Wit, Wisdom, and Whimsy. (your mileage may vary)
January 15, 2014
Gay, Personal, Pictures gay photo shoot, iO Tillet Wright, lgbtq, Self Evident Truth Project 3 Comments
In October New York photographer iO Tillet Wright brought her photographic project to Visalia. Simple black and white photographs illustrate the basic humanity in members of the LGBTQ community. The Self Evident Project’s goal is 10,000 simple photos of people from all walks of life. Here’s mine.
For the complete Visalia set of images, go to Self Evident Truth / Visalia
December 29, 2013
geek, Humor drone training, Fresno, friant dam, video drone, visalia 2 Comments
Important first steps in training your very own drone.
December 11, 2013
9-1-1, commentary 9-1-1, 911 dispatch, dispatcher stories, hand grenades Leave a comment
Sometimes you really have to wonder.
Tonight we received a call on 9-1-1 from a woman who said she was in our parking lot and needed to have a deputy come out to speak to her immediately. When asked why she needed a deputy, she said she had been clearing out her deceased mother’s residence and had discovered two hand grenades, had brought them here, and needed someone to come get them.
That of course required the local bomb squad be called out, as the initial deputies determined that they appeared to be real, live grenades.
One of the incredible things about this caller was that she was getting very upset that we were unable to get someone out to her in four minutes, so she called back wanting to know what the delay was about. (the deputies are out on patrol, not in the building!) We got someone out shortly thereafter, they called the bomb squad, and the grenades were disposed of by the bomb techs. It didn’t dawn on her, apparently, that handling and transporting them was probably more dangerous than sitting in the parking lot waiting!
Sigh.
Rule of grenades (or other explosive devices) #1 – Leave them alone, and call 9-1-1! Don’t pick them up, don’t drive them someplace in your car, and don’t get huffy with the 9-1-1 operator trying to help you!
Rule of grenades (or other explosive devices) #2 – See rule #1
December 10, 2013
9-1-1, Gay, Personal 9-1-1 dispatcher, 911, A Day in LGBT America, Jim Reeves, The Advocate 1 Comment
The Advocate asked for submissions for a piece on “A Day in LGBT America”, so I sent one in. They chose it as one of those posted on the web. It brings up the end of the day, since I took it at 10:48 pm.
November 29, 2013
Gay, Personal barber shop, Caldwell Barber Shop, evolved, Gay rights, HRC equality logo, LGBT, marriage equality, obama 1 Comment
Today I stopped in at my regular barber shop for what I call my “5 minute slash-and-burn”.* I parked across from the shop** and as I walked up to go in, two of the lady barbers*** were taking a break, sitting on the curb out front. We said hello as I passed.
I went inside and sat down with the other waiting customers, many of us fiddling with our phones to pass the time.****
The ladies finished their break, and came in, and I was called up by one of them. After the introductory pleasantries, and telling her how I wanted my hair(s) cut, something new happened. She asked what my bumper stickers meant.
Apparently they sat outside during their break and discussed what they might be about. They were not familiar with the HRC equality symbol, and were a bit confused what the “Obama Evolved” indicated. Internally, I almost groaned, and thought this might not go well.
November 5, 2013
commentary, Personal golf, linwood golf course, terry ommen, visalia, Visalia history 1 Comment
There’s a great website by Visalia historian Terry Ommen, Historic Happenings, that chronicles the history of Visalia. This month’s post had a question about the location of the Linwood Golf Course.
The image above is where I believe the course was located. South of School Street, between Linwood and Crenshaw. The course, if I recall, was a small 9 hole affair, and stretched down to the edge of Mill Creek on the south. (I don’t recall if the creek traversed the course, or simply skirted it.) The area is now condominiums and single family homes.
I played one “round” there when I was in the 5th or 6th grade (circa 1968). A buddy who lived in the area invited me to go with him and “play” a round. We did, but I don’t remember our scores, or if we even bothered to keep track. We had brought a set of clubs, they were Lenny’s or his father’s I suppose, and we hacked our way around the course.
It was a fun afternoon, but I would not touch another golf club until the mid-80’s, when the boss invited the “managerial” staff to a round out at the course east of Mooney’s Grove. (the name escapes me, and it is no longer open) That round was such a spectacular mess, with a long hole (on the back nine? South side of the course. If you’re a local golfer, you probably know it.) teaching me that I have no business on a golf course, ever. I haven’t tried the game since.
I understand golf was invented in Scotland. I think they did it just to torture the rest of the world.
October 30, 2013
Personal archer, dreams, goshen, ivanhoe, Quest, questing, visalia 1 Comment
That’s as good a title for this dream as any, I suppose, although all I was doing was trying to get to someplace just past the horizon. Why I needed to be there, I don’t know, but I was determined.
I seldom remember my dreams when I wake, and when I do it’s usually just an emotional memory, lacking details. I do recall that recently they have been either scary or upsetting, but what they consisted of I have no idea. This morning’s was different.
I don’t know if this dream was influenced by the book I recently read, Legacy, A Father’s Tale, or by my enjoyment of the television series Arrow, but I was apparently an archer. I was carrying a bow, a bit more modern than the one in the image above, and I was dressed in a manner that combined elements of modern clothing and this archer’s garb. I don’t remember having a quiver of bows on my back, however.
The journey takes place today, or very nearly so, and I’m trying to get from wherever I am, presumably Visalia, first to a point on the other side of Ivanhoe. But things are different.
October 20, 2013
Saturday afternoon, after getting a picture taken at a photo shoot for The Self Evident Truth Project, I decided to wander down Main Street and see the sights. As I exited the Garden Street Plaza and started heading west on Main Street, I noticed there was an arts street festival in progress, and I thought I might stroll over and take a look. As I headed along the sidewalk, I was approached by a man who wanted to tell me about the book he wrote.
Usually, that’s a sign to me to continue walking, and respond only with a polite “no thanks”. No telling what “his book” would be about… maybe a government conspiracy to use contrails to spray something on unsuspecting Americans, or maybe how the Masons are secretly in control of Visalia. You just never know with someone approaching you on the street. This time, however, I stopped and listened. He had his two kids with him, so I figured it was probably OK to see what he had to say. And I could see the dragon and the boy holding a sword on the cover, so I was a bit intrigued.
What could it hurt, right? Maybe it was time to expand my horizons.
October 15, 2013
commentary, Gay black model, breakfast, grindr, hunk 2 Comments
@Grindr Tweeted this today.
JimmieJoe / KC6YRU 
Demons, Diabolical Lifestyles, and late middle age
December 18, 2013
Jim Reeves commentary, Gay, Humor, Personal anti-gay, demon possessed, gay demons, gay persecution, LGBT, religion, visalia gay 6 Comments
Not my demon, apparently
Demon possessed. That’s what the ex-chaplain says. Gays have an “un-human demonic spirit” in them.
A local resident of Visalia, Sam Lukes, said we have a “diabolically twisted lifestyle” in a recent letter to the editor*.
Russian actor Ivan Okhlobystin is ready to toss us in the nearest oven. The government is not far behind, as the Duma (Russia’s Parliament) has passed into law sweeping edicts that seem to make even talking about homosexuality a crime. The 2014 Olympics are taking a hit over the crackdown.
We’ve made some impressive progress over the past few decades, and things, at least in the USA and some other progressive western nations, are getting better.
But to listen to some of these nutjobs talk, you’d think Satan himself was walking the Earth in a leather harness and spiked heels. As they describe what it is to be gay, I’m looking at myself and thinking…
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