Smartie's Bar & Grill #68

This was worse than the gas chamber. The gas chamber burned the lungs, but I could still breath, see, and even recite the infantryman's creed. Though it has nerve agents in it, I didn't really care too much about it.

Getting a face full of OC spray and then having to perform a takedown/arrest (after running around like crazy) was insane

 

Yeah, it isn’t much. I’m not much for casinos anyway. But they paid me well for what I did.

 

Today is my Friday but my shift does not start until this evening (Thur pm) and I don't get off until Friday a.m. So my Friday is not that different from everybody else's Friday this week.

Prior to my shift I will grab a McDonalds regular hamburger and small size of fries and coke on my way to work.

And I'll bring a Subway footlong sandwich cut into fourths for food through the night and early morning, with iced tea in my ice chest.

You meet lots of interesting beings on a graveyard shift -- owls and coyotes and feral cats and raccoons. Of these, the coyotes are the top predators, although the feral cats can normally stay out of their jaws simply by climbing trees for safety and then waiting.

Mice and rats come out at night too, and these are at the bottom of the food chain. Sucks to be them.

Of the predators, the raccoons are the most shy and timid. They are bigger than cats but not as well armed as the kitties, so a cat can easily scare away a raccoon. So size is not everything in the predator world. It pays to be well armed, and kitties have 10 razor sharp foreclaws.

It is an interesting world outside in the night. Not to mention the stars and constellations up above.

Which reminds me, I want to bring my constellation book with me tonight so I can spot our neighbor galaxy Andromeda. It is visible after midnight. It is 4 times the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy, of which the Earth is a satellite/planet of our Sun, which is a yellow star in the constellation Orion.

You learn a lot about the stars and planets when you work at night.

 

I don't mind a casino game of Texas Hold'em occasionally. But not often.

 

When using OC (oleo resin capsicum) spray, it is necessary to spray and then move aside.

Otherwise you will spray yourself in the process too. It always puts up a cloud of OC particles which go active after a couple of seconds if you are still standing there. This is in addition to the spray stream which hits the opponent.

After I spray someone, I won't touch them. I won't even get near them. Like you said, if you wrestle with a pig in the mud you both will get muddy. This applies to OC-ing as well.

 

OC is worse. It is like biting into a jalapeno with your eyes.

 

Yea ideally. But you have to get sprayed so you know how to react in a real-time scenario. Now I know that I have to rely on communication if I'm blinded and I figured out how to act under such duress. Cool experience. Hope I never have to again

 

You guys in the US Army use OC for combat ops?

Or is this just for use against indigenous civilians?

 

My goal and mission is never to get sprayed with OC again.

They say you can get used to it, and some people may even be immune.

I don't want to get used to it.

Suffice it to say it would be impossible to shoot accurately with OC in your eyes.

 

It's used in a variety of ways. Less in actual missions. More training.

 

You should never shoot with it in your eye

 

A coon can easily kill a cat and even a decent-sized dog. The are extremely dangerous to small animals.

They may be shy but if cornered its a different story.

 

On the flip side, skunks and cats like each other. Pepé Le Pew had a basis in reality.

I once saw one of our cats taking a nap with a skunk. And the cats showed the skunks how to get into the house where the food was. At one point we had regular skunk visitors. They were incredibly fearless. I got to where I could lay on the floor right next to one as it was eating the cat food, and they didn't care! They would just look at me while chomping away!

Never did have one spray in the house. I always figured it would happen sooner or later but it never did.

 

Skunks are particularly brave. At least the 3 I have encountered. They start to run, then backtrack and jump toward me. Gross

 

If they start pounding their front feet, they are warning you to back off, NOW. But if you are careful, you can actually approach them with a treat.

One night I had forgotten my flashlight and had to walk up the hill from my office to the house in total darkness. There was no moon. I couldn't see my own hand in front of my face. But I knew the road and had no problem staying on the trail. Then, I started hearing the pounding of feet... I tried to move away from that sound and heard more pounding on the other side. I moved up the hill and hear pounding in front of me!!! ACK!!! The damn things were all around me and I couldn't see anything. Finally I just froze and stood there for about ten minutes until I couldn't hear anything. We had a ton of skunks that year. It was nuts. I counted seven families on our hillside. So with babies we must have had at least 50 skunks on the property.

I have some great shots of the babies right after they were born. Their tails all look like little bottle brushes. Funny as hell!

 

Sounds like you have some nice property. Sounds much better than my barracks apartment lol

 

Go ... Ma & Pa Kettle.To Hawaii.
I mean why not.

Some have suggested Skunks make fairly good pets.
My 2nd Husky bagged a skunk in my backyard and I
called Animal Services and some bureaucrat came out
and wanted to immediately quarantine my dog.I talked him
out of it and took the dead skunk to my vet to get tested for rabies.
That took about a half week.My Husky was put on house quarantine
which was 3 weeks.My Husky 's { I had 2 over the last 30 years }
have both killed a couple opossum { who have teeth like a Barracuda }
About a year ago my neighbor dogs were goin' nuts and I heard
screeching.It was an Opossum hiding under a parked car { that's been there
like for 10 + years } because Little Princess { My buddy Rat Terrier I have
written about often } was getting filthy trying to get at that Opossum who
I could hear screeching.This was after a big rainfall and I bet the Opossum
was disoriented since the sewers were full of water and drainage was
messy.I eventually managed to free the area under the car which was full
of dirty old wet grass { which caused Little Princess to get dirty } while I
shushed Princess away.Eventually Princess tired of trying to nip at the
Opossum and got bored.I had to take a clean towel with soapy water
and clean her off.Her owner would never have cared.He's a Butt head.
I feed little Princess expensive Mega Vitamin dog biscuits and choice
tablescraps.The other dog is an American Bull Dog or Pit Bull.,who's
on an electric collar.Very Ornery but also very protective and
caring over Little Princess.There was a time when Little Princess
had no one.The Owner rigged a line attached to her dog House
that he built.he eventually used an electric collar on her.
But he's cheapskate and only uses a electric collar an his big
Brute of a Pit.He never bothered to just fence in his yard.

 

Gambling is TOO much of a gamble.I like a sure thing.That is one
of the lessons I learn't after achieving Enlightenment.That and one
can't really change others.Try as they might,it is an endless trip
towards frustration.One can train and change a Pet,but not another
human being.It is because God endowed humans with Free Will
and an Intellect.That intellect can and does often override common sense
or the advice of a Loved one.Which is why Man is considered a
Rational animal.They can Rationalize.

 

My goodness but I love the smell of testosterone. ♡♡♡♡♡

 

Yes, you can still be our President.

 

Oh ! I think I'll pass.I must remember to also pass
jail as like the board game Monopoly.

 

Yer Rationalizing.Testosterone is not available to the sense
of smell.It's merely a Whore Moan fir men.Sometimes galsy
moan fir men.Sometimes s'not.

 

I guess it’s still called testosterone even if it’s the gay kind.

 

Had for 25 years. We loved it but it was getting to be too much - over 5 acres, half forest on a hill, half pasture. I got lucky many times and nothing really bad ever happened. But it was just a matter of time and the odds. And a place like that is a money hole. Now I spend my money on hot women. MUCH better! More fun than chainsaws [but sometimes just as dangerous!!!]

 

HAHAHA, yeah, a lot of irony in that video.