(thanks to leigh & nr)
Neil Armstrong, dead at 82.
Neil Armstrong was a quiet, self-described “nerdy” engineer who became a global hero when as a steely-nerved U.S. pilot he made “one giant leap for mankind” with the first step on the moon.
The modest man who entranced and awed people on Earth has died. He was 82.
Armstrong died Saturday following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures, a statement from his family said. It didn’t say where he died.
Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon July 20, 1969, capping the most daring of the 20th century’s scientific expeditions. His first words after setting foot on the surface are etched in history books and in the memories of those who heard them in a live broadcast.
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” Armstrong said.
I had just turned 15 years old. My family, including grandparents were gathered in the family room watching on the big console RCA tv as grainy, black&white pictures showed Neil Armstrong descending from the LEM and stepping onto the moon’s surface:
Later, I walked outside to join my grandfather — a man born in 1901 — as he stood staring up into the evening sky at a bright moon. He said to me, “You know, as a boy, if I had told my friends I would live to see man walk on the moon, they would have thought me crazy.”
– You’re welcome.
– One giant leap for man, one giant loss for mankind.
(His historic first words where uttered on a comm link transmitter yours trully designed. It was like being there with him in a small way.)
I love little anecdotes and details like this. D’s and BBH’s. Cheers.
Just got threatened by another neighbor, part of an ongoing attempt by a couple dicks on the block to harass my wife and me. All started by a douchebag how is now employing his friends to try to threaten us.
Unfortunately for him, his Hispanic demand that I show him “respect” was met with nothing but a giant fuck you. And the screwdriver he brought to walk up on me was met with a very curt suggestion that he not point it at me.
This has been brewing for several years now. Apparently I suck because I lift weights in my driveway / garage area. And that’s just strange. Plus, I guess I’m not Hispanic.
Things are going to have to get ugly, I fear. Dude so wanted to take a poke at me, staring at me as hard as he could. I smiled at him.
Suggestions?
I’m off to do some grocery shopping. Back later.
Edward M. Grant
August 25, 2012, 12:03 pm | # | Reply
It’s sad to think that, before long, there may not be a man alive who has walked on the Moon.
link
Good Job BBH.
– Sounds like the local homies see you as a way to make their creds with each other.
– Contact the local Hells angels club pres and let him know. One visit by a few bikers and homies go byebye.
– Most likely one or more of them are running drugs or meth or something and they’re afraid gringo will catch on and turn them.
security cams monitoring the property perimeter?
Make sure they see you taking your new rifle out for target practice. And make sure they see the tight groups on the targets.
It worked for me in the one really bad neighborhood I lived in for a while.
That’s really cool, BBH. Thanks!
Jeff, be careful. Those vatos are cowards and like to hurt your pets, your woman and vandalize your property. They’re like south of the border Arabs.
Suggestions?
I’m off to do some grocery shopping. Back later.
I’d buy a dog. German shepherds are great. They sit there, and stare at anyone not in “the pack.”
People will cross the street and not fuck with you.
Personally -in a neighborhood – I just want assholes to fade away, versus confront. A dog is an excellent incentive for them to find someone else to obsess over.
All of my experiences with this sort of thing didn’t include having a wife and kids, Jeff. That makes it a far tougher thing.
Is this related to the cop in your neighborhood? Because that makes things tougher yet.
Shit, man, sorry to hear this. That’s all I got at the moment.
I do immediately really like Car in’s idea though.
It’s hard to mess with German shepherds. Mine – wouldn’t eat food offered by anyone but me (or the immediate family).
You couldn’t poison. You couldn’t outrace. You’d have to shoot her, which is really taking things to a level most bullies aren’t really prepared for.
And I don’t mean this in a way to suggest that jeff couldn’t take the guy. But in a neighborhood – you’d rather just get people to STOP being assholes, rather than have things come to some confrontation.
after target practice clean the gun in front of the garage?
I suck at this kind of thing also. Keep smiling but don’t drop your guard.
“Unfortunately for him, his Hispanic demand that I show him “respect” was met with nothing but a giant fuck you”
Probably not a great idea, but buy an aluminum bat and paint the word “RESPECT” on it. Keep it handy when in the front yard. Or buy a geology hammer. It is said that they do not fear the skull so much.
Tell the police too of course. Let your other neighbors know if they’d be sympathetic.
And make it clear that there is really no good reason for him to be seen in your yard.
If he messes with your kid you have to move. A big part of self defense is recognizing real danger and steering as clear of it as you possibly can.
I had two German Shepherds in Chicago for this sort of thing (along with property crime, walking around at night, etc).
The boys would probably like having a dog around, too.
No kids in my case either, but a mother in her 60s who couldn’t get around well didn’t exactly make things easier.
Unless letting it be put around that she also had a big gun and knew how to use it, counts…
I thought you had a dog? I could swear you mentioned a dog or dogs once.
A dog is man’s best friend. We recently adopted a puppy, an event that brought some much-needed warmth to our home. She’s a lab-pit mix, at 20 weeks or so already 45 lbs with a big-dog voice. My daughter allows her to sleep in her bed. Yes, that small addition is invaluable at this junct-ure.
At that point it’s being the protector more than self-defense. My last comment notwithstanding, the mindset is very different when there are other people whose well-being is at stake. On the one hand, in certain circumstances I was a lot more willing to stand my ground and make the other guy reconsider whether he really wanted to push me; on the other hand, seeing danger far enough in advance that I could keep Mom clear of it, even if it meant ducking it myself, was also very important.
Fortunately the bad ones didn’t get bad enough to run us out — it being a trailer park rather than a normal neighborhood made that bit of difference.
I had a white shepherd when I lived in Detroit. People crossed the street just to pass my house. She never did anything to anyone. But then no one messed with me or my kids. If anyone had? ha.
It would have been amusing.
But as I said – my long years in Detroit – my opinion is to just get people to think about ‘effen with someone else. Because you’re not always home, and your kids will grow up and not always be w/in arms reach.
Maggie’s husband, RTO, send me Mark Levin’s book when she ^^ passed away :(((
I have two more shepherds now. A black one and a white one.
And again- no one wants to mess. They’re not mean, they just look scary as heck.
malcontents then
Gil Scott Heron – Whitey On The Moon
I hear exactly what you’re saying, McG.
If you’re asking me about having a dog, leigh, I’ve gotten three. One died, one is living with an ex-girlfriend in the north suburbs now, and one lives with my sister because I don’t much like her neighborhood.
It’s been all German Shepherds for me too, Car in. Fantastic dogs.
And, yeah, they did literally scare people to cross the street in Chicago and all they were thinking about was how I had a tennis ball in my pocket.
I have two labs, male and female and a heeler. They have big woofing barks and look scary. Much like Carin’s sheps, people stay away from the house just because they’re big dogs.
Bh you need to get another dog for you.
Too much business travel, leigh, and no one else around while I’m gone. I really would like to get another one at some point though.
“At that point it’s being the protector more than self-defense”
Fair enough. But please get your kids the hell away from a dumb thug who won’t go away before something really happens. Stand and fighting is the “its too late to run” option. Best to avoid it if possible.
I didn’t know you were traveling a lot. Well, at least you can visit your dog at your sister’s until you’re home more.
Maybe tie a flabby shepsmith in the frontyard making big goo-goo froggy eyes of sympathetic caring at every passerby, threatening to yammer them into blubbering catatonia at the horror of it all?
Hear him, hear him.
” Maybe tie a flabby shepsmith in the frontyard”
That’d be kind of rough on the property value…
I’d put up a really obnoxious Christmas display this year, too.
For the irony.
i have a shepsmith named katrina
Immediate necessities include locking gas caps, motion floodlights and if you can afford it, a monitored security system, using cellular. Drop your home line; they are magnets for telemarketers.
All attacks will come after dark, as cockroaches are known to prefer. The next two weeks are critical watch-your-perimeter times.
Yes, the cop is involved, and with another neighbor are the ringleaders here. I think my plan is simply to tell the next person who approaches me that he’s welcome to take a shot, but I’ll have him arrested and prosecuted — and what will suck worst of all is that I will also mess him up in a way his pride is not letting him see just now.
Beyond that, I have nothing more to say.
If this cop is screwing with you, call his watch commander if he does it again.
That will get a mention in his file and documentation if you have to get legal on his ass.
Other than that, you should have all your catch wrestling buddies over for a cook-out. Have them ride their bikes over if they own motorcycles.
If you have garage space, use it for your cars. Slashed tires suck.
When my girls were at home, I had a German Shepherd. Best dog ever and I still miss her.
It was a wonderful thing to open the door to solicitors, Misty poking her head out and glaring at them … they hustled off the porch in nanoseconds and never tried to argue when I said “I’m not interested and don’t come back.”
Defuse-a-cop service: internal affairs dept. Especially if s/he is colluding with thugs.
Jeff
Make an appointment with your local DA – explain the situation and ask them to intervene with the police agency. They have connections if the Watch Commander brushes you off.
Carry a VADO or FLIP camera and start videoing the asswipes the moment they are anywhere near you.
Document, document, document.
serr8d, thanks for the IA recommend. I couldn’t remember what they were called.
This has to be a nightmare to live with. I would probably get a paper trail going before I started confronting anyone. The first person to get there with the story is often the one who is believed more.
I used to know someonee who bred, trained, and sold “family security dogs”, typically but not always German Sepherds. They were sold when fuul grown o nearly so, I think, and were trained to be very, very protective of their family. Seems like they were taught code words to show varying levels off threat to outsiders. Very efective.
TW, at instapundit, he points out NBC said “Neil Young” was the first man to walk on the moon.
buy an aluminum bat and paint the word “RESPECT” on it
Put an O at the end—RESPETO—and be all multicultural and stuff.
“Tu madre” (your mother) is a retort that means about what you think it means. If you wanna up the ante: “tu abuela” (your grandma).
“Tu mujer me gustó” (too moo-HAIR may goo-STOW) (your wife enjoyed me) might be a bit much, though.
I keep my landline for 911.
It is very possible I was listening to Neil Young at the Landing Party.
The guy is messing with you because you lift weights in your garage? Wow. That is some industrial strength, made by DuPont douchiness.
For what it’s worth, I reckon D’s advice makes sense and she’s far more in the know on this sort of deal than I’ll ever be.
What was a Landing Party like, BT?
How did it seem then at that moment?
If it is the weights thing, maybe the guy is having flash backs to the exercise yard. You then are automatically the Aryan and a sworn enemy.
Which is kind of funny when you think about it.
Maybe a sit down with some Corona’s might dispel any false perceptions.
The guy is trying to break bad with me because he has a bunch of people to back him up. I don’t know the guy. Never met him. He said he’s upset that we tear down the block where their 8 kids, from 3-12, play in the street. Mostly unsupervised.
I have a 1994 Jeep and a 1993 Land Cruiser. We aren’t “tearing” anywhere. Which is what I told him. And is what I told his wife when she started yelling at me a week or so back.
Evidently telling his wife I’m going 20 mph, and if she wants her kids to be safe she should supervise them, wasn’t the answer she was hoping for.
In the end, though, who cares? I’m about fed up. He walked up on me while I was pushing my new son in a stroller. I was wearing a 50 lb weight vest. He brought an ice scraper with him.
I told him to let me put the baby home and then I’d come down and talk. I did. I extended my hand. He said he wasn’t going to shake my fucking hand. Then it began. Lots of attempts to stare me down or look hard. I smiled.
Somebody is going to have to get their ass beat to re-set the neighborhood equilibrium. I’m betting on “not me.”
Maybe a sit down with some Corona’s might dispel any false perceptions.
peeps abusing you out of the blue are up to no good
If he wouldn’t shake hands, he’s not worth wasting beer on.
If those kids are out in the road unsupervised and he keeps this shit up, call DHS anonymously.
Isn’t the ass[-]beating the cop[‘]s idea, maybe?
[Jeebus, I should just not post from my phone when I’m two stories from an actual computer.]
The Landing Party was an impromptu The guy wasn’t home who had talked about throwing a party for that event. We were the class of 69 and the road went on forever and the party never ends to steal a phrase.
Turns out the guy wasn’t home when the crowd arrived. So we went in the side door and had the party anyway. Normal stuff some beer, some ripple, some rum and cokes (drugs were about a year away for our group) and there was a pool. Hilarity ensued.
The landing itself was surreal. We knew it would happen, we fully expected a successful landing, but i think actually watching it happen drove home the enormity of the endeavour. Kennedy promised a man on the moon within the decade, Nixon delivered on that promise. And it was good to beat the Soviets there.
Which makes me wonder why it so damn hard to set a drop dead date for energy independence.
Man, it sorta sucks the way that friends live across the country half the time nowadays, Jeff.
I’m a clannish, violent sort of Irishman when it comes down to it. Can we lure these dickheads to Wisco, by any chance? Around here the cops are cool, they’d be from out of town, and it’d be sorta funny for us to see which stand-up techniques would work with these guys.
But… that’s not the case, I suppose. Which is why I’m sorta wet blanket on such things. I’m a little worried that you’ll end up destroying some dude and then you’re sitting on an assault charge.
Which makes me wonder why it so damn hard to set a drop dead date for energy independence.
– Because nobody, even the most clueless Pol even tries to fuck with the moon, whereas everyone wants to fuck with the power grid.
NR
The abuse isn’t out of the blue. It is about their perception that Jeff speeds through the neighborhood. And the story the guy got from his wife, which i’m sure was not the whole story, so machismo rears its head.
You can either diffuse the situation or ignite it. The common ground is both parties care about their kids. Perhaps that should be explored.
Thanks, BT. I get a kick out of the way that’s just like a party I would have gone to about twenty years later but with that one-time-only twist of “people are about to walk on the moon”.
There’s some more history in the neighborhood than that, BT. The cop we’ve been referencing is a bad apple.
– From what you’ve said Jeff it sounds like this. The old lady is a lazy bitch that doesn’t want to be bothreed with the kids, and she rags on his ass every day about it, and is using you as an excuse. The ‘respect’ thing sounds like pure projection time. She disses him and he turns to taking it out on you.
– What I hear is ‘gimme respect’ so she’ll see and she’ll shut the fuck up.
– Problem is if his frustration gets deep enough he’ll explode at some point. She’s probably sticking and goading him daily and he see’s you’re not someone he can fuck with, so he feels caught in the middle. She’s probably the instigator and he can’t stand up to her.
You can either diffuse the situation or ignite it.
showing up with a screw driver on your driveway does that i’m sure
Well like i said. De-escalate or set the streets on fire
That thought crossed my mind too, but with my new alarm system came a keychain ‘remote’ thinger that can bring help-and hilarity. I was digging around in the bottom of my ‘fridge couple mornings ago, and the alarm went off. Something else in my pocket depressed the panic button. I shut it off by the keypad, but almost immediately a pleasant female voice filled my house, asking if I was OK, and what was my security code. I’ll bet if I’d been unable to answer or given the wrong code, I would’ve had visitors.
I haven’t had any problems calling 911 with voice over ip. Maybe a 30 second delay before my info is on their screen. Cell phones probably take longer.
If you’re not on a dead-end, start going around the block.
Heh. I recall many years ago enduring a neighbor’s teenage kid who flew his loud shitbox car up and down the streets far too fast, running stop signs and acting a complete fool. I think I cost his family thousands of dollars in auto insurance, because I had the cops positioned at exactly the right times and places to ticket his goofy ass.
Whatever you do, don’t advertise that you own a gun. Not even a glimpse of one. It’ll become a theft-target. I try to maintain a low profile; even putting cased guns in my car in such a was as they can’t be recognized as guns. When I saw your driveway gun-photo a few posts back, I actually cringed!
(Heh. I got a lot of room to talk…I’ve a lever-action .44 Mag mounted right over my fireplace!)
Jeff
If a 3 y/o is outside playing in the street unsupervised … a call to CPS is in order.
You know, cuz you care.
Hand him a lime and explain that he can cut it up and use it to keep the flies out of his beer. If he doesn’t thank you, drop a vehemently pronounced “You’re welcome” on him.
No shit? It’s an honor to have you among us. As for Neil Armstrong, his reluctance to credit himself, deferring to the huge team that made it possible is the pinnacle of gracious humility. But he was talking about you, dude. That’s really cool.
This sounds as though it might just be a matter of settling who the alpha dog is. Maybe you should just insist on some display of fealty. Make him sweat it and make him do it. Politely, of course. Unless you need to bitchslap him. Which you should do politely. Maybe with a smile.
– Honor…naw Pablo, I was just lucky enough to be in the right place at the time. But yeh, everyone on the “moon team” loved the guy, even then.
– The Republican convention ‘reception committee’.
oops, serr8d. I’ve been zeroing my scope on the porch.
I do have two dogs who go crazy when the front door is messed with.
“Tu mujer me gustó” (too moo-HAIR may goo-STOW) (your wife enjoyed me) might be a bit much, though.
Erratum. That actually translates to “I enjoyed your wife.”
Pronoun problem.
You’d have to say “A tu mujer le gusté,” which isn’t as easy to say as the other.
For what it’s worth, I reckon D’s advice makes sense and she’s far more in the know on this sort of deal than I’ll ever be.
That’s D for “Darleen,” not “dicentra,” I’ll bet.
Ah, you’ve grabbed his point, then. Still, being the first guy to leave a footprint somewhere other than Earth is pretty frikkin awesome.
Yes, I go with D for Darleen and di for dicentra, di.
– When I first saw the accounts today, after a few minutes of saddness. rememberung the strong quiet dignity of the man, I flashed on that scene from Space Cowboys near the end of the movie when Tommy lee Jones is laying on the side of a moon crater in the dust, with Sanatra singing fly me to the moon in the background.
– I’m absolutely sure that’s the way he would have wanted it to be.
Jeff, you live in the same town my oldest daughter lives in. I am down the road in Longmont. The tri towns always have been the most corrupt place in the area. Being a “white hispanic” we were always fucked with when I went there. Let me know if you need anything. You have my email from my previous donations. Really, a screw driver? The guy sounds like a pussy.
I wish you hadn’t done that fuck you thing where a simple namaste would do, no, not an elaborate salaam, but rather a simple acknowledgement there is a spirit in there, and good cheer to come join you. What’s so wrong with respect anyway?
Having said that, conversely, have we learned nothing from Brett Kimberlin?
Mr. charles darwin* had the gall to ask…
*hey that’s that guy I named one of my water monkeys after
– Passing along the northern edge of Cuba, Isaac is starting to regroup and gain strength as expected, as it begins the run over warmer open waters, movig toward the Florida keys and the Southwest edge of the Florida mainland.
– Latest projection has Isaac building to a level 2 hurricane, with sustained winds of 130 mph, with the latest track taking it slightly west of Tampa, well within the high winds cone around the eye, the cone ecpected to extend out to 235 miles.
– Isaac is expected to be near Tampa sometime late Sunday.
Bad cops can give a ton of butthurt if you’re not smarter and more careful than they are. And if they weren’t smart and careful they’d be garden variety crooks instead.
Documentation is key.
Apropos of the good dogs conversation, a whole gallery of good dogs pops into view.
Good dogs indeed!
He said to me, “You know, as a boy, if I had told my friends I would live to see man walk on the moon, they would have thought me crazy.”
And as a 60 year old man (born 1952), if I’d told that teenager I used to be watching that in real time, that by 2012 we’d abandoned the moon, and that US astronauts would be ticket paying passengers on Russian launch vehicles to get to a space station that couldn’t accomodate more than 15 people, he would have been at least as incredulous, and thought the old him a crazy old man.