadn't noticed they won a few games here and there and made it to the playoffs for the first time in 29 years.  You read that correctly...29 years...not since they won the 1985 World Series.  Most of the players on the current team were not even born yet the last time the club saw October ball.  The last weekend, hell the month of September was basically playoff baseball for the Royals as they chased the Detroit Tigers for the American League Central Division crown and tried to stay atop the Wild Card standings.
The last weekend of the regular season presented an opportunity to take 1st place in the division but due to being 'Yosted' on the last Saturday night of the regular season, the Royals could only hope for a tie for the division lead but that didn't even happen and they ended the season 1 game back of the first place Tigers.  At that point the playoffs were set.  The Royals finished at the top of the Wild Card Standings along with the Oakland Athletics.  Since KC had the better record they would host a one-game playoff as part of the first round of the postseason.  The atmosphere around the city was crazy!  This time of year is typical football time with folks wearing the Kansas City Chiefs red attire but not this year.  You have had folks decked out in head to toe blue, whether it be an actual Royals shirt/hat or just anything blue.

That Tuesday night watching the Wild Card game, well, it had its ups and downs.  It was a back and forth game that at one point had me thinking the season was completely over. But the boys in Blue battled back to tie it and send it into extra innings.  In the 12 inning, the A's scored the go ahead run but the Royals were not done yet.  Eric Hosmer hit a one out triple and then scored on an infield single by Christian Colon to tie the game again.  Colon was able to steal second with Salvador Perez at the plate. Reaching out to hit a low and away pitch, Perez lined it down the 3rd base line just out of the reach of the A's third baseman and scored Colon for the walk-off win. This city erupted!

Up next were the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, California (longest name in Major League Baseball). The Angels finished the regular season with the best record in the American League and all of baseball this year. This is obviously turning into an underdog story. Two games in Anaheim were decided in the 11th inning by home runs from Mike 'Moose' Moustakas in the first game and Eric Hosmer in the second game.  The third game brought the teams back to Kansas City and in front of the home crowd the Royals won and swept the series.

Moving on to the American League Championship Series, the Royals have faced the Baltimore Orioles. Playing the first two games in Baltimore, the Royals won both.  Game 1 went to extra innings and after a leadoff homer by Gordon and then a 2-run shot by Moose the Royals walked away winners. Game 2 did not go to extra innings but saw some 9th inning magic.  Tied 4-4, Omar Infante beat out an infield single and was replaced on base by speedster, Terrance Gore.  Gore moved to 2nd on a Moose sacrifice bunt and scored on a double by Alcides Escobar.  Lorenzo Cain, 4-4 that night, hit in Escobar for an insurance run as the Royals won.  Game 3 saw the teams play in KC with Jeremy Guthrie taking the mound for the Royals after 18 days rest.  It was a nail-biter but the Royals pulled of a 2-1 win and took a 3-0 series lead.

As I write this the Royals are 1 game from going back to the World Series. That 4th game (in KC) will be played in about, oh, three hours from now. I will turn the tv on, grab a beer, and hold on tight as the 2014 Kansas City Royals (built on speed, pitching, & defense) look to close the door on the O's and look to move on in the playoffs.  Being a lifelong fan of the Royals, this season has had its ups and downs, thankfully more ups than in recent years/decades and it has been so much fun watching them play. A great little video I found about the Royals is below. Enjoy!




2nd Inning.
American History Lesson...Daniel Boone. With hunting season upon us, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at one of America's first and premier frontiersman, American explorer, and hunters of his time, the legendary Daniel Boone. Famous for discovering the Cumberland Gap trail, Boone's life began on November 2, 1734.  He was born to parents, Squire Boone, Sr. and Sarah Morgan in a cabin near Reading, Pennsylvania.

Boone was educated by his mother in reading and writing and the outdoors by his father.  At the age of 12, he was given his first rifle and quickly showed that he had the skills to survive and hunt in the American wilderness.  He moved to Rowan County, North Carolina along the Yadkin River with his family when he was 15 years old.  It was there where he started a hunting business (can you imagine if they had hunting tv shows back then and what he would have shown?).

During the French and Indian War in 1755, he went on a military expedition and served under Brigadier General Edward Braddock. After the defeat at Turtle Creek (near Pittsburgh), Boone was able to escape the French and Indians.  In 1756, Daniel married Rebecca Bryan and laid down roots in the Yadkin River Valley, where they lived and raised 10 children.  In 1767, Boone began leading his own expeditions westward into the Kentucky territory which also lead to the discovery of the Cumberland Gap in 1769.  This pass would be the primary means through which the American public would travel west into the nation's frontier.

Per Biography.com, "Boone took his discovery a step further in April 1775. While working for Richard Henderson's Transylvania Company, he directed colonists to an area in Kentucky he named Boonesborough, where he set up fort to claim the settlement from the Indians. That same year he brought his own family west to live on the settlement and became its leader."  His settlement encountered resistance from the local Native American tribes, the Shawnee and the Cherokee. In the summer of 1776, Boone's daughter, Jemima (no relation to the syrup), and two friends were able to sneak out of Fort Boonesborough but ended up getting caught by the local indian tribes. Using his expert tracking skills and knowledge of the terrain, he was able to lead a party to free the girls.  

During the American Revolution, Boone was an active participant for the American rebel side. Per Wikipedia.org, "Boone was a militia officer during the Revolutionary War(1775–83), which in Kentucky was fought primarily between the American settlers and the British-aided Native Americans. Boone was captured by Shawnee warriors in 1778, who after a while adopted him into their tribe. Later, he left the Indians and returned to Boonesborough to help defend the European settlements in Kentucky/Virginia. Boone was elected to the first of his three terms in the Virginia General Assembly during the Revolutionary War, and fought in the Battle of Blue Licks in 1782. Blue Licks, a Loyalist victory over the Patriots, was one of the last battles of the Revolutionary War, coming after the main fighting ended in October 1781."


After some disastrous land speculation deals, Boone moved west to Missouri and continued his hunting and exploring of the frontier.  He died in September of 1820 at his home in Femme Osage Creek, Missouri.  Daniel Boone lived to be 85 years old.  He lived to explore the unknown frontier of this British Colony and eventual American nation and in doing so become an American legend.




3rd Inning.

 This Ole...Moth in my ear.  The time was around late 1999/2000...the place was married student housing at Arkansas State University.  The wife and I returned home one night after finishing our laundry at the campus laundromat. With the porch light on and my hands full carrying in a basket of clothes, I approached our door.  But there surrounding the porch light, buzzing, flying, attacking, was an aerial armada of moths coming at my head.  My bride, slow to insert the key into the door lock, was a moment too late.  A suicide bomber nailed my ear canal like Luke Skywalker shooting proton torpedoes into a thermal exhaust port.  I pushed my wife out of the way as I dropped the basket and went into a frenzied mad man mode.

As I began flapping my arms wildly and yelling at my bride "It's in my ear!!! It's in my ear!!", all she

could do was look at me with a strange and bewildered look.  I begged her to get some tweezers and try to pull it out.  While I waited for her to find the tweezers I was going crazy as the moth flapped its wings against my ear drum. When she found me lying on the bed in the fetal position, she went to work. Failing miserably at playing a real-life version of the game "Operation", I pleaded with her to do anything to get it out. She vanished only to return with a bottle of rubbing alcohol and a bottle of hydrogen peroxide.  Pouring the rubbing alcohol down into my ear only pissed it off and it began buzzing fiercely but the follow up dose of hydrogen peroxide sealed its fate.  I'm pretty sure at that point I curled up with my thumb in my mouth.  But my wife told me to get up and that we needed to go to the emergency room and see if they can get it out.

The moth from that night.

We arrived at the ER and put our name on the list with the reason we were there and found a seat. Shortly thereafter we were taken to a room and we waited. The surprise and look on the nurse and doctor's faces was priceless.  They told us that after looking at the chart and before entering the room they pictured a 5 year old sitting there only to find me.  The doc asked me to lie on my side and be very still while he pulled out a set of extremely long tweezers and proceeded to remove the moth.  Well, being a doctor he knew what he was doing and removed it without me buzzing him like in 'Operation'.  They put the moth in a specimen cup and let me take it home.  I recently found that cup while rummaging through our basement storage room.  Let me tell you this--forget waterboarding, just put a moth in a terrorist's ear and he will begin telling you his deepest darkest secrets.
    



4th Inning.
Game...One Way Trip to Mars. So, I ran across this article that discussed a one way trip to Mars and what five luxury items (other than the essentials) you would take with you if you chose to go on that mission.  It is one of those 'make you think' moments, especially with the continued talk about a mission to the red planet.  I have listed my five below.  What would yours be?

1. Video/pictures of my family.  I will have to agree with the article on this one.  
2. Baseball equipment.  Glove, bat, baseball.  The crew and me are gonna play some ball!
3. Polaris RZR.  Like the article's dune buggy, with all that open terrain, you have to take some time to hop in and go 4-Wheelin'!
4. AR-15 and Ammo.  At some point when (not if) you discover Mars game animals you will need to eat...or possibly defend your colony from invaders.
5. Beer making kit.  After that long day of Mars colony maintenance I would like to kick back and drink a tall cold one.

5th Inning.
Firearms Corner...Kirstin Joy Weiss.  As a father of 3 girls, I have and will continue to educate and expose my daughters to firearms, hunting, and shooting.  Through social media circles, I discovered a young lady that seems to embody the characteristics I would love for my daughters to look up to as a role model.  Her name is Kirstin Joy Weiss.  I believe I first ran across one of her YouTube videos while reading the latest and greatest from TheTruthAboutGuns.com and was truly impressed with her skill and knowledge about firearms.
Per her website (www.kirstenjoyweiss.com), "Starting later than the norm for most competition shooters, she began her Olympic-style rifle career in the latter part of her high school days, but made up for time swiftly. She won gold at the international cup at Bisley, Enlgand and received a collegiate rifle scholarship to the University of Nebraska Lincoln. From there she made the national development team, competed in the World Championships, made the Olympic short-list, won national titles, and the list continues...But listing accomplishments falls flat. It doesn’t even hint at the stories behind the success. The obstacles. The sabotage of her guns, though tragic, just made her work harder. The necessity of coaching herself for most of her career, and experimenting beyond the accepted shooting culture norms. The underdog grit, yet national and international success. The joyful revelation of the trick shot thread interwoven throughout her tenacious career, revealed through natural (and imposed) struggles. The off the beaten path travel, living in far corners of the globe, as she studied and learned secrets under tested masters of ancient arts. And this only barely scratches the surface. To say that Kirsten isn’t your stereotypical shooting enthusiast, is an understatement."

So, if you are looking another inspirational person that believes in the 2nd Amendment and someone that your daughter can relate to if they are starting to get into hunting or shooting, Kirstin is a great choice.  If you have some time to kill and want some good old fashioned entertainment, then head on over to her YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/KirstenJoyWeiss) and check out some of her trick shots and shooting skills.



6th Inning.

Have you seen it?...Remo Williams. There are many movies from our youth that slip through the cracks and don't always become the 'Big Hit' but stick with you as a personal favorite.  An example of one of those and a favorite of mine is 'Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins'.  This was one of those movies that for a kid during the dawn of video rentals was a 'must have' during a weekend sleepover party.  The movie is based on 'The Destroyer' novels by Warren Murphy and Richard Sapir.  I remember back when I was a kid collecting comic books that a series came out after this movie to capitalize on it's cult-like popularity.  

A plot summary from Rotten Tomatoes, "Adapted from the "Destroyer" series of novels and comic books (not exactly the level of Ian Fleming), Remo Williams (Fred Ward) is a New York cop who works for a top-secret government agency accountable directly to the President of the U.S. After his reluctant induction into this agency, Remo is trained in a near-magical Korean martial arts form by Chiun (Joel Grey) in great sequences where walking on water is taken in stride. After his training, Remo goes after a corrupt arms manufacturer with connections in the U.S. military and acquires the necessary help-mate in the form of Major Rayner Fleming (Kate Mulgrew). Antics at the Statue of Liberty and other stunts enliven the action, but cannot make up for comic-book level characters."

'Remo Williams' stars Fred Ward (notable roles include playing Gus Grissom in 'The Right Stuff', Earl in 'Tremors', and Joe Dirt's Dad), Wilford Brimley (starred in 'The Thing', 'The Natural', 'Cocoon' and those Braniff Airlines commercials), and Joel Grey (a multitude of character roles on tv).  This movie provides some good laughs as Remo goes through his training and some good action as he battles the forces of evil.  Take a Saturday night and check this one out and you won't be disappointed.  If you missed it in 1985 and can't find it on DVD, they are 'rebooting' the character and with 37 novels there should be plenty of plot material.  The trailer is below.  Enjoy!






7th Inning.
Articles of the Week...

• Six Californias..."Venture capitalist Tim Draper submitted the necessary signatures on Tuesday to require a vote on whether California will split into 6 separate states. Draper believes the state is too big to be competitive because the big government in Sacramento can’t effectively govern such a large, diverse area. The plan is being called the 'Six Californias' plan, and each of them would have their own government and set of elected officials."  Whether it is an earthquake or just their suicidal policies, it's pretty inevitable that California is going down. Now if this plan was to go through there might be a chance for survival.  A great video in the article helps explain the plan.
• Confessions of a Liberal Gun Lover..."Gun nuts aren't always creatures of the political right. Consider your heavily-armed author's position: I say gun ownership is a necessary line of defense against investment bankers, Wall Street lawyers, big business, the corporatized wing of the Democratic Party, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Business Roundtable, ALEC, Nazis, gangbangers, meth fiends, cops and politicos who cut welfare and education programs while refusing to downsize the military or raise taxes on the rich."  It's interesting to hear from someone on the Left about their passion for the 2nd Amendment and the reasons they feel it is vital to them.
• Motor City Mayhem?..."Anti-gun advocates routinely argue that more guns will result in more crime — but the exact opposite appears to be happening in one of the most progressive cities in the United States. The city of Detroit has seen 37 percent fewer robberies in 2014, compared to the same period in 2013. Further, there have been 22 percent fewer break-ins of businesses and homes, and 30 percent fewer carjackings. Detroit Police Chief James Craig says the dramatic drop in these crimes is partly due to more residents arming themselves and fighting back against criminals."  Gee, armed citizens deter crime?!?  Who woulda thunk it?
  

• Johnson's Failed War..."For the past 50 years, the government’s annual poverty rate has hardly changed at all. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 15 percent of Americans still live in poverty, roughly the same rate as the mid-1960s when the War on Poverty was just starting. After adjusting for inflation, federal and state welfare spending today is 16 times greater than it was when President Johnson launched the War on Poverty. If converted into cash, current means-tested spending is five times the amount needed to eliminate all official poverty in the U.S. How can the government spend so much while poverty remains unchanged?"  Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
• Feel Good Story..."An Amazing Gentleman Bought Her Deceased Son’s Crib at a Garage Sale. Wait Until You See What He Brought Back a Week Later."  If this doesn't make you tear up then you are a cold, cold, cold person.
• Celebrity Gunslingers..."As the gun debate rages on, many Hollywood celebrities have come out against our Second Amendment rights and supported the anti-gun crowd’s stance that private ownership of firearms is a bad thing. There are some, however, who take our constitutional rights seriously, despite the common stereotype that most celebrities are foaming-at-the-mouth liberals."  A great little pictorial about 17 celebs that are 2nd Amendment friendly.
  
• Speak the Truth..."Johnathan Gentry became an Internet sensation when he went on rant against the black community following the riots in Ferguson, Missouri, and the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Friday, he doubled down in a passionate appearance on Fox News, calling out everyone from President Obama to the NAACP and Al Sharpton." You may have seen this story or seen the video as it went viral but it needs to stay on the frontlines.  You CAN change yourself and your circumstances.  You just have to put in the hard work so you can reap the rewards.
• Didja Know?..."Is it a boogeyman? Is it a barely-legal military weapon? Is it America’s best-selling rifle? Find out for yourself." A list of 10 things you probably didn't know about the AR-15.  Good information to keep in your back pocket.
• Don't Finish Last...If you participate in a Fantasy Football League then you are probably aware of the repercussions for finishing last.  In one of the leagues I belong to, last place buys beer for next year's draft.  Now this guy may have set the bar for last place finishes and the consequences for having a horrible season. He made a calendar reenacting famous scenes. (You will need to look for the pics from August)
  

8th Inning.
FFL Factoid...From the National Shooting Sports Foundation's ATF Q&A page:

Q: During compliance inspections, can the inspecting officer physically take all of the dealer’s Forms 4473 back to his office for further review at his convenience?

A: The Forms 4473 are the property of the licensee until that licensee goes out of business and submits the records to the ATF Out of Business Records Center. ATF may, with the licensees consent, take the Forms 4473 off premises. If done, ATF will issue a receipt for the forms, which the licensee is expected to retain in his permanent records until the forms are returned. The receipt, at a minimum, should contain the date the forms are being removed from the premises and the total number of forms involved.


9th Inning.
Baseball Video..."One of the beautiful things about baseball is that every once in a while you come into a situation where you want to, and where you have to, reach down and prove something."--Nolan Ryan