MDM Goes To China

Taoist Temple in Suzhou, China

Did I ever tell you the story of when I went to China? Well let me tell you... I was sent to Suzhou, China to set up some equipment in a new plant my company was building. Talk about the coal miner lost in New York City! I got off the plane in the middle of the night in Shanghai after a thirteen hour flight. Nervous, traveling alone, going through customs with everyone staring at you suspiciously. Not a good feeling. I decided later that it was me, not them. The Chinese people treated me like I was a rock star!



My "bird".

Did I mention the plane ride? The biggest jet I've ever been on. Business class. Cost my company 4 G's! The first thing they do is make you take your shoes off and put on slippers that they let you keep! Swear! I thing it's state law. They give you a choice of several entrees: Shrimp, steak, a strictly Asian dish (which is what I had), all gourmet. After the meal it's after-diner drinks and a steaming-hot scented towel to wash your face and relax. The beautiful uniform-clad stewardess' giving you back rubs way too often... Wait a minute, I think that was some other place...





This is where I lived.

This was my privy.

This was lunch.


more later...

Camping in Holcomb Valley

This weekend Sharon, Luci and I camped for the first time in Holcomb Valley on the top of the San Bernardino mountains. Elevation 7,359 feet. At least according to my GPS unit. Plus or minus 30 feet...oops, the engineer tried to slip out. Sorry. The temperature was 70 degrees during the day and 42 degrees at night. It was great sleep'in weather! Luci and Sharon got cold.

I actually scoped this trip out and planned a little. Not characteristic of a Perceiver like myself. The website said, "No campfires". The signs all the way the up the mountain said, "No campfires". When we got to the campground they were selling five pieces of wood for $7...
But I got the last laugh! Across the dirt road in front of the campground, out in the forest, a huge Ponderosa pine tree had fallen. Sharon and I would hike over and she would load me up with all the wood I could carry and we'd hike back. We did this four times and ended up with a big pile of seasoned prime pine.

We made a fire when it got dark and boiled water for our freeze-dried entrees. Sharon had chicken with rice and veggies and I had wild rice and veggie pilaf. They are really good and we've eaten them many times. You can get them at any good outdoor outfitter for about $7. Sharon can only eat half of one. I, of course, can eat all of mine and her other half...

I made a nice fire in the morning and we cooked our bacon, eggs, and toast over it and boiled water for our coffee. Luci got the lion's share of the bacon and eggs. She even ate the toast. She was a cold little girl and hadn't slept well - Luci, not Sharon. Sharon was a cold big girl, hadn't slept well and spent the morning letting me know about it! Sharon says she's tired of bacon and eggs...

A Drive Up the Pacific Coast Highway

Luci the Wonder Dog

I had never been north of Solvang, CA before. Sharon has been to San Francisco many times. So recently we decided to drive up the coast to see what there was to be seen. We also took Luci with us.

We took State Route 395 north to the four corners then on west past Edwards Air Force Base on Route 58. Didn't see any shuttles but we did see some aliens. They were standing along side the road at Boron, CA. Must have escaped form EAFB. We stopped at a produce market in the middle of the desert and bought all kinds of fruit and nuts for the trip. Gave Luci a drink of water out of my Bear Grylls Crusader cup and went off and left it sitting in the parking lot. I really loved that cup...They had a petting zoo there and Luci liked the peacocks, goats, and chickens. Didn't try to eat anything fortunately.

Headed on west to Bakersfield then through the miles and miles of almonds and cotton fields to Morro Bay on the ocean. Luci got to get out here and ran up and down the beach with the other dogs stealing their balls and jumping on their owners. She doesn't like the water! Uh-Uh! Not a bit! She did get caught in a small rip tide and had to swim to safety.

Next we headed up the coast and saw elephant seals molting on the shore. They are huge! Bigger than I thought they'd be. We continued up the coast stopping many times until we got to Carmel. We sat on the white sands at the end of their main street and watched the sun set. Very nice. I had it in my mind that we'd find a place on a beach some where and spend the night. But noooooo! Sharon wanted to go home. Now it's dark and we're in Carmel, CA. Do you know how far that is from home? Seven hours! We got home at 8:30 a.m. the next morning. Sharon slept the whole way. I went to bed and woke up on Monday...

Camping in Joshua Tree National Park

Sharon and I have camped many times in JTNP and this year is no exception. Recently we camped there two weekends in a row. They couldn't have been different!

The first weekend was cold! Windy! But pleasant. It started out as just a day trip to the park but ended up as an overnighter at Jumble Rocks. Sharon slept in the truck with Luci the Wonder Dog and I slept out on a big flat rock. I only had two of those thin fleece blanks that women throw on their knees when the air conditioning is on full blast in the car. Or in my case just on. By 2 a.m. I was froze to death and climbed in the front seat of the truck. I don't know which was worse! Luci kept Sharon warm but the back seat put the mom in a bad mood for the rest of the weekend...imagine that. Sharon thought I was crazy sleeping on the rock especially since we had a five foot California king snake visit us earlier in the day. But the stars were brighter than you can imagine, complete with the Milky Way and satellites orbiting the planet. It was great 'til 2 a.m.

Did I mention the coyotes that awoke us at 5:30 a.m. They sing! They don't really howl. They sing. Luci didn't think it was too cool though! She said, "I don't have to go to the bathroom yet, I'm staying in the truck where there's no animals! Except for dad of course!"

The next weekend was pretty hot. Not for me but for a certain redhead I know. It only got up to 103. I don't know what her problem was... This time we went to camp, again at Jumble Rocks. This time we had the big tent with my extra wide cot for Sharon and two mattresses, pillows, sleeping bag, headlamp, Swiss Army knife (for the coyotes) and her candle lamp that melted all over my cot during the day. I slept on the bare tent floor with my backpack as a pillow. Yep, spoiled myself this time! Got down to 64 degrees during the night. It was great sleep'in weather!

The first morning we had bacon and eggs cooked over an open fire in my big 14" skillet. Everything tastes better when cooked on an open fire. Luci had eggs too but she prefers the bacon. We had a little bees with our breakfast too! The place is so hot and dry that the bees can find even the smallest amount of water. In this case it was our five gallon water jug. I'm talking thousands of bees! Never got bit all weekend. Although Luci tried to snatch one out of mid-air and paid the price.

Sharon planned a solo hike to Barker's dam this morning. I had to entertain Luci while she was gone because Luci's aren't allowed on the trails. Don't know why. There's so much coyote poop on the trails you can go from one end to the other by just stepping on the mesquite bean-filled piles of poop! Anyway, Luci and I went into town (a thirty mile drive) to get some more ice, a can of Alpo (which gave her the skitters) and a six pack of mini Pinot Noir.

Sharon hiked in the morning heat to the dam and saw about 25 big horn sheep hanging out at the water. She had her cameras and took some great pictures. She hiked back and had not used up her alloted two hours so she hiked another two point something miles to an old mill. When she got back to the truck she was out of water and hot! Red face, the whole works. We went back to camp but wasn't there long. I had to drive her around for three hours with the air conditioning on full blast to try and cool her off! She slept good that night and the temp dropped to about 60 degrees. Nice and cool in the morning. More bacon and eggs for me but Sharon didn't feel like eating. She just wanted to leave before it got too hot. She sat in the truck with the air on while I broke camp. Didn't help me a lick!

Next time I'm going have to put a swamp cooler in the tent...

Honey, I Had A Bad Day

Marlin Model 50

In 1976 my grandfather, Lambert Bartolini, gave me my first .22 cal. rifle. It had sat in the back of his closet on the east side of the back porch since sometime in the '30's. He told me he had taken it as payment for working on some one's car during the Depression and had stuck it in the closet. I don't know if he ever shot it. Probably not...he wasn't the type.

It was a Marlin Model 50 .22 cal. semi-automatic that fired from an open bolt. Very unusual for the time. It was almost scary at the thought of walking around with an open bolt, ready to slam a shell into the chamber and fire it at the same time. I don't think that was common practice then and it wasn't common practice for me although I only shot the rifle one time.

I was only fifteen and wanted to shoot the gun real bad. There wasn't a place to safely shoot it around town but I knew where there was...Plumfield! So, me and Billy Russell got on our English Racers with the rifle in an old gun case and headed on the back roads to Plumfield.

First we made our way to Denning school, then to Orient Road, and on to Denning Cemetery. Road by all the Wallace and Lucus graves then down the hill past the dairy farm, past Lil' Betty Ann's trailer, then left toward Cambon Lake Road.

Heading south we soon made the right turn onto Cambon road and past Ellis Clausen's house to the lake. Not much of a lake but it made for a great place to go motorcycle ice skating and making out on Homecoming night! Another left turn and you were headed to Gordon Hammon's house. At the knobby-headed tree in front of his house you turned right headed to Dennis' house. Fly past Dennis' house, over the hill, through the woods and power-slide into the Swinging tree.

There, at the Swinging tree, Billy and I shot my rifle for the first time, smoked some Cool cigarettes, swung off the big oak tree into the Big Muddy River, and generally had a great time. The five or six miles in July weather across chat roads was worth it! I have never fired that rifle since.

I recently found out this rifle was made between 1931 and 1935. And only 5000 were made. That makes it at least seventy-five years old!

A page out of the patent for this rifle.

Air Force Survival Knife #499

I've got another knife story to tell.

Christmas 1973 my uncle Dennis gave me one of my most prized possessions - a genuine Vietnam-era Air Force Survival Knife! It had a rough leather handle and a leather sheath with a built-in sharpening stone. The smell of new leather is something of an aphrodisiac to me...oops! TMI! Anyway, I was twelve at the time and Dennis showed me how to use the small stone to sharpen the knife and told me to use some sand paper to smooth the handle a little. It was made by Ontario Knife Company and was stamped 1973 on the pommel. It was and still is my one of my most prized knives. I used it for many years when I would go hunting...squirrel hunting, rabbit hunting, all kinds of hunting.

The following is Ontario's description of the knife:

"Used extensively by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force, the Air Force #499 Survival Knife is the standard against which other survival knives are measured. The #499 Air Force Survival Knife is made of carbon steel with a dull, rust resistant "Parkerized" finish. A leather handle with deep grooves on the Air Force Survival Knife provides a good grip surface even when your hand is slippery.
The butt end of the Air Force Survival Knife is made of steel so that it can be used for hammering and the cross guard has two holes in it, which enable you to construct a spear for protection and food gathering. The overall length of the Air Force Survival Knife is 9-1/2" with a blade length of 5". The sheath is leather with a belt loop and numerous holes which allow you to tie it down to just about anything and in just about any position.
The Ontario Knife Company Air Force Survival Knife also has a metal reinforcing plate at the tip end and a pouch equipped with a sharpening stone. This is definitely a piece of survival grade gear!"

Well, sometime around 1983 the leather handle started to dry out and the leather rings of the handle got loose. This caused the hand guard and the pommel to get loose too. It drove me crazy. Well, being the Type-A, got-to-make-it-right, freak-a-zoid that I am, I soaked it in a jar of motor oil for about a month to try and swell the leather rings to make everything tight again. This failed miserably... Next I clamped it in one of grandpa's vises in the blacksmith shop and heated the swaged end of the pommel and tried to drive the pommel down the tang to tighten the leather handle rings. Well, as I said, the handle had been soaking in motor oil for a month and all this did was catch the handle on fire! I really fixed it. By the time I got the fire out two leather rings had burnt up and now my knife was a half-inch shorter! I called it quits.

I used my bobbed knife for a few more years until 1986. That's when we moved from C Street to the country. Right away I found that my knife no longer sported a sheath. I repeated asked you-know-who where it was. Always got the same answer, "I don't know, wherever you put it!"
This really ticked me off. Every time I saw my knife lying lonely in my drawer it made me sick. Where in the hell was that sheath? I know it was in the dresser drawer before we moved out of the trailer. She had to have done something with it!

May 2008

I was out in the garage looking for something when I noticed an old tackle box of mine sitting high up on the pile of boxes that came from Illinois to Massachusetts to California that we have never opened. I climbed up and took it down for a look. When I opened it up I immediately slammed it shut and started to cry! I mean it. I started to cry. There in the bottom of the tackle box was my long-lost knife sheath. It had been there for twenty-two years! I instantly remembered that the tackle box had been out in a little shed that Gary and I had built on the end of the trailer and I was using it for a workshop. The tackle box also had several pairs of safety glasses in it from the coal mines. When we moved someone picked up this stuff off the workbench and put it in the tackle box! My sheath was found!

Nowadays my survival knife sits in a special drawer with many other knives including an Air Force Survival Knife that saw action in Vietnam on a Marine CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter and a 2001 version of the same knife. The knife gods made me wait twenty-two years but I got my sheath back! Woo-hoo!