Why the title?

"Pioneers take the arrows"

Oh, wait. I should be upbeat and taking arrows doesn't sound like an upbeat thing to say.

So, let me amend that statement.

It was courage and vision that led the pioneers to leave behind a comfortable, settled life and trek West to begin a new life in a new place. Many of those from the East that went West found a strength within themselves that they didn't see while they were in their old life. Instead of being one of those that just kind of went along with the others in the old life, they became leaders and visionaries in their new lives.

The sentiments of that last paragraph come from a favorite author, Louis L'Amour, in many of his books. So, I can't really say that it is an original thought from me. However, what he said is truthful.

Welcome to being a pioneer. Look ahead and ignore the "barking dogs" that give you negative opinions and comments. Louis L'Amour also spoke of the barking dogs.

In some of his stories, it was usually a father or older man telling a young boy how it was that when the Westward bound Conestoga wagons rolled through towns, the dogs came out to bark at them. His character then told the young listener that the barking didn't stop the wagons from going on to their destinations.

Following the advice of the Louis L'Amour characters, may we all forge ahead with our plans, after carefully considering all consequences and leave the "barkers" behind.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

A Late Evening Wake-Up

So, there I was late last Wednesday, perusing the internet and researching for our upcoming trip to the Colorado Springs/Canon City, Colorado trip when I get a knock on the door. This is roughly 10:30 to 11:00pm when it occurs. With the warm temperatures, I’m in a pair of shorts and no shirt and Jo is in bed, fast asleep.

I get up and try to herd the dogs into the bedroom (have you ever tried herding dogs?), get a shirt on so I can open the door, and close the bedroom door to keep them in there instead of rushing out the coach outer door towards whomever is knocking.

When I finally get the door opened, there is a young lady standing outside with a cell phone and a charger in her hand. I asked, “Yes?”

She said that their “breaker box” quit and she wondered if she could come in and plug her cell phone in for about 5 minutes. Now, I’ve never seen this girl before in the mobile home park.

I quickly said, “Nope, sorry” and closed the door and locked it. It was a while before I would allow the dogs outside again, and when I let them out, I went outside with them to verify that the young lady had closed the gate to the fence properly.

Needless to say, I went out with “something” in my pocket. When I finally went to bed, that “something” was closer to my bed, just in case the visitor was there to “case the target.”

The next day, I got out another of those “somethings” and put it closer to the living room.

Needless to say, this message is to inform everyone to take extra security precautions in finding an RV park or other kind of camping place. Make sure that any outside lights on your RV’s are in working order. In our case, we do have a streetlight close to our lot and I have the “porch” light. The next time that I get a late-night knock on the door, I also intend to turn on the “Scare” lights.

Should you not have “deadly force” weapons, have something to use as a club or other type of device. I’m not a fan of pepper spray or other devices like that because in a small space like an RV, the user would also be affected by the spray.

Basically, be careful out there, folks.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like a case whereby the "lead" person gains access and checks out the place (cases the joint)for easy to spot things to steal. Later, in a day or two the follow up person comes along breaks in then very quickly gathers the identified items, as both the items and their location are memorized by the lead person.
    Nasty people!!! How bout a taser?

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