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My issue with illegals is when they drop their "anchor babies" here thus giving the child citizenship and allowing the parents to stay and benefit similarly. Then the parents remain undocumented, work jobs that don't require it and send all their money back to Mexico anyway. I have no problems with legal immigrants, but when people come to this nation with the intention of using their children to allow them to stay here, by virtue of the child's birth here, something just ain't right. I know that anyone born here in the U. S. is a citizen, but there needs to be some addendum/provision that accomodates this loophole through which some folks wriggle and thus worm their way into our country. Maybe that's the wrong view to have, but still....

Doble Troble -- I don't know the significance of a 1st down though, I am thinking that it has something to do with some sport...is it tennis? LOL! And I didn't understand the "righty-tighty, lefty-loosey" thing until I was in my 30s (though, I did it properly anyway)...so I think you hit on some of my own weak points. LOL! However, some of my friends call me "The Monitor" because I don't let anything go by! At dinner last evening one of my friends pointed out that I can hear a cricket fart at 50 yards because I don't like things to slip past me! So, yeah, I think that both sexes often marvel at some of the more amazing things about the other...I just don't think that we admit it that often because if we did, members of the opposite sex would try to take advantage of our respective astounded states! I guess that could be part of the game too, couldn't it?

You guys are so sweet! Thanks again for all the good wishes and suggestions! I would have expected nothing less from karlunity than some PT and 10 mile runs...but I also enjoyed swamprat's suggestions, so, I have combined them...I am going to run to a bar 10 miles away, and only drink from a keg that I can repeatedly lift! How's that? I also enjoyed the suggestion of finding a someone 10 years younger and making them feel like they ran 10 miles! Whooooeeee! I busted out laughing over that one! I am off to a local Indian restaurant for a celebratory dinner in just a few minutes. My friends are taking me there because I like it so much! I tried to get them to go in together and buy me a STEN, but there was something about the laws in CA and full-auto weapons. Ah well, maybe next year! Thanks again, gentlemen!

Maybe she's just having a bad moment, FC, because it really shouldn't matter. Is something making her feel insecure? I hope not, but that's usually what causes a somewhat unpleasant reaction to the fact that a significant other had a life prior to the life you both are living together now. Perhaps your wife just wanted to "share" something with you (watching a movie), and was a bit taken aback by your previous experience of it, Mindy was just a bystander. Then again, maybe you just gave her a bit too much information? LOL! Who knows?! I can't figure us women out, I don't imagine that you guys are going to be able to do it either!

Wow, ShooterTom, I wasn't expecting that! You're so sweet! Thanks for the birthday greetings! I liked your poem...short and to the point! Yes, I am spending my last few hours as a 41 year old...but I don't expect that 42 is going to feel all that much different! LOL!

I don't have any of the "evil black rifles" you've mentioned, however, I do have friends that have them, and I know that the CETME is a good, solid rifle for the money...it's in .308, as I am sure you know. The closest I've come to a CETME, here in CA is my Spanish FR-8, and it's fantastic...though a bolt action. I have never heard a complaint about any FN-FAL, and most of my friends who had started out with "lesser" rifles have been very happy to graduate to an FN-FAL. However, for my own experience with semi-autos, it's hard to beat either an SKS or an M1 Garand...though, I shouldn't probably mention them at the same time...each are in a class of their own! The Garand with it's 30-06 cartridge isn't ballistically THAT different from a .308, unless one is shooting competitively...though, the general consensus does seem to be that the .308 is a bit more accurate. As suggested, one could always rebarrel a Garand to .308. The SKS is just an all around fun gun...the cartridge leaves a lot to be desired if you are wanting tack-driving accuracy, but with a good shooter, the SKS is a very forgiving gun. And you can be mean to it, it won't care!

Congratulations, Clemson! Even heavily worn, if the rifle has a good bore, you almost can't go wrong with the No. 4, Mk I. I enjoy mine, even if the flip sight is like a port hole when aiming! I am considering getting a micrometer sight for mine, just to see if it'll shut me up about the sights! LOL! When I received my No. 4, Mk I, I described opening the box as viewing a rifle hospice...then I proceeded to do every "wrong" thing one can do to a poor, defenseless gun...I stripped off the paint, refinished the stock, COLD BLUED it...and so on. Do I regret it? Nope...that gun was fubugly to begin with, and now it's beautiful (to me)...I like shooting pretty guns FAR more than ugly guns! Good luck with yours...and please let us know how it shoots!

You know, growing up in Oklahoma, I used to avoid Tulsa like the plague...being from the OKC/Norman environs, and with our own in-state rivalries. However, with all the talk about how great the Tulsa show is, it's very tempting to try and disguise myself and check it out! Well, maybe next year anyway...after I move to New Mexico and haven't already been a bazillion trips all over the place! Ooo, I just realized that I have land not too far from Tulsa...maybe I'll camp out there and REALLY spend some time at the show! If you go, Dr. Hess, please let us know how it is...other than really big! LOL!

The only thing that I don't really care for with my LE No. 4, Mk I is the flip rear sight...otherwise, even the ergonomics of the rifle (which many British soldiers complained about), the accuracy and the felt recoil are excellent for me. I am left handed, I shoot left handed, and the LE action is smooth enough that I can work the bolt with my left hand easily. That isn't always the case with others of my rifles. If any of y'all are remotely considering a Lee-Enfield rifle, err on the side of caution and get one...like roscoedoh said!

Well, ShooterTom, all I can say that unlike you, I know where to wave my little tool...in the "Them are Fightin' Words" forum. I'll see you there, and restrain myself until then!

Hey TwistJG26 -- I have wanted a Great Pyrenees for ages, they are wonderful looking dogs. However, I was wondering if what I'd heard was true, and they don't drool like St. Bernards and other large breeds with big ol' droopy lips. Is that right? I don't like dog drool, so that would be a negative aspect if they do drool. Just curious.

I'm more of an Old Testament kind of woman. I have enough trouble with it!

fritz -- With all the crap in the waters of California, you are worried about a hard drive? At least with a hard drive I know what's been through my fish. I at least hope that karlunity had the decency to send a wrapped fish to China, thereby letting them know what had happened to it!

I too like my M38, probably more than my other M-Ns...and I have the 91/30, M44s, M39, as well as the M38. Though, I do enjoy my Russian M44 too, with the whole bayonet extension thing while shooting, I tend to like the ease of the M38's no-hassle approach. I guess I like the carbines in general. My Finnish M39 is really painful for me to shoot, while the others aren't. The 91/30 just lacks something for me...it's not the gun's fault...I just don't get into shooting it...but I am sure that I will warm up to it at some point. One of my friends likes to shoot my Romanian M44, and she's GOOD with it...and can routinely hit a steel plate at 500 yards, offhand with iron sights! She's better with my M-Ns than I am, but I will perservere!

TwistJG26 -- Your alternate title to this memo struck me as - shall we say, different - in that it suggested that all of the procedures followed in this incident were as a result of two women being co-principals at this school. From what I read, the memo itself is pretty clear about what was done, and why: Now, do I think this stuff is overkill, sure I do...as well as a waste of resources that could be better utilized in an actual emergency. However, I almost can't blame people in positions of authority, or in charge of a public facility for doing things like this. I mean, what if one of the kids had seen this and mentioned to a parent that nothing was done when there was a fire in the boys bathroom?!? HORRORS! You know how some people can be...the kid would relate the information incorrectly, and then the parent would flip out thinking that school officials had endangered their precious, little baby! It seems like the pricipals made the wisest decision, that would both pacify any parent who might worry about those "could have happened" scenarios, as well as CYA-ing the school. I would like to hope that given the tone of some people, that male administrators would have done the same thing. Which isn't to say it's right, only that if some people would stop using schools to "babysit" their children, and then freak out when even the smallest thing goes awry, maybe everyone could focus on the function of educational facilities. But ultimately, it's definitely overkill. When I was a child in school...most of my principals would have gone into the restroom, observed the scene, flushed the urinal (or whatever people do with urinals...I can't say as I have any experience with them), and told any kids observing the event to get back to class! Finis!

Aw, karlunity, that's too bad that the Hippy doesn't like to shoot...but that she's supportive of you doing so is pretty cool! I think she's right about the need for women to be armed. I once read somewhere that one woman advanced the idea that all women needed to have a .357 Magnum and a cell phone. Sounds like good advice to me! Zen, health food, guns and the right wing? That sounds like fun! Just enough to keep each other on their toes and provide a place for lively debate! Personally, I was a complete liberal about 4 years ago and my immersion in more right wing views has come under the cover of the "gun culture" that I got into via these forums. Now, I have never directly changed my mind as a result of what anyone else has said, because, of course, I do try to think for myself. And I will admit that there have been many, many times when I totally chafe under some more right wing tenets, but ultimately, I think I have been able to reconcile both my dying liberal and my newborn conservative pretty well. And I still eat health food and try to meditate -- oommmmm!

Hey karlunity, I can't think of a better way to spend a free hour than at the range...particularly with someone you love! Does the Hippy shoot with you? I think you have mentioned before that she has a weapon or two, right? Does she enjoy shooting as much as you do? Once I move from CA I am hoping to acquire the habit of going to a range on a more frequent basis than I do currently...which averages out to be roughly every two months or so. Even an hour every week would definitely give me room to improve my shooting skills. Good for you! It's good that you and the Hippy do that!

I did it six times, where's my six pack, I'm exhausted!

Yeah, I was talking with a friend on the phone when I felt the larger of those little quakes Thursday...it was pretty cool, but then again, I like earthquakes. But don't emulate me entirely...I was 13 miles away from my BOB, and believe me, mere moments after the quake(s) occurred, I verbally kicked myself at the realization that my beautiful BOB was completely useless to me. The funny thing is, I had NOTHING with me, even the usual travel-size BOB, since I just got some new gear bags to repack my modified BOBs in! I am going on a trip this weekend, and have started repacking my easily reachable BOB for the trip, but it was here at home too. Had those quakes been really bad, I would have been in the same predicament as virtually everyone else...that was a sobering thought! So, Sailormilan2 people up there are jittery? That seems out of character considering that I've heard some folks up in the Bakersfield area refer to the region as "Bake-n-Shake" I don't know Jimro, it seems that South Carolina is still just a little too vulnerable to hurricanes for me....

Prescott, AZ is a wonderful town...it seems that the stuck-in-a-timewarp hippies and the gun-friendly folk co-exist well. J&G Sales is an awesome place, totally packed on weekends. And let me tell you, there is something completely thrilling to this CA resident about bellying up to the counter along with the local people who have their holstered handguns on a hip! AzRednek, I had no idea that the Ruger of Ruger Drive in Prescott was THAT Ruger! I guess you do learn something new everyday! Though, I did know that Yavapai College has a great gunsmithing program. As my sister currently resides in Cottonwood, AZ, and my travels take me throughout AZ frequently, I find that I get to explore more of the state every time. I like AZ. I first visited Tombstone, AZ in 2003, and I was completely fascinated with the town...but then, I had no prior knowledge aside from depictions of the town in movies, the most notable of which is "Tombstone" -- at least to me. So, going through the cemetary was amazing to see the graves of Marshal Fred White, and of course, the infamous Les Moore! Naturally, the town has taken on the aura of a lived-in tourist attraction...too much paint on the buildings, too many signs pointing out the obvious, etc., but I will say that to my eyes, the first time I saw Tombstone, it was a joy!

With my luck, if I were confronted with a pack of thugs intent upon pirating my little boat, I would probably whip out my bug-out weapon and shoot a hole in the craft, sinking it, my precious BOB and whatever else was in it! LOL! All kidding aside, I figure that the thugs gotta sleep sometime, and I would try to stealthily sneak out under some sort of cover...and yes, I would be armed with a pistol on my person and either an SKS or maybe one of my beater Mosin-Nagant M44s in my BOB. At the point of such a dire set of circumstances, I believe that all bets are off, and while I consciously wouldn't want to shoot someone trying to take my stuff away from me, I don't think I would hesitate if it came down to me versus them trying to separate me from my only earthly possessions/sustenance. Maybe another "key" to this possible scenario is to look as unkempt and pathetic as possible whilst evacuating...sort of a "catastrophy camo"?

Dang it, I hit the the Add Reply button by accident before I finished my last post.... What I was saying is that it's almost 1:30 AM and now I am HUNGRY!! LOL!

I once travelled all over Mexico, and found, much to my surprise, that most authentic Mexican foods are fairly bland, and usually heavier on cheese than meats. The food is very regional, so that if you are in a community near the ocean, you get lots of fish dishes like ceviche or a simple grilled whole fish with beans, rice and tortillas...or if you are more inland, you get the ubiquitous tacos or meat dishes and things like menudo. I developed my enjoyment of fresh corn tortillas in Mexico, where I never had a flour tortilla...and to this day I seek out the freshest corn tortillas I can find and eat them quickly, and I still prefer them to flour tortillas. Now, when I speak of Mexican food in toto, I mean food to the exclusion of what can be had in the touristy places in Mexico because, as Roscoedoh put it, it can really blow. The best food I ever ate in Mexico was in a little town down the coast east of Acapulco, it was grilled red snapper, with sides of refried black beans, tasty rice and corn tortillas. There probably weren't any hot peppers or Tabasco sauce within 100 yards of this place, but it was always busy with locals who liked fresh seafood. The only place I ever saw people eating really hot peppers was in the Yucatan, where the field workers would fire-roast habaneros and roll them into corn tortillas to eat for lunch...no thanks...I wisely declined trying this little delicacy when it was offered to me! I have to concur with the home-cooking that many Mexicans do being the best of Mexican cuisine...around the holidays it's often a tradition that tamales are made and shared with friends and family, and man, the tamales are usually incredibly good! Tamales are my very favorite Mexican food...I don't even have them with sauce of any sort...I just like cheese or chicken tamales plain! I used to like the pork version, but had to give them up...but I don't feel like I am lacking with all the different kinds I can find at a local Mexican supermarket! OK, it's now almost 1:30

Maybe we should rename this board "Military Firearms Owners Restoration Corner", AKA "The Infirmary"! You guys need to be careful out there...I am starting to worry about you! Think I'll back off talking about it now...I don't want to curse myself! I'll just leave it at this...FC, I wish you a very speedy recovery, despite the bone fragmentation and the pain. Take care, and above all...take Percocet!

I think I may have not fully made my case in my last reply to this thread, swamp thing. For example, if I lived in New Orleans I meant to suggest that in making preparations I would need some sort of inflatable boat or something and would have planned for that. Whether as a means of escape once the situation became unbearable, or truly the only way to evacuate, if I were a resident of that particular city, I can't see not preparing for the worst. The biggest kink in these works is that there was plenty of time for those who had the resources to leave the city before Katrina hit, but many didn't. Of course, it's been said before, many area residents just thought that nothing significant would happen. I just can't see that if one was living in a place like New Orleans and if one had at least SOME resources available, that adequate preparation wouldn't have rendered the need to hole up in one's home moot. I have thought this over and over and the answer is still the same. I grew up in Oklahoma, and all of my life every time the tornado warning sirens went off, we'd go to the nearest cellar and wait for the storm to pass. We didn't do this like lemmings, jumping off the cliff into the sea just because someone said so...we did it in order that should the worst occur, we might survive it. Maybe it becomes ingrained, but if I lived in an area like the gulf coast region, I would take the hurricane warnings to heart, since the warnings aren't issued just to mess with people's heads. Like I said before, maybe I am idealizing the situation, as much as it can be, but I still believe that another classic adage is true: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.