Missing The Gun Rally

I flew down to Southern California yesterday to spend a week with my folks.  The flight was uneventful, as was the security at the airport.  The weather is chilly but SUNNY with beautiful blue skies.  Maybe I'll stay until summer :)

Seriously, I will probably not be blogging much this week, although I will try.

I received an email this morning from Oregon Firearms Federation, passing on the schedule for a Pro-Gun rally at the state capital.  If you live in the Pacific Northwest and can attend, it will be on the 19th of January in Salem.  I understand people are coming from far and wide, and also that this will be taking place all over the country.  Salem, Oregon is an OPEN CARRY, (unloaded) city.  So if you go, please carry your gun. If you don't own a gun please go anyway to support your right to own one.

I will be flying over Salem about that time, on my way home.  Bummer.  I would have liked to attend.  My husband can't attend either because he has to pick me up at the airport.  Double bummer :( :(

Mom's up - gotta go!

Blessings,
Red

Idaho, California, NRA and TSA

We’ve been busy!  We discovered a business for sale in a small Northern Idaho town – be still my heart – and knew we had to investigate.  So we took a Thursday and Friday off work, flew to Spokane, WA and rented a car.  We stayed in the closest town with a hotel – Post Falls, Idaho.  To us that was a pretty big town.  We met with the owners of the business, spent four hours driving around  with a Realtor, and pretty much ate at every restaurant in town. We wanted so badly for things to work out, but in the end (which wasn’t until several weeks later) we realized we could not make it work for us.

(This is not the business, but I fell in love with those snowy hills.  The locals told us they are full of Moose.)

A different kind of “local” greeted us on this dead end road.

And of course no trip to Post Falls  is complete without a shopping spree at Cabela’s!

Flying out of Spokane was a challenge for me.  The Spokane airport has Backscatter machines, also known as Naked Body Scanners.  Shortly before it was my turn I saw the little sign that explained what the machine was and my stomach knotted up instantly.  I knew I was not going through that machine no matter what.  I also had a great fear of the alternative.  I read so many horror stories about the new “groping TSA”.  When it was my turn the man motioned me towards the machine and I looked him in the eye and said “I refuse to go through there”.  I was pleasant about it, but he knew I was serious.  He got a bit flustered for a moment, (maybe nobody else ever did that to him), and then he pulled out a business card and said “I have to read this to you, Ma’am”.  It was a script saying that if I refused to be scanned I would have to submit to a “pat down” by a TSA agent.  I told him I understood and accepted that (as long as the agent was a female!).  They motioned me around the machine and a friendly woman approached me.  She asked if I wanted a more private screening and I declined.  Now here is the amazing part.  It was nothing!  She explained every single thing she needed to do before she did it, she ALWAYS used the back of her hand, and in no way did she grope or make me feel violated.  I have been singled out for pat downs many times in the past, and this was not much different.  She did check my clothing for explosives by wearing gloves and then wiping a pad on the gloves when she was finished.  Then she put the pad in a machine which scanned for explosives. Maybe it was just my lucky day, I don’t know, but I was greatly relieved that it was no more than that.

When we got back home I started my NRA Ladies Basic Pistol Class.  The first class was so much fun I couldn’t wait for the next one.  There is a lot to say about this experience so I will leave it for a post of its own.   I missed the 3rd class because we flew down to California to see my folks for a week.  The weather was beautiful, but too warm for me.  My body is in “cold weather mode” right now and the blood is thick! The warm weather was quite uncomfortable and I don’t think it ever even got to 70 degrees!  I love my folks, I’m glad we went, but boy was I happy to get home and sleep in my own bed with just my nose poking out because it was so cold!

I have not been around to visit for awhile but I’ll try to get caught up on everything that’s going on.

Thanks for stopping by!

Red

Help! I Have to Fly!

My parents live in Southern California and have been asking me for months to come for a visit.  I have put it off as long as I can, and now will be flying on Saturday for a week long visit.  When TSA began their new offensive groping and the X-ray machines came into play, I swore I would NEVER fly again.  But how can I say no to my aging parents?  They even paid for the ticket!  Neither are in really good health, they are both cancer survivors.  I would never forgive myself if something happened and I missed out on spending time with them simply because of the TSA.  So I am going to "bite the bullet" and fly. You might say a prayer for me.

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be back in about ten days.