Re: Story

[Jim Davis <Madno@xxxxxxx>]

On Thursday, November 24, 2022 at 1:35:30 PM UTC-5, Bob La Londe wrote:
> On 11/22/2022 5:41 PM, Jim Davis wrote:=20
> > On Thursday, November 17, 2022 at 3:57:21 PM UTC-5, Bob La Londe wrote:=
=20
> >> On 10/18/2022 8:20 AM, Bob La Londe wrote:=20
> >>> Get creative. Stop rehashing old themes or...=20
> >>>=20
> >> Oh heck. I realized two seconds after I hit send that I missed a huge=
=20
> >> opportunity for a discordant reality moment in FLASH POINT.=20
> >>=20
> >> If instead of, "Mr President the bugs on Dr McEvil's space station are=
=20
> >> working," I had written, "Mr President. System 4 just went live on Dr=
=20
> >> McEvil's space station," I would have felt so clever with myself.=20
> >>=20
> >> Suspension of disbelief has been suspended.=20
> >> --=20
> >> This email has been checked for viruses by AVG antivirus software.=20
> >> www.avg.com=20
> > Hey Bob,=20
> > Sorry I haven't been participating in the "Story" Just been too busy wi=
th business the holiday coming up ( short week) and getting ready to go dee=
r / coyote hunting. So, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon. this week and Fri, Sat, =
Sun, Mon. Next week no work. That's a long time to hope that nothing goes a=
wry.=20
> > .=20
> > Trying to get all the detail service done and hope there's no "emergenc=
ies" while I'm away.=20
> > I have someone on call but I hate for anyone else to "touch my stuff".=
=20
> > .=20
> > Obviously my posts will be sparse the next couple of weeks. Not enough =
time to be "creative".=20
> > .=20
> > However, I must say again, that your show of creative writing has REALL=
Y impressed me a lot. You've never given a hint that you had that talent.=
=20
> > .=20
> > However, since (as you say) you can't do "everything" all at once, mayb=
e when you finally decide to slow down enterprise-wise, you can write your =
memoirs from the point of view of an octogenarian, make a fortune in royalt=
ies, and leave it all to your heirs or - - - -=20
> > If you're anything like me, rather to someone who may do something a li=
ttle more worthwhile with it, like the NRA or Bass Fishing Club of America =
or some such.
> At the risk of being to political Wayne LaPierre has done a lot of=20
> damage to the NRA. I hope at some point they recover if for no reason=20
> than the long legacy they had established and the influence it carried=20
> in past times.=20
>=20
> As near as I can tell no well known "bass" organization is more than a=20
> commercial venture aimed at selling more and more expensive toys=20
> classing out a lot of people who just can't afford them. I paid $34K=20
> for a very very nice bass boat in 2005. That same boat geared out=20
> similarly for the times would be $100K to buy new today. I can buy a=20
> heck of a nice truck for a lot less than that even in this time of truck=
=20
> "shortages". I would be willing to support sportspersons and outdoors=20
> groups if I could find one more dedicated to the average or poorer=20
> angler or hunter. Most of the big groups seem to be more about the rich=
=20
> hunter or sportsperson. There are local level organizations that are on=
=20
> the right page, but they usually only have political clout in their home=
=20
> regions due to the wealthier and more otherwise influential members. A=20
> few old groups do have a little more pull due to large numbers, but in=20
> my opinion there are none with multi state or national level influence=20
> that are not atleast somewhat weighted towards protecting wealthy member=
=20
> opportunities OVER the local guy who wants to bag a dear because its 100=
=20
> lbs of meat he doesn't have to buy. Who shoots rabbits everyday after=20
> work to stretch his food budget as I did when trying to save for=20
> college. Who wants to go out and sit on his easy chair by the local=20
> pond sipping a coffee and enjoying the sunrise without mortgaging a=20
> house to do it. However I can't put down most of those organizations=20
> whether we see eye to eye or not. They are doing something. I do=20
> support some, but probably not to making legacy level donations.=20
>=20
> I am more likely to donate to organizations I can see are mostly doing=20
> good work with most of the money. Firearms Policy Coalition, Gun Owners=
=20
> of America, Institute for Justice.=20
>=20
> As America becomes more and more populated, a larger and larger number=20
> of the population become urbanized (or maybe sub-urbanized), and the=20
> population of "the rural areas" grows denser its going to get harder and=
=20
> harder to live the outdoor lifestyle I once took for granted. The=20
> people defending it are a lot more different today than they were when I=
=20
> was a kid.=20
>=20
> There is a wash bottom I used to be able to walk for miles along hunting=
=20
> quail that is now posted. Its not posted no hunting by property owners.=
=20
> Its literally littered with dozens and dozens of ugly signs saying,=20
> "You are within 1/4 mile of an occupied building.=20
>=20
> There is a historic site near where I grew up where a broken cliff face=
=20
> is covered in early American stone drawings. Nobody knew about it, and=20
> it was a several mile drive in to it past only one resident who lived a=
=20
> a mile or so off the two track going in. A couple years ago I hunted a=20
> wash and brush line in that area for quail and rabbit. After cleaning=20
> my kills I found myself driving back along a service road past that=20
> area. I was absolute stunned by the number of lights I saw scattered=20
> across the desert between the road I was on and that old historic site.=
=20
>=20
> I once spent an entire winter running trap lines (3 months) in the=20
> desert and rarely saw another person. Mostly when I went home for=20
> supplies and to put up fur. In more recent years hunting, or just=20
> making a nostalgia visit to some of those areas I can't believe the=20
> number of people I see. In my lifetime the population of the country=20
> has grown by about 100 million people. Depending on the numbers you=20
> find maybe as much as 150 million people. There is no way that the kind=
=20
> of outdoors I grew up with can be sustained. There has to be rules, and=
=20
> restrictions, and the wealthy politicians, lawyers, and business people=
=20
> write those rules. You might know individuals in that class who are=20
> truly altruistic, but there is virtually no "groups" who aren't self=20
> serving to some degree. Even self serving to the exclusion of others=20
> who might be supporting.=20
>=20
> For an example of what I mean there is a Outdoors Channel on Youtube by=
=20
> a very successful and wealthy YouTuber. He owns multiple ranches and=20
> farms dedicated to his own hunting and fishing adventures. He has put a=
=20
> lot of his own money into them. He deserves the right to the use of his=
=20
> property as he sees fit and he has the right to exclude others from it=20
> as he sees fit. In a recent video somebody trespassed on his land to=20
> "poach" a deer. This hunter deserves to be punished for it. Loss of=20
> deer certainly. Suspension of license without a doubt. Trespassing=20
> charges definitely. The rich landowner was publicly discussing MURDER=20
> and nobody seemed to bat an eyelash. I was stunned. He seems like a=20
> nice guy on video. He is generous to his friends. Obviously he is=20
> personable or he wouldn't be successful as a media personality. He said=
=20
> if he caught the guy he would kill him. I won't be watching his videos=20
> anymore. This is the sort of person who writes the rules or causes the=20
> rules to be written.=20
>=20
> Yes, if I was wealthy, (which I am not) I could start a trust or a=20
> foundation but after my death there is no assurance I could have that it=
=20
> remain how I directed. Maybe (MAYBE) for the remaining lifetime of one=20
> person. I once attended a dinner that was ostensibly about setting up=20
> foundations using a foundation management company. 99% of their=20
> presentations was NOT about setting up a foundation. It was a=20
> commercial that you should give your money to THEIR foundation and just=
=20
> leave them some general directions about how your wealth "should" be=20
> used. They actually do manage a scholarship fund with money from a=20
> group I knew of (but was not part of) whom I suggested use some excess=20
> funds they could not legally just spend instead for a scholarship fund.=
=20
> That organization no longer exists, so there is nobody left who has the=
=20
> right to demand to see that the foundation is using the money as intended=
.=20
>=20
> Managing wealth for a legacy is difficult. Sam Would be appalled about=20
> how WalMart has outsourced nearly everything offshore, and how his=20
> descendants have embraced the anti gun anti hunter anti politics. I am=20
> still surprised they continue to carry firearms and fishing tackle in=20
> their stores. Its just about the money I guess. Screw the vision of a=20
> dead man.=20
>=20
> I do not have an answer. There may not be a way to have the answer I=20
> want. That my son or daughter or my grandson or granddaughter can pick=20
> up a shotgun or a rifle, go out to the desert or the woods, and just go=
=20
> hunting with nothing more than a single inexpensive license and the=20
> basic gun safety rules I taught them as children. Maybe ask a farmer=20
> for permission. (Remember WalMart? They are dictating to contracted=20
> vendors that they prohibit hunting even when fields are not currently=20
> planted in crops for WalMart.) I learned this from a lady who manages a=
=20
> modestly large farming company. In her offices she proudly has on=20
> display decoys her own dad and uncles used to call in birds over their=20
> fields. She is not not an anti, but she is forced to be one. WalMart=20
> is richer than she is and WalMart writes the contract. You can sign or=20
> they just won't do business with you.=20
>=20
> Right now FPC, GOA, and IJ seem to be doing good work in the areas they=
=20
> say they are, but I don't KNOW that will continue down the road. I=20
> don't know it well enough that I could leave them a legacy level=20
> inheritance. If I could be sure it would happen I might choose to leave=
=20
> any truly legacy level gift of inheritance to strangers. Not truly=20
> strangers, but small blocks of money to small starting businesses. To=20
> the guy who starts a contracting company and hires his friend because=20
> his friend has a truck and he can't afford one himself. To the ex-felon=
=20
> who can't get a job so he starts his own business, because there is no=20
> way he is going back to prison. To the guy fixing computers out of his=20
> garage. To the person making suits with one sewing machine by hand=20
> because they don't have another way to make money while battling their=20
> way uphill through a college system that would rather you die in debt=20
> than any other possible outcome. To the kid who just graduated from a=20
> tech school and finds nobody is hiring in his field unless he packs up=20
> and moves across the country or around the world. To a small group in a=
=20
> new generation of those who are willing to work for themselves. One=20
> shot in the arm and then its gone. I know 99% would take the money and=20
> use it for their own ends, but those are good ends. Employ people,=20
> improve their business, and feed their family. One might do what I=20
> would do someday. I absolutely do not want the evil of massive=20
> government bureaucracy getting one dispassionately evil claw into what I=
=20
> leave behind if there is any way I can prevent it.=20
>=20
> Sorry for all the typos, poor structure, or readability issues. Sorry=20
> for the rambling and ranting. This was written mostly in one shot with=20
> only infrequent pauses to think for a second. It was inspired by your=20
> comments and in the end has no real plot or purpose. Its more of an=20
> expression of frustration of my own inability to have more control of=20
> the direction of things, and recognition of the reality of some things.

Much more briefly than you - - -  you inspire me to express my exasperation=
 about a subject I think about often. First considering who I am speaking t=
o, a subject I occasionally bring with various people.
When I was about 12 or 13 years old my aunt gave me a set of encyclopedias.=
 I would occasionally pick a book, open it and read whatever subject was on=
 the page. For some reason i remember reading that at the time, there were =
approximately 4 billion people on this planet. Now - - - -  there is over 8=
 billion. Doubled in my lifetime alone.
Then I think of the demand and increasing scarcity of electricity and the b=
uilding of windmills and solar farms, Battery powered cars. The corporate a=
nd political manipulation of the petroleum industry. The food shortages in =
third world countries, and the manipulation of subsidized crop farming and =
beef cattle. The dwindling supply of fresh drinking water and fishing sourc=
es. Polluted air, and the government push to do away with petroleum power t=
o "cure" global warming. And so on and on and on.
All of the above and more that are all just attempts at treating the sympto=
ms of the real problem rather than trying to cure the problem itself of ove=
rpopulation.=20
Everyone. and I mean EVERYONE, I ever mention this to just simply shrugs th=
eir shoulders, and agrees with me. (Although this is all I can do also ) BU=
T it is the same shrugging of shoulders by all the politicians and world le=
aders to. WHO would EVER even mention this in ANY political election? World=
 wide. They know it would be certain political death.=20
And yet in the face of this overwhelming evidence some have even sacrificed=
 their life in anti abortion efforts. Will do nothing to promote birth cont=
rol in third world countries, Rather they send them more free  money, food,=
 supplies, trade advantages,  to support their ever growing populations. In=
dia will soon out populate China, has water pollution problems yet they sti=
ll haven't figured out that you shouldn't bathe in the same river that you =
deposit your bodily wastes and family dead.
I could go on but. Gotta go