September 24, 1972 Executive Airport Sacramento, California. A beautiful day. It was for an air show. Fifty years ago, a needless tragedy happened, killing twenty-four people. Twelve children celebrating a birthday at Ferrel's Ice Cream parlor. It is located right across the road from the airport. My parents took me to this same Farrels for my sixth birthday. My name is James. I am fifty-six years old, and I was at that show. Just a couple months until my seventh birthday. My brother was just a few months old, and my sister was five. I am a witness to what was the worst airplane crash in history. Fifty years and parts of that day are vividly clear in my memory. Like the morning of the air show. My dad had told me about the air show a week before. I am an aviation nut. I just completed my first airplane model. With my imagination, I was already a jet pilot. I wanted to join the Air Force because of that model. So to say I was eager to get there would be an understatement. Finally, ...
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Angels Camp 1864 It was nothing but a mud pit as it had rained for days on end. People came and went by the wagon loads. It was during this period a younger Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain, rode into the Camp. He was just another miner to everyone there. It was due to the weather he stayed in. As it was there wasn’t much to do except to go and hang at the saloon and share tall tales. It was on a night such as this one, meaning wet. Sitting in the saloon Mark twain found the inspiration for The jumping frog story. This story in today's terms went viral. And made a lot of fans want to head west. Where it was found out that it was a piece of fiction. In 1893 The first County fair in the state of California opened in Copperopolis California. Copperopolis having the fifth-largest copper mine in the World? Most defitenatly In the U.S. Calaveras County was a booming place and as history tells it a rather dangerous one too. Meanwhile, life in the county was a time full discovery...
Why nice guys finish last You have heard the saying nice guys finish last. I have figured out why. It is in the junior years that this is prevalent. Teenage to late twenties. Girls in the teenage range don’t want a nice guy. It seems they want someone who will make them feel like it is an adventure to say yes. They want a nice guy appearance but a nice guy takes too long to say lets fuck! Or to take you into the woods and just get busy. The guys they want treat them like shit and are assholes. But they are exciting to the young women, and make their juices flow. At the teen level some girls love guys to fight over them, will even instigate guys to fight over them and then go home with a different guy. I was the nice guy. As a result, I lost a lot of opportunities to get laid. I lost my cherry before I was twenty. Iwas eighteen to be exact, still considered a late bloomer. It was the perfect ti...
It is the craziest time in history The history we are living in is crazy. We have had nothing like it. The Spanish flu is the only thing I found that comes somewhat close. I am pretty sure it wasn't an election year. I don't think we had riots and protests and a president that dropped the ball on the fact of the spread of the disease. More worried about blame than a vaccine or cure. They somewhat wrote the scenario about in Tom Clancy's The Sum of all Fears. The biggest difference was disease and the political landscape. Anyhow, I have not found the history of our country in the same situation at the same time. Yes, at different times. The Spanish flu in 1920, and the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. Here we are more than a year after Covid-19 showed up on our shores and we still do not have a handle on it. Our government was so hellbent on Donald Trump and Impeaching him, they wouldn't do anything but push that agend...
This pandemic is keeping the stories to yesterday Most of my travel is again thru my jobs. I got to go to places that you might not think of as a tourist place. And I relate it to the work I was doing then. Be it the carnival, water towers or welding. And my thumbing days too. As far as the most fun? The Carnival. The small spots were my favorite. Ft. Scott Ks. My first county fair, I did and saw a few firsts. I had my first taste of Buffalo there; I watched my first mini tractor pulls. Awesome, that is what they were. People put near as much money into riding lawn mowers as they did their full-size counterparts. The best place I have lived in my humble opinion is in the south. Arkansas, is my retirement goal. Oh yeah, I am retired. My basis is on three subjects, cost of living is cheap. Housing and property are very reasonable. And the countryside is beautiful. And I seemed to fit when I lived there and have been back to visit. A lot has changed since I lived there but it was also a l...
Realizing your old It’s a hard time in life to realize you are old. The first sign is your body. Things hurt in places that you think what the, hey. The second sign is denial. You know what is happening but refuse to believe it. And finally, there is the number of years your birthday celebrates. My last was 55. Just a couple more, and I am officially a senior citizen. Now even the realization of it doesn’t make your brain accept it. You continue to think you can do what you did in your thirties. Or that you can still attract them pretty young things. And in today’s way of meeting makes you an immediate target for scammers. Your other part of denial. Thinking that the pretty woman on the profile you are chatting with is the person you are actually talking to. The only way to know is through video chat. And in my experience, there will be an excuse why that is not possible. And they throw the word trust in a lot. They are pretty good at manipulation, but not perfect. I...
USA IS A BIG PLACE.
USA A great big place to see, a great way to do it is the RV life. I have been fortunate enough to have seen a lot of this country. And there is a lot to see still. The ways I have seen places and the experiences I have lived are at times amazing and other times Booorrriiinngg!!! But the one way I have found that really works for me is the RV life. The RV life is a big part of my writer's life. I had a taste of it before Covid-19 appeared and interrupted our lives drastically. There are so many places to stay. Thousand Trails was great for me. But there are more than just them. Membership driven, 55 and older. RV Clubs And so much more... There are many ways to see this enormous country we live in. So don't be one of the people that only sees the 5 square blocks they were born on.
Traveling by thumb The first time I hitchhiked I was 7 maybe 8years old. Living in Little River, California. It was in 1973 or 1974. Exact dates are hard to remember when considering it was almost 40years ago. We lived in what was then a hippie community, and most people up and down Airport Road knew my parents. Needless to say, I have been traveling by thumb ever since. Not always, but I have never been in a place I couldn't get out of. Growing up in such an environment can be educational, but mostly just a lot of weed and moving around. After a while in my teenage years, my parents probably regretted letting me hitchhike. It wasn't nothing for me to get out on the road and stick my thumb out if I wanted to go somewhere. On the flip side of that, it wasn't easy to get ...
Writers are in demand? I have a question. When did getting a job working for someone else start costing money out of the applicant's pocket? I may be old-fashioned, but I used to fill out an application and then interviewed for the position. I have been looking online and found several advertisements for online jobs. I was looking to apply but all I found was a place to pay for access to a site where I would be a contract worker. I am in business for myself. If that is what I was looking for, I would have invested in a business opportunity. Put it out there that you're an employee of some internet company, but you are paying your taxes, you are paying a fee to apply to not get any benefits; you pay for some site to claim that they are a placement agency yet you are still doing all the work to find and apply for gig work. Word definitions are just what? a guide to mean maybe it means you are an employee. Or my favorite, it's free! HAHAHAHA that is just so funny. I have seen ...
It is my belief that social media is killing society. I have looked up definitions. Social adjective, not single, a group of over one. Social media is a party killer. I am talking about these symptoms of the society killer. You walk into a room full of people and everyone has a phone in their hands and is not engaging each other at all that we can see. But typing away, and then one person laughs, looks at the person standing a foot away, and says good one. Two teens are sitting on the same couch typing away on their phones. One says to the other, let's go then. Sitting not even a foot apart, yet using social media to talk to each other. Or texting. No one else around, so talking secrets is out. So yes, I believe social media is killing society. Take this test for yourself and let's see what happens. The test is for those two girls to put down their phones and only use landline home phone to call people for one week. You will actually have to engage people in the actual world. I...
Mena, Arkansas I love the state of Arkansas. I took my nephew Steven there to visit some friends of mine, Dave and Margo, who live in Cove. About 15 miles (24.14 km) south of Mena. Dave and I were drinking beer and Steven had found places to fish. Dave had a little fishpond, and the neighbors had ponds too. All was going as planned, Steven had caught dinner. But we wanted to go to the bar. That meant going to Oklahoma. When we got to the bar, the doors were open, but no electricity was on. There was a tornado that landed in Mena, knocking out the power as far as Hatfield. That was in Mena, not where we were. That point in my life, I was a drunk. A working drunk, making a good living as a welder. That being said, the time to go hammered me. Steven was having none of me or Dave driving. He took the keys and chunked them and I got angry but gave in, and he drove home. The morning was a rough one; I had a hangover that was pounding. My hangover wasn’t the only thing pissed at m...
Leaving Tulsa I had quit a job in Arkansas and went back to Tulsa. I left on foot a couple of months ago to go paint water towers again. Jerry Ferguson out of Cherry Hill, Arkansas hired me back. Two years ago I worked for him and had to leave Arkansas and move to Tulsa because he was semiretired and would not work more than a couple of weeks. Then take 3 to 4 weeks off. Jerry could afford to do that, but Mike and I couldn’t. So I had gone to Tulsa where I had friends and knew I could work as soon as I got there. Dave and Margo lived in a little 14-foot travel trailer, where I slept on a hand built wood bed. It was just like I said. I was working as soon as I went to Standby personnel. Standby is a day labor place. I was in a permanent job in three days of being there. K&M Shillingford heat and air. Started as a temporary employee working for Standby. But on the second day I was hired on. Just had to get paid from Standby until my contract was up. Two months, they...
Chicago Traveling to Chicago can sound overwhelming and scary. There is a lot to do in Chicago. I have been there twice. When I was 14, we went and did a few things. But in 2005 I was working as a welder for HMT tanks. We were working at a gasoline tank farm. Making decent money so when I had time off we were Tourists. While there we went to the Sears Tower, to the 104th floor, to the sky deck. Rode the express elevator. Fucking awesome! Fast lift, 104 floors in 30 seconds. It was a beautiful day that day. I could see across Lake Michigan. That was sweet. The sky deck floor made mostly of glass. Even 2 feet (0.61 m) of the floor all the way around was glass, you could walk on it and look down. That was freaky, looking down between your feet and see 1,500 feet (0.46 km) down. Freaky feeling, almost like a carnival ride. The Adrenalin pumping fear and excitement. The ride down was like 30 seconds of driving over those little hills that make your belly fall behind ...
Chicago Traveling to Chicago can sound a bit overwhelming, and scary. There is a lot to do in Chicago. I have been there a couple of times. When I was 14 we went and did a few things. But in 2005 I was working as a welder for HMT Tanks. We were working at a gasoline tank farm. Making decent money so when I had time off we were Tourists. While there we had the opportunity to go to the Sears Tower, to the 104th floor to the Sky deck. Rode the express elevator. Fucking awesome! Fast lift, 104 floors in 30 seconds. It was a beautiful day that day. I could see across Lake Michigan, that was sweet. The sky deck floor, made mostly of glass. Even 2 feet (0.61 m) of the floor all the way around was glass, you could walk on it and look down. That was freaky, looking down between your feet and see 1,500 feet (0.46 km) down. Freaky feeling, almost like a carnival ride. The Adrenalin pumping fear and excitement. The ride down was like 30 seconds of driving over those little hills t...
Where is it now! I am writing this short post to ask you what you want me to write to you about? I enjoy telling my stories and the different types of travel I have done. Please subscribe and give me your opinion. Another story coming soon. Enable Ginger Cannot connect to Ginger Check your internet connection or reload the browser Disable in this text field Edit Edit in Ginger Edit in Ginger ×
How about the South? My first trip to the Deep South took me to Houston, Texas. I had heard a lot about Texas, none of it made me want to go there. It was December when I arrived in Houston for the first time. Just turned 30 years old. We were coming from the snow and cold. We left from Albuquerque N.M. most recently and drove to my buddy Patrick's mom's place in upper-class suburbia, Houston. We stayed only a day there, long enough for Patric's mom to get some work out of us. We left after a pleasant time at Patric's place. Went to a little country town called Brookshire. I met some pretty cool people, and the country was pretty in a way I never saw before. Being from California, it was flat by my standards. The bright, warm days were nice. 80 Degrees during the day, 60 at night. The nights in the country made me think of every Western story I have seen or read. Since that first time, I have been all over Texas and all I was told about the Lone Star State was right ...
All Posts Self-improvement. Entertainment Opinion Create a Post James Sims IV 24 minutes ago 3 min read Boulder to Seaside, a journey to enlightenment. Boulder to Seaside. Boulder to Seaside Summer in Boulder has been an experience that I will not forget. But Autumn is approaching fast. Time to think about a winter destination. I have known where I want to spend the winter for a while. Seaside Oregon is a place that I have wanted to return to. Went there once as a 12-year-old boy and stayed a week and fell for the place. My buddy Gypsy said he is ready to move on. I wasn’t expecting a road dog, but I can use some company on the road. So we were going to get a little work for traveling cash and leave. Turns out we didn’t have to work for the money, Gypsy has talents I was unaware of....
Boulder to Seaside
Boulder to Seaside I can't believe what just happened! Nobody within our range. I was happy as a lark. I have had random kindnesses given to me, but rarely. This was a three-joint bud, yahoo. This road trip was going pretty damn good. The morning was frosty, but it was gorgeous out. The sun was bright, and I have not seen a clearness like this since I was a young boy on the farm. I mean, it looked like you could walk to the ski areas. Out at the Interstate Gypsy and I sat at the on-ramp and waited. Wasn't too long and off we go on a series of short rides. Leaving Salt Lake behind our first ride of the day was to Ogden Utah..; Being such a beautiful morning we went a found a place to make a hobo breakfast. We finished some bacon and eggs and coffee and for me a fatty. Time to be on the move. ] Idaho came up next, and we made excellent time. But it is going to be late and late ain't good. W makes it to Boise. I am thinking to keep this day moving. There are at least 2 hours ...
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Twice I was drawn to this town pt 2 My first day in Boulder was an experience. I made sure I had two things for my entertainment. First, I knew I was going to want some weed, second and more important was a Hacky sack. I also had to figure out how to get an ID card. I did not want to be without a job for too long. Sitting on a table reading a book I had brought from California with me, a great story. Stephen King’s, IT. exceptional read. Getting off track a little. As I lifted my eyes from the page, I saw two men walking toward me. Bill Davidson and John from a local church were out recruiting for Jesus. We were talking about going to church and worshiping the Lord and meeting new people. I was all set to refuse when Bill brought out the big guns. The Church was serving an enormous meal after the service. I knew not to turn down a meal. I was up and ready to go when Bill arrived to get me. He told me that John wanted to pass me by yesterday. When I asked why he laughed a ...