nomads2: May 2010

Monday, May 31, 2010

Captain Humbert Roque (Rocky) Versace...

He stood as others dream to stand; He spoke as others dared not even think; From soul deep faith, he drew his courage, his granite spirit, his ironclad will.

The Alien force, applied with hate, could not break him, failed to bend him;
Though solitary imprisonment gave him no friends, he drew upon his inner self to create a force so strong
that those who sought to destroy his will, met an army his to command.
Phrases of his I shall not forget, spoken sincerely, filled with truth:
All I wish is to return to family, home and those I love; For I am young and life is dear,
but to bargain for this life of mine when the price you ask requires of me to verify a lie
and sell my honor short, makes clear the choice between the two;
a life with honor, a life without; With me, you see, life without is no life at all,
so I will not comply with what you require and choose to suffer whatever may come.
This is my answer at this time, this is my answer in times to come;
I only pray that I shall not weaken, for I am right and with God's help, I will have strength to
resist whatever means you use while attempting to fulfill your evil scheme.
Thus his fate was surely sealed, for such a man, standing firm defeated them on their own ground and for him to live and tell of this thing that could not be. I saw him not the day he died, for, I imagine, as he lived alone; But in my mind there is no doubt, as he stood while he was alive, Duty bound, Honor bound, Unswerving in allegiance, so he stood the day he died....a Rock.

Lieutenant Colonel James N. Rowe

Saturday, May 29, 2010

In a tree, with a Power Saw...

I am not sure that I am the best person to climb and cut trees with power equipment, but I went up anyway.

You can see the saw dangling from my belt in the lower right corner, as I try to figure out the best way up.

The tree was dead, but sturdy and I 'chuncked' (I think that is what John and Chris called it) it out a few feet at a time.

Here I am in action, my saw chewing through this portion of the tree. What you cannot tell from the photograph, or hear, is John yelling at my every move. As this was my first time in a tree, with a power saw, I did nothing that seemed right to John. I didn't know that you could hold a chainsaw upside down? My feet were not right, I needed to lean back more, the blade was to close to my face ( I was glad to have that pointed out to me, though) and I had to stop and start the saw about fifty times. Start, cut, stop, shut off the saw, and look. In the end, after feeling that I never did anything correct, John told me I did a good job for my first time. John is a great guy!

Disaster Relief Training...

We were back at the house of the "Hostess with the Mostess" Phyllis's (on right, the only good looking one in our group) house cutting and whacking trees that her neighbors wanted removed or were a threat to thier property.

Warren, John and myself hook Chris up and make sure he won't fall.

I am acting as the last line of defense for Chris as we haul him up the tree. I tried my best and Chris stayed in the tree.

Here Chris is up high and has prepared the way for me making sure that I don't fall.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Prescott Arizona...

A war memorial in front of the courthouse.

All these shots were taken in the vicinity of Whiskey Row.

Prescott Arizona...

Monday, May 24, 2010

Maybe we are getting old???

I know that you are thinking, "They only have ONE grandchild!" but Leo is devilish hard to keep track of. After numerous ideas and many hours of deliberation, this seemed like the ideal solution.