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As an aside; have you ever seen a movie, liked it, and then read the book it was based on - only to discover little or no similarity? I can name a few candidates for best creative screenwriting taking significant liberties from the book. Forrest Gump by Winston Groom. The book and the movie...

View from the top of the shrine of 500 steps near Nam Dinh, coastal province about 100 kilometers east of Ha Noi. July 2025. Lotus fields from the shrine of 500 steps (no two the same size, and steeper than one can imagine, mind you Viet Nam isn't exactly ADA-compliant). Lotus field (swamp)...

I tried Milton. He's tough with a capital "T." Paradise Lost is one of the most boring things I ever trudged through with some gems but lots of extremely wordy filler. Pass on any more Milton. I found "The Inferno" fascinating and it probably matters what translation you read. Heavy but...

Da Nang last week from across the bay. They informed me the airport is exactly the same footprint and tarmac as constructed by the Corps of Engineers. Da Nang Beach

Ha Long Bay, World Heritage Site, Viet Nam, July 2025 Fishing boat and village where people live rarely touching land (very few of these left apparently as young people have other ideas). Dawn and low tide.

The locals were, in my opinion, rather smitten with our son. He received lots, and lots, of attention. I warned him in advance that people would approach him expecting he was a "native" and speak Vietnamese to him. He speaks less Vietnamese than I do and all I do is get in trouble. He...

My wife and I adopted our son in Nam Dinh Province in 2007 when he was 11 months old. He graduated from high school in Texas this spring and we'd promised a tour of his homeland for his "senior trip" as he has no recollection of Viet Nam. For the first two weeks of July our son was able to...

Nutcase cat named Arthur. Longest cat I've ever served but young, thin, and supple. That's a salad spinner insert he's wrapped in. Bryan

Yesterday at the ranch. Texas bluebells. Exceptional year for them. Bryan

I purchased this HD about five years ago. It shipped in the summer of 1946 (I have a letter) and it's about 90% or a bit more. I paid $900 for it. I like it and bet you'll like one too. Bryan Bryan

Guess I got pretty lucky. My only gig of people management was for a 10 year stint as an independent contractor authorized to retain sub-contractors - ended up with six. Bottom line was I got to hire the subs so if managing them proved difficult I wouldn't have far to go for either blame or...

A tough question without more specifics. Pictures make a difference and a description would be useful. Prices are highly variable, even for Heavy Duty .38s, depending on barrel length, pre-war/post-war, outdoorsman model vs. fixed sights, original grips, bored out to .357, etc. In pretty...

More folks here with more knowledge but I'd be a little concerned about the firearm losing some integrity through a loss of steel temper. I think it rather depends on how hot it got but imagine that would be a guess at best. I wouldn't rely on guesses for firearm safety. Bryan

I call him "fifty-cents" because last summer/fall he was only half a buck. He's three years old this season and was a nice fork-horn his first full year and nice, thin, symmetrical eight-point last year - until his "accident." In September last year I think he and a vehicle had an altercation...

Know exactly where New Baden is. I was raised not far away in an adjacent county. The communities in that part of the world are predominantly populated by folks of German heritage. "Homecomings" in Southeastern Illinois are a bit different than most places. Held in the summer months and...

Several years ago a good friend hosted some German girls in their early 20s for a church mission exchange. To he, and his wife's surprise, they swore like sailors and the "F" word was their special favorite. Faced with the same dilemma as the OP they had to come up with a socially acceptable...

I stay in the game because it has, and does presently, allow me to shoot either oddball calibers, which I have a special affinity for, and .38 Special 'cause ammo was virtually not available. Some others I like that have always been on the expensive side like .45 Colt and .375 Winchester as...

There's room in Texas for you. Gotta live pretty far west to have easy access to mountains but Central Texas has the Hill Country which provides some of the same benefits as mountains and is generally easier on old folks like me. I became a Texan in 1991 and they've not manufactured sufficient...