Shooting Report

Turns out the whole shooting thing was really bad for the driver. Guy didn't make it and I'm looking at the car on TV to see if it belongs to one of the neighbors I actually know. I really hope it's not the old guy who does his yardwork in his underwear. The whole "doing yardwork in his underwear" is a bit strange, but he's a nice guy. Can't tell based on what I've seen so far. Apparently, the story is the kid was playing with a loaded gun in the house and it went off, hitting the guy as he drove by. How friggin' unlucky is that? What are the odds? If I hadn't stopped off at home to let the dogs out before I went to the post office, I would have been driving by at the time the gun went off. Damn glad I've got dogs.

"GET BACK IN YOUR HOMES..."

"GET BACK IN YOUR HOMES..."
Originally uploaded by klycolllins.

That's what the Sheriff's helicopter was shouting out to the dumb-asses in the neighborhood who were watching the armed stand-off. Fortunately, I was already back home after having taken my pictures and was no longer part of the dumb-ass crowd. I had been 10 minutes earlier, but now I can take the moral high-ground. DUMB-ASSES! LOOKIE-LOOS! GET BACK INSIDE AND GUARD YOUR METH LABS!

Breaking news is that the kid shot a passing motorist by mistake. No word on the status of the driver, but it might not be good. Older guy just driving by. Bummer. Really bad news for the kid, too.

Orangevale S.W.A.T.

Orangevale S.W.A.T.
Originally uploaded by klycolllins.

So I'm heading to the post office to cancel my mail-hold and I get turned away at a police barricade. Not sure what's happening, but this particular cop (in shorts) had his riot gun pointed toward a house on the corner. Two blocks from my house. Probably really good for property values. This picture was actually taken on my second trip down the block. I tried to get a picture with my phone, but I needed a longer lens. Back home for my digital SLR. Now the helicopter's circling overhead telling everbody to get back in their houses and lock the doors.

UPDATE: Just getting word via KCRA Channel 3 that S.W.A.T. has taken a 14-year-old into custody for an "accidental discharge of a weapon" and the wounding of a motorist. Yikes! I was two minutes from driving past there. More later as additional details emerge. Film at 11:00

Boot-Scootin' in K.C.

Originally uploaded by klycolllins.

OK, so this picture shows both the good and the (very) bad of midwest living. The good part is that it doesn't seem as if restaurants are afraid of being too politically incorrect. My first clue that I was in K.C. and not Sacramento was the waitresses in the low-cut, ass-huggin' jeans and the midriff-baring halter tops. My second clue was when my waitress came up and said, "HI! I'm going to be your whiskey-girl tonight!". Damn, I've never had my very own whiskey-girl. Food was so-so, but I was grubbin' down on my burger and fries when some guy called the whiskey-girls to the dance floor. Apparently, they get together every 20 minutes or so to shake and jiggle around to a bad mix of country and AC/DC. My whiskey-girl was supposed to be getting my Mason jar full of beer, but I was cool with waiting.

An example of the bad part of midwest living is the dude in the blue shirt. Waaaaay too many trips to "Toby Keith's I (heart) This Bar & Grill". Sad part is, of the four guys at the table, he's the one to most likely be called "Slim".

Anyway, I hope they serve breakfast.

Panama Canal Zone

Panama Canal Zone
Originally uploaded by klycolllins.

OK, Rachelle doesn't seem to like this picture, but this is my favorite picture from Panama. It's a cargo ship passing under the Bridge of the Americas (just through the Panama Canal) at sunset. The ship looks blurry because I had to use the "bulb" setting to get the picture, but I like it. And we were sitting on the patio at T.G.I. Friday's. That's the sad part.

Graduation Night

Graduation Night
Originally uploaded by klycolllins.

So, I'm not sure at what point exactly you cross that line between being a normal pet owner and when you become the weird couple down the street who treats their pets like their kids. I don't know, but I believe we are well past that point. Lucy graduated from puppy class a couple of weeks ago. Now she has a diploma. Rachelle has a diploma. Bo and I are un-educated losers. We prefer to tell people we graduated from the school of hard knocks. Fraternity: Beta Geta Job. Anyway, I'm not putting too much stock in Lucy's "diploma". The instructor said that getting your certificate from puppy class was pretty much like graduating from kindergarten. Everybody gets out. Even the dopey, barky yellow lab who took a ginormous dump in the middle of class and caused us to get out early got a certificate. Kind of like graduating from Walden College. At least we've got something for her baby book. Not really. We're not that crazy.