My mother

The last 20 years have taught me more about life than the previous 41 years.  Loss and redemption are often related in popular literature but to me loss is just that and redemption is a happenstance.

My mother died last October and since that time I have again realized love is eternal.  Of all the people on Earth the one I counted on was my mother.  I have exceptional friends and family and I know that.  She is the sole person I knew I could talk with about most anything.  She would offer me great advice and wonderful insights based on her observation of my life.

In the days, weeks, and months since she died I have missed her on a daily basis.  Whether in casual thought about her possibly liking something I could discuss with her to waking up from a dream in tears I miss her.  Sometimes in my life I did not appreciate her and sometimes she was not on my mind.  I wish I could get back those times and change them.

This has made me realize how important my family and friends are.  If your parents are alive CALL THEM and say how much you love them.  If you have something keeping you apart fix it, if possible.  Pride is a great destroying force in relationships.  If you are prideful and thus cut off I would recommend swallowing your pride.  I have sons and other family members and Friends who are dear to me.

Let the people you love know it!

Selecting a self defense firearm

Americans have the 2nd Amendment and they may or may not be entitled to use that right in their particular state.  Check your laws that apply to you.

I thoroughly believe in the 2nd Amendment.

This article is about the reality of life and self defense not owning a firearm.

Well, first you can read this blog BUT go elsewhere for legal or moral or self defense training or advice.  There are literally hundreds and thousands of  "experts" who will advise on this subject.  Get informed and get formally trained by a REAL expert.  Remember a right and a legal firearm you are only passingly familiar with is not the same thing as being ready to defend yourself.

Choice of firearms:

I would say this:  Ignore anyone who tells you "this or that is the perfect firearm for self defense".

Gut check FIRST:

If forced into it by a criminal am I willing to take any person's life?  Also am I willing that myself and my family be responsible for the consequences of taking that life.  Am I willing to go through a massively expensive criminal or civil court case or cases?

Am I willing to possibly be charged with a homicide or other crime as a result of my choice to defend myself and my family?  If I kill an attacker or If I make an error and kill an innocent bystander or even a family member can I handle that fact and the FULL consequences?

Notice above I did not specify a criminal's life I said any person's life.

Do you know the ordinances of your locality and state concerning the owning or discharge of a firearm in self defense?

If you fail this gut check you should get some advice and training in self defense by an expert and then re-do the gut check.  Until you pass this gut check you may want to reconsider using a firearm in self defense.

America is about rights and making individual choices.

Your choice is your's.

My advice get trained!

The typical home as a shooting gallery:

Today's typical home is made out of stucco, wood 2x4s, sheetrock, windows, flimsy doors and sometimes masonry.  These materials will not always stop a bullet fired in the house or outside the house.

A bullet from a fairly small handgun can kill at hundreds of yards distance.  Even the smallest of bullets from a small handgun can carry long distances.  When fired a bullet goes where it was pointed regardless of what you wanted it to do.  So 1 or more bullets fired in a home may end up in another room, another home or in the street or in someone you did not want to harm.

Ignore the things that popular TV shows display such as the use of firearms or deadly force.  Get trained!

Training will tell you, at a minimum, the law, making a shot, when to do so, and when/where to aim your firearm.

So what am I saying here?

Re-read above if you are not sure what I said.

Conclusion:

I believe in the 2nd Amendment as written.  I have openly carried legal handguns on occasion.  I was trained in the dim past by experts and spent lots of time around people who had (sometimes) used legal deadly force.  Firearms scare me.

Twin lakes Lodge in Las Vegas There must be more I just can't find it

Neighborhoods in Las Vegas:

I found this!

https://www.google.com/search?q=Lorenzi+park+as+it+is+today+photos&espv=2&biw=1254&bih=607&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=4eWhVPvAFM7toATqt4LgCQ&ved=0CB0QsAQ






They recently rebuilt it so it is not the shg...ole it was in the 80s and 90s up till the rebuild.

Past


Every kid in the surrounding subdivisions came here to swim.  By the time I got here this was torn down.

http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/david-g-lorenzi

The history in the RJ newspaper is full of indignation which many of us share now to this day.

"Bill Vincent, the mild-mannered editor of the Review-Journal's Sunday Magazine, Nevadan, was incensed when he sat down at his typewriter that June day in 1966. The city of Las Vegas had acquired the old Twin Lakes resort and was converting it to a public park. Vincent titled his piece "How to Ruin a City Park" and went on to deplore the cutting of the many trees and foliage, the destruction of the old 1920s dance pavilion, and the desecration of David G. Lorenzi's unique dream of a recreational oasis in the desert. 
      "There isn't an old-timer in Las Vegas who hasn't sweet memories of picnicking and dancing cheek-to-cheek and swimming in one of the west's largest outdoor pools in the days when Twin Lakes was a country retreat from the heat."..."

http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/images/LorenziPark_3.jpg

As it was once:

 

And before the subdivisions to the south and west arrived:



A tiny bit of Twin Lakes housing development is shown in the bottom left of the photo.

The Lost World

Las Vegas in the 1940s-50s and 60s.

Old Vegas is shown on various websites.

A fascinating and complex town that went from a tiny whistle stop to a large town in WW-II and later into a gambling and entertainment mecca.

Old Vegas hands will recognize some names here below.

First The Rat pack:

Reportedly called that by Lauren Bacall the wife of Humphrey Bogart when she saw them all drunk at Bogart's house.  Great story at this link

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lasvegas/sfeature/sf_book_02.html





Courtesy of:

https://iams.pbworks.com/w/page/26411758/B2%201940s%20De%20Zwaan



Hotel Apache Reportedly prostitution on the 2nd floor

El Dorado Club then later the Horseshoe first floor

Facing west on Fremont street

Then courtesy of:

http://classiclasvegas.squarespace.com/downtown-history/?currentPage=4

The Pioneer club

Scherer and his partners opened the Pioneer Club in 1942.

In a smart move in 1951, the Chamber of Commerce approached Young Electric Sign Company about designing and building a neon cowboy for thePioneer Club.  Vegas Vic was to become the icon of Fremont Street.  Myths over the years having various designers being responsible for Vic and many others purported to be the model.  Vic was designed by one of Yesco's Salt Lake City designers, Patrick Denner.  Vic was 75 feet tall, had one moveable arm with a glowing cigarette in one hand and the other arm moved back and forth.  He had a voice box that proclaimed "Howdy Podner" every 15 minutes.  Vic stopped talking in 1966 when Lee Marvin and Woody Strode, tired after a day of working on location in the Valley of Fire for the film "The Professionals", were kept awake by Vic's friendly greeting.  Taking a couple of bows and arrows from the prop department, one night they commenced shooting at Vic from their hotel rooms across the street at the Mint Hotel.  City Fathers decided that perhaps it was best if Vic stopped talking.  Vic has an older brother of sorts, Wendover Will located fittingly enough in Wendover, Nevada.  He, too, was designed by Patrick Denner

The Golden Nugget (eastern corner of Second and Fremont):

This originally was a two story Post Office.  Robert Griffiths was the postmaster in 1926.   Next to the Post Office was the Majestic Theaterwhich may have been owned by Ernie Cragin before he built the El Portal. Cragin and Pike Insurance had an office upstairs above the Theater.  The Post Office and Majestic Theater gave way to the Mission Bar.  It was only in business a short while before it became the Kiva Bar.  The Kiva gave way to the Golden Nugget.

Reputedly a complete photo history at:

http://inoldlasvegas.com/

1950



Ladies enjoying their "Fun in the Sun" Las Vegas vacation at the fifth major Strip casino-hotel,
The Desert Inn, which opened in 1950 across from The Last Frontier. This location is currently the site of 
Encore Hotel - (near the eastern edge of its casino, where it leads into the walkway-mall to The Wynn Hotel).




A look at the Dunes Hotel-Casino in 1956. The year 1955 brought four new hotels to the Las Vegas Strip.
The Royal Nevada, Riviera, Hacienda and The Dunes. Opening on May 23rd, 1955 - Dunes was basically 
a low-rise motel-casino, topped by a fiberglass statue of a sultan. It was located diagonally across from 
The Flamingo on the site currently occupied by the lake-fountains of Bellagio. 
The Dunes would undergo a major expansion in 1964.



When I arrived the Strip 1963

Cartridges and my thoughts

A free flow thought on reloading cartridges and what factory loads I found useful.

I began shooting at a very young age using a .22 rifle on my Dad's lap shooting cans in a town dump.  He gave me a very good education in trigger control and aim.

Around the age of 12 he went down to a pawn shop in Las Vegas and bought me a bolt action .22 which to this day is STILL the most accurate .22 long rifle firearm I have seen.  It needed some repair and came cheap but was dear to me.

Since then I have owned a number of firearms in various configurations and calibers.  My dad once reloaded for hunting rifles but stopped and I began reloading in my early 30s for a variety of firearms.

The entire catalog of calibers I once reloaded are not shown here.  Age, illness and disuse has led to me pretty much giving up the hobby of shooting about 9 years ago.  For the citizen a good semi auto can be fun and useful, if you can't do it with the standard arms of the day you are in the wrong fight.

Shotguns or handguns (revolvers or semi autos) for urban self defense and semi auto rifles for target shooting and hunting and self defense away from urban areas.  In self defense, select the proper arm and ammunition, always remember bullets carry a long ways and your neighbor may take exception to bullets flying thru their walls.

When I could I got military surplus rounds of various types and shot them as they were cheap in the 80s and 90s.  I have owned every major caliber except the French calibers of military rifles used in World War II.  Surplus ammunition rarely misfired and was accurate enough for even long range shooting at steel targets.  My favorite remains the Swedish 6.5x55 round and their Mauser Military rifles.

All major cartridge companies produce usable ammunition.  But even their match ammunition will not equal the good hand load.  It is important that you educate yourself in the types of bullets and the cost of various ammunition.  For reloading or with factory ammunition I prefer to buy in bulk as that saves money in the long run.

I first reloaded for my .308 bolt action rifle.  Ruger made a quite nice carbine style rifle in the lightweight hunting variation I wanted and I bought one in the 80s.  My preference was for heavier bullets in the 165 (Sierra match) to 180 grain (Sierra or Remington spire point) range.  I used the powders which gave me the best velocity and at the same time filled the case up as much as possible.  I changed powders and primer manufacturers from time to time.

I also reloaded for my 30-30s using the 150 to 180 grain bullets depending on what was needed.  Once again primer and powder were selected on performance need and what was available at the time.

Neither of the rifle calibers above like to be hot rodded.or forced to do more than they are designed to do.  Both are great calibers in mid range velocity with proper bullets.  Turning a rifle into a bomb near your face is not the preferred method of handloading.  Always double check your weights and ensure you are using the proper weight of bullet and powder.  Each type of powder varies in volume and weight it prefers.   Some calibers need to be crimped at the case mouth and some do not.

My favorite for both calibers are the mid weight carbine style rifles in lever action (30-30)  or bolt action (.308).  The Ruger .308 has a long ledd throat which allows a heavier bullet to move forward from the case before engaging the rifling.  This never seemed to degrade performance with factory or military light weight bullets.

Lever actions with tube magazines require the avoidance of spire or sharp nosed bullets.  A sharp nosed bullet might detonate the round ahead of it in the magazine.  It is vital that you know the purpose of the rifle and it's peculiar types of ammunition.

My choice for all handgun (revolver) reloading is the Semi Wad Cutter (SWC) cast lead bullet.  I buy mine from small casting companies in the west.  I prefer the Elmer Keith designs from the last century.  The 150 or 158 grain SWC in .38s or .357s and the 240 or 250 grain SWC in the .44s.

My favorite handgun powder is Unique powder which is an old favorite among many reloaders.  But I have had good results in all types of pistols from Accurate number 5.  All brands of primers work in the moderate loads I prefer.  I use any good case from any major producer and I prefer to use nickel plated brass cases for .38 or .44 specials.  I use unplated brass for the magnum pistol calibers.

Each of the types of pistol reloads require attention to detail and the knowledge of what makes the reloads work in the pistol.  Automatics often use the case mouth for head spacing which means crimping of autos may be an incorrect move.  In revolvers you MUST crimp the bullet into the case without crushing the bullet or over crimping.  Without crimping in a revolver the loads yet to be shot may lose their bullet under recoil locking up the firearm.

For all hunting or self defense I would advise the use of factory ammunition.  This goes for rifles or pistols.  Currently 9MMs are too cheap to buy versus reloading them.  Right now the .40 caliber automatic pistols might be good prospects for reloading as factory ammunition is hard to come by.

More later......

Social work

The traditional American concept of Social work began prior to the Revolutionary War with the local organization of relief.  In American society this came from the churches and local councils and by the 19th century had morphed into the state organizing relief.

Women called "Friendly Visitors" or Catholic or Protestant religious figures formed many of the actual workers in these schemes. The relief efforts consisted of attempts to provide goods, medical care, and education.

Over time the efforts morphed into organized relief efforts in major American cities.  Irish immigrants in New York had various job and relief program of sorts for Irish immigrants run through the auspices of Tammany Hall's spoils system.  However, this powerful Irish political organization ignored the plights of African Americans and Hispanics in New York.

Revisionist history:

Various current writers have tried to be falsely "inclusive" of traditions which had no place in America prior to the politically correct era of today.  For example, rather silly attempts to include the Koran in the Social work schemes in existence prior to 09-01-2001.  The bogus "influence" of the Koran was not seen in the writings of the main body of American social work prior to that time.  American Muslims have a welfare scheme and implemented it when they were formed but that has nothing to do with the history of social work in America.

Modern politically correct social work histories seem to be bent on cultural inclusion.  Silly current stretches include, trying to link the Koran, American Indian, and other remote or unknown and, at the time, despised cultural influences, in the formation of relief agencies in local American towns of the 19th century.

Suffragette movement:

The Suffragettes stood for the vote for women and Prohibition and a form of practical Social Work.  In this they are like the earlier "Friendly Visitors."  Theodore Roosevelt was a big supporter of the Social work movement in the East.  As a Progressive of that era he saw that Social Work could provide a needed hand up and service to the poor and immigrant community.  These early social workers had an essentially paternal view of the poor.

These, often volunteer, Social workers went into the slums and ghettos of eastern cities.  They were often upper middle class women active in The Suffragette movement.  Their intent was to aid the poor and immigrants in upward mobility and assimilation into society.  They carried their own set of prejudices with them but were well intentioned.

To do this they had certain goals:

• Teach the poor family their roles in American society
• Teach tolerance
• Teach sobriety
• Teach proper budgeting
• Teach a proper work ethic
• Encourage the sending of children to school
• Show how and encourage women to keep a clean house
• Show how to avoid the spreading of disease
• Provide access to medical care 
• The delivery of relief supplies 

In each of the goals above the social worker was attempting to give the family a hand up and to aid them in societal integration.  The workers often used their own money and goods to aid the poor rather than governmental aid.  They were invested in the process of the family's advancement into society.  They took a personal interest in the family and their progress.

The Settlement movement began in the 1880s and sought to place "Settlement Houses" in poor neighborhoods.  Here often volunteer Social workers brought together the poor and middle class values in an attempt to integrate the two and give the poor a hand up.

Theodore Roosevelt held many meetings with suffragettes engaged in good works along with discussions of the vote for women and prohibition.  He also influenced and mentored his 5th cousin Franklin and his wife, Eleanor about their future political beliefs.  Over time, many suffragettes grew discouraged with their Social and Settlement work and concentrated on the vote for women and Prohibition.

Social work becomes a Profession:

After Theodore Roosevelt's time the art of social work declined and it gradually became a profession.   The early volunteers were gradually replaced by a large variety of relief efforts and Social workers of various types with professional training.  Some local governments did provide relief and others relied on private organizations or churches.  Some relied on the local sheriff to provide aid or emergency housing or ejection from the county.

With the advent of the great depression and the end of the 1920s; politicians were told that something needed to be done.  A great up surge in poverty pushed this drive.  Social worker activists called for a national effort to provide relief and practical training for social workers.  The Federal Government provided various relief efforts.  The Settlement houses declined and gradually disappeared.

Social Casework:

As early as WW-I, the art of social casework began to expand the influence of Social Workers beyond the work with the poor into other endeavors such as Red Cross or war work.  This new type of Social work was often continued in civilian life aiding disturbed ex-soldiers.

Another move forward was the publication of Mary Richmond's book Social diagnosis.  During the First world war a growing cry for more systematic educational material for Social work was heard.  Gradually through the New deal the idea of social work as a profession grew with like minded juvenile Courts and other agencies participating.  

Over time, social workers began to use psychiatric and Freudian concepts in their practices.  Over time they went away from the more immediate and practical aspects of behavior into counselling and mental and psychiatric care.

The Great Society:

With the imposition of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society social work was completely changed from it's original concept.  The workers were now professionally trained at Universities and were generally only hired if they had a suitable Business Arts or Master's degree.  They also worked for wages or a salary.  In addition, they operated under heavy laws, regulations, and policies of the Local, State, and Federal Governments.

These changes introduced the profit motive into the art of Social Work.  It also brought self interest forward instead of a spirit of service and altruism.  The provision of relief goods and money were all provided by the government under those regulations.  Though needed to meet demand, the former good aspects of social work as an art, were submerged by the profit motive.   

The new social workers worked under regulations that had a differing agenda from the original Social Worker.

They had certain goals:

• To Strictly adhere to and enforce regulations  
• Provide aid only under those regulations
• To ensure the family was meeting the various criteria for relief.
• Schedule the family to attend training classes to aid them in various aspects of the relief program
• To monitor the family progress in the relief program

The criteria for relief involved regulation of various things:

• Reviewing the family structure and setting a proper level of relief for that structure
• Review with the parent the children's school attendance
• Looking for and correcting unsafe or unclean conditions
• Correcting poor child care
• Interfering in the marital state of recipient.

The new Social worker now had a cap of heavy regulation and in addition, were compensated for their work.  This supposedly assured that they would allow their self interest to provide a good level of care for the family.  In practice, the regulations and compensation changed the character of Social Work from an art into a job.  The poorly written regulations limited upward mobility of the recipient and ensured that single parents would become the norm.  Social Workers became regulation enforcers rather than change agents.

Social Work as a career:

These changes assured the social worker would be interested in the continuation of the maximum number of families on Welfare; so the worker could continue to have employment.  This assured a more dysfunctional family, less capable of securing outside employment and upward mobility.  The norm for families on relief by the 1970s and 1980s was a family without a father present.

Families without fathers:

The new regulations tended to force the man of the house to leave so the woman and children could obtain maximum benefits.  Also, the more children present, the higher the benefits, so large families with illegitimate births became the norm.  The regrettable results of these regulations were that children had no male authority figure in the home.

The fathers morale and presence in the home was destroyed.  Father's became optional at best and with no moral core often became loosely connected or disconnected drug users and alcoholics.  Social work became about a "family" which did not include a father.  The fathers were thus outside the system and would appear and disappear as needed to continue benefits.  The baby daddy came of age and the father disappeared.

Conclusion:

By the 1960 to 1970s social work had lost it's way.  It became a part of an oppressive state regulatory scheme.  The workers themselves became enforcers of regulation who, in practice, forced families to remain impotently on welfare. Self interest of the social worker became the continuation of a family's impotence and Social work practice was designed to prevent proper family formation.  Society itself suffered from neighborhoods in decline due to large numbers of children of helpless and impotent mothers without official partners.



references:

http://www.socialworkhistorystation.org/history/chapts/4-2a.htm

Cleaning Black Powder Guns

For many years I shot and owned black powder firearms of all types from single shots to revolvers.

When I first began shooting them the cleaning process was set in stone and passed down shooter to shooter:

• HOT water poured down the bore
• Pump the hot water thru the bore with pillow tick patch
• Scrub a bit with a bore brush 
• Wipe the bore with numerous swipes of pillow tick patches.
• Let the firearm sit till it cooled down a bit.
• Scrub the lock and outside with hot water and wipe dry.
• Lube with your favorite thick goo to protect the bore.

This seemed to be a good idea even as it affected the stock and sometimes left surface rust on the bore but it was No Bueno!

The guns would be readied for shooting later by wiping the goo off and "shooting" several caps to clear the bore of obstructions.  Sometimes, several attempts to reload were needed due to the goo that was not quite taken off.  The process kept the firearm rust free (usually) and intact.  It was also is a good one for the Atlantic coast or a high humidity area.  It is overkill for most desert guns.

Windex and Ballistol:

A better idea!

The better process for me was:

• No hot water needed
• Spray several sprays of Windex inside and outside the firearm's bore and action.
• Run a bore brush down several times.
• Let the Windex sit for a few minutes 
• Remove it soon you do not want the cleaner to sit in the bore long term.
• Spray a bit more Windex outside and scrub the outside.
• Run pillow tick patches thru the bore till they come out clean.
• wipe down the outside
• Put some Ballistol in the bore with pillow tick patches several times
• put Ballistol on the outside surfaces and wipe down.

The firearm can be readied by simply wiping down a bit and "firing" several caps down the bore.

Unusual supplies (cheap too):

Patches 

For shooting and cleaning I went to Walmart and bought blue striped pillow ticking.  I took it home and washed it in the washer one cycle to get the sizing out.  I cut it into strips or rags or patches as I wished.  I always bought round balls of a size that allowed me to use the pillow ticking as patches.  Pillow ticking comes in .018 thickness so if you use it get a bullet mold or bullet that is compatible with that thickness.  Weirdly, only Walmart seems to stock this old time fabric.

Ballistol:

The German army used corrosive ammunition all through their history and in 1904 they came up with a water soluble oil a lubricant/gun cleaner/wound dressing/wood dressing/leather dressing.

Ballistol the wonder oil?

Ballistol can be used without the Windex to clean corrosives out of a firearm.  But I found the economic choice was Windex followed by Ballistol to protect the firearm.  It takes me a long time to use up a can of Ballistol.

Windex of course I bought at my local store while assuring it contained ammonia.

For those who hate cleaning black power or corrosive powder off firearms the above process is the best I have found.