Danno

Sad news. Martin Milner - Officer Pete Maloy on Adam 12, passed away in Carlsbad, CA yesterday. He was 83 and lived in nearby Del Mar. He was also Tod Stiles in the iconic Route 66 series. He gave us many enjoyable television years. RIP, sir.

I started my career with a blue 4" S&W Model 28 Highway Patrolman .357 Magnum. In my area, we had to provide our own weapons (no agency-issued stuff). Because that service weapon was a little bulky for good concealment, I shortly thereafter (1974) added a S&W Model 37 Chief's Special Airweight for off-duty and plainsclothes/undercover work. Sweet weapon. Forty years later, it is still my best friend! Later on, I replaced the 28 with a nickle plated 6" S&W Model 19 with target sights, target trigger, and custom target grips. It was one pretty SOB. It commanded attention every time it came to my rescue. Many years ago ~ when the bad guys were no longer content to carry revolvers and agree to occasional re-load intermissions ~ I added a Llama IIIA .380 (semi)auto for special occasions. A few years ago, a blue 4" Colt came to live with me. It's a nice weapon, but just not as charismatic as that sparkly Model 19. Interesting note: The Chief's Special derivations run about 10 times what I paid for my new one in '74. New (current) versions of the ones outlined above cost more than I earned as a rookie back then. Mine are all very good pieces of machinery. Ed and G hit the nail on the head. You never want to have to fire any of them (away from the range), but if the need should arise, it is comforting to know your old friend(s) will come through. A couple of mine have in the past and I'm still around to exercise them, clean them, and care for them.* *There are a couple of citizens and a few fellow cops who also lived through dicey moments thanks to my 'friends.'

Clint Eastwood fan? Dittos!

Mucho excellente!

TMI! John: Holy Crapoli! Wow. Just . . . Wow!

SN-AFU! Sounds familiar.

Yikes!

Uhhh . . . I didn't see that, but I didn't miss it!

Nice!

BEST post in years!!!

Well done . . . and it ain't easy being green!

Yikes . . . trikes! Passing along the genes.

Amen, G. Thanks to all of you who have posted encouraging, supportive comments, and to all of you who have thought them but not posted them. Personally, I've worked my entire adult life in the criminal justice system in one way or another, seven years in uniform on the streets, many more in plainclothes or investigative roles. There's not a day that goes by that I don't thank God I've survived (so far) alive and able to function nearly normally (we won't get into a few injuries along the way). Every time we hear news of another attack on police officers by militants, gang-bangers, gun-toting children, bomb-making radicals, or just plain crazies empowered by the news-media-inspired 'glory' of 'smoking bacon,' the lovely and gracious Mrs. B turns to me and repeats how grateful she is that I'm not wearing a uniform in these times. There may be a few bad apples in the law enforcement barrel, but we usually find them and eradicate them ourselves long before they do any serious damage to the public. It's only extremely rare occasions when one slides through under the radar until he or she does something outrageous. And, trust me, no one hates to see that happen any more than the rest of the law enforcement community! One can't say the same for the wackos who espouse their war against the peacekeepers.

Nice, Ray! But, hey! Let's see the front end, too. Good job of blending two competing cars into one.

Wow, Tom! You must be very motor-vated! Nice collection.

Sweet! I LOVE those GMs.

It's not just water-related. It's also because of relaxed importation regulations (can you say NAFTA? Remember that?). More and more produce is coming from Mexico and Central America. Not just the pointy-leafy Colorado kind. Less produce production in the USA? Thank your government.

Beautiful build, Jesse!

Wait just a minute. We DON'T play golf in our flan or our crème brule!!!

The splintered bickering was . . . Predicta-ble.

It's nothing fancy . . . just a plane car.

WW!!!

Any good, can't-miss-it hobby shops or hobbyist sites one should not miss whilest in C-land? Better than twiddling thumbs on the North side of O'Hairy?

It's all relative. As in 'relative humidity.' Or, just plain humidity. You have lots, we don't have any. {Or, usually - virtually none.} 115 degrees here is no worse than 90 degrees with humidity where you are. We can run from A/C to A/C, but it's difficult to carry a huge de-humidifier around all day.

John! Just unfreakinbelievable!! !! !!! But, hey! Where were you? I was in your backyard all weekend and didn't even get a glimpse of the Johnster! Missed ya, buddy.